Cheryl Lee
Robin Datta
November 13, 2015
Exam #2
Similar to many of the things we are introduced to growing up as humans, our political knowledge is one of the things that does not derive from one specific source. Our thoughts on politics is constantly evolving and maturing as we encounter different agents throughout our lives. These agents of political socialization include our family, our education, the media, and many more. They shape our values and beliefs from the moment we are born to the moment we die. Our family environment contributes to our interest in politics in the future, our education teaches us the fundamentals of American government and politics, and lastly the media continuously shapes our view of the government. All three of these agents, are crucial in allowing us to understand ourselves and our beliefs today. Many intellects will argue that family is one of the most important agents in regards to political socialization (cite). This comes as no surprise, as children we are incapable of making rational decisions for ourselves. Thus, our parents and family members are tasked with making the best possible choices for us instead. In fact, as children we want to please our parents so we are receptive to their views, this includes political beliefs. (Stockwell, Chapter 6: Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and the Media.) Furthermore, our family can also have an effect on how we view politics in our future. Studies show “Children whose parents
Family is the first and most important agent of political socialization. Mothers and fathers, or legal guardians, siblings and grandparents, as well as members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she needs to know in order to function successfully within society including the political process. The family is a powerful influence because the structure of the family and the child wanting to please his or her parents encourage conformity not only to the parents ' basic life views and beliefs but also to their political values. In particular, children will often identify with the parents ' political party while those who don’t register usually support some of the views of the party which their parents favored or have no interest in politics typically because their parents didn’t show interest in politics. I
Most people are exposed to the same principals and agents of political socialization. Families spread values that support political authorities and can heavily contribute to children's initial political ideological views, or party preferences. Families influence political knowledge and identification depending on variables such as family demographics, life cycle, parenting style, parental level of political skepticism and frequency of political discussions. Demographics such as gender and age also attribute to political socialization. School is another agent of political socialization. Spending numerous years in school, children in the United States are taught and reinforced a view of the world that their text books tell them to trust. Through primary, secondary and high schools, students are taught key principles such as individual rights and property, personal responsibility and duty to their nation. Another is mass media. Mass media is not only a source of political information; it is an influence on political values and beliefs. Various media outlets, through news coverage and late-night programs, provide different partisan policy stances that are associated with political participation. Religions, beliefs, and practices play a role in political opinion formation and political participation. The perspective offered by religious institutions shape judgement regarding public policy, and political decision
I have not had much interest in politics until recently. Before last year, I did not care for anything related to politics; I thought that it was all boring and had little to no affect on me on a personal level. I am more interested in politics nowadays. I know better now that it does affect me and I should care about it. I had learned about the concepts of political socialization, party identification, political tolerance, political trust, political efficacy in government class and how they affect my political beliefs. My personal political belief has been shaped into what it is today and is still being shaped because of those six concepts.
Family is not the only place I received my political socialization from, another place where I receive it is from my location in the United States. I am from Massachusetts which is in the North. I believe that people from the South would tend to be more conservative than people being from around here. A good example of this would be that Massachusetts is a state where homosexuals are allowed to get married. This might not be true for a southern state. That is another place where I do receive my political socialization from.
It is very important to be aware of what is going on in the world however sometimes reading can be a better source or information than watching bias television broadcasts. I believe that if children have to develop their own political opinion at a young age then they will attain values and beliefs that are more logical. I had structure growing up as a kid and was directed to what was right and wrong but I was not born into a political dictatorship. My parents were caring people and emphasized that treating others with respect is more important than following some indoctrinated code. I am fortunate to have been given the freedom to develop my own social and political views. Having political guidance from family is important but being told that only one particular political belief system is infallible is not the ideal way to educate. My parents have always preached equality, and that all people should have equal opportunity to pursue their goals despite their religion, race, ethnic background or sexual orientation. At a young age I was taught to recognize that all Americans have an equal opportunity to aspire to an education regardless of their economic condition. My parents were a large influence of how I view freedom of speech. They emphasized that all individuals have the right to express their opinions and advocate their personal beliefs. One of the key political concepts that I was born into was to fight for a clean environment. The environment must be protected and
The main way that people are influenced is by their family. This is the first place that we are introduced to politics. Most kids grow up believing as their parents do as far as political views go. Another place that the public is influenced is through school. Kids learn about the Government and political parties through their history classes. If kids don’t have politically strong parents, then they usually get their ideas for what they want to be from school. Kids are directly influenced by their peer groups. Kids will do anything to be cool, even if that means they go against their beliefs. Friends have strong persuasion over kids. Geographic locations have a strong influence over the way people develop political ideas. For example, if you’re from the south, then you are more likely to be conservative. If you’re from the north, then you are more likely to be Democrat. It isn’t the strongest influence, but it does have some affect over people. Political leaders, for example, also try to convince the public to choose what political party they should side with. Political leaders persuade people to vote for them and their political party and hope they get the vote. Many things affect the way we develop our political views.
Political socialization, in simple terms, is the lifelong process by which people learn political attitudes and behaviors. People begin to form their own ideas about politics and begin to acquire political values. There are four distinct groups that play a role in political socialization, that being; family, peers, educational systems, and the mass media. Being constantly around your family, especially parents, can impact your perception on politics and how you react to the idea of politics. Parents occasionally place a personal belief or comment to their young child while helping them with their homework or having a family discussion at the dinner table. This personal belief or comment being something related to politics. These family discussions
Political socialization begins early on in life and is an ongoing process affecting individuals throughout. It is how people eventually identify personal beliefs and expectations in American politics. These political views can include our level of patriotism, faith in the democratic system, standards by which we hold governing bodies, and opinions regarding public policies. From the playground to the classroom, the office to the dinner table, much of our lives affect our political opinions. The most easily identified agents of this are family, schooling, peers, mass media, political parties and religious influences. Furthermore, these means indoctrinate us in the political society through four basic
Just as parents influence their children to learn a second language, I was raised to learn the language of politics. I soon became intrigued about our democracy and learned about our political system on the media, in school, and from my parents. After learning both sides of politics and obviously being influenced by my parents, I choose to be associated with the political right’s beliefs. To this day, I have strong opinions on immigration policies, the second amendment, healthcare, foreign policy, and many other issues. On the other hand, there is one issue that makes
Political socialization often times begins during childhood; most parents do not consciously indoctrinate their children into partisanship, but they are nevertheless the main teachers of political attitudes. This early identification, according to Hershey, takes hold before children have much information as to what the parties
Have you ever thought about why you have the political beliefs and values you do? Where did they come from? Are they simply your own ideas and experiences or have you been influenced by others in your thinking? This process by which individuals acquire their political beliefs and attitudes is called political socialization. In another words, Political socialization is a concept where the study of the developmental processes by which children and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes and behaviors. What people think and how they come to think it is of critical importance to the stability of the government. The beliefs and values of the people are the basis for a society's political culture and that culture defines the
own my own and how I felt about them. They also taught me how to conduct
In America today, most people have their own political views. Some are legitimate, and some are the cause of one main problem: media bias. Certain media outlets are promoting biased political views on television, the internet, and social media. People that watch and read these biased media sources are constantly believing more and more of the false information that they are presenting. Media bias and fake news in the United States is a major contributing factor to many citizens’ political views, especially as a result of news outlets that promote a liberal agenda.
Most, if not all, of the political beliefs are manifested during childhood; and are immensely influenced by not only parents, but through media, religion, education, and peers. The parents tend to pass along heritage and tradition, and often link their family name with a political affiliation (Republican or Democrat). Education introduces children to politics and the election process through class elections and courses in government; and by debating issues that affect the schools such as funding and curriculum requirements. The media has become a primary source in educating children through constant news programming, and shows addressing contemporary issues relating to politics such as abortion, crime, and the economy. Peer influence within social groups , though with a limited impact, further contributes to the development of political attitudes by concentrating on common interests focusing mainly on lifestyle issues. Organized religion continues to have an impressionable influence in guiding political thought through religious practices and beliefs; and has traditionally had a strong impact in forming political views in accordance with their respective doctrine.
Everything a child does from birth to around the adolescent age is more than likely taught through family. As a child they tend to look up to who run their household. Certain views, attitudes, and behaviors are mimicked because that is the only platform that is being viewed at the time. Families tend to have an impact on children unintentionally by acting an example for children. It is often that children end up with the same political views as the parents of that household. Parents do not flat out talk to children about politics directly, but the occasional remarks that are made often have serious impact. Family beliefs are a factor in the party identification such as lifelong republican or lifelong democrat. Studies show that children have the same party identification as their parents even if they have different views from them. The family may be losing it accreditation in socialization, but it is still a big factor. By an early age political symbols are understood. By the time a child is five he/she has some understanding about