File - Juarez AP GOV
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Transcript File - Juarez AP GOV
PUBLIC OPINION AND
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
How American
democracy works
depends largely on who
participates and how.
Linkage Institutions
• Linkage institutions are the political
channels through which people’s concerns
become political issues on the policy
agenda.
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Political Parties
Elections
News & Entertainment Media
Interest Groups
Mistrust of Government
• Growing (when did it start?)
• Political Efficacy- citizens capacity to
understand and influence political events
– Internal- ability to understand and take part in
political affairs
– External- belief that the government will
respond to his or her needs or beliefs
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
• The process in which individuals
acquire the information, beliefs,
attitudes and values that help them
comprehend the workings of a political
system and orient themselves within it.
• Life long process
Common U.S. Ideological Language
One-Dimensional Continuum
Left
↕
Liberals
►►►►►► ►►► Right
↕
►►►►►►►►► Conservative
The One-Dimensional Problem?
Problem #1:
The role of government in policy becomes
inconsistent as we move between issue
areas.
For Example:
Social Issues
v.
Economic Issues
Political Socialization and Other Factors
That Influence Opinion Formation
• Political attitudes are grounded in values. We
learn our values by a process known as political
socialization.
• Many factors influence opinion formation.
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The Family
The Mass Media
School and Peers
The Impact of Events
Geographic region
–Social/economic groups
Religion, Race/ethnicity,
Education, Income,
Gender,
The Role of Family
While most children tend to adopt the political beliefs of their parents,
they may adjust those beliefs to adapt to a changing world as they
get older.
Schooling
The most powerful institutional influence on children, outside of the
family, is education.
Lower education levels- less political information
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Peers
We all absorb the ideas, especially when we are
young.
Peer groups affect political attitudes on those
few issues of interest to young people.
Television
The values conveyed by television become a
part of our culture.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Social Variables That Influence Opinion
Formation
Class
Our relative standing in society shapes many of our social and
political values.
Income
Very roughly stated, poor people tend to vote for Democrats (the
more liberal party on economic policy) while richer people tend to
vote Republican.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Race and Ethnicity
Race and ethnicity influence political attitudes
and behaviors which are clearly evident.
African Americans, for example, are
generally more alienated from politics than
whites. WHY?
Hispanics tend to vote Democratic, with
the exception of Cuban-Americans, who
tend to be very conservative. WHY?
As a general rule, ethnic groups become
conservative as they rise in social status.
WHY?
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Religion
Religious differences produce serious political conflict in the United
States. -Ex: Catholics and Jews- associate with the Democratic party
Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than
Catholics and Jews
Jews tend to be more liberal on both economic and social issues
Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues
Generally speaking, the more religious one is, the more conservative one
is likely to be.
Region
Some areas of the United States, such
as the South, are very conservative.
Gender
Gender shapes our political views as well, with men and women
taking very different views on many of the issues of our day.
The gender gap reflects the difference in the political opinions of
men and women. Women tend to be more democratic. Exsupport social measures such as gun control
A New Political Typology
In addition to fighting each other, both Democrats and
Republicans now find their parties internally divided over such
issues as national security, religion, and moral values.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Fear?
Political Topology Worksheet
American Political Culture
Core Values
There is broad support among Americans for such core values as
liberty, equality, and the ideals of the Constitution.
Americans and Intolerance
Some claim that tolerance of diverse beliefs and practices is another
core American value.
Public opinion data suggest that it may be intolerance that has
become a core value.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Political Ideology
It provides an overarching frame around which to organize our
political beliefs and attitudes.
The most common political ideologies among Americans are
liberalism and conservativism.
Culture and Lifestyle
One’s culture and lifestyle will also influence one’s politics
because such views emerge from specific life experiences.
BERMAN&MURPHY APPROACHING DEMOCRACY
Social Cleavages
• Definition:
– Pre-defined groups, for or against a certain
issue
• Examples:
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Socioeconomic status
Household income
Union Membership
Religion
Gender /Age