Module one Source of Political Views

1. Political Socialization and Ideology
POS 120
American National Government
Spring 2015

2. Learning Objectives
 What are the biggest sources of political views held by
Americans?
 What is the the role of biology as a source of political views?
 What is an ideology?
 What is meant by liberal, conservative, libertarian, and
populist/communitarian?

3. A Few Quick Definitions
 Before moving ahead, let us define a few key terms.
 Politics
 Who gets what, when, and how.
 Struggle over who shall rule and what policies shall be made.
 Government
 A set of institutions with the monopoly of legitimate power needed
to make binding decisions on society as a whole.
 Institutions
 Long standing features of government that structure power
relations.
 Example: Constitution
 Has been in place since 1789.
 Structures relations between branches of government, federal and
state governments, the government and the people.

4. The Sources of PoliticalViews
 Wilson offers two explanations for the sources of our political
views.
 Social
 Biological
 The social explanation is about learning.
 The process by which young people acquire their political beliefs
is called political socialization.
 We take our cues from various agents found in our social
environment.
 The traditional agents are thought to be family, religion, and education.

5. Agents of Socialization
 The role of family as a source of political views
 Socialization is usually thought of in terms of party identification.
 Family is thought to be biggest influence outside of biology.
 The children of Republicans or Democrats become Republicans or
Democrats.
 However, party identification in the U.S. is in decline.
 The U.S. is experiencing an overall decline in party identification.
 This is especially true for young people.
 Children as less partisan and more independent than their parents.

6. Agents of Socialization
 The role of religion as a source of political views.
 Religion is often important to how families transmit political views.
 Religion teaches us about politics because it informs us about human
nature and human affairs.
 The role of education as a source of political views.
 Education exposes young people to new people, new ideas, and new
ways of thinking, as well as critical thinking and a necessity for change.
 Understanding the role of education allows us to understand the role of
elites, and the potential divide between the new class and traditional
middle class.
 The role of sex as a source of political views.
 There is a perceived gender gap in political behavior.
 Surveys indicate women’s political views have changed over time.

7. Religion and Politics Among
WhiteVoters

8. The Gender Gap: Differences in Political
Views of Men andWomen

9. Biology:The Non-Social Agent
 Wilson argues genetics are as important as family in explaining political views.
 Wilson argues we both learn and inherit our political views.
 Example: Twin studies
 Even when raised apart, identical twins were more likely to have the same political views as
compared to fraternal twins.
 According to Hibbing, biology must be included among social factors when it
comes to explaining political views.
 Hibbing says it is more than just genetics.
 The focus should be on early development, environmental experiences, and genetics.
 Genes are not the only aspect of biology that should be considered.
 Genes alone do not shape political attitudes.
 Hibbing offers additional biological aspects such as….
 Physiological
 Endocrinological
 Cognitive
 Neuroscience

10. Biology:The Non-SocialAgent
 If biology is important to political views, what does that imply?
 Change is possible, but people will tend to be consistent with
their views over time.
 People will selectively interpret history.
 Political discourse should be more civil.
 We can “unlearn” what social agents have taught us, but we cannot
“unlearn” biology.
 Traditionally, our political views have been thought to be top
down (coming from agents that teach us about politics). Biology
challenges that notion and says politics can be bottom up.

11. Cleavages in Public Opinion
 We know where views come form, but where do they clash?
 Social cleavages are social divisions within a society.
 Examples: class, region, race, age, or religion.
 Reinforcing cleavages reinforce differences between people.
 These types of cleavages often create conflict.
 Example: Class, region, and religion
 Working class also tend to be rural and Catholic, while the middle class tends to
be mostly urban and Protestant.
 Overlapping cleavages tend to defuse the potential for conflict.
 Working class might be urban or rural, and might be Catholic of Protestant.
 One does not automatically inform you about the others.
 In the U.S., we have overlapping cleavages.
 Occupation, age, and region are our most dominate cleavages.

12. Opinion Gaps BetweenYoung Adults and
Senior Citizens in 2012

13. Political Ideology
 In the U.S. we most often hear about liberal and conservatives.
 These are political ideologies.
 Ideologies are coherent and consistent attitudes about the role of
government.
 Political activists tend to best informed and more consistent.
 We can analyze ideological consistency along the lines of the
following economic and social issues:
 Government policy and the economy.
 Civil rights and race relations.
 Personal conduct and civil liberties.

14. Ideologies in the US
 In the U.S., we have four main ideologies:
 Liberal
 The pure liberal is liberal on both economic and social issues.
 Conservative
 The pure conservative is conservative on both economic and social
issues.
 Libertarian
 The pure libertarian is liberal on social issues but conservative on
economic issues.
 Populist/communitarian
 The populist/communitarian is conservative on some social issues
but liberal on economic issues.