Chapter 5. Political Socialization– Key ideas -- 2013

1. Chapter 5. Political Socialization– Key ideas -- 2013 Bob Botsch

2. A Few Opening Ideas • Primacy principle • what happens early stays a long time • Definition of socialize • learning attitudes, values, and behavior to fit in to society • Why nations worry about youth socialization • seen as essential for societal survival

3. Three stages in pre-adult socialization • Ages 3-9: what is learned? (clue to why the Irmo teacher was attacked so strongly for stomping on the American flag?) • Authority figures--idealization • Spillover effect • Ages 10-12: what is learned? • Good citizenship and acceptance • Ages 13-18: what is learned? • Abstractions—separate self-interest from community interests • Ideology • Sense of efficacy • Tolerance/democratic values – not so much Special Period—the Impressionable years thesis (17-26)

4. What groups and factors can negatively affect early socialization? • Membership in minority groups • or groups in poverty—Appalachian children • events like Watergate—but this had no lasting effect

5. Agents of socialization? • Family • Schools • Peers • Media • I would add groups, though not listed in chapter

6. Family • Why so important? • time plus affect • Why basic identities more so than issue positions? • “Who are we, mommy?” happens more often than discussions of issues • Why do parents tend to agree on partisanship? (about 75% agreement) • People date who share similar socio-demographic characteristics • Role of genetics on family influence • modern neuro-science suggests that genes can develop memories that pass down across generations—Wow!

7. Role of peers • reinforce or have little consequence • Why? • because emphasis on on status in group rather than politics • not salient in most youth issues, which are more about taste • politics becomes more important later in life

8. Primary and secondary school influence—what is the emphasis? • Nations feel important and fight over curriculum content • E.g. battles in Texas over text book content – like whether segregation should be included, or evolution, or the difference between theory and fact (fact is not a scientific term) • Loyalty and obedience over participation and tolerance or even knowledge or democratic values or interest in current events –little evidence that high school civics has much impact • Community service does have a greater impact than courses • but these kinds of activities are decreasing – see more emphasis at college level

9. College influence • Important in 1900s b/c of rising % attending – up to about half – will decline in future as rates are no longer increasing, so % of population w/some college will not change much • Does college make students more liberal? • Generational effects have made recent college freshmen enter school relatively more liberal than those coming into school in the Reagan years • Evidence that seniors are more liberal and less conservative than freshmen has been consistent – see Table 5.3 on p.140 • Those going to college are already relatively more liberal and choose to expose themselves to the more diverse environment of college • USC Aiken data from 2011 survey reinforces this—at least partially. • Why? – three explanations • Increased awareness of the trendiness of liberal from exposure to media • Enlightenment – culture that exposes to diversity and toleration and question and idealism leads to liberalism • Brainwashing from liberal faculty – faculty are more liberal, at least in social science, but most students are unaware of ideology • Fourth (USCA data) – students become aware of proper label for issue positions they already hold, and many hold relatively less conservative positions than the conservative/moderate label they came to school with

10. What are the 5 major personality traits and which ones affect opinions? • Openness – open to new experiences, not conforming and routine liking – liberals tend to be more open • Conscientiousness—organize and disciplined versus careless and impulsive – liberals tend to be more impulsive and less organized • Extraversion—social/affectionate vs somber/reserved • Agreeableness – trusting and helpful • Neuroticism – anxious and self-pitying • Only first two have an effect • Red and blue states tend to have state cultures that reflect the traits – like SC with its emphasis on maintaining order and tradition and general unwillingness to try new things – these traits get passed down (even perhaps genetically), and perhaps are traits that attract people who share them to the state

11. What can we learn from the study of different kinds of twins (identical and fraternal) ? • relative influence of genetics and socialization (or nature versus nurture) • genetics affects activity levels • but socialization affects basic identities • so both seem to have influence

12. Adulthood socialization? • Mostly stability after late 20’s • suggests that what happens in the critical years of 17-27 are critical, but there are other possibilities • Generation effects—what a birth cohort experiences in common in those critical years • Life-cycle effects – people experience and pay attention to different things as they age, worrying more about stability for children and security, making become more conservative • Period effects – important events that affect all generations in a similar manner – but strong shocks will affect those in the critical years more • Which is most important? • Look at Table 5.6 on p.147. I see a little life-cycle but more generation effect (disagree with author’s analysis on pp.153-4 who make a big deal out of a 6 point shift)

13. Party id and adult socialization and the different effects • –See figure 5.2 on p.151. • See some gradual change as generations are replaced with those with different orientations, e.g the passing of the pre New Deal and now the New Deal generations who are replaced with the Reagan generation and now the Clinton/Bush/Obama generation • But also note the that Reagan generation was affected to move away from Republican id because to the period effects of the Clinton years • Period effects are realignment—not generation replacement

14. Odds and ends at end of chapter • Polarization? Refers not to people becoming more extreme but rather to the greater ideological purity of each party that makes compromise more difficult • Bennington Study – why important? • Shows stability over more than 50 years • Marriage? • Evidence is that women tend to adopt political views of husband in early years of marriage • This wipes out much of the gender gap among marrieds and creates a marriage gap as women become more like their Republican leaning mates • Saw this in Aiken County 2012 exit poll