Ideology, Socialization, Participation & Voting Behavior AP Government

Key Terms: Political Culture: our way of thinking about politics and economics Political socialization: the process by which citizens acquire their political beliefs. 4 main agents: family, schools, religious institutions & media Political Ideology: views on what government should do (liberal, conservative, etc.) Americans mostly agree on political culture, but not on ideology

Ideology

Intro activity: Working with people around you, identify the major factors in your life that influence your political beliefs. Try to come up with 4-5. Share with the class.

Ideology Ideology: a set of basic beliefs about life, culture, government, and society.

Political Ideology An individual’s or group’s set of beliefs about governmental or political structures and functions. Main Concerns: proper function of government issues of liberty and equality distribution of goods and services

Political Culture Dominant values, beliefs and attitudes of members of a society about their governance, their history, and their rights and responsibilities as citizens. Political Culture helps determine the structure of the society's political system the rules by which the system operates what is acceptable behavior w/in system

What is unique about American political culture? Efficacy – citizen’s belief in their ability to impact government. Legitimacy- citizen’s belief that the government has the right to rule. Individualism/limited government/American dream – the individual is responsible for finding prosperity. Patriotism – Rally around the flag.

Our Political Culture…. We like: Freedom Equality (of opportunity) Democracy Civic duty Individual responsibility We don’t like: Excessive gov’t regulation Socialism (econ. equality) Religion mixed w/ gov’t Government in general

Conservatism opposition to gov't intervention in economy opposition to gov't intervention in social programs support for intervention to uphold morality support for strong military approves of use of force to attain goals support of balanced budget support for limited taxes

Liberalism little gov't involvement in social & economic life support for intervention in economy support for social programs against moral codes imposed by gov't against expansion of military

Libertarianism emphasis on basic rights & free market economy support freedom of trade very limited gov't with provision for defense no gov't economic or social programs abolish gov't departments (bureaucracy) abolish laws against victimless crimes

Political Scale

Increase regulation and worker protection Liberal Conservative Business Increase regulation and worker protection Ease regulation & keep gov’t out of business Taxes Increase taxes Cut taxes Abortion Pro-Choice Pro-life Social Spending Increase Decrease or maintain Defense Spending Death Penalty Ban Maintain

Reduce w/ more capitalistic policies Liberal Conservative Size of Gov’t Increase w/ more social programs Reduce w/ more capitalistic policies Same Sex Marriage Legalize Ban Affirmative Action For (maintain race based preferences) Against (ban race based preferences) ANWR Drilling Prevent drilling in Alaska Pursue this & other domestic oil sources

Protect rights of the accused Maximum punishment; rights of victims Liberal Conservative Crime Protect rights of the accused Maximum punishment; rights of victims School Vouchers Expand the program End the program Doctor Assisted Suicide Allow Prevent Minimum Wage Increase Lower or eliminate Social Security Increase age of eligibility Privatize

Make 100% government controlled Deregulate; move to free market Liberal Conservative Health Care Make 100% government controlled Deregulate; move to free market Personal Responsibility Gov’t needs to protect citizens from themselves ($) People should be responsible & accountable for own actions Religion Separation of church & state; prevent faith based initiatives Introduce more religion in school; allow faith based initiatives

People your age… 

Discuss political quiz results Were the results similar? Had you heard of your label before? Were you surprised? Is it the same label as your family? What are the stereotypes you’ve heard about the ideologies?

Political Socialization

Political Socialization How an individual acquires their sense of political identity.

Agents of Socialization Job Race Religion Ethnicity Family Education Peer Groups Media

Home and Family Observe and copy parents Tend to follow same ideology pattern as family Information is filtered based on ideology of parents

Education Teach citizenship & societal values Teach democratic principles Usually first knowledge of how system works

Peers Share similar ideas Reinforce attitudes Desire for acceptance may change family ideas

Media Greatest source of information Generates interest in issue that may not have been of concern

Political Participation

Forms of Political Participation Following and discussing politics Campaign activities Voting Contacting public officials Group activities (political parties, interest groups, etc) Protests

How much do we participate? Inactives - take virtually no part in political life – 22% Voting Specialists - do little more than vote regularly – 21% Contractors - contact officials about personal probs – 4% Communalists - votes and participates in some programs to try to solve some of the social problems – 20% Campaigners - engages in heavy campaign activities – 15% Complete Activists - vote, contact officials, group activities and campaign – 11%

Why do we participate in politics? Rational Actor Model - citizens weigh the cost against benefits If benefits are small, it isn't rational to participate Parochial participation, collective activities and political protest may seem more effective and thus more rational

Voting Behaviors

Voting Eligibility Elimination of property requirements (1830) Elimination of racial discrimination in 15th Amendment (1870) Elimination of sexual discrimination in 19th Amendment (1920) Elimination of poll taxes in 24th Amendment (1964) Elimination of literacy tests in Voting Rights Act (1965) Elimination of several state registration laws in Voting Rights Act (1993) Reduction of voting age to 18 in 26th Amendment (1971) Reduction of residency requirement to one or two months in most states

Voter Turnout 50%+ participation in presidential elections 33% for high state offices 33% + for congressional midterm elections 20% for lower state and all local elections 38% votes every two years in elections (core electorate)

African American voters in the 2004 Election *

Reasons for Voting Duty and obligation of citizenship Belief that every vote counts Predicted closeness of an election Desire to influence elections & policy Identification with a party or candidate

Reasons NOT to vote Lack of interest Lack of transportation Lack of faith in system Lack of choices between candidates Domination of area by one party Lack of transportation Illness on voting day Failure to obtain absentee ballot Out of district on voting day

Reasons to Vote for a Particular Candidate Party Affiliation Policy Vision Interest in a particular issue Personal Appeal

Public Opinion

Public Opinion Opinions of people about elected officials, candidates, public policy, and government institutions Reflection of values, beliefs and attitudes Opinions of various groups are often swayed by differences in gender, age, class, region and race

Characteristics of Public Opinion Intensity – causes a strong reaction Latency –doesn’t effect you now, but may later Salience – effects you personally Consensus – most people agree on Polarization – splits public opinion, can’t get a compromise on Stability – public opinion stays the same Fluidity – public opinion is changing

Measuring Public Opinion Polling - sample the attitudes of particular groups Questionnaires Closed ended questions needed over open ended Leading (Loaded) Questions result in inaccurate info Samples - groups of the population Random – Anyone from population can be chosen Stratified – Sample statistically mirrors population Sampling error – difference between the sample and the entire population (increase in sample size will increase reliability of survey and reduce margin of error)

Types of Political Polls Push polls are used to influence opinion. Tracking polls are taken on a daily basis. Exit polls are taken after leaving a polling place. Methods: Random sampling Focus groups Random digit dialing Importance of wording the question

Shortcomings of Polling Must consider margin of error. May make errors in selecting the sample. Polls limit respondents’ options. People may not have enough information to answer. Measures of intensity may be imprecise.

The Gallup Poll  http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx?ref=b

Political Knowledge – yikes. http://www. youtube. com/watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwTgLEseu28 Back