Political Socialization Chapter 19, Section 1

What is Political Socialization? How you obtain your political opinions. Political attitudes are grounded in values. We learn our values by a process known as political socialization

Factors that Influence Political Opinions Who or What has shaped your political opinions? Family? Schools? Media? Peer Groups? Opinion Leaders? Historic Events?

Types of Political Socialization The Family: Basic attitudes towards authority, rules of authority, property. Consists of neighbors and people of other racial and religious groups.

Types of Political Socialization The Schools: Good citizenship skills and attitudes Specific knowledge about politics Informal learning about people with different backgrounds

Types of Political Socialization The Mass Media: Means of communication that reach a wide audience. Info about politics and public policy A platform for opinion leaders.

Types of Political Socialization Peer Groups: Group of people with which one regularly associates. Reinforcement of one’s existing opinion leaders

Types of Political Socialization Opinion Leaders: Any person, for any reason, who has an unusually strong influence on views of others. Info from which people can draw ideas and convictions about politics and public policy.

Types of Political Socialization Info on issues arising out of or related to the events. Historical Events

What is Public Opinion? Public opinion is what the people think about an issue or set of issues at any given point in time and opinions are normally measured by opinion polls.

Factors that Describe the Nature of Public Opinion Diversity – different groups hold different opinions on almost every issue Communication-letters, e-mails from constituents, and social networking help public officials know what the people want Significant Numbers-enough people must hold a particular opinion to make government officials listen to them