1. Ideology, Socialization, Participation & Voting Behavior
AP Government

2. 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

3. Ideology

4. 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.

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. Political Scale

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. People your age… 

19. 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?

21. Political Socialization

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

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

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

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

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

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

28. Political Participation

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

30. 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%

31. 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

32. Voting Behaviors

33. 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

34. 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)

35. African American voters in the 2004 Election*

36. 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

37. 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

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

39. Public Opinion

40. 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

41. 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

42. 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)

43. 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

44. 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.

45. The Gallup Poll 

46. Political Knowledge – yikes. http://www. youtube. com/watch
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