P SC 1113 1st Edition Lecture 14Outline of Last LectureI. Why Don’t People Get Involved in Politics?II. Verba, Schlozman, and Brady’s Four Reasons to ParticipateIII. MobilizationIV. Opinion SocializationOutline of Current LectureI. Opinion SocializationII. Opinion StabilityCurrent LectureI. Opinion SocializationA. Who or what shapes politics development?1. Familyi. Why do parents succeed?a. Time spent together equals opportunitiesb. Frequent political discussions = 20% more likely to vote and continue votingc. Strong directional bonds between family and children translate to politicsii. Party ID is the strongest transfera. Past studies show that if your parents agree with each other on politics, 76% of kids agree too(1) When parents differ, mom wins outiii. Is family still successful?a. Children more rebellious?b. Changes in family structure?2. Peers/friendsi. A secondary influence because substantial time is spent with friendsa. It may be a rival influence to your familyb. Can reinforce or undermine lessons your family teaches you (or maybe be completely apolitical)ii. Friends can be mobilizing, demobilizing, or in between3. SchoolsThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.i. Schools: modern classroom rolesa. Teach political knowledgeb. Teach political participation skillsc. Teach tolerance(1) You start to meet people in college with diversity in their beliefs and experiencesd. Teach acceptance of/support for democratic valuese. What does college do?(1) More people are going to college than ever before which means more education(i) More education means greater tolerance and support for democratic vales4. History/Events: The Story of Stabilityi. Generation effects (time you come of age affects opinions)a. What’s happening while you’re becoming interested in politics may influence how you think about them for the rest of your lifeii. Life cycle effects (aging affects opinions)iii. Specific events (events effect opinion)5. Geneticsi. Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research: examines 1400 sets of twinsa. Identical twins more likely to be ideologically similar than fraternal twinsb. John Alford: gets 9,000 twins to react to 28 political words (example: segregation, immigration, capitalism)(1) Identical twins reactions correlated more highly for all 28 wordsii. University College: scientists predict individual liberal-conservative ideology via MRIa. More conservative students have larger right amygdala while more liberal students have a larger anterior cingulate6. Mediai. How might the media affect your opinion?a. TV shows can influence how we think things like the police are doing (Parks and Rec, South Park)II. Opinion StabilityA. By mid-20s, partisanship and ideology start to stick or persistB. Opinions on specific issues are a little more likely to moveC. What can cause opinion to change?1. New job?2. New community?3. New circle of friends?4. Marriage?i. Marriage effectsa. Huber and Malhotra: many take place in “assertive mating” (choosing someone with similar beliefs)b. Most married couples: political beliefs grow even more similar over
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