POL101 - Critical Thinking #1

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Colorado State University, Global Campus *

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101

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Political Science

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Jun 4, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by BailiffHummingbird4463

Political Socialization Jared Drake Colorado State University Global POL101 Dr. Nasser 05/26/2024 1

2 Political Socialization Political socialization is the process by which individuals develop their political knowledge, values, and ideology. It begins during childhood and will continue throughout an individual’s life. It is specifically referring to the development of an individual’s internalized political values and perceptions. There are multiple “agents of socialization” that shape a person's understanding of politics and their views. These can be any factors that influence a person’s political ideology, but a few good examples would be one’s family, education, and major life events. While political socialization is a lifelong process it is fair to say that many of one’s political opinions are usually formed under the age of 25 and carried on throughout their life. Effect of Family on Political Socialization With a wide range of social agents contributing to one’s political socialization, there have been multiple studies done to see which factor has the largest impact on an individual. Of the social agents the effect that one’s family and upbringing can have been probably the most studied seeing as it would logically make sense that the people who raise you and teach you about the world during your most formative years would have the largest impact. In 1954 Eleanor Maccoby did a study at Harvard University that showed just how closely first-time voters matched their parents’ votes, this study still holds true 70 years later. However, with the invention of social media and a much more politically active youth voter class this is seeming to be increasingly not the case anymore. Personally, I was raised in Kansas, which is a very conservative state, and I was raised by parents that are religious which played a part in their political views. Having been raised around peers and by parents that were part of the republican

3 party played a part when I was young but as I matured, I began to form some different opinions of my own. Effect of Education on Political Socialization Education plays a significant role in shaping political socialization by influencing an individual’s understanding of politics, values, and civic engagement. Primarily, education increases general civic skills and political knowledge which directly triggers political participation. If there is no education, very little education, or education is not considered important in an area then the area is likely to have low political participation which would directly affect the political socialization of all individuals there. There are also crucial things learned in the education system that individuals need to know to shape their own political opinions such as certain historical events. Education has played a significant role in my life as far as my political socialization is concerned. The things that I have learned in college and late in high school along with the educated conversations I have been able to have with peers in these institutional settings have played I think the largest role in shaping my political opinions. Effect of Major Life Events on Political Socialization Major life events are the agents of socialization that are typically not factored into studies when it comes to figuring out why individuals’ politics lean one way or the other. That is because they are spontaneous and hard to measure but there are certain life events that happen to a large swath of the population that drastically shape political opinion. A few basic examples of these kinds of life events would be having a child, experiencing a recession, or retirement. The example of experiencing a recession is a good example because of recent experiences in the United States. Those who came of age (18–24-year-old range) during the post-covid period or especially during the 2008 crisis might have more conservative political leanings having been

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