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

2. Ideology

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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Political Scale

10. 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

11. Reduce w/ more capitalistic policies
Liberal
Conservative
Size of Gov’t
Increase w/
more social policies
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

12. 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
End the program
Expand the program
Doctor Assisted Suicide
Allow
Prevent
Minimum Wage
Increase
Lower or eliminate
Social Security
Increase age of eligibility
Privatize

13. 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

14. Political Socialization

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

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

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

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

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

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

21. Political Participation

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

23. 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%

24. 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

25. Voting Behaviors

26. 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

27. 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)

28. 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

29. Reasons NOT to vote Lack of interest 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

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

31. Public Opinion

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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)