Political Beliefs and Behaviors

What’s your political belief? Survey given to 10-14 year olds One day the President was driving his car to a meeting. Because he was late, he was driving very fast. The police stopped the car. (Finish the story) Different countries answer differently England – Queen would be released France – President would be excused US – President would get a ticket like everyone else

Political Socialization Process by which people develop their political beliefs Factors that influence a person’s opinion

Acquisition of Political Knowledge and Opinions in the Socialization Process Timeline Preschool (1-4) Ideas of authority and rules Elementary school (5-10) Concept of government as an institution Portrayal of political figures as honest and benevolent Adolescence (11-18) Beginning of identification with a political party Ability to think of politics in the abstract as liberal or conservative Adulthood (18+) Generally no change in basic political beliefs Open concern for jobs and personal welfare Responsible for continuity of US politics

Family #1 influence of political attitude Very strong correlation for Political Party support Strongest correlation if both parents share same ideology BUT, studies show there is significant genetic component.

Education Schools Teach about the organization of society and government Teach compliance to rules and authority Teach patriotism Tendency of college experience to liberalize views Used to be that College educated voted conservative – looser correlation now

Gender More men support military – still? More women consider sexual harassment a serious problem, focus on womens’ issues Since ’60s, women vote Dem more than men, and vice versa Not as significant of an indicator as marriage (married vs. unmarried)

Religion Political beliefs influenced by church teachings and social interactions at places of worship. Protestants are more conservative on economic matters than Catholics or Jews Jews tend to be liberal on economic and social issues than Catholics or Protestants Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues than they are on social issues (Catholics becoming more conservative – but in 2016 large # of Catholics predicted to vote Democrat). Weighing priorities: Abolish Roe v Wade Support candidate more interested in social justice

Race and Ethnicity African Americans – 90% Democrats – will turnout in 2016 come close to 2008 or 2012? Hispanic Americans – tend to affiliate with Democrats, but less likely than African Americans Asian Americans – less liberal than Hispanic Americans or African Americans, but still consistently vote Democrat White, more divided, fluctuates by election

Differences in Political Ideology Conservative Moderate Liberal Undecided Sex Male Female 39% 31 23% 24 20% 22 18% 23 Race White Black Asian Hispanic 39 18 24 21 21 22 17 39 20 26 36 18 This table displays how ideology is correlated to sex, race, age, religion, education, and political party. In which factors do you see the strongest and weakest correlations, and how might you account for that? 22 25 20 32 SOURCE: Center for Political Studies, University of Michigan, 2008, American National Election Study Guide to Public Opinion and Electoral Behavior.

Social Class “Blue collar” (Laborer) typically Democrat Labor unions Trade agreements Changing affiliations in 2016 “White collar” (Businessmen) typically Republican Relationship is becoming less clear

Geographic Region East and West Coasts – more liberal Mid-West – more conservative Urban - liberal South – 1870-1950s - Democrat “Solid South” but today they are primarily social conservatives The “Southern Strategy” White Southerner always less liberal

Political Ideology Coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy Changes over time for all people Life events can alter a person’s ideology… Liberal and conservative mean different things at different time periods

How ideological are Americans? 1950 study – “The American Voter” 4 basic types of voter Ideologues – 12% of people connect their opinions to party lines Democratic or Republican “ballot” Group Benefits Voter – 42% of people connect their opinion to their “group”. (labor union, interest group, class, race)

How ideological are Americans? 3. Nature of the times voter – 24% of the people linked good or bad times to the party in control and vote the opposite (usually based on economics) – or “single issue” voters 4. No Issue Content – 22% of the people could give no reason

“Neo-Cons” Neo-Conservatives Low tax, pro-economic growth Ordered approach to domestic issues Traditional values – pro-life, against gay marriage, support death penalty Expansive foreign policy Counter global terrorism – “war on terror” Expensive Had been ascendant, now viewed suspiciously as “establishment”