Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Remember the definition of political socialization
- Understand how political socialization and public opinion interact
- Analyze how political socialization is discussed in contemporary comparative public opinion research
Public Opinion
When we say public opinion we are collectively referring to the views and opinions of the public at large. In the context of political science, we focus on inherent political questions about views regarding elected officials or public figures, political institutions, policy preferences, or the nature of democracy itself. Some examples include, but of course are not limited to, ‘whether or not you approve of the U.S. President’s job approval’, ‘support for nationwide mask or vaccine mandates’, ‘support for a border wall’, or ‘beliefs in the legitimacy of one home country’s elections’. But the public can have mass opinions on different sorts of subjects, and it does not have to be restricted to politics, such as sports. But over the past few years, even with something like sports, we have seen the politicization of things that used to not be political.
Knowing the public’s opinion, however, is valuable knowledge and something elected officials need and should take into account when determining what issues to focus on, and how to go about solving problems. In addition, if public officials seeking re-election continually ignore his or her constituents’, then there is the possibility for a negative backlash or electoral defeat in their next election. So, public officials need to know what their constituency thinks of them and the issues themselves if they want to serve their constituencies’ wills and have a better shot at winning re-election (Herrick, 2013). But, also knowing the public’s view is valuable knowledge for political scientists or other types of academic scholars. There are entire fields within political science that primarily use public opinion as a data source, and study the impact(s) public opinion has on the polity. Finally, knowing the public’s opinion allows the media to inform us regarding the views of others and gives us the ability to self-evaluate our own views relative to our own community.
Where do our opinions come from?
Where do our opinions come from? Most people derive their opinions (and in this case political opinions) from their beliefs and attitudes, which form in early childhood (Key, 1966). Beliefs are our core views and values that guide us in how we make decisions or interpret the world. For example, one may believe in a higher power or God. Having that belief in God will inform them on what they observe in the world and how to interpret it. Someone may have a strong belief in equality. Having that belief in equality will help them interpret if specific policy is having its desired outcome. Or perhaps we may collectively have a belief that American football is the greatest sport ever invented, especially if we grew up watching Big 12 or SEC football.
Attitudes also impact our opinions. Attitudes are made up of our personal beliefs and our life experiences. For example, someone who has never had a good experience at the DMV, may develop a bad attitude regarding government employees or civil servants. Or, someone who has had negative experiences with the police may have a suspicious attitude regarding law enforcement. Conversely, someone who has had good experience with the police may have a positive attitude or trust law enforcement. As our beliefs and attitudes take shape during childhood development, we are also being socialized, that is, learning how to respond to the world around us, either in thought or action.
Political Socialization
We are socialized into believing all sorts of things and having a variety of different views, and many if not most of these views stay with us throughout our lives (Zaller 1992). Some things we are taught, and other things we learn from our experiences and those around us. As defined in Chapter Six, political socialization is the process in which our political beliefs are formed over time. For example, my favorite college athletic team growing up was (and still is) the University of Mississippi. But I was living in a city approximately an hour east of Los Angeles, CA. So why would a Southern Californian kid pull for a college program 2000 miles away when there are multiple local colleges with prestigious (at least according to their fan basis’) athletic programs to pull for?
It's because my father raised me to pull for Ole Miss. So, one could say I was taught to be an Ole Miss fan by my father. Yet, all my favorite professional teams are from Southern California. So, in terms of professional sports preferences it appears the community outside my family had a greater influence. Perhaps through my experiences as a resident sport fan (going to games, etc.) gravitated me towards pulling for the hometown teams in this instance. So, the same can be said about the nature of our political beliefs. Some beliefs we are taught, and some are based on our life experiences.
There are different agents to socialization, that is, different factors that have helped mold who we are today, and our political views. Since our socialization begins in early childhood, for most individuals, family will be the dominant influence (Davies 1965). Parents and siblings are our largest sources of information throughout early childhood and are still quite dominant well into our early adulthood. For example, children who grow up in households where voting is expected would likely take a greater interest in voting themselves. If one’s parents are politically active in a particular political party that child would also be exposed to the same information sources in which his or her parents base their views; and if one looks upon their parents or siblings as a trusted authority figure, they will likely share, at least at an early age, and hold many of the same beliefs their family has.
Outside the family, another impactful agent is education (Mayer 2011). This can begin at pre-school and evolve well into college. Education is an impactful agent because of both what was learned in an academic environment (i.e., the classroom), but also the exposure to other classmates, friends, and fellow students. If someone grows up in a predominately Evangelical Christian community, they may not meet someone who is Muslim or of a different faith until they go to school. Or, if someone lives in a community that is overwhelmingly white, they may not encounter racial or ethnic diversity until they go to school. These new experiences with others, and the education they receive, can help inform someone’s politics.
Someone’s faith or religion is another impactful agent (Lockerbie 2013). This may not necessarily be the faith someone was baptized in, however, but rather their religiosity, or how often they attend church. After all, if someone is lapsed in their faith or left their faith due to the doctrine, they may not be impacted as nearly as much by that religion. With this said, the faith I was baptized in when I was eight years old (although I haven’t attended in over two decades) was a big part of my upbringing, and I find myself still adhering to some of the principles of that faith, but not nearly to the extent I would if I still attended service regularly. If someone attends church regularly, they are more likely to agree with what’s said from the bully pulpit or that church’s doctrine, and that faith will more actively inform their political points of view.
There are other, and in some cases less impactful, agents of socialization that could also help shape our views. One’s race, gender, or age will no doubt play a role in someone’s political socialization. Anyone who lived through the terrorist attacks on 9/11 still remembers how watching those events influenced their views (Hall and Ross 2015); so, monumental historical events can shape someone’s world outlook. Someone’s career choice, whether or not they served in the military, as well as where someone currently lives or grew up can also play a role. Finally, the media and opinion makers also play a distinct role in shaping our political opinions. By choosing to focus on certain issues, the media can help us define what’s important (Cook et al., 1983), in addition to other forms of media bias giving us a certain perspective of the world. Also, if there are opinion makers’ who people listen to or watch regularly, and trust their analysis, they may hold off on forming an opinion about a political issue until they have heard that commentators take on the subject.
