Political Socialization

• The process of a person becoming part of a political ideology is called political socialization
• This is a never ending process, it continues throughout life
• However, beliefs tend to be consistent
• Older populations have generally undergone the most political socialization
• Many different factors influence how someone is socialized
• Religion, education, family, friends, media, gender, age, etc...
• These factors are referred to as agents of socialization
• Primary agents of socialization develop political orientations directly
• Ex) Family
• Secondary agents of socialization are less direct and personal
• Ex) Media
• Parents play a large role in socializing their children to their beliefs
• Many children join the same political parties as their parents
• A 2005 study from Gallup polled teens aged 13-17:
• 7% identified as more conservative than their parents
• 21% identified as more liberal than their parents
• 71% identified as about the same as their parents
• Click here for more details

Agents of Socialization

Religion

Education

Family & Friends

Media

Age

For more information on Socialization, check out the following video: 

Socialization: Crash Course Sociology #14

Learning About Government

Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government provides a student-friendly overview of the functions and branches of the government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrk4oY7UxpQ 

The Brookings Democracy Dashboard

• Displays trends in democracy and governance in seven key areas
• Elections administration
• Democratic participation and voting
• Public opinion
• Institutional functioning in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
• Media capacity