Notes
Political culture and socialization
- Core values: individualism, equality of opportunity, free enterprise, the rule of law, and limited government.
- Political socialization is how people form their political beliefs: through family (the strongest early influence), schools, peers, media, religion, and civic or religious organizations.
- Major events shape generations (like the Great Depression or 9/11). Life-cycle effects change views with age.
- Globalization and media spread political ideas across borders.
Measuring public opinion
- A scientific poll uses a random sample that represents the population, unbiased question wording, and a reported margin of error. Larger samples reduce the margin of error.
- Types: opinion polls, tracking polls (over time), entrance and exit polls (on Election Day), and benchmark polls.
- Problems: nonrandom samples, leading questions, and low response rates. Polls can affect elections (bandwagon effect).
Ideologies
| Liberal | Conservative | Libertarian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic role of government | More regulation and social programs | Less regulation, lower taxes | Minimal government |
| Social issues | Government protects equality and personal choices | Often supports traditional values | Government stays out of personal choices |
- Ideology shapes economic policy (Keynesian spending vs supply-side tax cuts), social policy (health care, education), and monetary policy run by the Federal Reserve (interest rates and money supply).
- The Affordable Care Act (2010) is an example of a major policy that divided liberals and conservatives.
Practice
Children often adopt their parents' party and values.
Random sampling makes results generalizable.
More responses mean a more precise estimate.
They help predict results and study voting behavior.
Conservatives usually favor limited economic government and traditional values.
Libertarians prioritize individual liberty.
It was central to Reagan's policy.
It's independent of Congress and the president.
Free response
Write your answer first, then open the scoring guide.
Free-response question
A survey of 1,200 adults found that 68% of people aged 18 to 29 support expanding public transit, compared with 41% of people aged 65 and older.
(a) Describe the difference between the two age groups.
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Younger adults supported expanding public transit at a much higher rate (68%) than older adults (41%), a gap of 27 percentage points.
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(b) Explain ONE factor of political socialization that could account for this difference.
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Generational effects: younger people grew up with concerns about climate change and city living, which may make them favor public transit.
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(c) Explain how a member of Congress might use this data.
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A representative with many young constituents might support transit funding to reflect their views (acting as a delegate) and to win their votes.
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