Political socialization

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Political socialization is a concept concerning the “study of the developmental processes by which children and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes and behaviours” (Powell, 2003, p. 20).

The process through which an individual acquires particular political orientations; the learning process by which people acquire their political beliefs and values.

[edit] Agents of Socialization

These Agents of Socialization all influence in one degree or another an individual's political opinions: Family, Media, Friends, Teachers, Religion, Race, Gender, Age, Geography, etc. Most political opinions are formed during childhood.

[edit] Factors

The agents a child surrounds him/herself during childhood are crucial to the child's development of future voting behaviours. Some of these agents include:

1. Family: Glass et al (1986) recognizes family (1) as a primary influence in the development of a child’s political orientation, mainly due to constant relationship between parents and child

Child's party	Parent=Dem	Parent=Ind	Parent=Rep
Democrat	66%	29%	13%
Independent	27%	53%	36%
Republican	7%	17%	51%

1. Schools: most influential of all agents
2. Mass Media: Becker et al (1975) argue that the media (2) functions as a political information-giver to adolescents and young children.
3. Religion:
4. Political Parties: Scholars such as Campbell (1960) note that political parties (3) have very little direct influence on a child due to a contrast of social factors such as age, context, power, etc.
5. Work Place

[edit] References

• L.B. Becker, M. M. (1975). Family traditions. In S. C. (ed), Political Communication: Issues and strategies for research (pp. 126-139). New York: Praeger.
• Campbell, C. M. (1960). The American Voter. New York: John Wiley.
• J. Glass, V. B. (1986). Attitude similarity in three generational families: Socialization, status inheritance, or reciprocal influence? American Sociological Review , 685-698.
• Powell, L. (2003). Political Socialization: The development of Political Attitudes. In L. Powell, Political Campaign Communication: Inside and Out (p. 20). Birmingham: University of Alabama.