Topic 5 Narrative
We all have different views about the proper role of government in our lives. We have different
views about when government is making a situation better, and when government is making a
situation worse. This difference in views pertains to the concept of ideology. Ideology refers to
the sum of our values and attitudes.
Political ideology can be thought of as existing on spectrums. There are multiple spectrums
used to represent ideology. One spectrum is the liberal – conservative spectrum: liberals at one end
of the spectrum and conservatives at the other end. More Americans are closer to the middle
of the ideological spectrum than at either end.
Values are our deeply held beliefs. Our values influence our attitudes about specific issues. Political
ideology refers to values and attitudes in the context of politics and government. For
example, an individual may have the value that all life is sacred. This individual's value about life will
likely influence their attitude toward government policies towards abortion, the death penalty, and
assisted suicide.
We are not born with attitudes about government and politics. Rather, we are socialized
(influenced) by a number of sources as we move through childhood and adulthood. Most of us
are socialized first by family members. As we grow older, we are socialized by other 'agents of
socialization' like television shows, music, school, friends, and (for better or worse!) social
media. Individuals can be influenced through information (cognitive component) and emotion (affective
component). Information can be wrong and still be influential. Individuals tend to be influenced more
when an issue/policy is salient to the individual.
One of your power point slides contains characteristics of liberals and conservatives. Note not
everyone’s values and attitudes form a coherent ideology. For example, a person might have
conservative attitudes toward an economic policy while holding a more liberal attitude
toward a social policy. This can be tough in a 2-party system. Not everyone's ideology
matches up perfectly with either the Democratic or Republican parties. We will examine
political parties in more detail in the coming weeks. For now, note both parties have to create ‘big tents’
in order to convince voters that their party is a better fit for a specific individual, group, etc. and their
associated ideological beliefs.
We all have different views about the proper role of government in our lives. We have different
views about when government is making a situation better, and when government is making a
situation worse. This difference in views pertains to the concept of ideology. Ideology refers to
the sum of our values and attitudes.
Political ideology can be thought of as existing on spectrums. There are multiple spectrums
used to represent ideology. One spectrum is the liberal – conservative spectrum: liberals at one end
of the spectrum and conservatives at the other end. More Americans are closer to the middle
of the ideological spectrum than at either end.
Values are our deeply held beliefs. Our values influence our attitudes about specific issues. Political
ideology refers to values and attitudes in the context of politics and government. For
example, an individual may have the value that all life is sacred. This individual's value about life will
likely influence their attitude toward government policies towards abortion, the death penalty, and
assisted suicide.
We are not born with attitudes about government and politics. Rather, we are socialized
(influenced) by a number of sources as we move through childhood and adulthood. Most of us
are socialized first by family members. As we grow older, we are socialized by other 'agents of
socialization' like television shows, music, school, friends, and (for better or worse!) social
media. Individuals can be influenced through information (cognitive component) and emotion (affective
component). Information can be wrong and still be influential. Individuals tend to be influenced more
when an issue/policy is salient to the individual.
One of your power point slides contains characteristics of liberals and conservatives. Note not
everyone’s values and attitudes form a coherent ideology. For example, a person might have
conservative attitudes toward an economic policy while holding a more liberal attitude
toward a social policy. This can be tough in a 2-party system. Not everyone's ideology
matches up perfectly with either the Democratic or Republican parties. We will examine
political parties in more detail in the coming weeks. For now, note both parties have to create ‘big tents’
in order to convince voters that their party is a better fit for a specific individual, group, etc. and their
associated ideological beliefs.
