Political socialization is the study of the developmental processes by which

people of all ages and adolescents acquire political cognition, attitudes, and
behaviors. It refers to a learning process by which norms and behavior acceptable
to a well running political system are transmitted from one generation to another. It
is through the performance of this function that individuals are inducted into the
political culture and their orientations towards political objects are formed.

Agents of socialization
These agents of socialization influence to different degrees an individual's political
opinions: family, media, peers, education, religion, faith, race, gender, age and
geography. These factors and many others that people are introduced to as they
grow up will affect their political views throughout the rest of their lives. Political
beliefs are often formed during childhood, as parents pass down their ideologies to
their children and so on.

Factors

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

1. Family: Glass (1986) recognizes family as a primary influence in the

development of a childs political orientation, mainly due to constant
relationship between parents and child. [3]

2. Schools: Most influential of all agents, after the family, due to the child's
extended exposure to a variety of political beliefs, such as friends and
teachers, both respected sources of information for students.

3. Mass media: Becker (1975) argue that the media functions as a medium of
political information to adolescents and young children. [4]

4. Religion: Religious tradition can have a strong effect on someone's political

views. For example, Protestants tend to be more conservative (in countries
where Protestants are not great majority).

5. Political parties: Scholars such as Campbell (1960) note that political

parties have very little direct influence on a child due to a contrast of social
factors such as age, context, power, etc.[5]

6. Work place
Agents of political socialization:

1. Family Most important shaper of basic attitudes; teaches basic political

values & loyalty to particular political party through family members

2. Schools Teach patriotism and American mythology; early grades build on

and reinforce positive learning
 3. Peers Limited in effect because of self-selection; peer group in youth
affects mostly lifestyle issues

4. Mass media Effect difficult to measure but substantial; agenda setting

telling us what to think about; framing tells us what to think about what is
presented; promotes awareness about government

5. Political leaders and institutions

6. Churches and religion Religious right and religious left

Media's effect on political socialization

In children
Political socialization begins in childhood. Some research suggests that family and
school teachers are the most influential factors in socializing children, but recent
research designs have more accurately estimated the high influence of the media in
the process of political socialization. On average, both young children and teenagers
in the United States spend more time a week consuming television and digital
media than they spend in school. Young children consume an average of thirty-one
hours a week, while teenagers consume forty-eight hours of media a week. High
school students attribute the information that forms their opinions and attitudes
about race, war, economics, and patriotism to mass media much more than their
friends, family, or teachers. Research has also shown that children who consume
more media than others show greater support for and understanding of American
values, such as free speech. This may be because eighty percent of the media
content children consume is intended for an adult audience. In addition, the impact
of the messages is more powerful because childrens brains are prime for
learning, thus more likely to take messages and representations of the world at
face value.[6]
In adulthood
Medias role into political socialization continues in adulthood through both fictional
and factual media sources. Adults have increased exposure to news and political
information embedded in entertainment; fictional entertainment (mostly television)
is the most common source for political information. The culmination of information
gained from entertainment becomes the values and standards by which people
judge.[6]
While political socialization by the media is lifelong process, after adolescence,
peoples basic values generally do not change. Most people choose what media
they are exposed to base on their already existing values, and they use information
from the media to reaffirm what they already believe. Studies show two-thirds of
newspaper readers do not know their newspapers position on specific issues- and
most media stories are quickly forgotten. Studies on public opinion of the Bush
administration's energy policies show that the public pays attention issues that
receive a lot of media coverage, and forms collective opinions about these issues.
This demonstrates that the mass media attention to an issue affects public opinion.
More so, extensive exposure to television has led to mainstreaming, aligning
peoples perception of political life and society with televisions portrayal of it. [6]
Patterns in Political Socialization
There are different patterns in socialization based on race, ethnicity, gender, age,
income, education, geographic region, and city size. For example, generally, African
Americans and Hispanics rely on television for their information more than white
people. More women than men watch daytime television, and more men than
women follow sports programs. Older people read more newspapers than younger
people, and people from the ages of twelve to seventeen (although they consume
the most media) consume the least amount of news. Northerners listen to radio
programs more than Southerners do. News outlets on the East Coast tend to cover
international affairs in Europe and the Middle East the most, while West Coast news
outlets are more likely to cover Asian affairs; this demonstrates that region affects
patterns in media socialization. Income level is also an important factor; high-
income families rely more on print media than television, and consume less
television than most of the population.[6]
Ultimately, however, the common core of information, and the interpretation the
media applies to it, leads to a shared knowledge and basic values throughout the
United States. Most media entertainment and information does not vary much
throughout the country, and it is consumed by all types of audiences. Although
there are still disagreements and different political beliefs and party affiliations,
generally there are not huge ideological disparities among the population because
the media helps create a broad consensus on basic US democratic principles.

What is Political Socialization?

In the present day, there is a serious conflict being waged by religious extremists in
the Middle East. Some people see groups, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, as a terrorist threat
to democracy, while others might sympathize with them or even support their
cause. For most of us, it can be very hard to understand how someone could
participate in a terrorist act, but it almost always has to do with a concept known as
political socialization.
In the fields of the political sciences, political socialization is the process through
which a person develops political beliefs and opinions that influence their behavior
in social spheres. For example, if Tom was a member of the Democratic Party, he
didn't just happen to join the group by accident; rather, over the course of his life,
he had developed a set of political beliefs that have led him to align himself with a
party whose beliefs matched his own.

Political Socialization Influences

Like any other subject on which people develop opinions, many factors contribute to
a person's political socialization. Because it is a development that occurs over the
course of many years, the extent to which these factors influence a person often
depends on the stage of development they are in at the time of the influence.
As is the case with many of the things that we believe, our families are the most
significant influence on our political beliefs and opinions. This is often because our
families are the group with whom we spend most of our time during our formative
years, and in many cases, they are the group whose opinions we value the most.
Next to our families, the media is the most significant influence on our beliefs
because it is often the way in which we acquire information about the world. The
media has a strong ability to influence or validate our political beliefs and opinions.
Our school environments are an important influence because they are places in
which we spend a considerable amount of time and where we are exposed to new
ideas, different people, and belief systems.
Although it does not have a direct impact on our political beliefs, most religious
groups have strong political beliefs which tend to influence the members' opinions;
therefore, they can strengthen or weaken current political beliefs.
Like schools, our workplaces occupy a significant amount of time and are often the
place that we are most likely to encounter new ideas as adults.

Family
Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and grandparents, plus
members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she needs to know. For example,
they show the child how to use objects (such as clothes, computers, eating utensils, books,
bikes); how to relate to others (some as "family," others as "friends," still others as "strangers" or
"teachers" or "neighbors"); and how the world works (what is "real" and what is "imagined"). As
you are aware, either from your own experience as a child or your role in helping to raise one,
socialization involves teaching and learning about an unending array of objects and ideas.

School
Most American children spend about seven hours a day, 180 days a year, in school, which
makes it hard to deny the importance school has on their socialization (U.S. Department of
Education 2004). Students are not only in school to study math, reading, science, and other
subjectsthe manifest function of this system. Schools also serve a latent function in society
by socializing children into behaviors like teamwork, following a schedule, and using textbooks.
School and classroom rituals, led by teachers serving as role models and leaders, regularly
reinforce what society expects from children. Sociologists describe this aspect of schools as the
hidden curriculum, the informal teaching done by schools.
Peer Group
A peer group is made up of people who are similar in age and social status and who share
interests. Peer group socialization begins in the earliest years, such as when kids on a
playground teach younger children the norms about taking turns or the rules of a game or how
to shoot a basket. As children grow into teenagers, this process continues. Peer groups are
important to adolescents in a new way, as they begin to develop an identity separate from their
parents and exert independence. Additionally, peer groups provide their own opportunities for
socialization since kids usually engage in different types of activities with their peers than they
do with their families. Peer groups provide adolescents' first major socialization experience
outside the realm of their families. Interestingly, studies have shown that although friendships
rank high in adolescents' priorities, this is balanced by parental influence.
Religion and Church
While some religions may tend toward being an informal institution, this section
focuses on practices related to formal institutions. Religion is an important avenue
of socialization for many people. The United States is full of synagogues, temples,
churches, mosques, and similar religious communities where people gather to
worship and learn. Like other institutions, these places teach participants how to
interact with the religion's material culture (like a mezuzah, a prayer rug, or a
communion wafer). For some people, important ceremonies related to family
structurelike marriage and birthare connected to religious celebrations. Many of
these institutions uphold gender norms and contribute to their enforcement through
socialization. From ceremonial rites of passage that reinforce the family unit, to
power dynamics which reinforce gender roles, religion fosters a shared set of
socialized values that are passed on through society.