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Political Socialization: the Implicit Assumptions Questioned
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2009
Extract
There is a tendency for quantitative research to be undertaken without sufficient consideration being given to its theoretical justification. An interesting field reveals itself, a hypothesis is generated, a means of testing it is devised and then the research begins. Unfortunately research in political socialization has often been of this type. We need to view political socialization in a wider context, to ask, why do we study political socialization? Unless we can answer this question then it is difficult to judge the validity of work done in the field. Such work must be analyzed in the light of its broader purpose.
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References
1 We are concerned with the justification given for the interest in political socialization not the actual stimuli which provoked that interest. The area has become a very popular one and this in itself directs many towards it. Sigel, R., ed., Learning About Politics (New York: Random House, 1970)Google Scholar is concerned with the policy implications of political socialization and therefore must assume that political socialization can effect the operation of the political system.
2 Froman, L., ‘Personality and Political Socialisation’, Journal of Politics, 23 (1961), 341–52CrossRefGoogle Scholar, says for example: ‘The primary question in political socialisation is “how do we learn politically relevant attitudes and behaviour”?’ He does not consider the effect of the resultant behaviour on the political system.
3 Dennis, J. et al. , ‘Support for Nation and Government Among English Children’, British Journal of Political Science, I (1971), 25–48.Google Scholar
4 For example, Greenstein, F., entry, ‘Political Socialisation’, International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences (New York: Macmillan, 1968), vol. 14, pp. 551–5Google Scholar, says: ‘political learning has effects on the later behaviour of the individuals exposed to socialising influence and, by extension, on the political system.’ p. 555.Easton, D. and Dennis, J., Children and the Political System: Origins of Political Legitimacy (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1969)Google Scholar, concur: ‘[This book] addresses itself to one major condition socialisation – that contributes to the capacity of a political system to persist in a world either of stability or change’ p. 4.
5 The process is however usually studied in a superficial way. What is studied is the degree of influence of various agents not the processes by which they influence.
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7 The importance of adult socialization is never explicitly denied but it is largely ignored when it comes to assembling quantifiable evidence.
8 Behaviour is mentioned in almost all definitions of political socialization but it is rarely studied. Hess, R. and Torney, J., The Development of Political Attitudes in Children (Chicago: Aldine, 1967)Google Scholar, conclude when referring back to quantitative material: ‘[this book has been] an attempt to chart and document the growth of political behaviour’, p. 212. However their work hardly justifies this conclusion. They present just two tables on discussion, the wearing of buttons, and distributing of leaflets as behaviour dimensions, pp. 10 and 88, and the evidence regarding those behaviours was based on recall data collected at the same time as the attitudinal data.
9 Easton, and Dennis, , Children and the Political System, p. 9.Google Scholar Other authors have made similar statements, thus, Hess, and Torney, , The Development of Political Attitudes, p. 7Google Scholar: ‘The argument for the importance of childhood learning for the political behaviour of adults appears to have considerable validity’ and Sigel, R., ‘Assumptions about the Learning of Political Values’, Annals, 361 (09 1965), pp. 1–9Google Scholar, ‘Having once internalised the society's norms it will presumably not be difficult for the individual to act in congruence with them’ p. 1.
10 Greenberg, , ‘Consensus and Dissent’, p.6Google Scholar, My insertion in brackets.
11 Only Greenberg and to a lesser extent, Dawson, R. and Prewitt, K., Political Socialisation (Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1969)Google Scholar, see especially pp. 41–80, acknowledge their assumptions and neither bring direct quantitive evidence to demonstrate their validity.
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35 ‘Attitudes versus Actions’, pp. 64–5.
36 Campbell, A., Converse, P., Miller, W. E. and Stokes, D. E., The American Voter (New York: Wiley, 1960), pp. 64–88.Google Scholar The scale was composed of: (a) attitude to party candidate, (b) attitude to Democratic party, (c) attitude to Republican party, (d), attitude to party's position on domestic affairs, (e) attitude to party's position on foreign issues.
37 Wicker, ‘Attitudes versus Actions’, says: ‘Systematic research examining both personal and situational influences in overt behaviour has shown that predictions of overt behaviour can be made more accurately from a knowledge of the situation than from a knowledge of individual differences. Intra-personal variables become important as predictors when their interaction with situational factors are considered’, p. 69.
38 Warner, L. C. and Defleur, M. L., ‘Attitude as an Interactional Concept: Social Constraint and Social Distance as Intervening Variables Between Attitudes and Actions’, American Sociological Review, 34 (1969), 153–69, pp. 166–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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43 Lapiere, , ‘Attitudes versus Actions’, p. 237.Google Scholar
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