YouTube Transcript:
AP Gov 4_2_ 4_3_ 4_4 | Political Socialization | NEW!

hey everybody welcome back so some
people are liberal some are conservative
and others are libertarian have you ever
wondered why are you the way that you
are smash that like button and find
out in the previous video we talked
about Core US values focusing on areas
of broad agreement like rule of law
limited government individualism equal
opportunity and free enterprise these
principles serve as the Bedrock of
American political beliefs
distinguishing a uniquely American way
of looking at government and politics
but as we establish there's disagreement
and debate over what these values mean
and the best ways to achieve them this
is where political ideology comes in
we'll discuss political ideology a lot
more specifically in the back half of
the unit but for now let's define it as
a consistent set of ideas and beliefs
about the purpose and scope of
government what should the government be
doing or not doing and how much power
should it have the big three political
ideologies for apgov are in alphabetical
order conservatives liberals and
Libertarians check out video 4.7 for all
the details but what these lessons are
focused on is the process of a person
obtaining their particular political
ideology in fact that's basically the
definition of political socialization
it's the process through which
individuals acquire their political
beliefs in other words what leads one
person to becoming a traditional white
picket fence conservative while another
person becomes a freedom loving
libertarian and another is a progressive
liberal Marching for stronger gun
control policies is it nature or nurture
historically the most significant source
of political socialization is a person's
parents and family and the AP exam still
says that family is the number one
source I can't help but wonder if that's
changing and if social media and Tik Tok
might be replacing it but polling data
suggest that most high school students
share the ideology of their parents and
most of them still do once they become
adults other factors for social ization
include peers and schools additionally
religious organizations the media and
especially social media these days can
all influence a person's belief about
the appropriate size and scope of
government us political culture is the
widely shared core values democratic
ideals and principles about the
relationship between citizens and the
government the core values we discussed
previously are a hugely important part
of this like rule of law individualism
and the others Americans generally think
that democracy is a good thing and
support the ability of citizens to
influence governmental policies and want
the government to be responsive to the
people you might be wondering about
people from other countries and where
they fit into this and the fact is that
globalization influences us political
culture as well when most people think
of globalization they might think of
trading Goods internationally buying and
selling stuff factories moving overseas
that kind of thing but ideas and values
also cross borders Americans are both
both influenced by and influence the
values of other countries and This
Global exchange of ideas significantly
affects the political socialization of
Americans Americans seem to have
exported a love for free markets and
imported a taste for regulation and
government-run Healthcare next are two
factors that contribute to differences
in beliefs generational and life cycle
effects generational effects refer to
different voting patterns and political
beliefs across various Generations we're
thinking of gen Z Millennials Genex Baby
Boomers and even the silent generation
it turns out that the differences
between Generations goes beyond how they
use emojis and whether they stand Bad
Bunny Kanye Nirvana or the Beatles each
generation tends to be more liberal than
the previous one especially on social
issues if you see words like Baby
Boomers or Millennials on a test
question it's a good indication that
we're talking about generational effects
comparing people across Generations be
careful not to confuse this with life
cycle effects which suggests that people
focus on different issues at different
stages in life for example younger
voters might care more about a
candidate's proposal to reduce the cost
of college while a middle-aged voter
might focus more on tax rates and care
about child care tax credits and an
older voter might just focus on old age
programs like Medicare and Social
Security this isn't a generational thing
the important thing is where a person is
in their own life cycle and as people
age they priorities often shift young
people are typically big fans of freedom
and appreciate not being told what to do
but as people get older they often are
willing to trade some of that freedom in
exchange for more security and I guess
that makes sense they probably have more
to lose so they want their stuff
protected and if they have a kid they
probably want it to be safe and lastly
topic 4.4 points out that major
political events that occur during young
adulthood have a substantial influence
on our political attitudes and beliefs
whether it's the Revolutionary protest
movements of the 1960s the
transformative impact of 9/11 or
experiencing co9 and the associated
government experiments with
authoritarianism these events at an
impressionable age can leave an
indelible mark on our political
ideologies shaping them far into the
future to be clear the event of person
experiences doesn't determine how it
will influence their ideology take 911
for example for one young person living
through it it might lead to tense
feelings of nationalism and patriotism
and may lead to them becoming more
conservative as they support a stronger
National Defense to prevent such events
while another person may see the
excesses of policies like the Patriot
Act and it may lead to them becoming
more libertarian and opposed to the
coercive powers of the government and
yet another person may see the horrors
of the wars on terror in Iraq and become
more liberal opposing the US's foreign
policy all right that's it for this one
until next time this has been
a money production thanks again for
watching I appreciate you so much if you
want to make sure to hit that like
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thank you enough and if you're looking
for a great way to prepare for the AP
exam you might want to check out the
ultimate review packet it's awesome
either way I will see you in the next
video