Political Socialization and Public Opinion

The resources included here are intended to map to the following learning objectives for an American Government Course:

1. Identify institutions that socialize voters and teach democratic norms.
2. Describe how affective group identities (e.g. race, partisanship) drive opinions and behavior
3. Critique polling methodology
4. Understand how a poll is conducted and the limits of public opinion polling.
5. Identify the factors that influence voter turnout.
6. Discuss how political campaigns affect voters
7. Compare and contrast how campaigns design their message versus how voters receive those messages
8. Understand campaign messaging
9. Discuss how individual bias limits what people know about politics.
10. Describe how social networks influence opinions and engagement.
11. Discuss becoming involved in the political process
12. Examine barriers to political involvement