Solution Manual for Political science an introduction 14th Global Edition by Roskin

Solution Manual for Political science an introduction

14th Global Edition by Roskin

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 Chapter 6: Political Culture

A) Learning Objectives

After reading Chapter 6, students should be able to:

6.1: Distinguish political culture from public opinion.
6.2: Explain how a country’s political culture can change over time.
6.3: Distinguish between elite and mass political subcultures.
6.4: Explain the effects of sharply distinct minority subcultures within a nation.
6.5: List with examples the main agents of political socialization.
B) Lecture Outline

I. Introduction: America’s Partially Split Political Culture

A. Trends toward two camps: Liberal and conservative
B. Still hold many values in common
C. The split is very deep and fundamental
II. What Is Political Culture?
A. Political culture is the beliefs, symbols, and values about the political system
1. Varies between nations
2. Determined by a nation’s history, religions, and folkways
3. Serves as a collective political identity for the nation
B. Political culture and public opinion
1. Political culture and public opinion overlap as they both look for general attitudes
about politics
a. Political culture looks for basic, general values on politics and government;
the underpinnings of legitimacy
b. Public opinion looks for views about leaders and policies
2. Methodologies may overlap as well
a. Surveys
(i) Political culture research often goes beyond the use of surveys
3. Original assumption was that political culture was nearly permanent
a. Studies have shown the political culture is more changeable than originally
thought
(i) Stable, efficient government and economic growth enhances legitimacy
(ii) Indecisive, chaotic governments and bad economic growth undermine
legitimacy
4. Political culture changes far more slowly than public opinion
C. Participation in America
1. If Americans rarely participate, how can the United States be a model of “civic
culture”?
a. Almond and Verba: “sleeping dogs” theory of democratic political culture
(i) Leaders know that citizens pay little attention to politics, but if they are
aroused, citizens will vote leaders out of office
(ii) Leaders therefore work to keep citizens passive and quiet and follow the
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 rule of “anticipated reactions”—constantly asking how citizens will
respond to their decisions
2. Helps to explain low levels of voter turnout in the United States
a. Democratic political culture does not necessarily require high levels of voter
turnout
b. Democratic political culture requires an attitude that if aroused, citizens will
turnout
(i) Psychological connection that restrains leaders
III. The Decay of Political Culture
A. Political culture in advanced democracies growing more cynical and voter turnout is
declining
1. Steepest drop in Japan
2. Also drop in the United States following the Iraq war and the 2010 bank bailouts
B. Related is the development of the polarizing culture wars in the United States
between liberals and conservatives
1. Gap has been exploited by politicians
2. Fear that if gap continues to grow political, stability is at risk
C. Decline in the willingness to form associations in the United States
1. Robert Putnam: Bowling Alone
2. Others argue that associational life is still vibrant in the United States
D. Some argue that growth of distrust in government is natural and not necessarily bad
1. Politicians promise more and more but cannot deliver
2. Due to education, citizens more aware of gap and more willing to criticize
3. Decline is really the growth of critical citizens
IV. Elite and Mass Subcultures
A. Political culture is not uniform or monolithic
1. Differences between mainstream culture and subcultures as well as difference
between elites and masses
2. Elites
a. More interested in politics and more participatory
(i) This increases with levels of education
(a) Greater political competence
(b) Greater political efficacy
b. Poor and undereducated often lack confidence and feel powerless
3. Illustrates irony in democratic politics
a. Democracy is open to everyone, yet some people participate more than others
b. People who are better off (more education usually leads to more wealth) are
better positioned to protect their interests
c. Government policy responds
(i) 2001 tax cuts in the United States
V. Minority Subcultures
A. One third of U.S. residents in 2010 are nonwhite
B. When differentiating qualities are strong enough in a particular group, we say that
they form a subculture
1. African Americans form a subculture in American politics
a. Poorer and less educated

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 b. Less educated than whites
c. More consistently vote Democratic
C. Subcultures may dislike being ruled by a dominant culture
1. French speakers of Quebec
2. Bengalis of East Pakistan
3. Basques in Spain
4. Roman Catholics in Northern Ireland
D. Sharply distinct subcultures can threaten the state
1. Soviet Union
2. Yugoslavia
E. Should an effort be made to integrate political subcultures?
1. France made a centralized effort to turn “peasants into Frenchmen”
a. Some success
2. United States relies largely on voluntary integration into mainstream culture
a. Some groups, like blacks and Hispanics, still not fully integrated
b. Should efforts be made to hasten integration? A major question in U.S.
politics
(i) Brown v. Board
(ii) School busing to enforce integration
(iii) Language integration
VI. Political Socialization
A. Socialization is the process of learning political values
B. The agents of socialization
1. The family
a. What children encounter earliest has the strongest effect
(i) Attempts at overt socialization fail if they are at odds with a child’s
family’s values
b. Most children vote the way their parents did
c. Citizens who felt they had a voice in decisions as a child had higher levels of
political efficacy
2. The school
a. Socialization is more deliberate
b. History is used to inculcate children with feelings of pride and patriotism
c. The more schooling a person has, the stronger their sense of responsibility to
their community as well as the belief that they can influence public policy
3. Peer groups
a. Friends and playmates influence political values
b. Relative strength seems to be growing
(i) With both parents working, children may be socialized more by their peers
than by families
(ii) Another possibility is that families choose to live near those similar to
themselves; peers reinforce family socialization
4. The mass media
a. Gaining influence as a socializing agent
b. Many fear the influence is negative
(i) Robert Putnam: TV watching makes people passive and unlikely to

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 participate in community or group activities
c. Still may be unsuccessful if message is at odds with that of the values of the
family
d. Mass media may also reinforce other forms of socialization
5. The government
a. Many government actions are an effort to generate support or loyalty
(i) 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics
(ii) Parade, flags, and so on
b. Power is still limited by the other socializing influences

C) Lecture Suggestions
I. Lecture Starters
1. Begin the lecture by telling the story of the Burger King marketing campaign that
offered a free Whopper to anyone who was willing to “unfriend” ten people on Facebook.
In telling the story, stress how Americans have more friends than ever, which is why it
would be easy to unfriend ten people, but we know fewer and fewer of them. Ask
students to comment on how this might affect other areas of life as well. For example,
how well do they know their neighbors? How aware are they of other problems in their
community? Use this to kick off a lecture on the decay of political culture in the United
States. (LO 6.2)

2. Begin the lecture by telling the class a story about a newly arrived immigrant family to
the United States. Ask students to help you determine what factors are going to influence
the political culture of the parents and the children. Guide the discussion toward areas
that might be sources of conflict with respect to cultural values. Use this to start a lecture
on political socialization. (LO 6.5)

II. Classroom Activities

1. Have the class brainstorm about the features of mainstream American political culture
and write the characteristics on the board. Remind them that political culture is the set of
basic values of the nation as determined by its history, economy, religion, and traditions.
Be open to the possibility that there are actually two overlapping but distinct political
cultures in the United States, a liberal and a conservative one. Next, distribute to the class
a set of recent public opinion polls on a variety of social and economic issues. Be sure
that the polls ask about specific issues (for example, “Should the government attempt to
reduce the poverty rate?”), not broad values. Ask students to describe the kind of political
culture that these polls seem to indicate that the United States has. Then compare this
with the picture of political culture that the class came up with earlier. (LO 6.1)

2. Organize the class into small groups and give each group a decade from the 1930s
through the 2010s. Ask each group to do some quick historical research and then come up
with a one-paragraph description of the nation’s dominant political culture during that
decade. Have the groups select a spokesperson to read the paragraph to the class, then
discuss the dynamics that might have led to the changes that are revealed. (LO 6.2)

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3. Organize the class into small groups. Have each group choose a factor that they think
influences political participation, and ask them to find a map of the United States that
represents that factor (for example, a group that chooses education can find a map
showing the high-school graduation rate in each state, or the percentage of 18- to 24-year
-olds in each state that goes on to attend college) After each group makes a presentation
to the class, show maps of voter turnout and partisan alignment for the most recent
presidential election. Discuss how well each group’s map aligns with those maps. This
exercise will highlight the correlation between voter behavior and election results. (LO
6.3)

4. Organize the class into small groups. In the groups, ask students to come up with ways
in which they think their political beliefs have been affected by government. In the
process, ask them to think of specific instances they could identify as moments of
political socialization and see which ones they have in common with other groups in the
class. Use this to expand on the lecture about political socialization. (LO 6.5)

III. Discussion Questions

1. What did Almond and Verba mean when they said American civic culture was like a
“sleeping dog?” How does this relate to concerns about low voter turnout in the United
States? Do you agree with the conceptualization of civic culture put forth by Almond and
Verba? Why or why not? This line of questions should help students come to terms with
the efforts of Almond and Verba to continue to hold the United States up as a paragon of
civic culture in spite of declining voter turnout. As they engage with these questions,
students will better understand the connection between political culture and democracy as
well as explore how political culture is connected to democracy. (LO 6.1)

2. What impact is the use of social media having on American political culture? How
about in other countries? Are the changes largely positive or negative? Could social
networking be used more effectively to promote wider participation in politics? (LO 6.2,
6.3)

3. Why do better-educated and wealthier people tend to participate in American politics

more than others? What are the obstacles faced by leaders of social movements who want
to increase the level of political participation among groups that typically do not get
involved in politics? Are these obstacles too difficult to overcome? Do elites contribute to
the existence of these obstacles? If so, in what ways? (LO 6.3)

4. List a few subcultures in the United States. What are the traits of the subculture, and
how do its members differ from the mainstream? Does it make sense to distinguish
between mainstream culture and subcultures in the United States? How is this distinction
beneficial or harmful? (LO 6.4)

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D) Suggested Assignments
1. Short Assignment: Letters Home
Ask each student to compose a letter to his or her parents explaining where the student
sees their parents’ influence in how he or she views politics. Have the students mail the
letters, and then, after parents have read them, sit down and discuss their perceptions and
reactions. Have students write a short response summarizing the meeting and what was
discussed. (LO 6.5)

2. Short Assignment: Associational Life

Ask students to record the amount of time they spend on Facebook, watching television,
and playing video games for a week. Once that time is recorded, require the students to
spend that much time in a week engaged with some type of voluntary association. Ask
them to craft a short essay in which they discuss the experiences with the voluntary
organizations. (LO 6.2)

3. Long Assignment: Comparing Political Cultures

Students may have a sound sense of American political culture but may not fully
understand how American political culture differs from others around the world. Assign
each student a country from around the world. Have them craft a long essay in which
they identify key characteristics of political culture in their assigned country and compare
and contrast the characteristics with those of the United States. In doing so, students
should also provide explanations for why differences exist as well as comment on
whether or not political culture is in decline in that country. (LO 6.1)

4. Long Assignment: Political Culture in Film

One way in which citizens learn political culture is through the mass media. Have
students screen the film Independence Day. After watching the film, have them craft a
long essay in which they identify and discuss core aspects of American political culture
as they manifest in the film. In doing so, they should focus on things such as
individualism, populism, capitalism, America’s place on the world stage, and so on. (LO
6.5)

E) Further Reference

Alexander, Jeffrey C. The Civil Sphere. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Blondel, Jean, and Takashi Inoguchi. Political Cultures in Asia and Europe: Citizens,
States and Societal Values. New York: Routledge, 2006.
Brewer, Mark D., and Jeffrey M. Stonecash. Split: Class and Cultural Divides in
American Politics. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007.
Brogan, Hugh. Alexis de Tocqueville: A Life. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
2007.
Buruma, Ian. Taming the Gods: Religion and Democracy on Three Continents.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2010.
Damrosch, Leo. Tocqueville’s Discovery of America. New York: Farrar, Straus, &
Giroux, 2010.

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Solution Manual for Political science an introduction 14th Global Edition by Roskin

Diamond, Larry, and Marc F. Plattner, eds. How People View Democracy. Baltimore,
MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.
Fischer, David Hackett. Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies, New
Zealand and the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Huntington, Samuel P. Who Are We?: The Challenge to America’s National Identity.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Lane, Jan-Erik, and Svante Ersson. Culture and Politics: A Competitive Approach, 2nd
ed. Williston, VT: Ashgate, 2005.
Perlstein, Rick. Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007.
Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
Riley-Smith, Tristram. The Cracked Bell: America and the Afflictions of Liberty. New
York: Skyhorse, 2010.
Warren, Mark E., ed. Democracy and Trust. New York: Cambridge University Press,
1999.
Westen, Drew. The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the
Nation. New York: Public Affairs, 2008.

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