The term political sociology first appeared in print in 1905 in a book review of Alleyne Ireland's

"The ar !astern Tropics"" Its roots stretch into the nineteenth cent#ry$ however$ where its
fo#nders are generally recogni%ed to be &oisey 'strogorsky and &a( )eber" 'strogorsky was
a *elor#ssian political scientist and sociologist renowned for his theories on party systems and
political parties" )eber was a +erman historian$ sociologist$ and political economist known for
his infl#ence on social theory"
Political socialization is the ,st#dy of the developmental processes by which people of all ages
-1. to /00 and adolescents ac1#ire political cognition$ attit#des$ and behaviors2" It refers to a
learning process by which norms and behavior acceptable to a well r#nning political system are
transmitted from one generation to another" It is thro#gh the performance of this f#nction that
individ#als are ind#cted into the political c#lt#re and their orientations towards political ob3ects
are formed"
Agents of socialization
These agents of sociali%ation infl#ence to different degrees an individ#al's political opinions4
family$ media$ peers$ ed#cation$ religion$ faith$ race$ gender$ age and geography" These factors
and many others that people are introd#ced to as they grow #p will affect their political views
thro#gho#t the rest of their lives" 5olitical beliefs are often formed d#ring childhood$ as parents
pass down their ideologies to their children and so on"
Factors
The agents a child s#rro#nds him6herself with d#ring childhood are f#ndamental to the child's
development of f#t#re voting behaviors" 7ome of these agents incl#de4
1" Family4 +lass -19890 recogni%es family as a primary infl#ence in the development of a
child:s political orientation$ mainly d#e to constant relationship between parents and
child"
." Schools4 &ost infl#ential of all agents$ after the family$ d#e to the child's e(tended
e(pos#re to a variety of political beliefs$ s#ch as friends and teachers$ both respected
so#rces of information for st#dents"
/" Mass media4 *ecker -19;50 arg#e that the media f#nctions as a medi#m of political
information to adolescents and yo#ng children"
<" Religion4 =eligio#s tradition can have a strong effect on someone's political views" or
e(ample$ 5rotestants tend to be more conservative -in co#ntries where 5rotestants are not
great ma3ority0"
5" Political parties4 7cholars s#ch as >ampbell -19900 note that political parties have very
little direct infl#ence on a child d#e to a contrast of social factors s#ch as age$ conte(t$
power$ etc"
6. Work place
Agents of political sociali%ation4
1" Family ? &ost important shaper of basic attit#des@ teaches basic political val#es A
loyalty to partic#lar political party thro#gh family members
." Schools ? Teach patriotism and American mythology@ early grades b#ild on and
reinforce positive learning
/" Peers ? Bimited in effect beca#se of selfCselection@ peer gro#p in yo#th affects mostly
,lifestyle iss#es2
<" Mass media ? !ffect diffic#lt to meas#re b#t s#bstantial@ promotes cynicism abo#t
government@ agenda setting ? telling #s what to think abo#t@ framing ? tells #s what to
think abo#t what is presented
5. Political leaders and institutions
9" hurches and religion ? =eligio#s right and religio#s left
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
The *asic of 5olitical 7ociology
-Individ#al$ 7ociety$ >#lt#re0
All *asic and Important Terms and their definitions
ulture! 7et of shared attit#des$ val#es$ goals and practices that characteri%ed an instit#tion$
organi%ation or gro#p"
Function of culture! "+ro#ps and societies need collective representations of themselves to
inspire sentiments of #nity and m#t#al s#pport$ and c#lt#re f#lfills this need"
"ormsC +enerally accepted #eha$ior
%aluesC >ollective conceptions of what is considered good$ desirable$ and properCor bad$
#ndesirable$ and improperCin a c#lt#re"
Folk&aysC Dorms governing everyday social #eha$ior whose violation raises comparatively
little concern
'a&C +overnmental social control"
MoresC Dorms deemed highly necessary to the welfare of a society"
(thosC word meaning "character" that is #sed to describe the g#iding beliefs or ideals that
characteri%e a comm#nity$ nation$ or ideology"
Real ultureC the way people act#ally behave
)deal ultureC the val#es to which a c#lt#re aspires
Su#cultureC is a gro#p of people with a c#lt#re -whether distinct or hidden0 which differentiates
them from the larger c#lt#re to which they belong"
ountercultureC Eescribe the val#es and norms of #eha$ior of a c#lt#ral gro#p$ or s#bc#lt#re$
that r#n co#nter to those of the social mainstream of the day"
ultural Relati$ismC is the principle that an individ#al h#man's beliefs and activities sho#ld be
#nderstood by others in terms of that individ#al's own c#lt#re"
ultural )ntegrationC The process of one c#lt#re gaining ideas$ technologies and prod#cts of
another and so this means that this c#lt#re will seem to be integrating into the other"
ultural *i$ersityC is the variety of h#man societies or c#lt#res in a specific region$ or in the
world as a whole
ultural imperialismC is the domination of one c#lt#re over another by a deliberate policy or
by economic or technological s#periority"
(thnocentrismC The tendency to ass#me that one's c#lt#re and way of life represent the norm or
are s#perior to all others"
+roupC can be defined as two or more h#mans who interact with one another$ share similar
characteristics and collectively have a sense of #nity"
Primary groupsC are small gro#ps with intimate$ kinshipCbased relationships4 families"
Secondary groupsC in contrast to primary gro#ps$ are large gro#ps
involving formal and instit#tional relationships"
)n,+roupC A gro#p or category to which people feel they belong"
-ut,+roupC A gro#p or category to which people feel they do not belong"
Reference +roupsC are the referring points of the individ#als$ towards which he is oriented and
which infl#ences his opinion$ tendency and #eha$ior"
Status +roupC A term #sed by &a( )eber to refer to people who have the same prestige or
lifestyle$ independent of their class positions"
Pressure +roupCa gro#p in which individ#als are similar in political and economical interests$
try to infl#ence the policy of government"
(thnic +roupC A gro#p that is set apart from others beca#se of its national origin or distinctive
c#lt#ral patterns"
Racial +roupC A gro#p that is set apart from others beca#se of obvio#s physical differences"
)nterest +roupC A vol#ntary association of citi%ens who attempt to infl#ence p#blic policy
%ested )nterest +roupC those people or gro#p who will s#ffer in the event of social change and
who have a stake in maintaining the stat#s 1#o"
Social statusC is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society" one's social position"
Achie$ed Status, A social position attained by a person largely thro#gh his or her own efforts"
Ascri#ed StatusC A social position "assigned" to a person by society witho#t regard for the
person's #ni1#e talents or characteristics"
FamilyC A set of people related by blood$ marriage -or some other agreedC#pon relationship0$ or
adoption who share the primary responsibility for reprod#ction and caring for members of
society"
"uclear FamilyC A married co#ple and their #nmarried children living together"
aste, Fereditary systems of rank$ #s#ally religio#sly dictated$ that tend to be fi(ed and
immobile"
lass, A term #sed by &a( )eber to refer to a gro#p of people who have a similar level of
wealth and income"
SectC A relatively small religio#s gro#p that has broken away from some other religio#s
organi%ation to renew what it views as the original vision of the faith"
Society4 +ro#p of people related to each other by persistent relation satisfying m#t#al goals"
F#man societies are characteri%ed by patterns of relationships -social relations0 between
individ#als sharing a distinctive c#lt#re and instit#tions
SocializationC The process whereby people learn the attit#des$ val#es$ and actions appropriate
for individ#als as members of a partic#lar c#lt#re"
Social change! refers to an alteration in the social order of a society"
hange! is more likely to be ca#sed over time by a variety of social forces$ incl#ding
environmental and pop#lation press#res$ c#lt#ral innovation$ and technological and c#lt#ral
diff#sion"
auses of Social hange4
.. /echnological and (conomic hanges4 -Agric#lt#re advancement$ ind#striali%ation0
0. Modernization! standardi%ing as towards modern tools -Bife 7tyle$ Technology0
1. 2r#anization! &oving pop#lation from r#ler areas to #rban ->ities0 areas"
3. 4ureaucratization! !(treme emphasi%e on r#les and reg#lation$ impersonality"
5. onflict and ompetition! )ar4 d#e to religion$ ethnic tensions$ competition for reso#rces"
+ender and )omen:s &ovement4 e1#al pay$ property4 Today@ day care$ occ#pational
segregation"
6. Political and 'egal Po&er! !lected 'fficial -+overnment0 A Gnelected 'fficials
->orporative orce0
5. )deology! =eligio#s *elief$ Political or =egional >onviction"
6. *iffusion! 7preading the ones c#lt#ral to another c#lt#re"
Acculturation! the process in which a minority is absorbed into the ma3ority and entirely loses
its distinctiveness"
Social order It refers to a set of linked social str#ct#res$ social instit#tions and social practices
which conserve$ maintain and enforce "normal" ways of relating and behaving"
Social progress is the idea that societies can or do improve in terms of their social$ political$
and economic str#ct#res"
Sociocultural e$olution is an #mbrella term for theories of c#lt#ral evol#tion and social
evol#tion$ describing how c#lt#res and societies have changed over time"
Social structure is a term refers to patterned social arrangements which form the society as a
whole$ which determines the relationship of definite entities or gro#ps to each other"
Social ontrolC The techni1#es and strategies for preventing deviant h#man #eha$ior in any
society"
StratificationC A str#ct#red ranking of entire gro#ps of people that perpet#ates #ne1#al
economic rewards and power in a society"