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10 - The Developmental Science of Politics

Insights from the 2016 US Presidential Election

from Part I - Foundations of Political Psychology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2022

By
Christia Spears Brown  and
Rebecca Bigler
Edited by
Danny Osborne  and
Chris G. Sibley
Danny Osborne
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
Chris G. Sibley
Affiliation:
University of Auckland
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Summary

The primary topic of our chapter is the need for possible theoretical foundations of, and empirical approaches to, a developmental science of politics. We demonstrate the utility of studying political socialisation surrounding presidential elections by describing the results of a large study of US elementary-school-age children’s views of the 2016 US presidential election. We review some potential sources of influence on children's political knowledge and attitudes, highlighting the role of gender, and we speculate about the beliefs that children may have internalised from watching the 2016 election. Finally, we argue that US institutions and parents should strive to improve children's political socialisation by, for example, providing youth with environments that are rich in information related to the purpose and value of politics, and ripe with opportunities and encouragement for political thought and action.

Keywords

Political socialisationPolitical knowledgeChildrenGenderPresidential elections
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology , pp. 159 - 174
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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