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12-1989

The Role of Socialization in the Process of Political Life: An Analysis of Gender Roles in Elementary School Textbooks on Taiwan Chien-Hong Lee Western Michigan University

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THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION IN THE PROCESS OF POLITICAL LIFE: AN ANALYSIS OF GENDER ROLES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS ON TAIWAN

by Chien-Hong Lee

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in p a r t ia l f u l f i l l m e n t of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of P o li t i c a l Science

Western Michigan U n iversity Kalamazoo, Michigan December 1989

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THE ROLE OF SOCIALIZATION IN THE PROCESS OF POLITICAL LIFE: AN ANALYSIS OF GENDER ROLES IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS ON TAIWAN

Chien-Hong Lee, M.A. Western Michigan U n iversity, 1989

This thesis

contains both th eoretical

and applied

research.

In the th eo retic al p a rt, p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is the main theme to be studied; and an incorporated model is designed to examine how p o litic a l life .

s o c ia liz a tio n can be viewed in the process of p o l i t i c a l

In the applied p a r t,

three sets of elementary school t e x t ­

books have been examined and we have found th at those textbooks contain clear sex-typed images of adult behavior; and male charac­ ters are emphasized more than female characters, which might con­ t r ib u t e to the understanding why women are r a r e ly seen in any posi­ tions of power in any realm on Taiwan.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Alan Isaak, my thesis committee chairman, fo r his in sig h tfu l guidance and endless encouragement in completing th is research. Dr.

Ernest Rossi

and Dr.

David

Houghton,

My thanks also go to fo r

c r itic is m as members of the thesis committee. debt

of

appreciation

to

my parents,

t h e ir

F in a lly ,

my s is t e r s ,

friends who continuously gave me both s p ir it u a l

constructive I

owe a

and many good

and m aterial

sup­

port. W riting a thesis is not easy, and this is esp ec ia lly true fo r a foreign student.

Without the help of those individuals mentioned

above, I could not have finished th is th esis.

Chien-Hong Lee

ii

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O rd er N u m b er 1340474

T he role o f socialization in th e process o f p olitical life: A n analysis o f gender roles in elem entary school textb ook s on Taiwan Lee, Chien-Hong, M.A. Western Michigan University, 1989

UMI

300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

.............................................................................................

LIST OF...............................T A B L E S ................................................................ LIST OF

FIGURES................................................... ....

11 v vi

CHAPTER I . INTRODUCTION............................................................ ........................ .... Statement of the Problem

...................................................

1 1

Significance of the Problem .................................................... I I . REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE ............................................... H is to ric a l Development of P o li t i c a l S o c ia liza tio n .

4 6 6

The O r i g i n s .............................................................................

6

Behavioral ism P e r i o d .............................................................

7

Current Status ................................................................... D e fin itio n s of P o li t i c a l S o c ia liza tio n

11

.....................

14

Theories of P o li t i c a l S o c ia liza tio n ..............................

16

Systems Theory ...................................................................

17

Hegemonic Theory

...................................................

23

Social Learning Theory ...................................................

26

Cognitive Theory ...............................................................

29

A Model of the Process of P o li t i c a l L i f e .................

33

P o li t i c a l Culture

...........................................................

P o li t i c a l S o c ia liza tio n P o li t i c a l Personality P o li t i c a l P a rtic ip a tio n

34

...............................................

36

...................................................

36

..............................................

38

i ii

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Table of Contents--Continued

CHAPTER

III.

IV.

P o li t i c a l System ...............................................................

38

Public P o l i c y .........................

40

P o li t i c a l Change.............................

40

S o c ia liza tio n Studies on Taiwan ......................................

41

P o li t i c a l Culture and GenderRoles on Taiwan

43

DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .

........................................................ •

46

Data C o l l e c t i o n ........................................................................

46

Hypotheses

........................................................................

49

Data A n a l y s i s ............................................................................

50

FINDINGS.............................................................................................

52

.

Social Studies

V.

. . .

........................................................................

52

L ife and Human R e l a t i o n s h i p s ...........................................

54

Chinese Language

....................................................................

55

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ' .........................................

60

Co n clu sio n s................................................................................

60

Recommendations ........................................................................

62

BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................

64

iv

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LIST OF TABLES 1.

Research on P o lit ic a l S o cia lizatio n by P o li t i c a l S cientists in the 1960s and Early 1970s (Hirsch, 1971)

9

2.

Compounds of P o lit ic a l C u l t u r e ......................................... • • •

35

3.

C h aracteristics of the Sampled Textbooks

48

4.

Frequency of Characters by Gender in Social Studies (12 V o l u m e s ) ..................................................................

52

Frequency of Characters by Gender in L ife and Human Relationships (6 Volumes) ...............................................................

54

Frequency of Characters by Gender in Chinese Language (13 V o l u m e s ) ........................................................................................

55

7.

Role Models in Chinese Language by G e n d e r.............................

57

8.

Virtues by Gender in L ife and Human Relationships . . . .

58

5.

6.

.........................

.

v

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LIS T OF FIGURES 1. A Model of the P o li t i c a l S ystem ....................................................

18

2. The Incorporated Model of P o lit ic a l L i f e ...............................

34

3.

4.

5.

6.

Models of P o li t i c a l Culture: Orientations Toward Involvement in the P o li t i c a l Process ......................................

39

Percentage D istrib u tio n of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in Social S t u d i e s ...........................................................

53

Percentage D istrib u tio n of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in L ife and Human R e la t io n s h ip s ..............................

55

Percentage D is trib u tio n of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in Chinese Language .......................................................

56

vi

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

Statement of the Problem

The principal objectives of th is thesis are, f i r s t of a l l ,

to

c l a r i f y the concept of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n ; second, to examine how p o l i t i c a l vidual

life ;

s o c ia liz a tio n has an impact on the process of i n d i­ and f i n a l l y ,

to analyze the learning of gender roles

in elementary school textbooks on Taiwan. In a p l u r a l i s t i c society people are t y p i c a l ly overloaded with p o litic a l

information

and stress. d iffic u lt

and experience a great deal

of uncertainty

They find understanding those diverse values and data

so that

clined to a ris e .

powerlessness,

apathy,

and a lie n atio n

Although th is situ atio n is

in e v ita b le ,

are

in ­

learning

some useful theories to organize, explain, and predict the complex phenomena of p o l it i c s is s t i l l desirable. is the beginning of in te r e s t. p o l it i c s

is a ll

e f f e c t i v e ly

A fte r a l l , understanding

Once people understand and care what

about, they have much more a b i l i t y to p a r tic ip a te

in the process of resource

a llo catio n

in

the

public

sphere. The subject of p o l i t i c a l derstanding of p o l i t i c a l

life

s o c ia liz a tio n is central of

an in d iv id u a l.

to the un­

From the human

in fa n t to a social being, the individual has been through a complex process of s o c ia liz a tio n .

Unlike other animals, human beings are

1

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not born with r ig id behavior patterns that enable c u ltu ra l means of adapting to unfam iliar environments.

These learned ways of l i f e ,

which are modified and passed on from one generation to the next, are

crucial

to

the

understanding

of

human

society.

Robertson

(1987b) argued that " s o c ia liz a tio n is the process of social

in te r­

action through which people acquire perso nality and learn the way of l i f e

of t h e i r society"

(p.

115).

In order

re latio n s h ip between individuals and c u ltu re ,

to understand the

p o litic a l

sc ie n tis ts

must take the s o c ia liz a tio n process into account, but t h e ir primary focus of study is on the p o l i t i c a l

life

of the individual

and the

p o l i t i c a l aspect of a cu ltu re . The case study of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n in th is thesis is to investigate i f elementary school textbooks present sex-typed images of adult behavior.

According to the Taiwan S t a t is t i c a l

Data Book

(Council fo r Economic Planning and Development, 1988), women repre­ sent 47% of the population; but most of the ro le models in p o l it i c s are male.

Women are r a r e ly seen in any positions of power or au­

t h o r it y in any realm on Taiwan. formal p o l i t i c a l

Why are women underrepresented in

p a r tic ip a tio n on Taiwan?

Why do they occupy few

positions of p o l i t i c a l power, p a r t ic u la r l y at the top?

In order to

examine the questions above, th is research attempts to use the idea of

p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

to

provide the

answers.

Much of my

thinking in developing the strategy was influenced by Robertson's (1987a) arguments: As sociologists point out, the in eq u a lity of the sexes is a form of social s t r a t i f i c a t i o n , sim ilar in many respects to in e q u a litie s of class, caste, race, or age. As with

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other forms of structured social in e q u a lity , the r e l a ­ tionship between the sexes is not maintained p rim a rily by force. Rather, i t rests on the power of cultural tra d itio n s and assumptions, which help ensure that people are socialized to accept t h e ir respective statuses in society, (p. .164) Chinese culture has t r a d i t i o n a l l y stressed sex-linked person­ a l i t y c h a ra c te ris tic s .

The Chinese woman is' t y p i c a l ly supposed to

be conformist,

kind,

fam ily,

passive,

dependent,

s e l f - s a c r if ic in g

and p rim a rily concerned with domestic l i f e .

fo r her

She is sup­

posed to be ignorant of sports, p o l it i c s , and economics, but deeply concerned about routine domestic duties. tia tiv e ,

but

should

be emotional,

She should not take i n i ­

tender,

and appreciative

(Y i,

1988). The Chinese man, on the other hand, is t r a d i t i o n a l l y supposed to

be

fe a rle s s ,

aggressive.

tough,

s e lf-re lia n t,

lo g ic a l,

independent,

and

The Chinese male should have d e f in it e opinions on the

major issues of the day, should be capable of making a u th o rita tiv e decisions in the home and on the job, and should take care of eco­ nomics fo r the fam ily.

He takes the i n i t i a t i v e

in the r e l a t i o n ­

ships with women and expects to dominate them in most spheres of life . If

the purpose of s o c ia liz a tio n

in the school

is to r e f le c t

and reinfo rce the dominant cu ltu re, we might a n ticip ate that school textbooks have emphasized males and masculine a c t i v it i e s more than females

and feminine

a c tiv itie s .

Based on th is

assumption,

two

hypotheses w ill be tested in Chapter I I I :

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1.

In

school

textbooks,

male

characters

outnumber

female

characters. 2.

The contents

of

textbooks

o ffe r

many more diverse

and

s ig n ific a n t role models fo r males than females.

Significance of the Problem

This thesis

contains

both theoretical

and applied research.

In the th eo retic al p a rt, p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is the main theme to be studied.

P o li t i c a l

explain the p o l i t i c a l the p o l i t i c a l because i t p o l it i c a l litic a l

system.

is

science is the d is c ip lin e that seeks to

behavior of individuals and the behavior of P o litic a l

the essential

s o c ia liz a tio n

lin k

between the

system—-a lin k so v i t a l

individual

to

learn

very important

individual

and the

that neither individual

nor po­

system could survive without i t .

enables the

is

P o lit ic a l

the norms,

values,

s o c ia liz a tio n rules

of the

game, and other patterns of thought and action that are essential fo r p o l i t i c a l

liv i n g .

On the other hand, p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

enables the p o l i t i c a l system to have a r e l a t i v e l y integrated p o l i t ­ ical c u ltu re , thus ensuring its co n tin u ity from generation to gen­ eratio n . In the applied p a rt,

th is

research

attempts

to

analyze

gender roles found in elementary school textbooks on Taiwan.

the The

ra tio n a le underlying th is attempt is based on two reasons: 1.

The school is an agent form ally charged by government with

the task of s o c ia liz in g the young in p a r t ic u la r norms and values. U n like o th e r s o c i a l i z i n g

ag ents,

d iffic u lt

to t r a c e

w ith

any

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c e r ta in ty ,

the school can be studied more e a s ily and o b je c tiv e ly .

The individual child in schools is no longer considered special; he or she is one of a crowd,

subject to the same regulations and ex­

pectations that everyone else is subject to. 2.

Teachers,

textbooks,

classroom

a c tiv itie s ,

and

school

r i t u a l l i f e are a ll means of conveying desired attitu d es and behav­ ior to children

in the school

(Dawson,

P rew itt, & Dawson,

1977).

Textbooks are a medium extremely sensitive to p o l i t i c a l control and to uniformity of message,

esp ecially when they

are published by

government p rin tin g houses and circulated through a ll tio n 's

schools,

as they are on Taiwan.

of the na­

In order to get

a more

integrated c u ltu re , every society uses the school to s o c ia liz e its children

into appropriate

attitu d es

and behavior.

Therefore,

by

analyzing the contents of school textbooks, we can then understand the c u ltu ra l

norms of

behavior

and m o rality,

and even

o ffic ia l

ideology of a given society.

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CHAPTER I I REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

In order to gain a b e tte r understanding of p o l it i c a l zation, the purposes of th is chapter are: ical development of p o l i t i c a l cal

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

(c)

to

s o c ia li­

(a) to study the h is t o r ­

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

describe various

(b) to define p o l i t i ­ theories

of p o l i t i c a l

and (d) to propose a descriptive model of p o l i t i c a l

l i f e and examine how p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n can be viewed in th is model.

H is to ric a l Development of P o lit ic a l S o cia lization

One convenient,

i f rough, way of studying the h is to r ic a l

velopment of theories of p o l i t i c a l into three stages:

s o c ia liz a tio n

is

the o rig in s , behavioral ism period,

de­

to divide

it

and current

status.

The Origins

A concern fo r the c i t i z e n ' s development of p o l i t i c a l can be traced

back to

the

beginning

of

the

learning

study of p o l i t i c s .

P o lit ic a l philosophers

have been interested inand have speculated

about the tra in in g

c itiz e n s

maintain status quo. puts

stress

on

of

and the means used by e l i t e s

to

The Greek philosopher Plato, in his Repub1i c ,

making

the

young

into

good

c itize n s

through

6

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state-run

directed

programs

(Annas,

1981).

A r is t o tle

cussed the necessity of le g is la tio n that would

also

dis­

insure that young

generations received the education necessary to f u l f i l l t h e ir roles as c itiz e n s

(Barker,

1958).

Rousseau,

in

his

Social

Contract,

claimed that the only possible way the "general w il l" could operate would be through (G ild in ,

1983).

theorists Marx,

c itiz e n s

t r a in e d

Throughout the

18th,

such as Thomas Jefferson,

and John Dewey a l l

to

accept 19th,

Alexis

p o litic a l

systems

same values

and 20th

centuries,

de Tocqueville,

Karl

emphasized some form of education

c iv ic tra in in g as prerequisites to c itiz e n ideal

the

(c ite d

p a rtic ip a tio n

in Greenstein,

1965;

and

in t h e ir

Jaros,

1973;

Weissberg, 1974; Winter & Bellows, 1977). In sum, before the mid-1900s the study of p o l it i c a l s o c ia liz a ­ tion was the domain of p o l i t i c a l

philosophers,

thinkers

who were

often less concerned about what p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n a c tu a lly is lik e

than what they thought i t

ought to be l i k e .

analyses argued fo r an ideal p o l it i c a l

Much of t h e ir

system through manipulation

of the educational system.

Behavioral ism Period

P o li t i c a l

science has gone through a revolution

War I I ,

moving from a t r a d it i o n a l

proach.

The tra n s itio n is :

approach to

since World

a behavioral

ap­

(a) from concern with p o l i t i c a l i n s t i ­

tutions to concern with p o l i t i c a l process, (b) from normative ques­ tions to empirical questions, and (c) from q u a lita tiv e methods to q u a n tita tiv e methods (Goel, 1988; Isaak, 1987).

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Although concern fo r the c i t i z e n ' s p o l i t i c a l development dates at

least from P la to 's

Repub1i c ,

only re ce n tly,

as Hirsch

(1971)

argues, "has empirical research begun to transform e a rly philosoph­ ical

speculation

and the

assumptions

of

p o litic a l

practice

into

more concrete knowledge of the factors involved in p o l i t i c a l learn ­ ing" (p.

1 ).

Once attention has been paid to studying p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n , ought to be.

the next question

is what the research p r i o r i t i e s

According to Greenstein (1968):

Although there is no generally accepted approach to the study of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n , much of what is known and of Lasswell's what ought to be known can be summed up in the following paraphrase of formulations of the gen­ eral process of communication: (a) who (b) learns what, (c) from whom, (d) under what circumstances, and (e) with what effects? (p. 552) Table 1,

summarized from Hirsch's

the main concerns p o l i t i c a l

(1971) work,

s c ie n tis ts

had

characterizes

in t h e i r

e a rlie r

re ­

search on p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n . The greatest concern of researchers of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n has been concentrated on studies of young ch ild ren .

The ra tio n a le

underlying th is tendency is based on two premises:

(1) that basic

o rien tatio n s

toward

childhood

adolescence,

and

(2)

p o l it i c s th at

are

th is

formed e a rly

in

e a r ly

s o c ia liz a tio n

impacts on adult p o l i t i c a l behavior (Hirsch, 1971). ies have been done by Dennis and Jennings

(1970),

has

and

crucial

Typical

stud­

by Easton and

Jennings (1969), and by Greenstein (1965). According to Greenstein (1965), what is learned from the so­ c i a l iz a t i o n process can be divided into three phases:

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9 Table 1 Research on P o lit ic a l S o cia lizatio n by P o li t i c a l Scien tists in the 1960s and Early 1970s (Hirsch, 1971)

Main question

Main focus

Who learns?

Young children

Learn what?

How to be a c itiz e n

Roles?

(1) Subject ro le and (2) specialized role

From whom?

Agents of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n

Under what circumstances?

Cultural comparison

With what effects?

No study reported to test the e ffe c ts of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n during th is period.

1. Learning connected with the c itiz e n ro le (par­ tis a n attachment, ideology, motivation to p a r t ic ip a t e ) . 2. Learning connected with subject ro le (national lo y a lty , orientations toward au th o rity , conception of the legitimacy of in s t it u t io n s ) . 3. Learning connected with recruitment to and per­ formance of specialized roles, such as bureaucrat, party functionary, and le g i s la t o r , (p. 13) The question of "From whom?" refers to the agents of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liza tio n --im p o rta n t in d iv id u als , groups, or in s titu tio n s that provide situations

in which s o c ia liz a tio n

takes place.

Although

there is rio consensus about which agent is most s ig n ific a n t, agents— the f a m i l y ,

the sch ool,

m e d ia --m e r it more a t t e n t i o n p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

the peer group,

four

and the mass

and s c r u t i n y from rese arch ers

(Dawson

et

a l.,

1977;

H irs c h ,

of

1971;

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Langton, 1969; Weissberg, 1974). The question of "Under what circumstances?"

is ,

according to

Greenstein (1965), very s im ila r to the question of "Under what c u l­ ture?"

There have been some attempts to examine p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i ­

zation through c u ltu ra l comparisons of two or more countries during th is period.

Quite c le a r l y both the th eo retic al

advances in com­

parative p o lit ic s and methodological improvement in data c o lle c tio n and analysis into

have fostered

cross-cultural

the

analysis

study of

(Dennis

p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

& Jennings,

1970).

(1963) studied s o c ia liz a tio n of attitu d es toward p o l i t i c a l ity

in

Rico,

f iv e

d iff e r e n t

Japan,

students

countries:

and A u s tr a lia .

United

States,

learning

in

in Jamaica and the United States.

Western in

investigated

democracies.

Chinese

Wilson

and American

ch ild ren 's

images

author­

C h ile,

Puerto

Langton (1969) compared high school Dennis and Jennings

(1970) examined pre-adult development of p o l i t i c a l cation

Hess

of

(1970)

s o c ieties.

party i d e n t i f i ­ studied

a ttitu d e

Greenstein

p o litic a l

leaders

in

(1975)

B r ita in ,

France, and the United States. The problem "With what effects?" e ffe cts that p o l i t i c a l the individual

refers

to

the question of

s o c ia liz a tio n has on the la te r behavior of

who is so c ialized .

Greenstein

(1965)

argued,

fo r

example, that e a rly learning is s ig n ific a n t because i t "takes place during a formative period and because e a rly learning a ffe cts learning" (p. 79).

la te r

There are a c tu a lly no data, esp ecially lo n g itu ­

dinal data, to te s t the e ffe c ts of p o l i t i c a l 1960s and e a rly 1970s;

and th is fa c t

s o c ia liz a tio n

in the

is more or less responsible

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for the subsequent decline of p o l it i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n . In sum, the study of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n which flourished in the 1960s and early 1970s is based on the premises that p o l i t i ­ cal

s o c ia liz a tio n can explain p o l it i c a l

the

individual

whole.

and

the

operation

of

a ttitu d es the

and behavior of

p o litic a l

system as

a

Although p o l i t i c a l scie n tis ts have no consensus on research

p rio ritie s

of what p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liza tio n

ought

to

be,

they do

agree that p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n helps the individuals understand the

p o litic a l

re a litie s

helps the p o l i t i c a l

of

t h e ir

environment,

and that

it

also

system integrate each new generation into the

dominant p o l i t i c a l c u ltu re .

Current Status

Today the research boom on p o l i t i c a l end.

s o c ia liz a tio n

is

at

an

Not so long ago, p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n was claimed to be a

growth stock (Greenstein, 1970).

But as Cook (1985) argued:

"Just

as in r e a l - l i f e stock markets, a boom is often followed by a bust, and p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n futures are no longer such hot s e lle r s . The confident predictions

in the la te s ix t ie s and e a rly seventies

f a il e d to m a teria lize" (p. 1079). Basically,

two

reasons

are

responsible

fo r

the

decline

of

studies of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n : 1.

The f i r s t

reason fo r the scholarly neglect of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n is derived from a loss of confidence about the t r a d i ­ tional methods used to study p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n (Cook, 1985). The key assumption

of

p o litic a l

s o c ia liza tio n

research

is

that

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pre-adult p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n affects adult p o l i t i c a l a ttitu d es and behavior (Beck & Jennings, 1982). tis ts

Therefore, p o l i t i c a l

have developed many research methods

dren's reactions to p o l i t i c s .

to

investigate

According to Cook (1985),

scien­ c h il­

however,

some of the methods, such as survey research, are now c le a r ly inap­ propriate as a way of tapping ch ild re n 's this

is

because survey

research,

p o litic a l

he argued,

is

o rien ta tio n s ;

often

processed

"through pencil-and-paper questionnaires which may have seemed more lik e a test of s o c ia lly correct views rather than an opportunity to speak one's mind" (p. 1080).

Children's responses under such con­

d itions are not then r e l ia b le . 2. studies 1985).

The second reason is the lack of of

ch ild re n 's

p o litic a l

a ttitu d e s

and

a clear ra tio n a le behavior

(Cook,

Beck and Jennings (1982) argued that "the compelling j u s t i ­

f ic a tio n fo r a p o l i t i c a l science in te re s t in the p re -a d u lt's p o l i t ­ ical

world

is

that

understanding of that world can y ie ld

insights into adult p o l i t i c a l orientations" (p. 94). e n t, however, th a t the process of p o l i t i c a l enced by the individuals the roles they w il l

It

useful

is appar­

s o c ia liz a tio n exp eri­

in childhood cannot prepare them fo r a l l

be expected to possess in la te r years.

People

must learn to be able to p a r tic ip a te e f f e c t i v e ly in the p o l i t i c a l system through d if f e r e n t stages of the l i f e cycle. Almond and Powell

Furthermore, as

(1978) noted, " attitu d es may be i n i t i a l l y formed

in childhood, but they are always being adapted as the individual goes through p o l i t i c a l change of p o l i t i c a l

and social experiences" (p. 19).

a ttitu d e s

Thus, any

and behavior that can be found in

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fo r

adulthood can be taken as d is tru s t of the significance of pre-adult p o litic a l

learning.

Critiques

(Marsh, 1971;

Searing,

Schwartz, &

Lind, 1973; Searing, Wright, & Rabinowitz, 1976) have raised s e r i ­ ous questions about the extent of the impact which c h ild re n 's po­ litic a l

learning has on subsequent adult p o l i t i c a l behavior.

Although i t

is plausible to argue th at a ttitu d es and behaviors

formed in pre-aduUhood may change under the influence of s o c i a l i ­ zation experiences throughout the l i f e learned from schools does have th e ir

a ttitu d e s

and behaviors

course,

a crucial

impact

in adulthood.

government is inclined to impose an o f f i c i a l generation through an educational system.

what children have on determining

For one thing,

the

ideology on the young

This unique ideology may

be so well-constructed that i t can somehow give children much more a b ility

to

p o l it i c a l engaged

dispute

any c r itic is m

arrangements. in

almost

of

the

established

social

and

For another, as the government has become

every

sphere

of

human

a c tiv ity ,

s o c ia lizin g

agents such as mass media are l i k e l y to be under great pressure to conform to the values and regulations of the o f f i c i a l

ideology.

If

society at large provides strong, even coercive, supports fo r a t t i ­ tudes and behaviors learned in schools, they w i l l be fu rth e r r e in ­ forced rather than changed.

Under this condition, i t is not common

fo r typ ical children to form t h e ir attitu d es and behaviors against authority.

Therefore,

the

contents

of

pre-adult

education

in

schools s t i l l deserve more a tte n tio n ; nevertheless, we do admit the p o s s ib ilit y that people may come to behave in unanticipated ways as they grow up.

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14 D e fin itio n s of P o litic a l S o cia lization Although a number of d e fin itio n s have been used by p o l i t i c a l

of

s c ie n tis ts ,

what p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n means.

p o litic a l

there

s o c ia liz a tio n

is no consensus of

However, d e fin itio n s of p o l i t ­

ical s o c ia liz a tio n have been generally c la s s ifie d into e ith e r i n d i ­ v id u a l-le v e l or system-level categories (Dawson et a l . , 1977). An

in d iv id u a l-le v e l

d e f in it io n

p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

focuses on the process through which the individual

learns p o l i t i ­

cal attitu d es and p o l i t i c a l behavior.

of

Examples can be i ll u s t r a t e d

as follows: P o li t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is a ll p o l i t i c a l learning, formal and informal, d e lib e ra te and unplanned at every stage of the l i f e cycle, including not only e x p l i c i t l y p o l i t i c a l learning but also nominally n o n -p o litic a l learning that a ffe c ts p o l i t i c a l behavior, such as learning of p o l i t i ­ c a l l y relevant social attitu d es and the acquisition of p o litic a lly re le v a n t p e rs o n a lity c h a r a c te r is tic s . (Greenstein, 1968, p. 551) We shall define p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n r e s t r i c t i v e l y as those developmental processes through which persons acquire p o l i t i c a l orientations and patterns of behavior. (Easton & Jennings, 1969, p. 7) We w ill define p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n quite loosely as the process by which the individual acquires a t t i ­ tudes, b e lie fs , and values r e la tin g to the p o l i t i c a l system of which he is a member and to his own role as c itiz e n within that p o l i t i c a l system. (Greenberg, 1970, p. 3) At the individual level p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n may be defined very simply as the processes through which an individual acquires his p a r tic u la r p o l i t i c a l o rie n ta ­ tio n s — his knowledge, fe e lin g s , and evaluations regarding his p o l i t i c a l world. (Dawson et a l . , 1977, p. 33) We use the term s o c ia liz a tio n to r e fe r to the way children are introduced to the values and a ttitu d es of t h e ir society and how they learn what w i l l be expected of

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them in t h e ir adult ro les. P o lit ic a l s o c ia liz a tio n is the part of th is process that shapes p o l i t i c a l a ttitu d e s . (Almond & Powell, 1988, p. 34) A system-level d e f in it io n of p o l i t i c a l how the p o l i t i c a l patterns

of

system inducts the

thought

and action

maintain the status quo.

that

s o c ia liz a tio n stresses

individual are

into established

usually

appropriate

to

For example:

What do we mean by the function of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a ­ tion? We mean that a l l p o l i t i c a l systems tend to perpet­ uate t h e ir cultures through time, and that they do th is mainly by means of the s o c ia liz a tio n influences of the primary and secondary structures through which the young of the society pass in the process of maturation. . . . P o li t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is the process of induction into the p o l i t i c a l c u ltu re . I t s end product is a set of a t t i ­ tudes, cognitions, value standards, and feelings toward the inputs of demands and claims into the system, and i t s a u th o r ita tiv e outputs. (Almond & Coleman, 1960, pp. 2728) P o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n r e f e r s to the processes through which values, cognitions, and symbols are learned and " in te r n a liz e d ," through which operative social norms regarding p o l it i c s are implanted, p o l i t i c a l consensus created, e ith e r e f f e c t i v e l y or i n e f f e c t iv e ly . (Eckstein, 1963, p. 26) P o lit ic a l s o c ia liz a tio n refers to the process by which the p o l i t i c a l norms and behaviors acceptable to an ongoing p o l i t i c a l system are transmitted from generation to generation. (S ig e l, 1970, p. 1) From the system perspective p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n can be defined as the process through which c itiz e n s acquire p o l i t i c a l views that become aggregated in ways that have consequences fo r the p o l i t i c a l l i f e of the nation. (Dawson et a l . , 1977, p. 14) P o li t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is also the way one genera­ tio n passes on p o l i t i c a l standards and b e lie fs to suc­ c e e d in g g e n e r a t i o n s , a p ro c e s s c a l l e d c u l t u r a l transmission. (Almond & Powell, 1988, p. 34) In

sum,

the

various

show the differences

in

d e fin itio n s d ire c tio n

of

which

p o litic a l the

s o c ia liz a tio n

study of

p o litic a l

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s o c ia liz a tio n has taken.

While some p o l i t i c a l s c ie n tis ts emphasize

the transmission of a country's p o l i t i c a l

c u ltu re ,

others stress

the development of individual p o l it i c a l o rien tatio n s .

For p o l i t i ­

cal researchers, which approach they are going to take depends on th e ir

preference as to

theories

of

p o litic a l

they are interested in explaining p o l i t i c a l of in d iv id u als ,

the in d iv id u a l-le v e l

propriate fo r t h e ir research. to

explain

p o litic a l

the

c o n tin u itie s

cu ltu re ,

If

a ttitu d es and behavior

d e f in it io n

is r e l a t i v e l y ap­

I f , on the other hand, th e ir goal is and d isco n tin u ities

the system-level

Both types of d e fin itio n s

s o c ia liz a tio n .

d e f in it io n

have merits

of

a country's

is more s u ita b le .

in t h e ir own perspectives.

This fa c t is well described by Weissberg (1974): In each instance, some aspects of p o l i t i c a l learning are ignored and others emphasized; but th is is essential in any investigation since examining everything is impossi­ ble and undesirable. Depending on the types of questions we are interested in, these approaches are complementary, not c o n flic tin g , (pp. 14-15)

Theories of P o li t i c a l S o c ia liza tio n

Like d e fin itio n s of p o l i t i c a l litic a l level

s o c ia liz a tio n

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

also can be c la s s ifie d

or in d iv id u a l-le v e l

categories.

theories of po­

into e ith e r

While the in d iv id u a l-le v e l

theory stresses the development process of how children litic a l

system-

a ttitu d es and behavior, the system-level

learn po­

theory emphasizes

the consequence of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n in the p o l i t i c a l system. Two system-level

theories of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n w il l

be

analyzed as follows:

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Systems Theory

Systems Easton

theory

(1965).

in

p o litic a l

science

Easton and Jennings

theory to study p o l i t i c a l

has

(1969)

s o c ia liz a tio n .

been

developed

have applied

systems

They are concerned p r i ­

m arily with p o l it i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n as part of the general theory.

by

systems

Therefore, we should f i r s t examine systems theory in order

to understand what position p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n has in a p o l i t ­ ical system. In systems theory, Easton (1965) t r ie d to construct an em piri­ c a lly general theory of p o l i t i c s ,

and with that in mind, he sought

to define the kinds of functions of any p o l i t i c a l system through a systematic framework fo r p o l i t i c a l processes

through

which

generic or specific type, ior

in

a world e ith e r of

analysis.

a p o litic a l

system,

Ha studied the basic regardless

of

its

is able to persist as a system of behav­ s ta b ility

or of change.

According to

Easton (1965): Systems analysis takes i t s departure from the notion of p o l i t i c a l l i f e as a boundary-maintaining set of in te ra c ­ tions embedded in and surrounded by other social systems to the influence of which i t is constantly exposed. As such, i t is helpful to in te rp re t p o l i t i c a l phenomena as co n stitu tin g an open system, one that must cope with the problems generated by its exposure to influences from these environmental systems. I f a system of th is kind is to p ersist through time, i t must obtain adequate feedback about its past performances, and i t must be able to take measures that regulate i t s future behavior. Regulation may c a ll fo r simple adaptation to a changing setting in the l ig h t of fixed goals. But i t may also include e f ­ fo rts to modify old goals or transform them e n t ir e ly . Simple adaptation may not be enough. To persist i t may be necessary fo r a system to have the capacity to tra n s­ form its own internal structure and processes, (p. 25)

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Figure which

1 presents

involves

f iv e

a sim plified

crucial

model

variables

of

a p o litic a l

(Easton,

1965;

system

Easton

&

Jennings, 1969): 1.

Inputs:

Those events in'trie environment that act upon the

p o l i t i c a l system and provoke some kinds of responses from i t . 2.

P o lit ic a l

system:

Those

in s t it u t io n s ,

processes,

and

interactions through which values are a u t h o r ita tiv e ly allocated for a society. 3.

Outputs:

Those decisions and actions

by the p o l i t i c a l

system in response to inputs that a ffe c t the system's environment. 4.

Environment:

Those

in tr a -s o c ie ta l

and

e x tra -s o c ie ta l

systems that generate inputs. 5.

Feedback:

A movement of perceptions with regard to how

the p o l i t i c a l system has made a u th o rita tiv e decisions.

Environment demands -----------------=> Inputs

Environment The p o litic a l system

Decisions and actions >

Outputs

Support Feedback Environment

Figure 1.

Environment

A Model of the P o li t i c a l System.

According to the systems model, the p o l i t i c a l

process sta rts

when members of the society make demands and support on the p o l i t i ­ cal

system.

Then the p o l i t i c a l

system,

as a vast conversion

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process, transforms the inputs of demands and support into outputs, th at is , have

into a u th o r ita tiv e decisions and actions.

been

released,

demanding members

now r e a liz e ,

feedback process, how t h e i r demands are handled. contents of the outputs, the outputs.

at th is

point,

A fter outputs through

the

According to the

these members respond to

The possible reactions can be i llu s t r a t e d by Isaak's

(1987) description: I f the system has acted to s a tis fy the demands, the pro­ cess pauses fo r the time being. I f , on the other hand, the system has not s a t is fie d the demands, the demanders have several choices: to accept the.decision because the decision makers are able to enforce i t ; to t r y again with more moderate demands; to work through another part of the p o l i t i c a l system; to begin to withdraw t h e ir support from the decision makers or even from the system i t s e l f . (pp. 32-33) Now l e t ' s s o c ia liz a tio n .

begin to

analyze the

systems theory of

p o litic a l

According to Easton and Jennings (1969),

societies

are not n a tu r a lly destined to survive.

Government could not be

possible unless the tensions caused by the unequal values in society are somehow reduced and to le ra te d . that

a p o litic a l

system

persists

when

two

allo c a tio n of They argued

conditions

p re v a il:

"(1 ) when i t s members are r e g u la r ly able to a llo cate valued things, that is , make decisions; [and] (2) when they are able to get these allocations accepted as a u th o rita tiv e by most members most of the time" (p. 49). Easton and Jennings (1969) designated these two conditions as the essential variables of any p o l i t i c a l system. izatio n ,

they argued,

P o lit ic a l s o c ia l­

is "one of a number of major kinds of

re­

sponse mechanisms through which a p o l it i c a l system may seek to cope

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with stress on i t s essential variables" (p. 51). According to Easton and Jennings (1969), stress on the p o l i t i ­ cal system may come from four major direction s; and i t is the very idea of p o l i t i c a l with

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

these stresses

they argued, that serves to cope

in order to maintain the persistence

of the

p o l i t i c a l system. The f i r s t

stress--outp ut

most of the members in the

stress--stems

society to

decisions made by the p o l i t i c a l

from the

accept

system.

these

P o li t i c a l

fa ilu re

of

actions

and

s o c ia liz a tio n

works as a crucial mechanism that may help members in the society to in te rn a liz e a need to comply with the p o l i t i c a l t h e ir decisions.

au th o rities and

Thus, through p o l it i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n , the p o l i t ­

ical system may be able to ensure i t s e l f of being accepted by mem­ bers in the society. The second stress--demand-input stress--may come from an ex­ cess of demands put into the p o l i t i c a l

system.

If

the p o l i t i c a l

system is overloaded with too many demands in a given period of time,

the processing

p o litic a l

structures

can become so blocked

that

system might be faced with a possible breakdown.

though the

p o litic a l

system has many ways of

dealing with

the A l­ th is

s itu a tio n , Easton and Jennings (1969) argued, "the development of a sense of

s e lf-re s tra in t

in

the

conversion

of

social

wants

into

p o l i t i c a l demands represents a major device in every age" (p. 5 5). P o li t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

may serve

as

a system

response

through

which members in the society learn some degree of s e l f - r e s t r a i n t .

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The t h ir d stress— support-input stress— results from the f a i l ­ ure of the p o l i t i c a l it

system to mobilize po s itiv e support and move

toward the appropriate p o l i t i c a l

and Jennings tr u s t ,

(1969),

support

can

objects.

According to Easton

be defined

as:

"feelings

confidence, or a ffe c tio n and t h e ir opposites,

may d ire c t to some object. an object;

if

of

that persons

I f support is p o s itiv e , a person favors

support is negative,

he withholds or withdraws his

favor from the object" (p. 57). There are two types

of support

in

systems theory.

specific support; the other is diffuse support. c ific

support when they get

instance,

workers w ill

something s p e cific

vote fo r

One

is

People grant spe­ in

retu rn .

For

the Democrats when they believe

wages go up i f the Democrats run the government.

Specific support

may increase or decline depending on how people in te rp re t the out­ comes of

the outputs

of

the p o l i t i c a l

system.

Diffuse

support

refers to unconditional support people extend to p o l i t i c a l authori­ t ie s or objects.

National

of d iffu s e support.

lo yalty and patriotism are good examples

In times of external or internal crises, c i t i ­

zens continue to be loyal to t h e ir government even though specific rewards might not be anticip ated. According to Easton and Jennings (1969), the p o l i t i c a l w ill

system

be in d i f f i c u l t y when both specific and diffu se support f a l l

to a low le v e l.

In other words,

if

the p o l i t i c a l

system is to

p e rs is t, strong support from both types must be gained.

How then

does the government manage to obtain th is support?

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For Easton and Jennings (1969), the answer to th is question is found in the study of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n .

They argued

that

s o c ia liz a tio n may "act as a major response by which a system seeks to generate at least a minimal level of p o s itiv e support fo r those basic p o l i t i c a l

objects without which no system could operate at

a l l " (p. 66). The fourth s tr e s s --s tr u c tu r a l

stress— comes from the possible

breakdown which might occur in the structure and processes of the p o l i t i c a l system through which conversion takes place.

Easton and

Jennings

system has

its

(1969)

suggested every type of the p o l i t i c a l

own unique kinds

inputs

of

outputs.

support

of

structures

and demands

are

and processes converted

into

through

which

a u th o rita tiv e

But no matter bow d iff e r e n t the types of conversion proc­

esses may be, i f some kind of the p o l it i c a l system is to be able to p e r s is t,

it

has to make sure that its members acquire knowledge,

s k ills ,

and motivations needed to make the conversion process pos­

s ib le .

There is no guarantee that

system necessarily Rather,

it

learn

how to

is the process of

the members of the p o l i t i c a l

perform

p o litic a l

t h e ir

specific

s o c ia liz a tio n

that

those members acquainted with structures of t h e i r p o l i t i c a l

roles. makes system

and helps them to handle possible structural stress. In conclusion,

Easton and Jennings (1969) t r ie d to develop a

p o l i t i c a l theory of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liza tio n w ithin the framework of systems analysis.

P o li t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

is

viewed as a means

used by the p o l i t i c a l system to deal with stress on i t s e l f .

I f the

p o l i t i c a l system is to continue to operate as a system of behavior

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through which values are a u th o r ita tiv e allocated fo r a society, the subject of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n must be taken into account.

Hegemonic Theory

S tim u la te d by Machado's

(1 9 7 5 -1 9 7 6 )

study,

Dawson e t a l .

(1977) have presented the hegemonic theory of p o l i t i c a l t io n .

s o c ia liz a ­

The main idea of th is approach is that the dominant p o l i t i ­

cal groups always manipulate social in s titu tio n s and use propaganda and censorship to maintain t h e ir privileged positions. reason,

in s titu tio n s

For th is

lik e the government always serve to maintain

the status quo, not to change i t .

P o lit ic a l

fined as the process through which p o l it i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n is de­ ideology is tra n sm it­

ted from the dominant to the dominated groups in society. The most common term in hegemonic theory is

class hegemony.

According to the Marxist th e o ris ts , when the interests of one class are believed

to

stand fo r

the general

class hegemony is established

interests

(Dawson et a l . ,

of

1977).

the

nation,

Under th is

consideration, the hegemonic theory begins with the assumption that the state plays an important role in protecting the domination of the r u l i n g

c la s s

and the r u l i n g

class uses the powers of

the

states, both coercive and educative, to preserve t h e ir con trol. In society, and p re s tig e --a re the supply.

the things people desire--such always scarce,

as power,

and the demand fo r

wealth,

them exceeds

Those who gain control of these resources are able to

protect t h e ir own in te re sts at other people's expense. ful do th is in two respects:

The power­

They use force to coerce the rest of

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the

population

into

compliance and conformity;

and they t r y

to

educate the powerless so that the powerless would accept the rules and values by which they are dominated. order force,

is maintained but

not only by force

also by education.

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

th ere fo re ,

In other words, p o l i t i c a l or the

implied

A hegemonic theory of

Dawson et

a l.

s o c ia liz a tio n processes and agencies that

(1977)

threat

of

p o l it i c a l

argued,

stresses

"dominant groups use to

get subservient groups to accept the social

values and the social

order that maintain the control relationships" (p. 26). Hegemonic theory gives

much stress

to

the

position

government in the process of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n . ment controlled

by the

censorship to maintain

ru lin g

class

status quo.

always

uses

of

the

The govern­

propaganda

and

When and how propaganda and

censorship begin to play a part can be best described by Dawson et a l.

(1977): Propaganda comes into play i f the state is generally accepted. I t is a technique that reaffirm s the l e g i t i ­ macy of current a u th o rity r e la tio n s . There are numerous methods of propaganda, including the widespread use of p o l i t i c a l ceremonies arid symbols ( f l a g s , n a tio n a l heroes), the content of school textbooks, the attempt to associate government personnel and actions with majesty (the robes of judges and the hushed tones of the co u rt), and the general speech making that celebrates the current p o l i t i c a l order. Censorship comes into play when the legitim acy of the state is in doubt or is being a c tiv e ly challenged. The power of the state is used to manage the news, to quiet c r itic is m , to deny a voice to groups chal­ lenging state a u th o rity , or to forbid public meetings or p o l i t i c a l demonstrations that aim "at the overthrow of the government." (p. 29) In hegemonic theory e f f e c t iv e p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n leads to

the continuing s t a b i l i t y of the current p o l i t i c a l order.

But what

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if

p o litic a l

change arises?

account fo r t h is .

Discontinuity

is

According to hegemonic theory,

d isco n tin u ity in p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

if

times of

group"

(Dawson et

d isco n tin u ity

in

a l.,

1977,

p o litic a l

p.

term used to there would be

"ruled groups refused

to learn or were not taught the basic p o l i t i c a l the ruling

the

values fostered by

28).

T yp ica lly,

s o c ia liz a tio n

the

ruled

in are

inclined to form social

movements such as labor movements or the

c iv il

They may do th is

rights movement.

s trik e s ,

and so on.

revolutio n.

In extreme cases,

through demonstrations, social

movements aim at

World h isto ry, p a r t ic u la r l y of the past 200 years, has

shown the revolutionary overthrow of several

ru lin g classes--from

the French Revolution of the 18th century to the Russian, Chinese, Cuban, Ira n ia n , and Nicaraguan revolutions of the 20th century. In conclusion, the hegemonic theory of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n puts

stress

on the c o n f l ic t

s o c ia liz a tio n impose i t s

perspective

in

society.

P o li t i c a l

is viewed as the means used by the ru lin g class to

dominant p o l i t i c a l

ru lin g class re a lize s

ideology on the ruled

class.

that power based on coercion alone tends to

be unstable, because people obey only out of fear and w ill at

the

status,

firs t

The

opportunity.

In

order

to maintain

its

disobey

privileged

the ru lin g class must also develop an ideology to j u s t i f y

and le g itim ate current p o l i t i c a l order.

In p ra c tic e , what a c tu a lly

happens in society is th at the powerful continuously use propaganda (symbol manipulation) and censorship (s e le c tiv e control of informa­ tio n )

to control

the rest

of the population

into compliance and

conformity.

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Social two major

learning theory and cognitive development in d iv id u a l-le v e l

theories

of

p o litic a l

theory

are

s o c ia liz a tio n .

Both w il l be analyzed in the following pages.

Social Learning Theory

How does the behavior?

individual

receive his or her own thoughts and

To proponents of the social learning theory, the answer

w ill be based upon the p rin c ip le of reinforcement.

Learning theo­

r i s t s such as Skinner (1971) believe that human behavior is formed through the process of reinforcement.

He views the human organism

as a machine, "a complex system behaving in lawful ways" (p. 202). A human being is only a product of past reinforcements:

Those

behaviors th at have been rewarded w ill be repeated, and those that have not been rewarded or that have caused punishment w il l

not be

repeated.

Thus, whoever controls the reinforcement ava ilable to a

person is

in a position

to control

The children, fo r example, terns of t h e ir parents.

the behavior of that

person.

are l i k e l y to take on the thought pat­ They depend on t h e ir

parents

fo r

food,

protection, and love; and through dependence, children in te rn a liz e the thought patterns of t h e i r parents. ate thoughts are reinforced by parents'

Good behavior and appropri­ rewards; bad behavior and

unacceptable ideas are removed by parents' punishment. Conway and Feigert

(1976)

have applied

the social

learning

theory to explain how people develop a sense of legitimacy fo r the regime.

They argued that

a regime acts to fo ster public support

(the creation of legitim acy) through a s ix - s ta te learning process:

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1.

Promoting an unconditioned response:

The regime provides

the stimulus fo r people in terms of material

inducement, such as

food, security,

and s h e lte r.

People,

in turn,

respond to the r e ­

wards these inducements o f f e r . 2. ates

Using classical conditioning methods:

its e lf

firs t

with

stages; th is

the stimulus association

that

The regime associ­

provokes the behavior

in the

is made by pairing the government

with the unconditioned stimulus of material inducements. 3.

In te rm itte n t reinforcement:

The government provides the

rewards only occasionally, which reduces the cost of providing the reward.

Moreover,

it

is e ffe c tiv e to reward desired behavior but

not to reward i t each time i t occurs. 4.

Secondary reinforcement:

A new behavior pattern

is de­

manded of the population by the government; the response demanded is given because the government guarantees they respond, the regime w i l l

the c itiz e n s

produce the in s t it u t io n a l

that

if

processes

that symbolize unconditional reinforcement. 5.

Reducing the cognitive dissonance:

Compliance with the

regime's demand fo r the new behavior pattern is accompanied by the conferring of legitimacy on the regime.

This is done by the popu­

la tio n to reduce the cognitive dissonance between gaining symbolic rewards and having to learn new behavior patterns. 6. include slogans.

Using the

condensation

nation's

f la g ,

symbols: national

Condensation heroes,

symbols

c o n s titu tio n ,

In the process of using these symbols,

may and

the symbols of

legitimacy become su b stitute g r a t if i c a t io n .

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According to the social

learning theory,

i f our behavior and

thought depend so much on the content of our individual s o c ia liz a ­ tio n , what becomes of human free w ill?

Can we pass any choice over

our personal behavior, or is i t a ll shaped fo r us by our past expe­ riences?

Skinner's (1953) position is clear on the fre e w i l l

sus determinism issue.

ver­

He emphasized the ro le of environment

in

influencing behavior and rejected notions about the inner dynamics of personality development. external

world,

We are operated on by forces

not by forces

within ourselves.

in the

As a matter of

f a c t , Skinner has long argued that the determ in istic assumption is necessary fo r s c i e n t i f i c a l l y studying human behavior: I f we are to use the methods of science in the f i e l d of human a f f a i r s , we must assume that behavior is lawful and determined. We must expect to discover that what a man does is the re s u lt of s p e cifiab le conditions and that once these conditions have been discovered, we a n tic ip a te and to some extent determine his actions. (Skinner, 1953, p. 6) In Skinner's

(1971) theory, an infant has a lim itle s s

of p o s s ib il it ie s for behavior acquisition.

number

I t is parents f i r s t who

p r in c ip a lly reinforce and shape development in specific d ire c tio n s ; the

in fa n t,

in turn,

w ill

behave contingent

upon t h e i r

rewards.

Gradually, as the c h ild 's social world expands, other reinforcement sources

are more crucial

in

influencing

behavioral

development.

The school, the peer group, and the mass media are e s p e c ia lly im­ portant sources of reinforcement.

The p rin c ip le of behavior d e te r­

mination by reinforcement remains the same;

it

and sources of reinforcement that change.

Throughout

development process,

is only the kinds the whole

previously reinforced behaviors drop out of

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the person's response as a re s u lt

of

e ith e r

nonreinforcement

punishment from the present social environment

or

( H j e ll e & Z ie g le r ,

1976; Schultz, 1936). In conclusion, the social learning theory of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia l­ iza tio n is based upon the p rin c ip le of conditioning and re in fo rc e ­ ment.

S o cia lizatio n is viewed as the learning process of associat­

ing stim uli

with proper responses.

s o c ia liz a tio n , facto rs.

shaped more

We are p rim a rily products of

by external

variables

The s o c ia liz a tio n process is lif e lo n g ;

than

by

inner

i t occurs in the

fam ily sho rtly a f te r the infa nt is born; and schools, peer groups, and the mass media continue the process;

and in

la te r

life ,

the

a d u lt's behavior and thought patterns are reinforced by the work­ place and other s ig n ific a n t agents. in childhood.

Our basic behaviors are formed

This does not mean, however, that our behavior can­

not change la t e r in l i f e .

What has been learned can be modified

and new patterns of behavior can be acquired at any age. Cognitive Theory

The cognitive theory of human development is

based upon the

p rin c ip le of i n t e lle c t u a l maturation— the development of cognitive a b ilitie s ing.

such as perceiving,

Cognitive

th e o ris ts

remembering, reasoning,

believe

that

and b e lie v ­

in te lle c t u a l

determines when certain kinds of learning can occur.

maturation

Some kinds of

s k i l ls are beyond children of certain ages; even practice w i l l not allow children

to master these s k i l ls

same age who have no p r a c t i c e .

e a rlie r

C e r t a in

than those of the

kinds

of

conceptual

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a b ilitie s

and coordination

simply take

time

to

develop

(Green,

1989; Spence, 1978). Jean Piaget,

a developmental psychologist, has devoted a long

career to the process of

in te lle c tu a l

maturation.

He began with

intensive observation of his own children, and from his conclusions about t h e ir development he began to build a theory.

He suggested

th at human beings gradually pass through stages of cognitive devel­ opment.

Each stage

is

characterized by the p a r tic u la r

kinds

of

in te lle c t u a l processes ( P h i l l i p s , 1981; Piaget, 1972): 1.

The sensorimotor stage:

lasts from b ir th children

is

u n til

In the sensorimotor stage, which

about the

age of

expressed only through

with the objects

that

2,

the

in te llig e n c e

sensory and physical

surround them.

Lacking

language,

of

contact infants

cannot think about and understand the world. 2.

The preoperational

stage:

This stage lasts from around

the age of 2 to 7 and is characterized by the rapid development of representational

processes.

There are six representational

tions which Piaget considers to develop in th is stage: play, drawing, mental

image, memory, and language.

demonstrate egocentrism

in

the

early

part

of

func­

im ita tio n ,

Children also

the preoperational

stage; they see the world almost e n t i r e ly from th e ir own perspec­ tive s and, therefore, have d i f f i c u l t y taking other people's points of view into account. 3.

The concrete operational

stage:

In

th is

stage,

which

lasts from about 7 to 12, children can reason about, concrete s itu a ­ tion s, but not about abstract ones.

I f children of th is age, fo r

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example,

are asked to t a lk

about abstract concepts such as death,

they have great d i f f i c u l t y in doing so without r e fe r r in g to actual events,

such as the death of a dog.

also take other people's points therefore,

can p a r t ic ip a te

of

Children in th is view

e f f e c t i v e ly

into

stage can

consideration

and,

in games and other social

organizations. 4.

The formal operational stage:

In th is stage, which lasts

from about 12 to 15, children are able to achieve formal, thought.

They can think

complex chemical, moral, general

rules

to

abstract

in terms of theories and can manipulate and other concepts.

solve whole classes

of

They are able to use

problems,

reason l o g ic a lly from premises to conclusions

that

and they can would not

be

possible in previous stages. Although the exact

ages at which a child moves along these

four stages varies from c h ild to child and from cu ltu re to c u ltu re , Piaget (1972) It

insisted that this sequence of stages is universal.

must be pointed out,

however,

f i n a l stage of formal operations.

that

not

everyone reaches

the

As Robertson (1987b) argued:

Many adults have great d i f f i c u l t y in understanding ab­ s tra c t concepts, p a r t ic u la r l y i f they have l i t t l e expo­ sure to formal thinking in th e ir own s o c ia liz a tio n . In f a c t , more than h a lf the people in the world today cannot read or w rite , fo r they liv e in societies that lacked the resources to make access to the vast storehouse of fa c ts , ideas, and l i t e r a t u r e that the rest of us, socialized d i f f e r e n t l y , can take fo r granted, (p. 125) Piaget's (1972) theory of cognitive development has been used by many p o l i t i c a l tio n .

s c ie n tis ts

in research on p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a ­

In t h e ir longitudinal work of The C h ild 's P o li t i c a l

World,

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fo r

instance,

Moore,

Lare,

and Wagner

(1985)

have

adopted

the

Piagetian approach to the study of how children receive p o l it i c a l knowledge and p o l i t i c a l questions, such as: they em p iric a lly

values.

They posed a series of research

Do stages of p o l i t i c a l

id e n tifia b le ?

awareness exist?

Are they sequential?

Are

Are there

certain p o l i t i c a l concepts which have to be grasped before a child can move on to more advanced levels

of p o l i t i c a l

awareness?

In

order to examine these questions, through Piagetian model, Moore et a l . (1985) hypothesized th a t "in the realm of p o l i t i c a l as in other areas of

learning,

awareness,

a maturing child moves through a

series of cognitive stages during which increasingly complex under­ standings are assimilated" (p. 65). A fte r

presenting

longitudinal

data to

expanding awareness of the presidential

illu s tra te

c h ild ren 's

ro le , Moore et a l.

(1985)

successfully confirmed the relevance of the cognitive-developmental theory of

learning

to

the

sphere of

p o litic a l

awareness.

When

being asked each year "What does the President do when he goes to work?" one of the observed children responded as follows: Kindergarten:

"I don't know."

F i r s t grade:

"Sometimes makes speeches and works in his o ffic e ."

Second grade:

"Make speeches and does laws."

Third grade:

"He signs b i l l s laws."

Fourth grade:

"He signs b i l l s , goes to meetings in Con­ gress, signs laws." (p. 90)

and a l l

th a t;

he signs

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In conclusion, the cognitive theory of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liza tio n suggests

that

as children mature they pass through

stages of cognitive development.

of

These stages are sequential and a

child must reach a p a r t ic u la r maturational prehend more complex phenomena.

a series

level

in order to com­

Since maturational

factors

l im i t

the kind and speed of s o c ia liz a tio n , the payoff of learning cogni­ t iv e theory is c le a r — people can more i n t e l l i g e n t l y and e f f i c i e n t l y judge how best to s o c ia liz e children.

A Model of the Process of P o litic a l

L ife

In the previous sections, we described the h is to r ic a l develop­ ment of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

defined p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

and studied representative theories of p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n .

In

th is section of the chapter, we propose the incorporated model of p o litic a l

life

designed to

examine how

p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n can be viewed in the process

of p o l i t i c a l

life .

(see Figure 2)

Before we begin to

essential

c h a ra c te ris tic s

which

introduce

of

th is

is

the

recommended model,

two

p o l i t i c a l analysis need to be

pointed out; and d e fin itio n s of the basic terms in th is model f o l ­ low. F i r s t of a l l ,

the incorporated model

both in d iv id u a l-le v e l s o c ia liz a tio n .

and systematic-level

is developed to connect analyses fo r

The two levels may complement each other, fo r each

focuses on a d if f e r e n t aspect of p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y . approach io r;

the

p o l it i c a l

shows how people

learn

p o litic a l

The individual

a ttitu d es

systematic approach shows the consequence

of

and

behav­

p o litic a l

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34

Political culture

Political —

/ Political

:— :— 7 *

Political

socialization V personality

J

Political system

Public

participation

policy

Political change

Figure 2.

The Incorporated Model of P o litic a l L ife .

s o c ia liz a tio n

in the p o l i t i c a l

system,

taken together,

they may

provide a more comprehensive view of the topic than could be o f ­ fered by e ith e r one perspective alone. Secondarily, the concepts and t h e ir in te rr e la tio n s involved in th is model are abstract and may seem f a r removed from the concrete­ ness of the p o l i t i c a l ences.

life

that every one of us personally e x p e ri­

However, they can help guide us to an understanding of many

things we do not d i r e c t ly experience and thus broaden our p o l i t i c a l in sig h t.

P o li t i c a l Culture

P o li t i c a l culture refers to cognitive,

a f fe c tiv e ,

and evalua­

t iv e compounds of orientations people have toward three basic e l e ­ ments of the p o l i t i c a l the p o l i t i c a l

system,

Rosenbaum, 1975).

system: and (3)

(1) the government,

(2) others in

themselves (Almond & Powell,

1978;

We may provide Table 2 to gain fu rth e r under­

standing of th is d e f i n it io n .

A p o l it i c a l culture is the product of

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the h is to r ic a l experience of a nation as well as the ongoing proc­ esses of p o l i t i c a l , s o c ia l, and economic a c t i v i t y . p o litic a l

culture plays

an important role

In any society,

in helping

individuals

cope with problems from the p o l i t i c a l system.

Table 2 Compounds of P o lit ic a l Culture

Compound of p o l it i c a l culture

Cognitive o rie n ta tio n : b e lie fs about how things are in the p o l i t i c a l world

A ffe c tiv e o rie n ta tio n : emotions toward per­ ceived p o l i t i c a l objects

Evaluative o rie n ta tio n : b e lie fs about public policy should be sought

Manifestations

1.

We (Americans) have a democratic government.

2.

The ruling party always equates i t s own p o licies with the national good and tends to regard opposition as d is lo y a l.

3.

I don't have the a b i l i t y to make a d ifference in the decision-making process.

1.

I love my country.

2.

I don't tru st the ru lin g party.

3.

I don't lik e to be powerless in the decision-making process.

1.

Social welfare should be the f i r s t p r i o r i t y of public policy.

2.

A tolerance of dissenting opinion is fundamental to democracy.

3.

I should be p o l i t i c a l l y active.

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36 P o lit ic a l S o cia lizatio n

P o li t i c a l through t h e ir

which culture

s o c ia liz a tio n is the process of social people in te r n a liz e p o l i t i c a l norms and

thus acquire

t h e ir

in te ra ctio n

and

p o litic a l

the p o l i t i c a l system.

of

p e rs o n a litie s .

P o lit ic a l s o c ia liz a tio n is the crucial lin k between the and

values

individual

P o li t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n helps the

new­

comers c l a r i f y expectations, receive new values, modify old values, and

learn behavior patterns that are essential fo r p o l i t i c a l

liv ­

ing.

And, p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n enables the p o l i t i c a l system

have

a r e l a t i v e l y integrated p o l it i c a l c u ltu r e , thus ensuring

c on tinuity from generation to generation. tio n

process

to its

The p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a ­

serves three main functions (Dawson et

a l.,

1977):

one is to pass on to newcomers of a society the central elements of p o l i t i c a l culture of older generations; another, to transform of

those elements as change in order to cope with stress from

new environment; f i n a l l y , as

some the

in some r e l a t i v e l y unusual instances such

the establishment of a new independent s ta te , to create

a

new

p o l i t i c a l c u ltu re .

P o lit ic a l Personality

One of the most important outcomes o f p o l i t i c a l is

individual p o l i t i c a l p erso nality.

s o c ia liz a tio n

Personality refers

to

"the

p ersistin g , organized dispositions that lead a person to respond in c h a ra c te ris tic ways to the environment . . . the dispositions

that

shape responses to p o l i t i c a l stim uli are sometimes called p o l i t i c a l

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personality" (Plano, Riggs, & Robin, 1982, p. 90). tio n cue

The main

func­

of p o l i t i c a l perso nality fo r an individual is to provide for p o l i t i c a l p a r t ic ip a tio n .

always

been

I t is true th at personality

and always w il l be with us. human behavior,

the

There has never

time

when

including p o l i t i c a l behavior,

been

la rg e ly influenced by the mental images through which

has

been has

a not

people

have grown accustomed to perceiving and judging t h e i r environment. The formation process of p o l i t i c a l

perso nality

is

under the

influence of s o c ia liz a tio n experiences throughout the l i f e course. Nobody is born a radical Democrat, a conservative Republican, or an anarchist. these,

People may be born with the potential to become any of

but what they a c tu a lly become is p rim a rily the product of

t h e i r unique s o c ia liz a tio n

experiences.

P o li t i c a l

perso nality is

never e n t i r e ly stable; i t can be modified or replaced in the lig h t of subsequent experiences. that

the values

It

of the various

is

not uncommon to

s o c ia liz a tio n

an individual

agents,

in a given

s itu a tio n , may not be the same and can even be in o utrig ht flic t.

con­

Parents may t e l l us one thing, teachers something els e , and

the media something else again.

And the d iff e r e n t voles that the

individual plays may also be in c o n f l ic t . supposed to

vote fo r

some reason,

however,

the

Republican

As a Republican, you are

presidential

candidate;

fo r

you might prefer the Democratic candidate.

The individual is pushed th is way and that and somehow has to make choices in unexpected s itu a tio n s .

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P o li t i c a l P a rtic ip a tio n

P o li t i c a l p a r tic ip a tio n can be defined as "those a c t i v i t i e s by private c itiz e n s that are more or less d i r e c t ly aimed at

in flu en c­

ing

the

decisions

The

types

the selection of governmental personnel and/or

that

they

p o litic a l and

make" (Verba, Nie, & Kim, 1971, p. 9 ) .

culture have been c la s s ifie d into p a r tic ip a n t,

active

use

this

to analyze the way people t y p i c a l ly p a r tic ip a te

t h e ir p o l i t i c a l system. is

subject,

parochial categories (Almond & Verba, 1963); we can

c la s s if ic a tio n

of

in

The typical c itiz e n of p a rtic ip a n t culture

in the process of resources

a llo c a tio n .

The

subject

culture is characterized by c itiz e n s who passively accept the deci­ sions

of governments.

zens

might

In the society of parochial c u ltu re ,

not id e n t if y themselves as members

of

the

system which may lead them to p o l i t i c a l apathy or radical

c iti­

p o litic a l attempts

to overthrow the system (Isaak, 1987). The degree to which people get involved in the p o l i t i c a l cess

pro­

varies not only from person to person but also from state

s ta te .

We

provide Figure 3 to show that

d if f e r e n t

states

to have

t h e ir own d if f e r e n t styles of p o l i t i c a l p a r tic ip a tio n .

P o li t i c a l System

The cesses society

p o litic a l through

system refers to those in s titu tio n s

which values are a u th o r ita tiv e ly

(Easton, 1965).

and

allocated

I t is the p o l i t i c a l system that

pro­ in

a

responds

to people's p o l i t i c a l p a rtic ip a tio n (demands and support) in

terms

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100Participants

Participants

Participants

9080Subjects Participants

70-

Subjects 6050-

Subjects

4030-

Parochials Subjects

20-

Parochials

10 0

-

Parochial s

-

Democrat ic industria l Figure

Source:

3.

Parochials A u thoritarian in d u s tria l

A uthoritarian tra n s itio n a l

Democratic prein d u s trial

Models of P o li t i c a l Culture: Orientations Involvement in the P o li t i c a l Process.

Toward

From Comparative Government Today (p. 43) by A. G. and G. B. Powell, J r . , 1988, Glenview, IL: Scott, man.

Almond Fores-

of decisions and actions. and needs of

the

From time to time, the sum of the wants

individuals

and groups within

the

society may

exceed the resources a va ilab le for d is trib u tio n to them.

So long

as there is sca rcity in the world, people w i l l face the problem of d is t r ib u t io n .

The p o l i t i c a l

with th is problem.

system, th erefo re,

is needed to deal

In other words, government lays down the rules

of the game in c o n flic t

and competition

between

individuals

and

in s titu tio n s within society.

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Public Policy

Public p olic y,, in Dye's (1975) view, is "whatever governments choose to do or not to do" (p. 1 ). form many tasks: they a llo cate

In a society,

governments per­

They regulate c o n flic t between people and groups;

a great

v a rie ty

of

goods and services

to

members

within society; they provide economic aid to foreign nations; they c o lle c t forms,

taxes. including

Public policy may be expressed laws,

executive orders,

the l ik e made by the a u th o ritie s .

j u d ic ia l

in

a v a rie ty of decisions,

and

In systems theory, we may also

conceive of public p o lic y as those actions by the p o l i t i c a l system in response to the demands and supports from the environment.

P o li t i c a l Change

According to Andrain (1988), p o l i t i c a l change refers to: The mode of p o l i t i c a l production has a l t e r e d - - t h a t is , the policy process has experienced changes in the struc­ tu ra l basis of p o l i t i c a l ru le , the cu ltu ra l b e lie fs that become p r i o r i t i e s of p o l i t i c a l decision-makers, and the ways of handling basic issues in the policy process. (p. 9) No society can successfully prevent p o l i t i c a l change, not even those that t r y to do so, although some societies are more resistan t to change than others.

P o li t i c a l change may occur when a p o l i t i c a l

system adapts to new demands from its changing environment, or when a p o l i t i c a l system cannot maintain i t s e l f and is replaced by anoth­ er.

P o li t i c a l change is extremely important because "the survival

of any government depends on i t s its environment" (Plano et a l . ,

capacity to change and adapt to

1982, p. 98).

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In sum, the character of p o l it i c a l

in s titu tio n s

and behavior

varies a great

deal from one society to another, but the process of

p o l it i c a l

i t s e l f may be universal. Through p o l i t i c a l s o c ia l i ­

zation,

life people

have

learned

p o l it i c a l cu ltu re and

formed

t h e ir

p o l it i c a l perso n alitie s with which they perceive and p a r tic ip a te in the p o l i t i c a l litic a l

system.

changeand,

F in a lly , mass p a r tic ip a tio n w il l

consequently,

reshape p o l i t i c a l

cause po­

cu ltu re .

In

th is incorporated model, the process of p o l i t i c a l l i f e continues to run through i t s continuous "loop" without end:

p o litic a l

culture

—> p o l it i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n — > p o l it i c a l personality —> p o l it i c a l p a rtic ip a tio n --> p o l i t i c a l

system --> public policy --> p o l i t i c a l

change — > new p o l i t i c a l culture —> and so on.

S o c ia liz a tio n Studies on Taiwan S o c ia liza tio n research on Taiwan has been conducted by many scholars from various aspects. studied the p o l i t i c a l analysis.

In

Wilson

(1970),

examining

is

instance,

has

cu ltu re of Taiwan in terms of s o c ia liz a tio n the

p o litic a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

children on Taiwan, he analyzed three areas. investigation

fo r

the

re la tio n s h ip

groups in which they l i v e .

between

of

Chinese

The i n i t i a l

area of

children

and

social

The factors fo r analysis are the means

by which "group inte g ratio n is achieved, the nature of the stimuli that bring such integration about, and how responses are related to these stim uli"

(Wilson,

1970,

p.

10).

investigation is how the educational children to

One main element of

th is

system attempts to s o c ialize

invest lo y a lty in the state.

The secondary area of

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investigation covers those group a ttitu d e s to the a ttitu d e s c h i l ­ dren hold toward au th o rity fig u re s .

Wilson put stress on aspects

of p o l i t i c a l education of how p o l it i c a l the educational litic a l

leaders are introduced into

content and how children come to perceive the po­

leader and the p o l i t i c a l process.

The f in a l area of inves­

tig a tio n is how h o s t i l i t y is expressed in group s o l i d a r it y . (1970) studied "how the p o l i t i c a l educational

system,

attempt

to

a u th o ritie s ,

channel

Wilson

acting through the

potential

h o s tility

into

increased lo y a lty and s o l i d a r it y fo r t h e ir own p o l i t i c a l system and into hatred fo r p o l i t i c a l enemies" (p. 10). Based on the assumption that the school is more accessible to governmental c o n tro l, Martin (1975) has revealed, through examining elementary school textbooks, the social

and p o l i t i c a l

norms which

the government of Taiwan encourages i t s fu tu re c itiz e n s

to adopt.

The textbooks used fo r analysis were Chinese Language (Republic of China,

1970) fo r Grades 1 to 5.

Among 10 volumes, only the odd

numbered volumes were selected as the sample fo r examination.

The

findings presented by Martin have been organized into the following topics:

(a)

basic personal

"virtues"

and a ttr ib u te s ,

(b)

social

relatio n s h ip s ,

(c) a ttitu d e s and behaviors, (d) types of in d iv id u ­

als

in model

presented

behavior, and ( f )

ro le s ,

p o litic a l

(e)

rewards

noted

issues and symbols.

fo r

sanctioned

This analysis is

another contribution toward understanding of the p o l i t i c a l

culture

of Taiwan. Meyer (1988) has studied teaching m orality in Taiwan schools. He argued th at

unlike Western cultures

which have t r a d i t i o n a l l y

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emphasized knowledge, r e l ig i o n ,

and law, Chinese cu ltu re has been

p rim a rily concerned with m o rality.

And i t is the m orality that has

strong impact on regulating individual

behavior

in everyday l i f e .

By examining school textbooks, he attempted to i d e n t if y the unique­ ness of the Chinese moral t r a d it i o n .

Meyer's study was based on an

examination of the textbooks which have some moral content during primary school

(6 years) on Taiwan.

The textbooks used fo r analy­

sis were L ife and Human Relationships (Republic of China, 1983h, 6 volumes), Chinese Language (Republic of China, 1983a, 12 volumes), Social Studies (Republic of China, 1983m, 12 volumes), Citizenship and M o ra lity (Republic of China, 1983c, 6 volumes), Chinese L i t e r a ­ ture (Republic of China, 1983b, 6 volumes), Geography (Republic of China, 1983e, 6 volumes), and Hi story (Republic of China, 1983g, 6 volumes). From another perspective, th is thesis attempts to investigate the contents of school

textbooks with regard to the gender r o le .

We t r y to examine elementary school textbooks to see i f they have messages of p o l i t i c a l d ifference between sexes which might c o n trib ­ ute to the understanding of why women are r a r e ly seen in any posi­ tions of power or a u th o rity in any realm on Taiwan.

P o li t i c a l Culture and Gender Roles on Taiwan

Men and women in every society tend to d i f f e r t r a i t s and the performance of social tio n . expects

ro le s .

in perso nality

Taiwan is no excep­

Taiwanese society tre a ts men and women in d if f e r e n t ways and d if f e r e n t

patterns

of

behavior

from

them.

Throughout

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h isto ry, men have generally been the dominant sex and women have been subordinate taken this

to

social

them.

Both men and women have customarily

arrangement fo r

granted,

passing

it

down from

generation to generation as part of the culture (Hsu, 1987). Chinese culture has t r a d i t i o n a l l y stressed gender-linked per­ so n ality

tra its .

there is s t i l l

Despite

gender-role

changes

of

recent

years,

some consensus about the way men and women in te rp re t

t h e i r own ro les, and i t

is possible to o u tlin e the ch a ra c te ris tic s

in a very general way (Y i,

1988).

The Chinese woman is t y p i c a l ly

supposed to be passive, conformist, a ffe c tio n a te , s e n s itiv e , i n t u i ­ tiv e ,

dependent,

s e lf-s a c rific in g

concerned with domestic l i f e . edgeable about sports, topics,

but

unfeminine. in itia tiv e ,

p o litic s ,

appear

her

fam ily,

and p rim a rily

She is not supposed to be too knowl­

deeply concerned

She should not

fo r

economics,

and s im ila r masculine

about her routine

ambitious

or

she risks

domestic

duties.

being regarded

as

In her relationships with men, she should not take the but

should

be

tender,

expressive,

and appreciative.

The Chinese man, on the other hand, is t r a d i t i o n a l l y supposed to be activ e ,

aggressive,

independent. laundry,

s e lf-re lia n t,

lo g ic a l,

tough,

fe a rle s s ,

and

He is supposed to be ignorant of cooking, doing the

and sim ila r

domestic duties.

He should

have

d e f in it e

opinions on the major issues of the day, should be capable of mak­ ing a u th o rita tiv e decisions economics fo r his fam ily.

in the home,

and should take care of

His self-image comes from his achieve­

ments in the outside world,

and work is

the major focus

of

his

life .

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Chinese p o l it i c s has generally been viewed as a male a c t i v it y . Men are elected

and appointed

positions at a ll

levels of government (Hsu,

cording to the Council

fo r

to

the

m ajority

of

policy-making

1987; Yi,

Economic Planning

1988).

Ac­

and Development

(1988), women represent 47% of the population, but we find out most of the role models that p o l it i c s has to o f fe r are male.

Women are

r a r e ly seen in any positions of power in any realm on Taiwan.

The

imbalance is obvious--women are underrepresented at the e l i t e level proportional to t h e ir numbers in the population. Why do women occupy few positions of p o l i t i c a l power? they underrepresented in formal p o l i t i c a l

Why are

p a r tic ip a tio n on Taiwan?

The next chapter examines these questions by analyzing the contents of

elementary

school

textbooks.

The ra tio n a le

attempt is that we assume that school tempts

to

r e f le c t

the

dominant

underlying

as a s o c ia lizin g

culture

and,

therefore,

th is

agent a t ­ channel

young women into lowered expectations and an unwillingness to play active roles in the p o l i t i c a l aspect of society.

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CHAPTER I I I DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .

The principal objective of th is research is to investigate i f elementary school textbooks of Taiwan present sex-typed images of adult behavior.

The th e o re tic a l foundation underlying th is attempt

is based upon the incorporated model

of p o l i t i c a l

life .

In the

proposed model, we assume that through s o c ia liz a tio n process, peo­ ple have learned c u ltu ra l norms and values and formed t h e i r person­ a litie s system.

with which they perceive and p a r tic ip a te Therefore,

in the p o l i t i c a l

i f the p o l i t i c a l culture of Taiwan discourages

female p a rtic ip a tio n

in the p o l it i c a l

content of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n

arena, we might expect the

to r e f le c t

and reinfo rce

th is

tendency; consequently, women have learned to be p o l i t i c a l l y pas­ sive and are r a r e ly seen in any positions of authority on Taiwan.

Data Collection

In order to develop th is study, three sets of elementary t e x t ­ books are sampled to be analyzed. (Republic of China,

1988d).

tionships

of China,

(Republic

The f i r s t set is Social Studies

Another set

is L ife

1988c).

The la s t

Language

(Republic

of

China,

c rite ria

in

to

be e l i g i b l e

order

Textbooks have to be:

1988b). to

and Human Rela­ set

They have to p a r tic ip a te

in

is

Chinese

meet the

three study.

(1) required of a ll students in elementary

46

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schools on Taiwan;

(2)

o ffe rin g

role

models,

social

norms,

patterns of l i f e s ty le s ; and (3) engaging in p o l i t i c a l

and

indoctrina­

tion of values. There are nine sets of textbooks required of a ll elementary schools on Taiwan.

They are A rts ,

students in

Chinese

Language,

Common Sense, Health Education, L ife and Human Relationships, Math­ ematics, Music, Natural Science, and Social Studies. Among nine required textbooks, only Chinese Language, L ife and Social Relationships, and Social Studies o ffe r role models, social norms, and patterns of l i f e

sty le s .

Through these three sets of

textbooks, children can learn about courtroom lawyers, norms on the relatio n s h ip with others, and a typical Chinese fam ily in which a ll contribute to how they perceive

and perform in the world around

them. Again, and Social

only Chinese Language,

L ife

Studies engage in p o l i t i c a l

and Human Relationships, indoctrination

of values.

The purposes of education in a ll nations include not only in s tru c t­ ing children in p a r t ic u la r s k i l l s that they need to perform useful roles in society, but also engaging in p o l i t i c a l values.

By analyzing

understand o f f i c i a l

the

values

contents

of

school

and b e lie fs

about

indoctrination of textbooks, p o litic a l

we may re a lity .

What can be gained from an examination of school texts is as Martin (1975)

argued,

"a p ictu re of what the government would lik e

the

content of c h ild ren 's s o c ia liz a tio n to be" (p. 243). The common c h a ra c te ris tic

of

these

three

sets

of

textbooks

(see Table 3) is that they are a ll published by government p rin tin g

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i

Table 3 Characteristics of the Sampled Textbooks

Chinese Language

L ife and Human Relationships

Social Studies

Publisher

Provincial Government, O ffice of Education

Provincial Government, Office of Education

Provincial Government, O ffice of Education

Extent of use

A ll schools in the nation

A ll schools in the nation

All schools in the nation

Grade level

1st grade-6th grade

4th grade-6th grade

1st grade-6th grade

Age level

7-12

10-12

7-12

Volumes of use

13

6

12

Ch aracteristic

- p»

oo

houses and c ircu late d through a l l the nation's elementary schools. The f i r s t set, containing 12 volumes, the f i r s t grade to sixth grade. umes,

is

L ife

sixth grade.

is Social Studies used from

Another set, consisting o f . 6 v o l­

and Human Relationships used from fourth The last s et,

including 13 volumes,

grade to

is Chinese Lan­

guage used from f i r s t grade to sixth grade.

Hypotheses

In th is

study,

we assume Taiwanese society categorizes

its

members according to sex, tr e a tin g men and women d i f f e r e n t l y

and

expecting various patterns

of behavior from them.

From time to

time, Chinese men have generally been the dominant sex and Chinese women have been subordinate to them.

Both men and women have usu­

a l l y taken th is in e q u a lity fo r granted as a social norm, passing i t down from generation to generation as part of the cu ltu re. The Taiwanese woman we assume is

t y p i c a l ly

expected

to

be

s en sitive, caring, and a ffe c tio n a te , but also r e l a t i v e l y dependent, passive, and conformist. tic s ,

sports,

and economics,

domestic duties. in te llig e n t,

She is supposed to be ignorant of p o l i ­

She should

or she risks

but not

deeply concerned appear

ambitious

about routine or

being regarded as unfeminine.

relationships with men, she does not take the i n i t i a t i v e ,

obviously In her but in ­

stead allows the male to set the pace. The Taiwanese man we assume, on the other hand, is t r a d it i o n ­ a l l y expected to be s e l f - r e l i a n t , and aggressive.

tough,

independent, competitive,

He is not supposed to be too knowledgeable about

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baby care, dishwashing,

and sim ila r "feminine" topics.

He should

have d e f in it e opinions on the major issues of the day and should be capable of making a u th o rita tiv e decisions in the home and outside the fam ily.

In his relationships

with women,

he is

expected to

take the i n i t i a t i v e . I f the dominant culture of Taiwan stresses sex-linked person­ a l i t y c h a ra c te r is tic s , litic a l

life ,

according to the incorporated model

we might an tic ip a te school

messages expecting d i f f e r e n t

patterns

of po­

textbooks are laden with

of behavior

between

sexes.

outnumber

female

Therefore, we propose two hypotheses: 1.

In

school

textbooks,

male

characters

characters. 2.

The contents

of

textbooks o f f e r

many more diverse

and

s ig n ific a n t role models to males than to females.

Data Analysis

In the process of data analysis, we adopt d i f f e r e n t s t a t is t i c s to te s t Hypothesis 1 and Hypothesis 2, resp e ctive ly. To te s t Hypothesis 1 (male characters outnumber female charac­ ters in school textbooks), we w il l f i r s t calculate the frequency of characters textbooks have referred to by gender in Social

Studies

(12 volumes), L ife and Human Relationships (6 volumes), and Chinese Language (13 volumes) textbooks; quency d is trib u tio n chart.

F in a lly ,

mine how "good

and then present a table of f r e ­

fo r each set of textbooks, followed by a pie

we use chi-square goodness-of-fit te s t to d eter­ a fit"

th e

a c tu a l

d is trib u tio n

is

to

th e

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hypothetical d is t r ib u t io n .

To fu rth e r te s t Hypothesis 2 (textbooks

o f fe r many more diverse and s ig n ific a n t role models to males than females), we w il l present a table to show what role models, person­ a lity tra its ,

and social

norms textbooks expect boys and g i r ls to

adopt. To te s t Hypothesis 2, s ig n ific a n t

textbooks o ffe r many more diverse and

role models to males than to females,

we w ill

firs t

compute the frequency of ro le models portrayed by gender in Chinese Language,

and present a table of proportion d is trib u tio n

the r a t io of stories featu rin g males and females. of investigation covers the virtues

L ife

textbooks

adopt.

expect

boys

and g i r ls

to

to show

The second area

and Human Relationships Content

these textbooks was done on the basis of 17 v irtu e s .

analysis

of

The appear­

ance of a v irtu e was coded both q u a n tita tiv e ly and q u a li t a t i v e l y , giving each v irtu e a s t a t i s t i c a l content description.

measure of i t s

occurrence and a

So long as the main character of each v ir tu e -

oriented story is portrayed by a male, we take i t as a story t e x t ­ books o ffe r fo r males; and the reverse is the same.

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CHAPTER IV FINDINGS

The purpose of th is case study of p o l i t i c a l to

investigate

if

elementary school

sex-typed images of adult behavior. mulated to be tested: ters

textbooks

s o c ia liz a tio n of

is

Taiwan present

Two hypotheses have been f o r ­

(1) Male characters outnumber female charac­

in school textbooks,

and (2) the contents of textbooks o ffe r

many more diverse and s ig n ific a n t role models to male than female characters.

A fte r

examining the

textbooks,

we have found

that

males and "masculine" a c t i v i t i e s are emphasized more than females and "feminine" a c t i v i t i e s .

The findings of the data analysis are

organized and presented in the following tables and figu res. Social Studies

The data in Table 4 represent te s t of Hypothesis 1 at the .05 level of significance.

Table 4 Frequency of Characters by Gender in Social Studies (12 Volumes) Male

Female

Chi square

158.562

Observed frequency

173

5

Expected frequency

89

89

52

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Step 1.

Hypothesis 1:

We predict that male characters out­

number. female characters in Social Studies. HI:

P >

HO:

P \ < .5

Step 2.

.5

D is trib u tio n :

We have two categories in the popula­

tio n . The chi-square d is trib u tio n is appropriate.

the

Step 3 .

Level of significance:

Step 4.

C r i t i c a l value:

.05 level

.05.

We have the chi-square d is trib u tio n ,

of significance,

and one degree of freedom.

The

c r i t i c a l value w ill be 3.841. Step 5.

Decision:

The text is x

(0 - E)2 E ----- ^----- = 158.562. The

obtained value of 158.562 is beyond the c r i t i c a l

value of 3.841.

The decision is to r e je c t the null hypothesis. Step 6 .

Conclusion:

number female characters

We conclude that male characters out­ in Social

Studies

by the percentage of

97.2% to 2.8% (see Figure 4) at the .05 level of significance.

■ Male 97.2% U Female 2.8%

Figure 4.

Percentage D istribution of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in Social Studies.

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L ife and Human Relationships The data in Table 5 represent the te s t of the f i r s t hypothesis at the .05 level of sig n ifican c e.

Table 5 Frequency of Characters by Gender in L ife and Human Relationships (6 Volumes’]

Male

Female

Chi square

70.56

Observed frequency

92

8

Expected frequency

50

50

Step 1. Hypothesis 1:

We predict that male characters out­

number female characters in L ife and Human Relationships. HI:

P >

HO:

P \ < .5

Step 2.

.5

D is trib u tio n :

We have two categories in the popula­

tio n . The chi-square d is trib u tio n is appropriate.

the

Step 3 .

Level of significance:

Step 4 .

C r i t i c a l value:

.05

level

.05.

We have the chi-square d is t r ib u t io n ,

of s ig n ific a n c e ,

and one degree of freedom.

The

c r i t i c a l value w il l be 3.841. (0 -

Step 5.

Decision:

The te s t is x

E)2

2 ----- ^-------

= 70.56.

The

obtained value of 70.56 is beyond the c r i t i c a l value of 3.841.

The

decision is to r e je c t the null hypothesis.

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Step 6 .

Conclusion:

We conclude that male characters outnum­

ber female characters in L ife and Human Relationships by the per­ centage of 92% to 8% (see Figure 5) at the .05 level

of s i g n i f i ­

cance.

| M a le pH F em ale

Figure 5.

92.0% 8.0%

Percentage Distribu tion of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in L ife and Human Relationships. Chinese Language

The data in Table 6 represent the test of Hypothesis 1 at the .05 level of significance. Table 6 Frequency of Characters by Gender in Chinese Language (13 volumes) Male

Female

Chi square

103

11

74.246

57

57

Observed frequency Expected frequency

Step 1 .

-

Hypothesis 1:

We p r e d ic t

t h a t male c h a ra cters

outnumber female characters in Chinese Language.

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HI:

P >

H0:

P \< .5

Step

2.

.5

D is trib u tio n :

We have

two c a te g o rie s

in

the

population. The chi-square d is trib u tio n is appropriate.

the

Step 3 .

Level of significance:

Step 4 .

C r i t i c a l value:

.05

level

of

.05.

We have the chi-square d is trib u tio n ,

significance,

and one degree of

freedom.

The

c r i t i c a l value w il l be 3.841. Step 5.

Decision:

The test is x

( ° “ E>2

= E ------ £------- = 74.246.

The

obtained value of 70.56 is beyond the c r i t i c a l value of 3.841.

The

decision is to r e je c t the null hypothesis. Step 6. ber female

Conclusion: characters

in

We conclude that male characters outnum­ Chinese

Language by the

percentage

of

90.4% to 9.6% (see Figure 6) at the .05 level of significance.

■ Male 0 Female

Figure 6.

90.4% 9.6%

Percentage D istribution of the Frequency of Characters by Gender in Chinese Language.

Role models by gender pervade Chinese Language. role models are portrayed in the textbooks. 63 diverse ro les.

A to ta l of 72

Men are portrayed in

Women are portrayed in 9 roles,

one-seventh of

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the number fo r men.

Table 7 l i s t s the ro le models by gender in

Chinese Language to show the textbooks o f fe r many more diverse and s ig n ific a n t role models to males than to females.

Table 7 Role Models in Chinese Language by Gender

Male

Female

Father, Son, Student, Professor,

Mother, Daughter,

P rin c ip le , Teacher, Statesman, S c ie n tis t,

Student, Grandmother,

Businessman, Monitor, Farmer, Actor,

Teacher, W riter,

Miner, F i r e f i g h t e r , Poet, T r a f f i c

R evolutionist,

policeman, Doctor, W rite r, Soldier,

President, Queen (9)

P a in ter, Carpenter, D riv e r, Worker, Captain, T a ilo r , Mason, Expert, Archer, Hunter, Plumber, Hermit, Adventurer, A rc h ite c t, Magician, Abbot, Monk, Engineer, Emperor, Lord, Giant, Governor, Customer, Waiter, Beggar, Astronaut, Ambassador, Police o f f i c e r , King, Prime m in is te r, Counselor, Rich man, Bandit, Prince, R evolutionist, Genius, Assassin, Foreign student, Thinker, Scholar, Trainmaster, Inventor, Lawyer, Sociologist (63)

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Virtues ships. 1.

by gender can be found in L ife

and Human R elation­

The r a t io of virtue s featuring males and females is 37 to

Looking at Table 8, the data show that there is an overemphasis

of virtues in the textbooks on men, and an underemphasis on women.

Table 8 Virtues by Gender in L ife and Human Relationships

Male

Female

D ilig e n t study (3)

Justice (1)

F i l i a l p ie ty (3) Cooperation (2) F ru g a lity (2) Patriotism (3) Benevolence (2) R esponsibility (3) Peace (3)

•

Honesty (2) Justice (2) Sense of shame (3) Civic v ir tu e (1) E tiquette (2) Forgiveness (2) Bravery (2) Perseverance (2)

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The results of data analyses in th is chapter indicate that the proposed hypotheses are strongly supported. three sets of textbooks--Social

We can conclude that

Studies, L ife and Human R elation­

ships, and Chinese Language contain clear sex-typed images of adult behavior; and male characters are emphasized more than female char­ acters.

Since women on Taiwan represent

M% of

the population, the

imbalance of representation in textbooks is obvious.

Male charac­

ters outnumber female characters in school textbooks, and the con­ tents of textbooks o f fe r many more diverse

and s ig n ific a n t

role

models to males than females.

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CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

This thesis

contains

both th eo retic al

and applied

research.

In the th eo retic al p a rt, we are p r im a rily concerned with the proc­ ess of p o l i t i c a l h is to r ic a l c la rifie d

s o c ia liz a tio n .

development the concept,

of

In so doing, we have studied the

research on

described

p o litic a l

various

s o c ia liz a tio n ,

approaches

to

studying

p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n , and proposed a d es criptive model of p o l i t ­ ical l i f e and examined how p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n can be viewed in th is model. Based on the previous review of l i t e r a t u r e , we conclude th at p o litic a l and the

s o c ia liz a tio n p o litic a l

individual

to

is

system.

receive

thought and action that

the

a crucial

lin k

P o lit ic a l norms,

between the individual

s o c ia liz a tio n

values,

and other

enables

the

patterns

of

are essential fo r p o l i t i c a l l iv in g .

P o lit­

ical s o c ia liz a tio n , on the other hand, enables the p o l i t i c a l system to reproduce i t s e l f ,

thus ensuring i t s

co n tin u ity from generation

to generation. In the applied p a r t,

th is

research

attempts

to

analyze

the

learning of gender roles in elementary school textbooks on Taiwan. A fte r examining sampled hypotheses:

textbooks,

we have accepted two proposed

male characters outnumber female characters in school 60

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textbooks;

and the contents of school

textbooks

o f fe r many more

diverse and s ig n ific a n t ro le models to males than females.

Accord­

ing to the incorporated model, we rest our in te rp re ta tio n of f in d ­ ings on the following conclusions: 1. sex,

Taiwanese society

tre a tin g

categorizes

males and females

i t s members according

in d if f e r e n t

d if f e r e n t patterns of behavior from them.

to

ways and expecting

Furthermore,

men have

been the dominant sex and women have been subordinate to them. the proposed model,

it

In

is assumed that the contents of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n r e f le c t and reinfo rce p o l i t i c a l

c u ltu re .

Therefore,

i f there is a male oriented culture in the society, we might a n t ic ­ ipate that school textbooks would present sex-typed images of adult behavior

and emphasize males

and masculine a c t i v i t i e s

more than

females and feminine a c t i v i t i e s . 2.

The confirmation of the proposed hypotheses may contribute

to the understanding of why most of the role models p o l it i c s have to o f fe r are male,

and women are r a r e ly seen in any positions of

power or au th o rity in any realm on Taiwan. rated model, p o l i t i c a l teractio n

through

Based on the incorpo­

s o c ia liz a tio n is the process of

which

people

in te r n a liz e p o l i t i c a l

values of t h e i r culture and acquire t h e ir p o l i t i c a l

social

in ­

norms

and

p e rs o n a litie s .

I f today's school textbooks have messages expecting d if f e r e n t p a t­ terns

of

behavior

between sexes,

these

images may s i g n i f i c a n t l y

help bring about c h ild re n 's sense of t h e i r own i d e n t it y and poten­ tia l. to

Through e a r l i e r school textbooks, women have been socialized

stay

away from p o l it i c s

simply because

it

is

a

"masculine"

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a c tiv ity ;

and therefore,

they are discouraged or are unwilling to

a c t iv e ly p a r tic ip a te in the p o l i t i c a l arena.

Recommendations

P o li t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n , helping us b e tte r understand p o l i t i ­ cal l i f e , deserves fu rth e r a tte n tio n , and closer scrutiny. The incorporated model of p o l i t i c a l

l i f e presented in Chapter

I I suggests a number of fu tu re directions fo r both the research and p ractice of p o l i t i c a l

s o c ia liz a tio n .

We note, fo r

individuals have d if f e r e n t psychological

instance,

o rientations

that

and may in ­

te r p r e t cues and make sense of the environment in various ways.

As

researchers, we might not be s a tis fie d with j u s t knowing how power­ fu l p o l i t i c a l s o c ia liz a tio n is , but we also need to assess in d iv id ­ ual difference as we study p o l i t i c a l behavior. To what extent does the message of school textbooks correspond to r e a l i t y fo r a given society? in s tillin g

How e f f e c t iv e are the textbooks in

females and males with a ttitu d es

"appropriate" fo r each gender?

It

and behaviors deemed

is obvious that the influences

of the various agents are not always complementary and are often in o u trig h t c o n f l ic t . thing e ls e ,

Parents may t e l l

and friends

us one thing,

something else again.

schools some­

The individual

is

pushed th is way and that and somehow has to make personal judgments in a given s itu a tio n .

Every s o c ia lizin g agent has i t s own poten­

t i a l to exert influences on the in d iv id u a l, but which agent is the most in flu e n t ia l

in determining his or her a ttitu d e s and behavior?

This is a tempting question so long as we want to b e tte r predict

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p o l i t i c a l behavior of the in d iv id u a l. In order to gain a b etter understanding of the s o c ia liz a tio n process,

p o litic a l

s c ie n tis ts

should

conduct

more

longitudinal

research where individuals can ba observed as they grow up.

There

is no doubt that longitudinal analyses are d i f f i c u l t and costly to conduct,

but the benefits

period of time w i l l els

of

p o litic a l

seem obvious.

F irs t,

research over a

allow us to v e r ify and re fin e the various mod­ s o c ia liz a tio n .

Second,

such

an analysis

w ill

allow us to evaluate the importance of s o c ia liz in g agents fo r the individual at d if f e r e n t points in time.

Third, longitudinal analy­

sis w i l l provide the chance to observe changes in individual a t t i ­ tudes and values.

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