How are political values and beliefs formed? What influences individuals’ political beliefs?
• The attitudes that individuals hold about political issues and personalities tend to be shaped by their underlying beliefs and values. • The processes through which these underlying political beliefs and values are formed are collectively called political socialization. • The agents of socialization include the family, social groups, education, and prevailing political conditions. III. What do differences between liberals and conservatives reveal about American political debate? • Liberals regard equality as the most important core value. The term liberal implies support for political and social reform; extensive government intervention in the economy; the expansion of federal social services; and more vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women. However, liberals tend to mistrust police power and government intervention in social issues; hence, they often support rights of the accused and oppose government involvement in regulating personal issues such as abortion-
