The Political Self (UTS)

THE POLITICAL SELF WHAT IS POLITICS Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions. Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries. WHAT IS SELF? It refers to the identity, character, attributes, o...

THE POLITICAL SELF WHAT IS POLITICS Politics is the way that people living in groups make decisions. Politics is about making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups such as tribes, cities, or countries. WHAT IS SELF? It refers to the identity, character, attributes, or essential qualities of a person. WHAT IS POLITICAL SELF? One’s political self is his identity being a member of a community or country where he belongs. It must be taking pride of his belongingness. ORIGIN OF POLITICAL SELF FAMILY SCHOOL ORIGIN OF POLITICAL SELF CHURCH MASS MEDIA FAMILY The hierarchical structure of the family influences the political self through the obligations and expectations associated with one’s role as a member of the family and the power and status related with one’s position in the family. An important prelude to the study of political self is understanding the concept of politics. The family has a hierarchical structure Through hierarchy of positions, status and power. Example: Father acts as a leader and establishes rules to maintain order in the family. This shows that authority is necessary in the development of political self and identity. SCHOOL The school’s responsibility is to teach moral, spiritual, and political values that will help the students to become patriotic and morally upright citizen Example: UTS subject, GMRC, ROTC The school is similar to family, where the teacher acts as the leader in classroom that sets the rules and regulation to maintain order in class. CHURCH Church helps the shape ideals of citizenship and democracy through the religious teachings, values an tradition. Interaction with the peers encompasses and emphasizes the equal distribution of power, rights, and privileges among members of the group. MASS MEDIA Mass Media is the key to the source of information on politics Family, School, Church, Peers and moral behaviours that influence political behavior and political self. THEORIES OF POLITICAL SELF Social learning theory Cognitive theory Symbolic interaction theory Political participation theory SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY According to the social learning theory, a person can acquire learning through observation and imitation. In imitation, the learner watches the behavior of another person (model) and then performs the behavior in a similar way. Observation and imitation are important in a process known as political socialization, the lifelong process by which individuals gain knowledge about politics. COGNITIVE THEORY Another theory in political self is the cognitive theory which suggests that the mental activities (e.g., knowledge, perceptions, ideas) of individuals are important determinants of behavior (e.g., political attitudes). For example, individuals interpret the meaning of politics and then choose and decode the actions they will make. SYMBOLIC INTERACTION THEORY The theory of symbolic interaction suggests that behaviours are products of communication, meaning, and symbols. People give meanings to symbols and they express these meanings through language and communication. For example, children develop their political attitudes according to the symbols and meanings that their parents communicate to them. Based on the symbols and meanings that people ascribe to objects (e.g.. Politics, human rights, freedom), people can formulate plans of action (e.g., election, demonstrations, rally). POLITICAL PARTICIPATION THEORY This recognizes the importance of the theory of political participation in political self. Political participation can be defined as citizen’s actions or activities anchored in politics. From the members. All members must also commit to and take responsibility for fostering and maintaining an environment in which political participation can occur. For instance, ordinary Filipino citizens must be allowed to take part in the policy and decision-making process regarding the administration of the country which is in accordance to the democratic nature of the Philippine society. POLITICAL SELF AND IDENTITY As an essential part of the self, the political self organizes self- relevant information about politics. The political self helps in defining the structure and functions of the government, in telling and understanding the relationship between the state and the citizens, and in describing their rights, freedom, and obligations as citizens. POLITICAL SELF AND IDENTITY One important component of political self is identity, the person’s understanding of who and what he or she is. Citizenship becomes a salient basis for political self. The political self is often defined by citizenship. As such, the political self is also in part defined by reference to other members in the political group or community where one belongs. POLITICAL SELF AND IDENTITY The political self and identity are developed through socialization, through the ways people learn the knowledge, norms, values, motives, and roles appropriate to their positions in a group or community. Social interaction may significantly influence a person’s understanding of politics, and perhaps a person’s political actions in the future. POLITICAL SELF AND IDENTITY Through social interaction, people learn the status, duties, rights, and power necessary to interact successfully with other people in the group or community. Throughout life, as individuals meet new people and join new groups, the political self is influenced and modified by the opinions, comments, and suggestions of the people. THANK YOU!