• Strict Parents Raise Conservative Kids
    52 replies, posted
[quote]What makes a conservative? What makes a liberal? New research suggests that political socialization begins with parenting. Mothers and fathers who adopt an authoritarian parenting style (as opposed to an egalitarian style) tend to raise children who endorse conservative ideologies as adults. But it isn't just as simple as nurture over nature. Children with fearful dispositions are more likely to grow up with conservative values, too. Researchers at University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana confirmed these theories in an important, if not exactly earth-shattering, study published in Psychological Science recently. Psychological scientist Richard Fraley and his colleagues looked at early childhood and youth development data from the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In the longitudinal study, parents of 1-month-old children answered a questionnaire, which Fraley et al. used to determine whether the parents were more authoritarian or egalitarian. (Authoritarian parents were defined as being more likely to use punishment, emphasize obedience, and have strict rules for discipline and behavior, whereas egalitarian parents were seen as less rigid and more open to their children voicing opinions and bending the rules.) When the kids turned 4 and a half, their mothers filled out questionnaires on their children's temperaments. At age 18, the children with authoritarian parents were more likely to be conservative. The researchers found similar results among the fearful children--those who were afraid of the dark or who would get upset watching a sad event on television--regardless of how they were raised. At age 18, they had more conservative values than those who had restless, active or attention-focusing temperaments as children. Fraley and his colleagues hope future studies will look at things like parent-child conflict and genetic makeup to link parents' influence and temperament on children's political ideology. Then we'll be able to draw stronger conclusions about why conservatives and liberals believe what they believe. It's not a stereotype if there's science behind it, right?[/quote] Source: [url]http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-10/science-confirms-obvious-authoritarian-parents-raise-conservative-offspring[/url] [url]http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/parenting-and-temperament-in-childhood-predict-later-political-ideology.html[/url]
Well then; a balance must be struck. Too much strictness infects children with the Conservative virus, though too much freedom could result in either spoilt brats or potential anarchists. It's important to lay down SOME rules, but it's also wise to let your child voice their opinions and try reasoning with them. Strike the balance between infection and chaos, and you'd end up with an alright chappy/chappette.
I heard about this simple test you can do on people to know if they're more conservative or liberal without even asking them. You have to be talking to them, and while they're listening to you talk, stray your eye contact away from their eyes, and look behind them at something for a few seconds, maybe even slow down what you're saying as if you're distracted. If the person keeps on staring you in the eyes, they're more conservative, but if they look behind them at what you were looking at, they're more liberal. Apparently conservatives don't like being told what to do, so they don't turn.
[QUOTE=ironman17;38179933]Well then; a balance must be struck. Too much strictness infects children with the Conservative virus, though too much freedom could result in either spoilt brats or potential anarchists. It's important to lay down SOME rules, but it's also wise to let your child voice their opinions and try reasoning with them. Strike the balance between infection and chaos, and you'd end up with an alright chappy/chappette.[/QUOTE] Problem with that is, what some consider strict others may consider freedom and vice versa.
[QUOTE=MCCCXXXIII;38179934]I heard about this simple test you can do on people to know if they're more conservative or liberal without even asking them. You have to be talking to them, and while they're listening to you talk, stray your eye contact away from their eyes, and look behind them at something for a few seconds, maybe even slow down what you're saying as if you're distracted. If the person keeps on staring you in the eyes, they're more conservative, but if they look behind them at what you were looking at, they're more liberal. Apparently conservatives don't like being told what to do, so they don't turn.[/QUOTE] I'm conservative and I always look at what the other person is looking at.
My parents weren't the strictest I knew about, but were more so than most kids I know, and I grew up more conservative. It wasn't until leaving highschool and learning more about how actual society works that I became more liberal. I'd still consider myself a moderate though.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;38179973]I'm conservative and I always look at what the other person is looking at.[/QUOTE] Conservative in what way though?
[QUOTE=ironman17;38179933]Well then; a balance must be struck. Too much strictness infects children with the Conservative virus, though too much freedom could result in either spoilt brats or potential anarchists. It's important to lay down SOME rules, but it's also wise to let your child voice their opinions and try reasoning with them. Strike the balance between infection and chaos, and you'd end up with an alright chappy/chappette.[/QUOTE] I don't see why you're talking like the two extremes of parenting are the most common.
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;38179990]Conservative in what way though?[/QUOTE] I am more of a fiscal conservative. Less government, less spending, etc. I was raised with having to work for a lot of the stuff I had and start working at a young age. Which made me able to live a different lifestyle than most. Granted, I was given more opportunities to to succeed than others but I think you get what I mean.
it's no wonder that being exposed to less reality gives you an unrealistic viewpoint
Was raised a conservative but internet usage brought me exposure to the world and other cultures/ideologies and quickly turned that around. I was the 3rd child so my parents sort of let me get away with more things than my two older brothers. I guess they got tired of trying to control three young boys. Either way, I guess it shows as I'm easily the most liberal out of the whole family.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;38179965]Problem with that is, what some consider strict others may consider freedom and vice versa.[/QUOTE] Yep, that's a problem; one of the few things that makes subjectivity slipperier than a buttered python. What seems well-balanced to one culture may be OP or UP to another. [QUOTE=NoDachi;38180012]I don't see why you're talking like the two extremes of parenting are the most common.[/QUOTE] Oh of course; I forgot about abusive parenting, absentee parenting, neglectful parenting, single-parent parenting, close-family parenting, adoptive parenting, and the list goes ever on and on. I'm not an expert on the various different kinds of parenting, but those were the main ones I could think of before I heard about a theory purported by Maccoby and Martin, which apparently deals with parents being responsive/unresponsive and demanding/undemanding. Kinda interesting actually.
My parents were extremely strict but I'm not conservative...
[QUOTE=jwk94;38180213]My parents were extremely strict but I'm not conservative...[/QUOTE] My parents are religious nutjob conservatives and I am not
No there exists no concept of kids rebelling from parental thoughts, none at all.
[QUOTE=QuikKill;38180047]I am more of a fiscal conservative. Less government, less spending, etc. I was raised with having to work for a lot of the stuff I had and start working at a young age. Which made me able to live a different lifestyle than most. Granted, I was given more opportunities to to succeed than others but I think you get what I mean.[/QUOTE] Doesn't your dad own his own company that has enough money to pay for it's employees insurance though?
[QUOTE=carcarcargo;38180514]Doesn't your dad own his own company that has enough money to pay for it's employees insurance though?[/QUOTE] Yes he does. He could save money and not do that, but he feels that if he pays his workers good, gives them good benefits, then they will do good work.
[quote]Mothers and fathers who adopt an authoritarian parenting style (as opposed to an egalitarian style) tend to raise children who endorse conservative ideologies as adults.[/quote] How shittily worded. "Authoritarian" clearly has large negative connotations, while "egalitarian" is a positive word that doesn't even fit in the context.
Well, my folks were pretty controlling, and I was very obedient to them. I think I came out pretty bland in terms of drinking, smoking, appearances, lifestyle, etc. However in terms of political opinions most Americans consider me to be "very liberal", so I guess it depends on what you determine to be conservative.
My parents were fairly strict, I didn't have close boundaries, but they were stricter than most of my friend's parents. As in I was given a certain amount of freedom but if I took the piss I'd know about it. However I am liberal and my parents are too, both are atheists with strong working class values. It may be down to their upbringings, my grandfather travelled the world with the army before WW2 working Indians and Chinese (he had tattoos done in China, but they were never finished as he was moved on). Racism disgusted him. Growing up my mother had a lot of west Indian friends, and I have West Indian family. We were also encouraged to ask questions, wether it about the world or the way people go about things.
Huh. My friend's parents are strict and they're conservative as well. Odd.
My parents are quite strict but my dads a commie. I consider myself pretty liberal though.
My parents were semi-strict if I broke the rules/was bad I was punished sometimes with spankings with their hand, belt, or a paddle; which some people think is ridiculously strict, but they also encouraged exploration of ideas and did what they could to help me to be open minded.
My parents were pretty lax in raising me but strict in raising my sister, and I turned out to be conservative-leaning yet my sister became super liberal, I wonder why.
[QUOTE=Ardosos;38183320]My parents were pretty lax in raising me but strict in raising my sister, and I turned out to be conservative-leaning yet my sister became super liberal, I wonder why.[/QUOTE] Could be you sought to oppose your parents?
All this study does is support the party identification theory in politics, though it's less effective now.
[QUOTE=Stopper;38183479]Could be you sought to oppose your parents?[/QUOTE] I don't think so, we usually get along pretty well. I was never a ~rebellious angsty teen~ or anything like that, they never gave me a reason to be.
Wow, this is probably the most conservatives I've seen in one thread. :v: That said, my parents were not too strict, but not too lax. They found the perfect balance. That said, I am indeed a conservative (as many of you have probably already found out) not because of how my parents raised me, but because I have made the active choice to be a conservative based on what I have seen of the world.
My parents were strict about the things that mattered. I.E. being nice, being respectful, what is expected of us at what age, etc. However I have always had completely unfettered access to information and thus the internet. They are both secure conservatives, but they're fiscal conservatives. Social conservatism just pisses them off. Despite the mistakes they've made, I think they did alright. Dad actually used to be a liberal though. He says that changed when he started paying taxes.
[quote]Children with fearful dispositions are more likely to grow up with conservative values, too.[/quote] Oh god... I HAVE A FEARFUL DISPOSITION Why do I want to vote Mitt Romney all the sudden? Oh god guys I'm scared. OH GOD THAT'S MAKING ME WANT TO VOTE ROMNEY MORE OH GOD HELP
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