GROUP CONSCIOUSNESS
In addition to the way we are raised, the roles we have and the larger structural forces at work, whether or not we have a group consciousness may affect how we think or behave. Group consciousness requires these components:
social group identification
-shared perception of problems facing group
-discontentedness with group’s power
-collective orientation toward solving power inequities
So, one can be a member of a group as a function of demographics (be a female, a member of a minority group), but not necessarily think of one’s self or identify with the group, or subscribe to the idea that there are shared problems or that the group is in any way disadvantaged. If these components are not present, it is unlikely that one would see any collective (or group) solution to a perceived problem.
STRUCTURAL FACTORS
Beyond the roles we play and how we are raised, there are larger structural forces at work on our attitudes and behavior. If we think about the components of socioeconomic status (education, occupation, income), we know that people who fall into different categories of these variables sometimes think and behave in similar ways. Analysis of attitudes and behavior are often broken down (or stratified) based on sex, race and ethnicity, age, level of education, income bracket, and employment classification (working or blue collar, professional or white collar, for example).

How does this all relate to sex, gender and this class? If it turns out that men and women are raised differently and have different role sets and accompanying expectations, then we might want to analyze the sexes separately when trying to understand political attitudes and behavior. In addition to sex, we also have to be mindful of the impact of other structural factors on these relationships.

GENDERED SOCIALIZATION
How might gender differences in the way we are raised affect how we think about politics and government and then how we behave in the political world?

Were you surprised to learn from the website that the book was originally meant by the author to be a satire but that the publishers printed it as a children’s book? Were you surprised by the reactions on the blog?

How might the kinds of values and gender norms this book presents affect views on political issues? How about their effect on political behavior?

Another component of the socialization process is the effect of time. There are several specific ways that time plays a part in how we are raised:

generational effects:
era effects
lifecycle effects
“Generational effects” refers to the way that people who were raised during the same generation have been affected by the same kinds of events and norms of the time. As a result, we might see people who are from the same generation experiencing similar patterns of socialization and thus have similar opinions or behave similarly.

“Era effects” refers to the way that a particularly seismic event can affect everyone (no matter what their age) who experiences it. For example, everyone who was alive at the time remembers where they were on September 11, 2001 or when President Kennedy was shot or when Pearl Harbor was bombed.

“Lifecycle effects” refers to the way that people’s attitudes and tendencies change as they age and mature. Toddlers behave like toddlers no matter if they are three in 1953 or 1993. Similarly, teenagers go through independent and rebellious stages (though what counts as “rebellious” may change) in every time period.