Feelers, not thinkers: LACK OF CONSTRAINT Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know...

Glaucon

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

Unclet Loc: Amarillo, Tx

Glaucon wrote:

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

LACK OF CONSTRAINT br Posted in Quick Hits on Augu... (show quote)

True, young folks are not ever going to agree with the older generation, I know I certainly did not. However, as I grew older and moved away from "the group", started a family of my own, I saw the sense in what my father taught. Hopefully, this generation will do the same and things will improve. Like you, I think it will get worse before it gets better.

MrEd Loc: Georgia

Unclet wrote:

True, young folks are not ever going to agree with the older generation, I know I certainly did not. However, as I grew older and moved away from "the group", started a family of my own, I saw the sense in what my father taught. Hopefully, this generation will do the same and things will improve. Like you, I think it will get worse before it gets better.

Things are going to get a lot worse before they get better, if they get better. The younger generation is not schooled in government at all and they know next to nothing about how this government is supposed to work. They will not learn it later, because that will take a great effort on their part and I really don't think they will do it, except for a very few. They don't know what the Constitution says except for a couple of key points and they are willing to v**e our rights away simply because they don't know what they are. They think that the President is free to do anything he wants and that Congress is stopping him for doing what is right for this country. They are more then willing to let the President do wh**ever he wants and they have no idea what being President really means or what he is allowed to do.

Kirk

Glaucon wrote:

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

LACK OF CONSTRAINT br Posted in Quick Hits on Augu... (show quote)

Conservative propaganda? So the constitution is propaganda?

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

Glaucon wrote:

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

LACK OF CONSTRAINT br Posted in Quick Hits on Augu... (show quote)

Boy, that is a twist on reality. Most Millenials define themselves as "liberal," according to recent Gallop and Pew polls. And this fellow claims they are repelled by the term?

I'm guessing he didn't examine the data.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

MrEd wrote:

Things are going to get a lot worse before they ge... (show quote)

Yep and We've taught youngsters to make decisions based on "emotional content", rather than common sense. Current common sense, bears no relation to reality. The 1000's of PR firms, working for the 100,000's of entities, have learned to manipulate emotions to achieve the desired result.

Demonizing the "other" is, by far, the most popular and effective strategy. As you said, ignoring the emotion and looking for the t***h, takes work and we have raised a generation of lazy people. If there's no APP available for it, forget it.

skott Loc: Bama

Kirk wrote:

Conservative propaganda? So the constitution is propaganda?

I don't think the constitution is propaganda. Being mostly liberal, and educated, I probably do not agree with you on the interpretation of the constitution. The current supreme court does not agree with past interpretations.

Kirk

skott wrote:

I don't think the constitution is propaganda. Being mostly liberal, and educated, I probably do not agree with you on the interpretation of the constitution. The current supreme court does not agree with past interpretations.

The term liberal is blurred in it's current application. Liberal now means bigger government to force a collective idea, not personal individual freedom as was the intent of the liberal ideas in the constitution. So your right we probably do not agree. That's OK.

Dave Loc: Upstate New York

Glaucon wrote:

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

LACK OF CONSTRAINT br Posted in Quick Hits on Augu... (show quote)

"these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth" - Anyone who would make such a statement has minimal relationship with reality - when virtually every social media directed at the young is more than a little left, to suggest that kids are bombarded by conservative propaganda is either delusional to the writer or intended to delude the reader.

skott Loc: Bama

Dave wrote:

"these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth" - Anyone who would make such a statement has minimal relationship with reality - when virtually every social media directed at the young is more than a little left, to suggest that kids are bombarded by conservative propaganda is either delusional to the writer or intended to delude the reader.

They are, but they see obvious flaws in it. Younger people don't have a problem with gays, mixed-race families, or legal marijuana. The reason for this is simple. The negative consequences of these things, as stated by conservatives, have proved by example to not be true.

Mr Shako Loc: Colo Spgs

skott wrote:

I don't think the constitution is propaganda. Being mostly liberal, and educated, I probably do not agree with you on the interpretation of the constitution. The current supreme court does not agree with past interpretations.

"The current supreme court does not agree with past interpretations."

Not a bad thing at all. Each court (Warren, Renquist, Roberts) should be free to reexamine past decisions. Nothing should be set in stone. Otherwise, no Brown vs Board of Education.

Glaucon

Dave wrote:

"these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth" - Anyone who would make such a statement has minimal relationship with reality - when virtually every social media directed at the young is more than a little left, to suggest that kids are bombarded by conservative propaganda is either delusional to the writer or intended to delude the reader.

It is a bitter t***h, but reality is "is more than a little to the left." I agree that kids in general are not bombarded with conservative propaganda any more than they are bombarded by liberal propaganda. There is lots of each and I don't think that is a bad thing.

Glaucon

Mr Shako wrote:

"The current supreme court does not agree with past interpretations."

Not a bad thing at all. Each court (Warren, Renquist, Roberts) should be free to reexamine past decisions. Nothing should be set in stone. Otherwise, no Brown vs Board of Education.

The Supreme court is a political body. To believe it is above politics, is naïve, if not delusional. The appointment George W. Bush as our president was certainly not a nonpartisan decision.

Mr Shako Loc: Colo Spgs

Glaucon wrote:

The Supreme court is a political body. To believe it is above politics, is naïve, if not delusional. The appointment George W. Bush as our president was certainly not a nonpartisan decision.

I agree. You can count on one hand the number of times a conservative judge has gone over to "the other side," and I might add, vice-versa.

AuntiE Loc: 45th Least Free State

Glaucon wrote:

LACK OF CONSTRAINT
Posted in Quick Hits on August 4th, 2014 by Ed

Political scientists have been well aware since the early 1960s that what most people know about politics and government is minimal and that their beliefs lack constraint. Constraint is the idea that the things one believes should make sense together. Philip Converse (who is still alive, believe it or not) made his name by demonstrating that only a small percentage of Americans constrain their thinking in ideological terms. In the past decade or two we've seen an explosion of the use of ideological terms liberal, conservative, socialist but that doesn't mean they are used correctly. To the average crank, "liberal" means "Stuff I don't like."

This is not news to anyone. Whether you keep yourself current on public opinion data, study political science, or merely listen to the nonsense ideas people express constantly about politics, we recognize that opinions about one issue are not necessarily connected to opinions on another. This is true of Americans of any demographic, although better educated people tend to have slightly more coherent belief systems.

Writers who need to generate some content but can't think of a good idea can reliably churn out a "Look how stupid Americans are!" piece using polling data. It's hardly surprising. That said, I think most of us were a little floored to see just how little sense the political beliefs of "millennials" make. As in, they appear to make no sense at all.

This made the rounds online recently, and they do require some caveats. One is that young people generally know the least about politics, and this is not unique to the current crop. The second is that it is possible to have somewhat useful political beliefs without being able to answer the kind of questions that academics and pollsters expect you to be able to answer. Even with those caveats, this is pretty bad. A couple things stand out.

Even more than most Americans, their beliefs appear to hinge on how things are pitched and what terms are used. They are repelled by the term "Obamacare" to a greater extent than their elders, despite liking Obama and being supportive of national healthcare (What?). It seems that these responses are twisted by opposing forces these kids have been bombarded by conservative propaganda since birth (hence their allergy to terms like "liberal" and "Obamacare") while their own political preferences, to the extent that they have any, are not nearly as paleolithic. The years of Fox News and Tea Party-themed lectures from dad lead to them rejecting things that contain the wrong keywords Government bad! Liberal bad! Taxes evil! but that aversion is not necessarily connected to any of their actual opinions.

Perhaps I'm trying too hard to read something into the aggregate data; maybe they really are as ignorant as the numerous "OMG look at how dumb they are" pieces suggest. Nonetheless, the data imply that things won't be getting much better in the foreseeable future.

LACK OF CONSTRAINT br Posted in Quick Hits on Augu... (show quote)

Link, please.

I am not arguing. I would just like the link.