Why do some grow into liking politics where other couldn’t care less about the current events in Washington, Brussels or Berlin. In a new study I argue for the relevance of seemingly non-political influences during early socialization that shape our outlook in later decades of life. The theoretical reasoning and the study’s main findings are briefly described in the twitter thread I embedded below.
The study will appear in a Special Issue at Motivation & Emotion on ‚Advancing the Field of Basic Psychological Needs‚, ed. by Maarten Vansteenkiste, Richard M. Ryan, and Bart Soenens.
Finally ready to share what I started working on 4 years ago:
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Why do some people grow into liking politics?
I propose that the seemingly non-political concept of basic psychological needs helps to explain the origins of valuing & enjoying pol. engagement https://t.co/xtpIKyp3xa pic.twitter.com/pD5TeBLYOk
A 2nd observation motivating this research:
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Often, those individuals who meet the criteria of good citizenship (e.g., politically aware & engaged) also fare well on other indicators of social attainments (e.g. income, education).
Is it coincidence, mutual influence, common cause?
Political socialization research focuses -naturally- on political factors (e.g., pol. events, doamain-specific exposure), mostly investigating young adolescents who are old enough to understand what politics is and what it means.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Basic psychological needs is a central concept in motivation science. According to self-determination theory, all human beings share the needs for autonomy, competence & relatedness.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
The deprivation of these needs thwarts the human inclination for curiosity & social adaptation
I theorize that early non-political experiences -namely a family environment that promotes the satisfaction of basic psychological needs- help explain volitional pol. engagement in the following decades of life, mediated through one's inclination for curiosity & internalization.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
The cohort data also tell us what has become of these children when they were surveyed again years or decades later.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
The association btw need-supportive parenting in childhood & pol engagement is often but not always robust after controlling for a long list of skills and background variables.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
1 SD increase in eg. involved parenting is associated with an increase of pol engagement by β=0.33 SD. pic.twitter.com/MlFCenVPnQ
These findings are correlational and not definitive. Yet, they provide initial evidence for political ramifications of need-thwarting or -supportive influences, which are seemingly remote to the political domain but deeply engrained in human processes of psychosocial functioning
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Interestingly, even though they interpret their findings from a different perspective, recent studies in educational contexts by @carolgalais and with experimental designs by @JohnHolbein1 can also be interpreted as evidence for the effects of seemingly non-political influences.
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Beyond its theoretical import, the notion of political engagement’s non-political origins involves practical implications for educational and political institutions, suggesting that domain-specific familiarization should be accompanied by more holistic approaches
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
Syntax and data: https://t.co/tZibrvR9Gm
— Alexander Wuttke (@Kunkakom) September 19, 2019
View-only article: https://t.co/1UWIEuYWdg
Pre-Print: https://t.co/1hbTmYCVlY
