• Home
• Study
• Study Information
• Modules
• Module Information

Public Opinion from Cradle to Grave

Module description

There are a range of life events that have an effect on the development of political attitudes and behaviour. Education, friendships, employment, marriage, parenthood, divorce and aging are all life transitions that affect our identities, the resources that we have at our disposal and our social networks. In this module you will look at these phenomena at the individual level, at the macro level and in the context of major societal developments: declining birthrates, changes to the traditional family structure and labour force participation by women.

No prior knowledge skills or experience are required to take this module and it is suitable for specialist and non-specialist students.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to improve your: (1) understanding of political socialisation processes over the life-course and how these interact with social and political structures, (2) ability to analyse empirical evidence on political attitudes and behaviour, and (3) critical evaluation of the interdisciplinary research on life cycle events, identity, communication, inter-personal and social networks and political behaviour. Finally, the module aims to improve your ability to communicate thoughts and ideas through presentations and written work.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. critically assess how political attitudes and behaviour develop over the life course in oral and written work
• 2. demonstrate detailed understanding of theories and approaches explaining the effects of life cycle events on political behaviour and attitudes

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. demonstrate expertise and the ability to use key concepts pertaining to mass political attitudes and behaviour in oral and written work;
• 4. synthesize and critique a variety of theories and arguments in the field in your written work;
• 5. demonstrate a deep understanding of the implications of new evidence for a given theory in your oral and written work;
• 6. demonstrate that you understand different methods of research in the field and their implications for findings in your oral and written work;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. work independently and in groups, including presentations for class discussion, and in spontaneous discussion and defence of arguments in class, and to manage conflict;
• 8. demonstrate oral and written analytical and organizational skills in essays, group presentations and group discussion;
• 9. write essays to a deadline.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

1. Introduction: Politics over the lifetime
2. Socialization
3. Genetic influences
4. Gender gaps
5. Social networks
6. Relationships and marriage
7. Parenthood
8. Labour force participation and Career choices
9. Age, civic duty and political participation
10. Cohort and period effects
11. Cross-national comparisons

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Berthoud, Richard, and Jonathan Gershuny. 2000. Seven Years in the Lives of British Families: Evidence on the Dynamics of Social Change from the British Household Panel Survey.

Dalton, Russell. 2019 (7^th edition). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies.

Elder, Laurel, and Steven Greene. 2013. The Politics of Parenthood: Causes and Consequences of the Politicization and Polarization of the American Family.

Key words search

Public opinion; political behaviour; political psychology