Age Matters Response 1, Week 1
by Carol Kinney
for POL255-AE Intro to Comparative Politics California Baptist University Dr. Riste Simnjanovski
September 6, 2014
Consider this question: “What political knowledge would you measure if you did a comparative analysis across different age groups, and why?” (Danziger, 2013; 23). This question is posed in Danziger’s textbook in reference to research connecting higher political knowledge with older age groups and generations (c.f. 2013; 22). At first glance, the research indicates that as a person ages, their interest in political information increases, with the lowest interest age group being in their late-teens to mid-twenties. However, the authors of the research are careful to conclude that age is the sole corollary, as “education level” (Danziger, 2013; 23), family involvement in politics, “political climate” and other factors may change the results of the initial survey. It might also be interesting to see if the results would be different between various races and cultures. Would these same results occur in the African-American or Latino communities, as they do in Caucasian communities? Based upon those factors, it may be reasonable to suggest that similar research include questions beyond the scope of political knowledge, and which are directed at these other factors. Aside from that caveat, it might be beneficial to political research to include visual questions as well as verbal questions to see if this changes the corollary between political knowledge and age. Paul Martin Lester (2006), professor of Communications at California State University, argues that not only do we live in an increasingly visual world, but that pictures are becoming a universally accepted language to decipher meanings across cultures, ages and languages. Because Lester’s theory is realistic in describing current communication tools, the way that we decipher meanings from visual cues and that the upcoming generations utilize these tools more and more than older generations, merely asking who certain key political figures and events are, questions might include identification through visual aids. It would be interesting to see if the results of the research cited in Danziger would change using this methodology.
It might also be imperative to change the questions to current world events. As Danziger suggests, “political climate at the time of the study” (2013; 23) could affect the result of such a survey, it is important to include questions from various political topics. The questions that were asked in this particular research cited in Danziger seem to be skewed toward the older generations who might find this information more relevant to their interests, worldviews and lifestyles. It might be reasonable to suggest that the various generations may be more aware of different political figures and events than other generations. This is best illustrated with a personal account. Having two grown children (in their late teens/early twenties), and having conversations with them and their peers, I have found that this upcoming generation is more aware of political climates, figures and events than I was at their age. Because they have been raised with technological tools that bring world events to them on a daily basis, this younger generation is concerned about a variety of political topics that affect them and the world. However, I have found that they also rely upon visual cues to help them interpret meaning. The other night we went out to dinner with our twenty year-old daughter who is a highly intelligent college junior. At the restaurant, they had a television with the news on. James Carville was being interviewed and my husband and I were discussing what his role might be in the upcoming presidential election. I turned to our daughter to explain who he was, and she replied that she knew who he was. Then the discussion turned towards Carville’s wife. At the mere mention of her name, our daughter said “Yeah. He’s married to ‘Joey’ on West Wing.” Not having the benefit of growing up when Carville and his wife were first married and their relationship made news headlines, and without the benefit of the visual of a picture, our daughter
associated the actress Marlee Matlin with Mary Matalin. I am certain that if she saw a picture of his wife, she would not have made that mistaken association. As Danziger states that there are a wide variety of questions that could completely change the results of this particular type of survey, it is my suggestion that the questions should include a wide variety of topics and political figures that various generations would identify. It is also my suggestion that the methodology include visual aids. It would be interesting to note whether there would be a change when the same survey was administered through three different ways: all words, all visuals and a combination between the two. Because there are so many different factors that I believe would change the results of this particular type of political research, I accept Danziger’s statement that “these types of factors might provide a better explanation than age does for the cause of variations in political knowledge” (2013; 23).
Cited Sources Danziger, J. (2013). Understanding the Political World: A Comparative Introduction to Political Science. United States of America: Pearson. Print. Lester, P. M. (2006). Urban Screens: the beginning of a universal visual culture. First Monday Peer Reviewed Journal on the Internet. Retrieved from http://uncommonculture.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1543/1458.