I decided to start this discussion in a new thread because I thought it to be an interesting subject in light of the conversation in another thread that didn't start out in this vein but has ended up there.

Food for thought for anyone who think parents strongly influence or form their children's values. That is not always the case. 

John Fetterman, freshman Democratic senator, was raised by staunch conservatives with traditional values yet has always seen himself as a staunch progressive. He's not the only person to not take on the same values and political views of his family. 

To be sure though, one's personal values do not always translate to how they vote. 

My in-laws are lifelong democrat voters but are very conservative/traditional in their day-to-day lives. My husband turned out to be a Republican voter and conservative/traditional in his day-to-day life while his sister (and only sibling) is straight up a democrat voter and a hybrid in her day-to-day life. Her daughter turned out straight up conservative/traditional across the board. 

I've thought about looking at articles on the subject. What forms a person's values? Is it parental influence? Could it be nature vs nurture? It's not something I've ever really thought about because my experience is what I know and it's never really occurred to me to consider anything else. Perspective for those who may not get what I'm saying, consider this. I don't have a sense of smell and never have. It never occurs to me to think about what something smells like because I've never smelled anything - unless it's brought to my attention. You don't know what you don't know until someone or something brings it to your attention. 

If anyone comes across any articles on the subject I'd be interested to read them. I haven't read the following one yet but it's from the American Psychological Association and could be an interesting read.

Link 

Politics is personal

Research by political psychologists helps to explain why we vote the way we do—and is informing ways to improve democratic elections.

The 2016 U.S. presidential election took a lot of people by surprise. But while the election of Donald J. Trump may have been an anomaly in many ways, it wasn’t the “unexpected asteroid strike” it’s often made out to be, says Christopher Federico, PhD, a political psychologist at the Center for the Study of Political Psychology (CSPP) at the University of Minnesota.


“Trump’s election was the culmination of a trend, more than some radical unexpected disruption that occurred on November 8, 2016,” Federico says. “It resulted from a long period of evolution in terms of how and why people in the U.S. identify with different political parties.”

That insight is one of many from political psychologists who over the past few decades have plumbed the factors behind voter behavior and political identities, helping us understand politics on an individual level.

“Historically, political science has focused on institutions such as governments or political parties, and how they constrain the behavior of individuals,” says Federico. “What political psychology brings to the table is … understanding individual motivations and how we make sense of this complex world.”


More at the link.

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