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FAMILY INFLUENCE AND POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION IN JAPAN:
SOME PRELIMINARY FINDINGS I N COMPARATIVE- PERSPECTIVE*
ARCHIVES
A k i r a Kubota" and Robert E. Ward
The U n i v e r s i t y o f M i c h i g a n
P r e p a r e d f o r d e l i v e r y a t t h e 65th Annual M e e t i n g o f t h e American P o l i t i c a l
Science A s s o c i a t i o n , Commodore H o t e l , New York C i t y , September 2 - 6 ,
1969
For some t i m e i t was g e n e r a l l y h e l d by American s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s t h a t i n
the
u n i t e d S t a t e s t h e f a m i l y was n o r m a l l y t h e s i n g l e most I m p o r t a n t agency o f
p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n where c h i l d r e n are concerned and t h a t many p o l i t i c a l
a t t i t u d e s and v a l u e s tended t o be t r a n s m i t t e d .from one g e n e r a t i o n t o another v i a
the medium o f t h e f a m i l y . 1 Recent r e s e a r c h has expanded and r e f i n e d our knowl e d g e i n p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n and has q u e s t i o n e d the y i e w o f f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e
as e i t h e r t o o s i m p l i s t i c o r m i s l e a d i n g an e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e c a u s a l i t y i n v o l v e d . ^
D e s p i t e such reassessments, however, t h e w e i g h t o f t h e c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e evidence
s t i l l f a v o r s the view t h a t i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s the f a m i l y , i f n o t predominant,
i s s t i l l regarded as one o f t h e more i m p o r t a n t agencies o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n
and t h a t t h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e w i t h r e s p e c t t o such s e m i n a l t r a i t s as p a r t y
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n on t h e p a r t o f t h e c h i l d .
Given a somewhat s h i f t i n g p o i n t o f view i n t h i s r e s p e c t on t h e l o c a l scene,
i t i s o f s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t and importance t o l o o k abroad a t t h e r e s u l t s o f
r e s e a r c h r e l a t i n g t o the process o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n o t h e r modern
p o l i t i c a l systems t o see i f they c o n f i r m o r d i s a f f i r m our c u r r e n t hypotheses.
The p r e s e n t a r t i c l e r e p r e s e n t s a p r e l i m i n a r y and somewhat t e n t a t i v e e f f o r t t o
do so w i t h r e s p e c t t o contemporary Japanese e x p e r i e n c e i n t h i s f i e l d .
P o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n has n o t been a p o p u l a r s u b j e c t o f s t u d y among
Japanese s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s . The r e l e v a n t l i t e r a t u r e i s s c a n t and tends t o be
ephemeral and semi-popular i n q u a l i t y .
I f t h e r e has been any s i n g l e focus
t h a t stands o u t , i t has p r o b a b l y been on s h i f t s t h a t are a l l e g e d t o have been
t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e e l e c t o r a l b e h a v i o r o f young v o t e r s and t h e p r o b a b l e e f f e c t s
of t h e s e on t h e f u t u r e o f p a r t i c u l a r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . A l s o , s i n c e t h e survey
approach i s expensive and s t i l l l i t t l e used by Japanese s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s , t h e
e v i d e n t i a l b a s i s f o r those v i e w p o i n t s t h a t have been expressed i s apt t o be
i m p r e s s i o n i s t i c and e p i s o d i c .
D e s p i t e such shortcomings t h e r e has grown up on the b a s i s o f both: indigenous
and f o r e i g n commentary a s o r t o f l o r e about t h e process o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n
i n Japan.
I t i s n o t a b l e t h a t t h i s does n o t u s u a l l y correspond t o t h e p o p u l a r
s t e r e o t y p e s of Japan w i d e l y h e l d abroad. Many might be tempted t o see i n modern
Japan a s o c i e t y where t h e c e n t r a l i t y o f the f a m i l y s r o l e i s h i s t o r i c a l l y r e i n f o r c e d
by c e n t u r i e s o f Confucian t r a d i t i o n , and, u n t i l r e c e n t l y , by t h e mythology o f a
f a m i l y - c e n t e r e d s t a t e and t h e s o c i o - p o l i t i c a l circumstances o f a p r e p o n d e r a n t l y
a g r a r i a n c u l t u r e as w e l l . The ready c o n c l u s i o n would be t h a t the r o l e of t h e
f a m i l y as an agent o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i s , i f a n y t h i n g , more dominant and
f
*
C o p y r i g h t , 1969, The American P o l i t i c a l Science A s s o c i a t i o n .
-2s a l i e n t t h a n i n a more atomized American s o c i e t y .
While c o n t i n u i t y i n t h i s sense i s an i m p o r t a n t a t t r i b u t e o f Japanese c u l t u r e
i t i s , however, p o s s i b l e t o view t h e s o c i e t y from another p e r s p e c t i v e — t h a t of
change. This leads t o t h e p e r c e p t i o n t h a t s i n c e t h e M e i j i R e s t o r a t i o n o f 1868
Japan has been more o r l e s s c o n s t a n t l y i n v o l v e d i n a process o f s o c i e t y - w i d e
change t h a t has c e r t a i n l y been r e v o l u t i o n a r y i n e f f e c t i f n o t i n format. Defeat i n
t h e Second World War and i t s a f t e r m a t h , t h e A l l i e d Occupation, w i t h i t s attempts t o
remake t h e s o c i e t y along more democratic and w e s t e r n l i n e s , i s s i m p l y t h e l a t e s t
i n a s e r i e s o f w r e n c h i n g episodes t h a t s t r e t c h back f o r a t l e a s t a hundred y e a r s .
Seen f r o m t h i s v i e w p o i n t r a p i d and d i s t u r b i n g changes I n t h e economic, s o c i a l , and
p o l i t i c a l spheres have been more o r l e s s n o r m a l i n modern Japan. They have, i n e v i t a b l y , exacted a p r i c e i n terms o f i n t e r - g e n e r a t i o n a l harmony. Older generat i o n s i n Japan have been c o m p l a i n i n g f o r a c e n t u r y about a l a c k o f r a p p o r t
w i t h and' I n f l u e n c e over t h e i r c h i l d r e n . The term " g e n e r a t i o n - g a p " was w i d e l y
used i n Japan l o n g b e f o r e i t became p o p u l a r i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . ^ I t i s t h i s
a s p e c t o f t h e s o c i e t y on w h i c h s t u d e n t s o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n have e l e c t e d t o
c o n c e n t r a t e w i t h t h e r e s u l t t h a t t h e i n f l u e n c e o f t h e f a m i l y as an agent o f
p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n tends n o r m a l l y t o be d i s c o u n t e d . ^
Contemporary Japanese c u l t u r e a f f o r d s , however, t h e o r e t i c a l grounds f o r l o o k i n g
a t t h e process o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n two q u i t e d i f f e r e n t — i n d e e d , almost
p o l a r i z e d — w a y s : one o f which emphasizes c o n t i n u i t y and t h e primacy o f t h e f a m i l y
as a s o c i a l i z i n g a g e n t , w h i l e t h e o t h e r focuses on change, d i s c o n t i n u i t y , and t h e
s a l i e n c e o f such n o n - f a m i l i a l agencies o f s o c i a l i z a t i o n as peer groups, l i f e
c y c l e e f f e c t s , e d u c a t i o n , and t h e mass media. N e i t h e r h y p o t h e s i s need completely
exclude the other;
o v e r l a y s and s e c t o r a l d i f f e r e n c e s i n c a u s a l i t y a r e p o s s i b l e .
D e s p i t e t h i s , t h e r e s u l t a n t c o n f r o n t a t i o n i s c h a l l e n g i n g i n t h e o r e t i c a l terms and
o f o b v i o u s comparative importance i n t h e a t t e m p t s o f s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s t o comprehend t h e process o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n modern s o c i e t i e s i n g e n e r a l .
The i s s u e s i n v o l v e d a r e complex and a n y t h i n g a p p r o x i m a t i n g a s a t i s f a c t o r y s o l u t i o n
w i l l r e q u i r e I n v e s t i g a t i o n i n depth and over a s u b s t a n t i a l p e r i o d o f time. A l l
t h a t t h e p r e s e n t paper hopes t o do i s t o p r o v i d e — i n a n a t i o n a l case marked so
f a r by a p a u c i t y o f " h a r d " d a t a — a few leads and g u i d e l i n e s d e r i v e d from a n a t i o n a l
p u b l i c o p i n i o n survey t h a t t h e authors r e c e n t l y conducted i n Japan.
Our data a r e based on a l a r g e r study t h a t we conducted i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e
g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n o f members o f t h e lower house o f Japan's N a t i o n a l D i e t o r P a r l i a ment h e l d on January 29, 1967. Three s u r v e y s were i n v o l v e d , two mass and one
elite.
The two mass surveys were conducted j u s t b e f o r e and j u s t a f t e r t h e
e l e c t i o n . They were based on a s i n g l e s t r a t i f i e d n a t i o n a l p r o b a b i l i t y sample
(N = 2,371 i n d i v i d u a l s ) o f t h e Japanese p o p u l a t i o n aged f i f t e e n and above, drawn
f r o m 50 o f t h e 123 e l e c t i o n d i s t r i c t s t h a t r e t u r n e d c a n d i d a t e s t o t h e lower house.
The e l i t e survey was c a r r i e d o u t a f t e r t h e e l e c t i o n and i n v o l v e d a sample o f 315
c a n d i d a t e s r u n n i n g f o r p a r l i a m e n t a r y o f f i c e f r o m t h e same f i f t y e l e c t i o n d i s t r i c t s .
The response r a t e on t h e p r e - e l e c t i o n mass survey was 8 1 % , t h a t on t h e p o s t - e l e c t i o n
mass survey 76%, w h i l e t h e f i g u r e f o r t h e e l i t e survey reached 90%.
The d a t a r e l a t i n g t o p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n c o n s t i t u t e s b u t a s m a l l p o r t i o n
o f t h e p r o d u c t o f t h e two mass surveys. We were a l s o i n t e r e s t e d i n p o l i t i c a l
a t t i t u d e s and v o t i n g b e h a v i o r i n g e n e r a l , e s p e c i a l l y as they d i s p l a y g e n e r a t i o n a l
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , and i n a v a r i e t y o f m a t t e r s r e l a t i n g t o p o l i t i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n .
-3For t h e p r e s e n t paper we a r e , t h e r e f o r e , e x c e r p t i n g from a much l a r g e r and
s t i l l i n c o m p l e t e l y analyzed body o f m a t e r i a l our f i n d i n g s w i t h r e s p e c t t o
p o l i t i c a l socialization.
The f i n d i n g s are based p r i m a r i l y on a sample o f 177 c h i l d - p a r e n t p a i r s
i n c l u d e d w i t h i n t h e sample. They a r e augmented where a p p r o p r i a t e by i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e t o t a l sample. S e v e r a l o t h e r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e data
r e q u i r e e x p l a n a t i o n . F i r s t , a l t h o u g h they a r e d e r i v e d from a n a t i o n w i d e sample so
t h a t t h e i r means are unbiased e s t i m a t e s o f t r u e n a t i o n a l means, i t s h o u l d be
c l e a r t h a t t h e sampling e r r o r s i n v o l v e d a r e q u i t e l a r g e i n comparison w i t h those
of a s t a n d a r d n a t i o n a l c r o s s - s e c t i o n sample o f 1,500 o r more respondents.
Second,
t h e sampling e r r o r s o f a g e - r e l a t e d v a r i a b l e s are c o n s i d e r a b l y reduced s i n c e
age was one o f t h e v a r i a b l e s about w h i c h our sample was s t r a t i f i e d .
This should
i n c r e a s e t h e potency o f t h e d a t a i n a n a l y z i n g problems r e l a t e d t o g e n e r a t i o n a l
c o n t i n u i t y o r d i s c o n t i n u i t y . F i n a l l y , t h e sample was s p e c i f i c a l l y designed w i t h
a v i e w toward maximizing t h e q u a l i t y o f o u r measurements o f f a m i l y : i n f l u e n c e .
We a t t e m p t e d t o do t h i s by s e l e c t i n g our c h i l d - p a r e n t p a i r s from t h e same
f a m i l y . This was done by f i r s t drawing a sample o f a d u l t s ; i . e . , twenty years o f
age and above (who were a l s o e l e c t o r s ; twenty i s t h e l e g a l v o t i n g age i n Japan)
and by examining i f they had c h i l d r e n aged f i f t e e n t h r o u g h n i n e t e e n . I f they d i d ,
we t h e n drew a sample o f those i n t h i s age b r a c k e t on a p r o b a b i l i t y b a s i s . The
c h i e f purpose o f t h i s was t o enable us t o measure f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e on t h e basis
o f b o t h d i r e c t o r observed data and i n d i r e c t o r p e r c e i v e d d a t a ; b o t h c h i l d r e n and
p a r e n t s c o u l d be q u e s t i o n e d d i r e c t l y about t h e i r own a t t i t u d e s and b e h a v i o r as
w e l l as about t h e i r p e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e o t h e r ' s views and a c t i o n s . The r e s u l t s
o f t h e two approaches are by no means I d e n t i c a l .
There a r e obvious l i m i t a t i o n s t o t h e methodology o f t h i s s o r t o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n . I t i s f o r t h i s reason t h a t we r e f e r r e d t o t h e study e a r l i e r as p r e l i m i n a r y
and t e n t a t i v e . We do hope, however, t h a t i n a f i e l d marked l a r g e l y by specul a t i o n , these f i n d i n g s may serve t o suggest approaches and hypotheses f o r f u r t h e r
f i e l d investigation.
Much o f t h e a r g u m e n t a t i o n f o r t h e p o p u l a r t h e s i s t h a t t h e f a m i l y i s n o t a
p a r t i c u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e agency o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n contemporary Japan
d e r i v e s f r o m r a t h e r g e n e r a l l y h e l d b e l i e f s about t h e g e n e r a t i o n gap. This i s
v i e w e d as b e i n g widespread and b a s i c . One c o n c l u s i o n i s t h a t one must l o o k
p r i m a r i l y t o agencies o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n o t h e r t h a n t h e f a m i l y t o exp l a i n t h e consequent d i f f e r e n c e s i n g e n e r a t i o n a l a t t i t u d e s and b e h a v i o r .
There i s
a good d e a l o f evidence t h a t seems t o argue i n f a v o r o f such a c o n c l u s i o n .
Some o f t h e most s t r i k i n g evidence o f t h i s s o r t I s p r o v i d e d by t h e way i n
w h i c h p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n Japan v a r i e s w i t h age. The common c l a i m i s t h a t
younger g e n e r a t i o n s t e n d t o be more " p r o g r e s s i v e " ( s h i m p o t e k i ) and o l d e r
g e n e r a t i o n s " c o n s e r v a t i v e " ( h o s h u t e k i ) i n t h e i r p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s . The
p r i n c i p a l o b j e c t s o f t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s i n v o l v e d a r e u s u a l l y t h e Japan S o c i a l i s t
P a r t y (JSP) f o r t h e p r o g r e s s i v e s and t h e L i b e r a l Democratic P a r t y (LDP) f o r t h e
c o n s e r v a t i v e s . I g n o r i n g t h e semantic a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s o f t h e l a b e l s , our d a t a
s e t f o r t h i n F i g u r e 1 s u p p o r t such a view s u b j e c t t o t h e q u a l i f i c a t i o n t h a t t h i s
s h o u l d n o t be t a k e n t o mean t h a t most younger v o t e r s are " p r o g r e s s i v e " i n t h e i r
party identifications.
I t I s s i m p l y t h a t they a r e more a p t t o d i s p l a y such a
tendency t h a n t h e i r s e n i o r s . 6 i t i s o b v i o u s , however, t h a t age i s p o s i t i v e l y
c o r r e l a t e d w i t h i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h Japan's major c o n s e r v a t i v e p a r t y , t h e LDP,
and n e g a t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h t h e l a r g e s t s o c i a l i s t p a r t y ,
t h e JSP. The tendency i s p a r t i c u l a r l y marked from t h e l a t e t h i r t i e s .
( F i g u r e 1 about h e r e )
Data o f t h i s s o r t suggest t h a t i n many Japanese households t h e r e i s v i r t u a l l y
no t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n from one g e n e r a t i o n t o another.
Once one has begun; along l i n e s such as t h i s t o d i s c o u n t t h e r o l e o f t h e
f a m i l y as a s o c i a l i z i n g agent, r e f e r e n c e t o a l t e r n a t i v e and p u t a t i v e l y more
e f f e c t i v e agents lends added s u p p o r t . There i s no doubt t h a t i n Japan as i n
o t h e r modern s o c i e t i e s t h e s o c i a l i z i n g i n f l u e n c e o f peer groups, t h e e d u c a t i o n a l
system, and t h e mass media I s a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r . Most o f these seem t o
d i s p l a y a f a i r l y marked b i a s toward " p r o g r e s s i v e " a t t i t u d e s and v a l u e s and thus
may be viewed as r e i n f o r c i n g t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t Japanese y o u t h a r e moving away
f r o m t h e p o l i t i c a l views o f t h e i r p a r e n t s .
These a r e what might be termed m i c r o - f o r c e s a f f e c t i n g t h e process" o f
p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n . Beyond these l i e s an a r r a y o f macro-forces w h i c h may a l s o
p l a y a d e t e r m i n i n g r o l e . They c o n s i s t o f t h e e n t i r e spectrum o f s o c i a l , economic,
and p o l i t i c a l changes t h a t have cumulated over t h e l a s t c e n t u r y . The r e c o r d
i s a n i m p r e s s i v e one. No n a t i o n s t a r t i n g f r o m a non-western base has ever achieved
t h e modern c o n d i t i o n i n so s h o r t a p e r i o d o f time as Japan. The process o f change
i n v o l v e d has been massive, continuous and, f o r many, deeply d i s t u r b i n g . Many
o f t h e most s e m i n a l i n n o v a t i o n s have t a k e n p l a c e s i n c e t h e end o f t h e Second
W o r l d War and thus have had a d i r e c t e f f e c t upon today's y o u t h and t h e i r p a r e n t s .
The e d u c a t i o n a l system has been f u n d a m e n t a l l y r e v i s e d along more i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c and democratic l i n e s .
There has been a sweeping r e f o r m i n t h e ownership
of a g r i c u l t u r a l l a n d t h a t has reduced t h e t r a d i t i o n a l l y h i g h r a t e o f r u r a l tenancy
t o a nominal f i g u r e and v a s t l y improved t h e circumstances o f t h e remaining t e n a n t s .
The u n i o n i z a t i o n and p o l i t i c i z a t i o n o f l a b o r has become normal r a t h e r than exc e p t i o n a l . The n a t i o n a l economy has expanded and advanced i n every d i r e c t i o n and,
f r o m postwar circumstnaces c h a r a c t e r i z e d by d e v a s t a t i o n and s t a g n a t i o n , has r e c e n t l y
become t h e t h i r d most p o t e n t and p r o d u c t i v e i n t h e w o r l d s u r p a s s i n g West Germany
and Great B r i t a i n . As a consequence standards o f l i v i n g and l e v e l s o f e x p e c t a t i o n
have i n c r e a s e d enormously, f o r almost t h e e n t i r e p o p u l a t i o n over prewar highs- and
the people o f Japan have f o r t h e f i r s t time been b r o u g h t face t o face w i t h t h a t
p e c u l i a r problem o f advanced i n d u s t r i a l s o c i e t i e s — w h a t they c a l l t h e r e j a
( l e i s u r e ) boom, o r t h e problem o f how t o d e a l w i t h unprecedented amounts o f f r e e
t i m e i n an a f f l u e n t s o c i e t y . Communication and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n systems have changed
a c c o r d i n i n g l y and any e f f e c t i v e degree o f s o c i a l or g e o g r a p h i c a l i s o l a t i o n has
become an a r t i f a c t o f t h e p a s t . P o l i t i c a l l y t h e c o u n t r y has been s h i f t e d from
t h e b a s i c a l l y o l i g a r c h i c and a u t h o r i t a r i a n s t r u c t u r e o f t h e M e i j i C o n s t i t u t i o n
t o t h e remarkably - f r e e , open, and democratic i n s t i t u t i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n
o f 1947.
This i s an i m p r e s s i v e r e c o r d o f change f o r a t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r p e r i o d i n the
h i s t o r y o f any c o u n t r y and, g i v e n t h e c o n t r a s t s between p r e - and post-war
c o n d i t i o n s and t h e w i d e l y v a r i a n t experiences o f t h e d i f f e r e n t age c o h o r t s i n v o l v e d ,
-4aF i g u r e 1.
P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n and Age
100%
90%
80%
70%
L i b e r a l Democratip'Party
Identifiersj
60%
50%
40%-
CO
30%
*o
ra u
Japan S o c i a l i s t P a r t y
Identifiers
CD
3 51
•u
o CD
is
20%
o ^
10%
CO
»H
• iH -U
4-> )-(
M Cd
o a
O rH
U r-i
0%
20-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-4$
50-59
60-69
/ears
70 o l d .
c e r t a i n l y a s e t o f circumstances c a l c u l a t e d t o maximize a l l p o s s i b l e aspects
of t h e g e n e r a t i o n gap and a c c o r d i n g l y reduce t h e c o n s e r v a t i v e i n f l u e n c e o f
the f a m i l y as a s o c i a l i z i n g agency.
One can muster i n t h i s manner a number o f arguments t o demonstrate t h a t i n
Japan macro-forces have been combining w i t h m i c r o - f o r c e s t o enhance the
g e n e r a t i o n gap and d i m i n i s h f a m i l i a l i n f l u e n c e . Some m i g h t be tempted t o
go beyond t h i s and c l a i m t h a t such a c i r c u m s t a n c e i s normal f o r r a p i d l y
m o d e r n i z i n g o r changing s o c i e t i e s .
The t h e s i s i s a t t r a c t i v e , b u t i t i s n o t
without d i f f i c u l t i e s .
One such d i f f i c u l t y d e r i v e s from the f a c t t h a t a r a p i d
r a t e o f change a t t h e m a c r o - l e v e l does n o t n e c e s s a r i l y l e a d t o a comparable
r a t e o f change a t t h e m i c r o - l e v e l , e s p e c i a l l y where i n d i v i d u a l a t t i t u d e s and
b e h a v i o r are concerned. While t h e r e i s p r o b a b l y a l o n g - r u n tendency f o r the two
to converge, i n the s h o r t r u n a t t i t u d e s and b e h a v i o r are apt t o remain much more
s t a b l e than one would expect g i v e n the scope o f macro-changes i n t h e e n v i r o n ment. I n Japan, f o r example, the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p a r t i s a n s u p p o r t and t h e
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l power have remained remarkably s t a b l e over the
postwar p e r i o d .
There have been no changes a t t h i s l e v e l t h a t correspond
i n s c a l e o r i m p o r t a n c e t o t h e t r u l y remarkable changes n o t e d e a r l i e r i n t h e
economy o r s o c i e t y a t l a r g e .
7
I f such a d i s c r e p a n c y e x i s t s between...the t h r u s t o f s o c i a l i z i n g f o r c e s o p e r a t i n g
a t t h e s o c i e t a l m a c r o - l e v e l and a c t u a l p a t t e r n s o f a t t i t u d e s and b e h a v i o r a t the
I n d i v i d u a l l e v e l , i t , o f course suggests t h e a c t i o n o f i n t e r v e n i n g causes and
thus r e d i r e c t s our a t t e n t i o n t o f o r c e s o p e r a t i n g a t the m i c r o l e v e l , d i n t h e p r e s e n t case, s p e c i f i c a l l y t o t h e f a m i l y . The s o c i a l i z i n g
i n f l u e n c e o f t h e f a m i l y tends t o be p r o f o u n d and tends t o be c o n s e r v a t i v e . I t
n o r m a l l y a t t e m p t s t o t r a n s m i t - t o t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n i t s own v a l u e s and standards
of t h e moment.
I t i s f o r t h i s reason t h a t s t a t e s d e d i c a t e d t o programs o f
d r a s t i c and r a p i d s o c i a l change, such as t h e People's R e p u b l i c o f China, have
so o f t e n found i t necessary t o t r y t o a l t e r t h e s t r u c t u r e and i n f l u e n c e o f
the f a m i l y . Beyond t h i s , however, t h e r e are a t l e a s t two o t h e r reasons f o r
emphasizing t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e f a m i l y as an agent o f s o c i a l i z a t i o n . One i s
t i m i n g and t h e o t h e r magnitude o f exposure.10 G r e e n s t e i n and o t h e r s c l a i m t h a t
the e a r l i e r t h e exposure t o g i v e n a t t i t u d e s and v a l u e s , t h e g r e a t e r t h e i r impact. H
A l t h o u g h t h e r e may be more t h a n a s i n g l e phase t o e a r l y p o l i t i c a l l e a r n i n g and
the processes i n v o l v e d may be even more c o m p l i c a t e d t h a n we now r e a l i z e , t h e r e
i s no q u e s t i o n t h a t t h e f a m i l y n o r m a l l y p l a y s a dominant r o l e i n the c h i l d ' s
early life.12
a n
Sheer magnitude o f exposure i s another reason. For reasons of- p h y s i c a l
p r o x i m i t y a l o n e , c h i l d r e n a r e u s u a l l y most i n t e n s i v e l y and comprehensively
exposed t o t h e f a m i l i e s i n t o which they are born.13 T h i s degree o f exposure
seems w e l l c a l c u l a t e d t o a f f e c t a t l e a s t t h e c h i l d ' s e a r l i e r p o l i t i c a l p e r c e p t i o n s
and a t t i t u d e s . As t h e c h i l d grows o l d e r , o f c o u r s e , t h i s m o n o l i t h i c i n f l u e n c e
of t h e f a m i l y i s p r o g r e s s i v e l y d i l u t e d by competing agencies such as peer
g r o u p s , s c h o o l s , t h e mass media, work groups, e t c . , and these t e n d t o become
r e l a t i v e l y more s a l i e n t sources of s o c i a l i z i n g p r e s s u r e s .
I f we t h e n j u x t a p o s e i n the Japanese case t h e two l e v e l s o f s o c i a l i z i n g
i n f l u e n c e s t h a t we have been d i s c u s s i n g — t h e m a c r o - l e v e l and t h e m i c r o - l e v e l —
an i n t e r e s t i n g s i t u a t i o n r e s u l t s . . Approaching t h e problem o f p o l i t i c a l
-6-
s o c i a l i z a t i o n from t h e m a c r o - l e v e l , we s h o u l d be i n c l i n e d t o h y p o t h e s i z e
t h a t t h e changes i n v o l v e d have been s e v e r e l y r e s t r i c t i v e o f t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s
of p a r e n t s as agents o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n . Viewing i t from t h e m i c r o l e v e l , however, we f i n d reasons t o a f f i r m t h e e x i s t e n c e o f an a p p r e c i a b l e
degree o f p a r e n t a l i n f l u e n c e over t h e s o c i a l i z a t i o n process.
Recognizing
t h a t t h e r e i s p r o b a b l y -some v a l i d i t y t o b o t h approaches leads us t o s p e c u l a t e
t h a t t h e macro- and t h e m i c r o - f o r c e s ^probably i n t e r a c t on i n d i v i d u a l s and
t o some e x t e n t cancel each o t h e r o u t . This i n t u r n leads t o t h e f u r t h e r
s p e c u l a t i o n t h a t one w i l l I n f a c t be a b l e t o d e t e c t f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e on
the p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n process b u t t h a t t h i s w i l l be moderate i n degree.
What do t h e survey d a t a show i n t h i s respect?
II
The f i n d i n g s o f b o t h t h e f i r s t and t h e second wave o f t h e mass survey
c l e a r l y c o n f i r m t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a moderate degree o f correspondence between p a r e n t ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and t h a t o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n . Table 1 ,
r e f l e c t i n g the r e s u l t s o f t h e f i r s t o r p r e - e l e c t i o n wave o f t h e survey,
shows a t a u - b e t a c o r r e l a t i o n o f .39. Table 2, r e f l e c t i n g t h e r e s u l t s of
the second o r p o s t - e l e c t i o n wave, shows a t a u - b e t a c o r r e l a t i o n o f .38.
These r u l e o u t e i t h e r e x t r e m e l y s t r o n g r e l a t i o n s h i p s between t h e two v a r i a b l e s
or, a t t h e o t h e r extreme, a s i g n i f i c a n t degree o f independence o f one v a r i a ble" f r o m t h e o t h e r , and l e a d one back t o the middle-ground h y p o t h e s i s t h a t
(Tables 1 and 2 about
here)
t h e r e i s a moderate degree o f o v e r a l l a s s o c i a t i o n between t h e v a r i a b l e s
under e x a m i n a t i o n . I n o t h e r words t h e d a t a f u r n i s h some b a s i s f o r b e l i e f
t h a t a c h i l d ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n may t o some e x t e n t be r e l a t e d t o t h a t
of h i s p a r e n t s and t h a t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s i n a s i g n i f i c a n t number o f
cases t r a n s m i t t e d f r o m p a r e n t s t o c h i l d r e n i n Japanese households.
Two f u r t h e r f a c t o r s add t o the p r o b a b i l i t y of- t h i s h y p o t h e s i s . F i r s t ,
t h e r e i s v e r y l i t t l e change i n t h e c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t f r o m one wave o f t h e
s u r v e y t o t h e o t h e r . Given a h i g h l y v i s i b l e and s t r e n u o u s l y c o m p e t i t i v e
n a t i o n a l p o l i t i c a l campaign, i t i s t o be expected t h a t some changes i n p a r t i san a t t i t u d e s and i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s w i l l t a k e p l a c e over t h e campaign p e r i o d .
I n s o f a r , however, as t h e c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t i n v o l v e d r e f l e c t s an
e f f e c t i v e process o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , one
w o u l d expect t h e c o e f f i c i e n t t o remain reasonably s t a b l e when measured
at two such i n t e r v a l s . T h i s i s t h e p r e s e n t case. The d i f f e r e n c e between
the two scores i s remarkably s m a l l .
Second, when respondents below v o t i n g age ( f r o m f i f t e e n through n i n e t e e n )
were q u e r i e d as t o t h e i r memory o f t h e p a r t y w i t h which they had f i r s t
i d e n t i f i e d as c h i l d r e n ( r a t h e r than t h e i r c u r r e n t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s )
and t h e answers were c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e i r p a r e n t ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s ,
we o b t a i n e d t a u - b e t a scores of .45 f o r t h e f i r s t wave and .48 f o r t h e
second wave.14 While s i m i l a r t o t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s i n Tables 1 and 2 they a r e ,
of .course, somewhat h i g h e r . This may, o f course, be due i n p a r t t o d i s t o r t i o n
Table 1.
C h i l d Parent P a i r s and
P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n ( 1 s t Wave)
Child's Party
LDP
Parent's
LDP • . 67. 1 %
Party
CGP
Identification
DSP
CGP
DSP
Identification
JSP
JCP
TOTAL
2. 6
5 .2
25.1
0 .0
loo. o:
33. 3
50. 0
0,.0
16,7
0 .0
ioo. o:
100. 0
0,0
0,.0
0.0
0 .0
IOO. o:
JSP
19. 2
0. 0
7 .7
73.1
0 .0
100.0
JCP
0. 0
0.,0
- 0 .0
100.0
100.0
53. 4%
6. 4
4 .8
Total
O.O
32.2
Legend:
3.2
b
LDP
L i b e r a l Democratic
Party
CGP
Clean Government P a r t y
DSP
Democratic S o c i a l i s t P a r t y
JSP
Japan S o c i a l i s t P a r t y
JCP
Japan Communist
Party
100.0%
•
1
-6b-
T a b l e 2.
C h i l d Parent P a i r s and
P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n (2nd Wave)
Child's Party
LDP
CGP
DSP
Identification
JSP
JCP
TOTAL
Parent s
LDP
68.4%
2.6
2.6
26.4
0.0
100.0%
Party
CGP
0.0
66.7
0.0
33.3
0.0
100.0
Identification
DSP
100.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
100.0
JSP
38.4
0.0
15.4
46.2
0.0
100.0
JCP
0.0
0.0
0.0
25.0
75.0
100.0
55.0%
5.0
5.0
30.0
5.0
100.0%
1
Total
T, = .38
b
-7-
a t t e n d a n t upon the r e c a l l process i n v o l v e d .
I t seems more p r o b a b l e t o us,
however, t h a t i t i s r e l a t e d t o t h e process whereby a d u l t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
d e v e l o p and emerge d u r i n g e a r l y c h i l d h o o d .
T h i s upward s h i f t i n the v a l u e
o f t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n t h a t the f a m i l y i s
most e f f e c t i v e as an agent of p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n d u r i n g the c h i l d ' s younger
y e a r s and t h a t as t h e c h i l d matures and i s p r o g r e s s i v e l y exposed t o more and
competitive
s o c i a l i z i n g agencies he tends i n many cases t o move away f r o m the sphere of f a m i l y
i n f l u e n c e I n t h i s and o t h e r r e s p e c t s . T h i s i s a dynamic aspect o f the process
o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i s a t i o n t h a t needs more s y s t e m a t i c i n v e s t i g a t i o n , but the above
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n does r e i n f o r c e the view t h a t t h e degree of i n t e r - g e n e r a t i o n a l
agreement i n p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n d e s c r i b e d above i s not merely a c c i d e n t a l .
B e f o r e t u r n i n g t o a more comparative dimension of the s i g n i f i c a n c e o f the
c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s developed i n Tables 1 and 2, i t . i s w o r t h commenting
b r i e f l y on the p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e s e data. The d i f f e r e n c e s by p a r t y i n
t h e r e l a t i v e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f p a r e n t s i n t r a n s m i t t i n g t h e i r own p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
to t h e i r c h i l d r e n are i n t r i g u i n g . Due t o s i z e a b l e v a r i a t i o n s i n the f i r s t and
second wave responses, they are also d i f f i c u l t t o i n t e r p r e t and s u b j e c t t o very
l a r g e margins o f e r r o r . They do suggest, however, t h a t p a r e n t s of communist
p e r s u a s i o n are the most e f f e c t i v e s o c i a l i z e r s o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n i n t h i s r e s p e c t
and t h a t , s u r p r i s i n g t o say, they may be f o l l o w e d by p a r e n t s f a v o r i n g t h e LDP.
The r e l a t i v e c o n s i s t e n c y o f t h e LDP responses across the two waves i s i n t e r e s t i n g
I n t h i s r e s p e c t . So, t o o , are the q u i t e c o n s i s t e n t t o t a l s f o r the percentages
o f t h e 15 - 19 y e a r - o l d b r a c k e t i d e n t i f y i n g w i t h each o f t h e f i v e p a r t i e s and
p a r t i c u l a r l y the ranges o f 53.4-55.0% f o r t h e LDP and 32.2-30.0% f o r t h e JSP.
Both ranges exceed t h e percentage of the t o t a l v o t e p o l l e d by t h e LDP (48.8%)
and t h e JSP (27.9%) i n t h e 1967 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n b u t , t o the degree t h a t they are
r e l i a b l e , t h i s showing o f t h e p a r t i s a n i n c l i n a t i o n s of the upcoming c o h o r t s
o f new v o t e r s suggests a f a r more s e r i o u s problem f o r the S o c i a l i s t s t h a n f o r the
L i b e r a l Democrats. The Japan S o c i a l i s t P a r t y has tended t o r e l y h e a v i l y on i t s
a p p e a l t o the y o u t h v o t e (See F i g u r e 1).1?
C o m p a r a t i v e l y s p e a k i n g , p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n has been a f o c a l p o i n t i n the
American study of e l e c t o r a l b e h a v i o r . V o t i n g s t u d i e s , e s p e c i a l l y those emerging
f r o m t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f Michigan's Survey Research Center, have p e r s i s t e n t l y
p o i n t e d t o i m p o r t a n t r e l a t i o n s h i p s between p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and v a r i o u s forms
o f e l e c t o r a l b e h a v i o r . ^ T h i s emphasis on p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n has a l s o been
c a r r i e d over t o s t u d i e s o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n and has emerged as one o f
i t s main branches. T h i s i s due i n p a r t t o t h e f a c t t h a t v o t i n g b e h a v i o r i s
v i e w e d as b e i n g c l o s e l y l i n k e d w i t h p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n . But a l s o i n v o l v e d
i s t h e f a c t t h a t i n s t u d i e s of p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n has
been found t o e x h i b i t some unusual c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . I t seems t o be an area i n
w h i c h t h e l a r g e s t degree o f p o s i t i v e g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n takes place.19
I t s h o u l d a l s o be p o i n t e d o u t , however, t h a t r e c e n t r e s e a r c h i n d i c a t e s t h a t
the degree t o w h i c h p a r e n t s i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s pass on t h e i r p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n i s n o t as g r e a t as i t was once thought to be.
A major.- study
by J e n n i n g s and N i e m i , f o r example, found a t a u - b e t a c o r r e l a t i o n o f .47.20
N i e m i has suggested s e p a r a t e l y t h a t t h e h i g h e r c o r r e l a t i o n s found i n e a r l i e r s t u d i e s
may r e s u l t from t h e p r a c t i c e of u s i n g p e r c e i v e d r a t h e r t h a n observed d a t a and
t h a t i n such cases t h e respondent's tendency t o reduce c o g n i t i v e dissonance i s
apt t o d i s t o r t the r e s u l t a n t s t a t i s t i c s . 2 1 i f t h i s d i f f i c u l t y i s avoided through
r e l i a n c e o n l y on d i r e c t l y measured d a t a , the l o w e r l e v e l s o f c o r r e l a t i o n found
by t h e Jennings-Niemi s t u d y and the p r e s e n t one may prove t o be the more accurate.
-8The c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s of .39 and .38 f o r the two waves of t h i s study
are l o w e r than b u t not markedly d i f f e r e n t from the Jennings-Niemi f i g u r e o f .47.
This i s i n t e r e s t i n g b o t h i n view of t h e h i g h e r c o r r e l a t i o n s n o r m a l l y assigned
i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s by e a r l i e r s t u d i e s and the r a t h e r w i d e l y h e l d view d e s c r i b e d
e a r l i e r t h a t i n Japan the degree o f c o r r e l a t i o n i s v e r y low. Our f i g u r e s l i n k e d
t o t h o s e of Jennings and Niemi suggest t h a t a c t u a l l y t h e r e i s not a g r e a t d e a l
of d i f f e r e n c e i n the e x t e n t t o which p a r e n t s i n the two s o c i e t i e s t r a n s m i t t h e i r
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s to t h e i r children.
I f s o , t h i s i s a comparative f i n d i n g
of c o n s i d e r a b l e p o t e n t i a l importance, i f i t can be confirmed by more e x t e n s i v e
and s p e c i f i c a l l y focussed research. At t h i s p o i n t , however, i t seems a p p r o p r i a t e
s i m p l y t o note the correspondence of f i n d i n g s and t o r e f r a i n from premature specul a t i o n s as t o the degrees of s i m i l a r i t y t h a t may o b t a i n i n so complex a process
as p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n two s o c i e t i e s o f such d i s p a r a t e c u l t u r a l and
p o l i t i c a l heritages.
S t i l l i f one presses t h i s l i n e o f i n q u i r y as f a r as our data p e r m i t and seeks
o t h e r p o i n t s t h a t argue i n f a v o r o f t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t the processes o f p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n are i n i m p o r t a n t r e s p e c t s s i m i l a r i n Japan and the U n i t e d S t a t e s ,
some evidence i s a v a i l a b l e . F i g u r e 2 s e t s f o r t h i n s c a l e d and c o m p a r i t i v e
f a s h i o n a group o f c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s between c h i l d r e n ' s and p a r e n t ' s
p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s and a t t r i b u t e s i n Japan and the U n i t e d S t a t e s . Some items
on t h e s c a l e a r e , o f course, more d i r e c t l y and m e a n i n g f u l l y comparable than
o t h e r s ; e.g., p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and, perhaps, p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t . The r e s t ,
w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f p o l i t i c a l i d e o l o g y , r e p r e s e n t degrees o f c o r r e l a t i o n between
( F i g u r e 2 about h e r e )
p a r e n t ' s and c h i l d r e n ' s responses t o q u e s t i o n s c a l c u l a t e d t o e l i c i t i n f o r m a t i o n
about a t t i t u d e s on c u r r e n t l y s a l i e n t i s s u e s o f major p o l i t i c a l importance.
They,
of c o u r s e , d i f f e r between the two c o u n t r i e s .
S i m i l a r i t i e s o f some importance do emerge from an a n a l y s i s o f F i g u r e 2.
T h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e of t h e c a t e g o r i e s o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and p o l i t i c a l
interest.
I n t h e case o f the former t h e v a l u e s are not t o o d i s c r e p a n t i n abs o l u t e terms and a r e s i m i l a r i n rank o r d e r as w e l l .
I n the l a t t e r the n u m e r i c a l
v a l u e s are almost i d e n t i c a l . Where t h e r e m a i n i n g c o r r e l a t i o n s are concerned,
they demonstrate p r i m a r i l y the t h e s i s t h a t where s p e c i f i c p o l i t i c a l i s s u e o r i e n t a t i o n s
are concerned t h e degree of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i n v o l v e d i s q u i t e s m a l l i n
b o t h Japan and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s ,
I t has been r e p e a t e d l y demonstrated i n American v o t i n g s t u d i e s t h a t issues
t e n d t o p l a y o n l y m a r g i n a l r o l e s i n campaigns, t h a t i s s u e o r i e n t a t i o n s t e n d t o
be l e s s c e n t r a l and l e s s s t a b l e than o t h e r p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s — n o t a b l y p a r t y
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n — a n d t h a t i s s u e a t t i t u d e s t e n d t o be o n l y weakly i n t e r - r e l a t e d
and p o o r l y organized.22 A c c o r d i n g l y , i t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t o f i n d t h a t i n the
U n i t e d States the e x t e n t of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f Issue o r i e n t a t i o n s i s
q u i t e meager. This seems t o be a t l e a s t e q u a l l y t r u e i n the Japanese case.
The f a c t t h a t i n Japan o f t e n twenty t o t h i r t y p e r c e n t o f the sample respond w i t h
"Don't Know" (wakaranai) t o most s t a n d a r d i s s u e questions suggests f u r t h e r
t h a t t h e i r i s s u e a t t i t u d e s t r u c t u r e i s even more d i s o r g a n i z e d than i n the
U n i t e d S t a t e s . ^ I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o note w i t h respect to both countries that
t h e e x t e n t o f g e n e r a t i o n a l consonance tends t o i n c r e a s e somewhat as one moves
f r o m l e s s t o more c o n t r o v e r s i a l I s s u e s .
-8aF i g u r e 2.
G e n e r a t i o n a l Agreement o f P o l i t i c a l
Japan and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s
US*
Attitudes:
Jap an
tau-b
.60
Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n
.47-
.50
.40
Role o f f e d e r a l government i n s c h o o l i n t e g r a t i o n
.39
.38
Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n ( 1 ) P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n (2)
.28
S e c u r i t y T r e a t y (2)
.34.29-
.30
A l l o w s c h o o l s t o use p r a y e r s
I-.23
E v a l u a t i o n o f Negroes
.20-
Political
Ideology
.16-
Political
Interest
.11-
.20
.10
P o l i t i c a l Demonstration/
Zengakuren/Security Treaty. (1)
.14
P o l i t i c a l I n t e r e s t (2)
:1ft
Eg&i&sii&SFttk&ku)
02
C o n s t i t u t i o n a l R e v i s i o n (2)
.00
Kent Jennings and R i c h a r d G. N i e m i , 'The Transmission o f P o l i t i c a l Values
f r o m Parent t o C h i l d , ' A m e r i c a n . P o l i t i c a l Science Review, v o l . 62, n o . l , .
(March 1968), pp. 169-184 and u n p u b l i s h e d s t a t i s t i c s s u p p l i e d by M. Kent Jennings.
—(
) • numbers t h a t r e p r e s e n t the waves o f . t h e survey
-9A n o t h e r aspect of F i g u r e 2 d e s e r v i n g mention i s t h a t i n b o t h c o u n t r i e s p a r t y
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n stands h i g h e s t i n the l i s t o f c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s . I n other
words t h i s i s the area where the g r e a t e s t amount of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n
seems t o take p l a c e . The American f i g u r e i s somewhat h i g h e r than i t s Japanese
c o u n t e r p a r t and t h e gap t h a t separates i t f r o m the next h i g h e s t c o e f f i c i e n t on t h e
s c a l e i s w i d e r . The Japanese s c a l e i s n o t as complete as the American i n these
r e s p e c t s . We d i d i n our survey f i n d a few a t t i t u d e s t h a t s c a l e d h i g h e r than
t h o s e f o r p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . These were of two s o r t s . The f i r s t i n c l u d e s
c o e f f i c i e n t s t h a t f l u c t u a t e d w i l d l y and i n e x p l i c a b l y f r o m t h e f i r s t t o the second
wave o r which were measured i n o n l y one of t h e two waves.24 They were viewed as
u n s t a b l e or u n c e r t a i n and are excluded from F i g u r e 2. The second excluded qategoryy
c o n s i s t s o f c o e f f i c i e n t s concerning p a r t y - r e l a t e d a t t i t u d e s which v a r y g r e a t l y
f r o m p a r t y t o p a r t y i n t h e Japanese m u l t i - p a r t y s y s t e m . ^ These l a s t , however,
t e n d t o s u p p o r t the view t h a t i t i s i n the area o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n t h a t one
f i n d s the l a r g e s t amount o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s .
,The q u e s t i o n n a t u r a l l y a r i s e s as t o why t h i s s h o u l d be so. Campbell and h i s
a s s o c i a t e s p r e s e n t an extended account o f the p e r c e p t i o n o f p a r t i e s , c a n d i d a t e s , and
i s s u e s i n the American case b u t i t i s e s s e n t i a l l y due t o t h e f a c t t h a t p o l i t i c a l
p a r t i e s are b o t h more c o n c r e t e and more s a l i e n t than most o t h e r p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t s .
So f a r as the mass p u b l i c i s concerned, p a r t i e s and p e r s o n a l i t i e s are f a r more
v i s i b l e than i s s u e s and, s i n c e p e r s o n a l i t i e s come and go, p a r t i e s tend t o a c q u i r e
a s u p e r i o r h i s t o r i c a l dimension and c o n t i n u i t y t h a t makes them one o f t h e most
i m p o r t a n t v a r i a b l e s i n the c o g n i t i v e processes o f t h e p u b l i c . By and l a r g e
we b e l i e v e t h i s t o be the case i n Japan, a l t h o u g h w i t h the q u a l i f i c a t i o n t h a t ,
s i n c e the h i s t o r y o f Japanese p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s i s much b r i e f e r than t h a t o f American
or B r i t i s h p a r t i e s and s i n c e t h e p a r t y scene i n Japan has been n o t a b l y l e s s s t a b l e ,
we do n o t expect Japanese p a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s or a t t i t u d e s t o be as w e l l o r deeply
developed.27 S t i l l p o l i t i c a l c o m p e t i t i o n i s keen i n Japan and p u b l i c i n t e r e s t h i g h
e s p e c i a l l y at e l e c t i o n times.
9fi
There are o t h e r arguments d e r i v e d f r o m t h e o r i z i n g about t h e American experience
t h a t a l s o seem a p p l i c a b l e t o Japan i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n . G r e e n s t e i n h o l d s , f o r
example, t h a t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s t r a n s m i t t e d from p a r e n t t o c h i l d a t a v e r y
e a r l y stage o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n and t h a t t h e development of a p a r t y o r i e n t a t i o n
t h u s c l e a r l y precedes those o f candidate or I s s u e o r i e n t a t i o n s . He goes on t o
argue t h a t the younger the c h i l d I s , the more u n c r i t i c a l and r e c e p t i v e he i s
apt t o be toward v a l u e s o r a t t i t u d e s t h a t h i s p a r e n t s d i s p l a y e i t h e r p u r p o s e f u l l y o r
i n a d v e r t e n t l y . He concludes t h a t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s a f i e l d i n which the
g r e a t e s t degree o f such t r a n s m i s s i o n i s apt t o take p l a c e . G r e e n s t e i n a l s o r e i n ^
f o r c e s t h i s t h e s i s w i t h a concept borrowed f r o m a c c u l t u r a t i o n s t u d i e s , namely
t h o s e a t t i t u d e s t h a t are l e a r n e d e a r l i e s t are l i k e l y t o be the most i n t e r n a l i z e d
and t h o s e l e a r n e d l a t e r more s u p e r f i c i a l and u n s t a b l e . 2 8
We would l i k e a t t h i s p o i n t t o r e t u r n t o our former h y p o t h e s i s about t h e
i n t e r a c t i o n o f macro-forces and m i c r o - f o r c e s i n t h e process of p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n
i n Japan. I t w i l l be r e c a l l e d t h a t the e f f e c t o f the macro-forces (major trends
of economic, s o c i a l , and p o l i t i c a l change over t i m e ) was t o d i m i n i s h the i n t e r g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s w h i l e t h e e f f e c t s o f the m i c r o f o r c e s , i n t h i s case the f a m i l y , was t o enhance the degree o f g e n e r a t i o n a l c o n t i n u ity.
The q u e s t i o n i s how does t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f macro- and m i c r o - f o r c e s take
place?
Are t h e r e i n t e r v e n i n g ' s o c i o l o g i c a l o r a t t i t u d i n a l v a r i a b l e s t h a t s i g n i f i c a n t l y a f f e c t the process of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n ?
I f so, which are apt
t o be more s i g n i f i c a n t a t the i n d i v i d u a l l e v e l ?
-10Table 3 has been prepared i n an attempt t o shed some l i g h t on these q u e s t i o n s .
I t i s based upon a d i v i s i o n of our sample of p a r e n t - c h i l d p a i r s i n t o two groups,
one"of w h i c h has been s u b j e c t e d t o p a r t i c u l a r experiences t h a t are o f t e n ,
a l b e i t somewhat a r b i t a r i l y , r e g a r d e d as change-oriented such as urban as opposed
t o r u r a l r e s i d e n c e , union membership as opposed t o non-union s t a t u s , h i g h
s o c i a l c l a s s , income, or degree o f p a r e n t a l e d u c a t i o n versus t h e i r low e q u i v a l e n t s , e t c . ;
(Table 3 about h e r e )
and the o t h e r of which i s composed o f those s h a r i n g t h e r e c i p r o c a l experiences
t o t h e above t h a t are here r e g a r d e d as b e i n g o r i e n t e d toward c o n t i n u i t y . These
two groups have then been examined i n terms o f t h e degree t o which t h e s t a t u s
d e s i g n a t e d as change-oriented and t h a t designated as c o n t i n u i t y - o r i e n t e d has
produced agreement between t h e p a r e n t i s and t h e c h i l d ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
i n o r d e r t o determine i f i n f a c t the v a r i a b l e concerned seems t o have enhanced
o r d i m i n i s h e d g e n e r a t i o n a l c o n t i n u i t y i n t h i s r e s p e c t . The c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s
t h a t r e s u l t s h o u l d be c o n s e r v a t i v e l y i n t e r p r e t e d , however, because of the small r
s i z e o f the sample as a whole and the l i m i t e d number of cases i n each c e l l .
The
d o u b l e column o f e n t r i e s under the r u b r i c "codes" i n Table 3 i s e x p l a n a t o r y of
t h e c a t e g o r i e s b e i n g used. For example, where t h e e n t r i e s o p p o s i t e " P o p u l a t i o n "
at t h e t o p o f t h e t a b l e are concerned,.the c o e f f i c i e n t s .23 under the f i r s t wave
and #.29 under the second are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h l a r g e p o p u l a t i o n s j w h i l e the coe f f i c i e n t s »60 and .50 are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s m a l l p o p u l a t i o n s .
When we d i v i d e our sample i n t h i s manner i n t o change-oriented and c o n t i n u i t y o r i e n t e d c o n t i n g e n t s , we f i n d c o n s i d e r a b l e v a r i a t i o n i n the c o r r e l a t i o n coe f f i c i e n t s between parent's and c h i l d r e n ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s .
Urbaniz a t i o n , f o r .example i s " g e n e r a l l y regarded as a key element i n the process o f
s o c i a l change. Our c o e f f i c i e n t s s u p p o r t the view where the g e n e r a t i o n a l
t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s concerned. Whether measured by s i z e of
p o p u l a t i o n or by a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d i s t i n c t i o n s between urban and r u r a l c i v i l
s u b d i v i s i o n s and whether measured by f i r s t o r second wave responses t h e r e
i s a markedly g r e a t e r - t e n d e n c y f o r i n t e r - g e n e r a t i o n a l changes of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n c i t i e s and f o r i h t e r - g e n e r a t i o n a l c o n t i n u i t y i n t h i s r e s p e c t i n the
countryside.
Where u n i o n membership i s concerned the r e s u l t s are c o n s i s t e n t b u t would
argue an i n i t i a l e r r o r I n a s s i g n i n g union s t a t u s t o the "change" r a t h e r than t o
t h e " c o n t i n u i t y " group. The c o e f f i c i e n t s i n d i c a t e - a v e r y marked tendency f o r
t h e c h i l d r e n o f u n i o n parents t o share the p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s of t h e i r parents
compared t o a r e l a t i v e l y low tendency f o r such t r a n s m i s s i o n t o occur i n nonunion- f a m i l i e s . This i s i n t e r e s t i n g but not r e a l l y s u r p r i s i n g i n terms o f the
f a c t t h a t our mass survey d a t a as a whole i n d i c a t e t h a t union membership i s one
o f the: most s i g n i f i c a n t v a r i a b l e s i n p r e d i c t i n g b o t h t h e p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and
t h e e l e c t o r a l choice o f v o t e r s i n g e n e r a l . Beyond t h i s , however, u n i o n members h i p t u r n s o u t t o be remarkably i s s u e - f r e e . I t i s not r e l a t e d t o stands on
most p a r t i s a n i s s u e s .
A c c o r d i n g t o Table 3,. s o c i a l c l a s s a t f i r s t seems t o p l a y the a n t i c i p a t e d
r o l e as an I n t e r v e n i n g and change-oriented v a r i a b l e , the t h e s i s b e i n g i n t h i s
case t h a t t h e m i d d l e c l a s s tends t o be more r e c e p t i v e t o new i n f o r m a t i o n and
i d e a s , and hence more s u s c e p t i b l e t o change, than does the w o r k i n g c l a s s .
Yet
i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o r e c o n c i l e the c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r s o c i a l class w i t h those t h a t
f o l l o w f o r household income i f one g r a n t s t h a t h i g h e r s o c i a l c l a s s i s c o r r e l a t e d
w i t h h i g h e r income. The two s e t s o f c o e f f i c i e n t s are m u t u a l l y opposed i n t h i s
-10aT a b l e 3.
Agreement Between C h i l d ' s and Parent's P a r t y
by Demographic and A t t i t u d i n a l V a r i a b l e s
Control
Variables
Identifications,
lst Wave
2nd j f a v e
Change C o n t i n u i t y * 'Change C o n t i n u i t y
Codies
A
^
l f
Population
.23*
.60
.29
.50
Large Small
Administrative Level
.36
.49
.34
.46
Urban R u r a l
Union Membership
.62
.34
.63
.20
Yes
No
S o c i a l Class
.24
.52
-.02
.50
High
Low
Household Income
.52
.36
.43
.32
High
Low
Parent's E d u c a t i o n
.18
.65
.42
.32
High
Low
Parent's P o l i t i c a l "
Interest
.36
.53
.45
.23 •
High
Low
Child's P o l i t i c a l
Interest
.55
.20
.42 •
.32
High
Low
I n d i v i d u a l o r Family
.13
1.00
.16
.89
I n d i v Family
New o r Old Man
.02
.55
.28
.43
New
Spending o r Saving
.31
.37
.32
.39
Spend Save
Youth D i s c i p l i n e
.49
.28
.59
.34
Less
More
Respect f o r E l d e r ' s View
.41
.32
.37
.24
No
Yes
C h i l d ' s A t t i t u d e s Toward:
• E n t r i e s a r e tau-b
coefficients
Old
-11-
c a s e and we do not u n d e r s t a n d why t h i s s h o u l d be s o .
The same I s t r u e when one
u s e s t h e l e v e l o f p a r e n t ' s e d u c a t i o n as. a c r i t i c a l v a r i a b l e .
The r e s u l t s f o r
t h e s e c o n d wave r e v e r s e t h o s e o f t h e f i r s t f o r unknown r e a s o n s .
.
I f we compare t h e s e f i n d i n g s from our p a r e n t - c h i l d s a m p l e w i t h t h e r e s u l t s
o f o u r mass s u r v e y a s a w h o l e * i t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e l a t t e r t h a t t h e s e t h r e e
v a r i a b l e s — s o c i a l c l a s s , income, and e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l r - a r e i n t e r - c o r r e l a t e d t o
a s i g n i f i c a n t d e g r e e . However, i t a l s o emerges t h a t , w i t h t h e p a r t i a l exc e p t i o n of e d u c a t i o n a l l e v e l , a l l o f them a r e i n the J a p a n e s e c a s e e i t h e r
u n r e l a t e d o r o n l y w e a k l y c o r r e l a t e d t o p a r t i s a n a t t i t u d e s o r to change v e r s u s
c o n t i n u i t y i s s u e s t h a t w e r e u s e d i n T a b l e 3.
I n c o m p a r a t i v e terms one e x p e c t s
an i n t e r - c o r r e l a t i o n o f t h e s e t h r e e v a r i a b l e s i n any d e v e l o p e d s o c i e t y , b u t t h e
l a c k o f a f u r t h e r r e l a t i o n s h i p between them and o t h e r p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s
and i s s u e s i n t h e J a p a n e s e c a s e i s r a t h e r s u r p r i s i n g t o t h o s e f a m i l i a r w i t h the
A m e r i c a n and B r i t i s h e x p e r i e n c e s .
I t may be t h a t the i m p a c t of s u c h demographic
v a r i a b l e s on p a r t i s a n a t t i t u d e s and change v e r s u s c o n t i n u i t y i s s u e s i n J a p a n
i s d i f f e r e n t than elsewhere, a p o i n t t h a t d e s e r v e s f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n .
When we move from demographic t o p s y c h o l o g i c a l v a r i a b l e s , we f i r s t f i n d
t h a t t h e l e v e l o f p a r e n t a l p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t p l a y s an ambiguous r o l e .
I n the
f i r s t wave h i g h p a r e n t a l i n t e r e s t i s n e g a t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h t h e d e g r e e of
g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n , b u t i n t h e s e c o n d wave t h a t r e l a t i o n s h i p i s r e v e r s e d .
When we t u r n t o t h e l e v e l o f t h e c h i l d ' s p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t , however, t h e p a t t e r n
i s c o n s i s t e n t f o r both waves; h i g h e r p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t i s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a
h i g h e r d e g r e e o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , and low
p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t w i t h a l o w e r d e g r e e o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n of p a r t y
identification.
H e r e , too, i t i s p o s s i b l e t o a p p r o a c h t h e problem o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n
of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n from e i t h e r t h e macro- o r the m i c r o - l e v e l . former
one c a n h y p o t h e s i z e t h a t a h i g h l e v e l of m a j o r s o c i a l , -economic,. and p o l i t i c a l
c h a n g e i n a s o c i e t y i s a p t t o p r o d u c e a h i g h e r l e v e l of p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t among
y o u t h , and t h a t t h i s h i g h e r l e v e l o f : ' i n t e r e s t c o n j o i n e d w i t h t h e p r e s e n c e of major
c h a n g e s i n t h e s o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t i s a p t t o p r o d u c e d i s c o r d a n c e between t h e
p o l i t i c a l v i e w s and p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s o f c h i l d r e n and p a r e n t s who w e r e exp o s e d to d i f f e r e n t s o c i a l i z i n g i n f l u e n c e s . The comparable h y p o t h e s i s a t the
m i c r o - l e v e l w o u l d be t h a t a h i g h l e v e l o f p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t among c h i l d r e n
makes i t more p r o b a b l e t h a t the c h i l d w i l l be more aware of p o l i t i c a l c u e s ,
and, g i v e n the t i m i n g and i n t e n s i t y o f h i s e x p o s u r e to h i s p a r e n t s and t h e cues
t h e y p r o v i d e , w i l l be more apt to s h a r e t h e i r p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
A
t
t
n
e
Our d a t a p r o v i d e s u p p o r t f o r t h e m i c r o - l e v e l h y p o t h e s i s . Whether we a r e
e x a m i n i n g t h e c h i l d ' s i n t e r e s t i n t h e e l e c t i o n , c o n c e r n w i t h t h e outcome o f
t h e e l e c t i o n , o r h i s p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t i n g e n e r a l , and w h e t h e r we a r e d e a l i n g
w i t h the r e s u l t s of t h e f i r s t o r s e c o n d wave o f the s u r v e y , we i n v a r i a b l y f i n d
a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e i
i
of t h e c h i l e s i n t e r e s t and the e x t e n t
of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
e
v
e
We t u r n n e x t t o t h e
l a s t f i v e v a r i a b l e s i n Table 3 t h a t d e a l w i t h the
child's attitudes.
When we c o n t r o l w i t h s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e t o t h e way i n
w h i c h t h e c h i l d p e r c e i v e s h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p to h i s f a m i l y , d r a m a t i c c o n f i r m a t i o n
i s obtained.™
T h i s i s a v a r i a b l e t h a t not s u r p r i s i n g l y d i s p l a y s a very strong
-12r e l a t i o n t o the degree of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ,
as T a b l e 3 makes c l e a r . Some aspects of t h i s f a m i l y - i n d i v i d u a l or c h i l d f a m i l y r e l a t i o n s h i p i s s u e are p r o b a b l y more s a l i e n t i n Japan than i n the
U n i t e d S t a t e s o r Great B r i t a i n .
There have s i n c e the war been c r i t i c a l l e g a l
and s o c i a l changes t h a t have d r a s t i c a l l y a f f e c t e d the t r a d i t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e
o f t h e Japanese f a m i l y . The predominant view i n e d u c a t i o n and the mass media
i s now r e s t r i c t i v e w i t h r e s p e c t t o the f a m i l y and s u p p o r t i v e of i n c r e a s e d
i n d i v i d u a l i s m . As a consequence t h e f a m i l y i t s e l f and i t s proper r o l e and i n t e r n a l
r e l a t i o n s h i p s has^become something of a p o l i t i c a l i s s u e i n contemporary Japan.
Whatever the degree o f Japan's p e c u l i a r i t y i n t h i s r e s p e c t , however, i t would
seem p r o b a b l e from these c o e f f i c i e n t s t h a t the f a m i l y does e x e r t an i n f l u e n c e
on t h e p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n of i t s c h i l d r e n and t h a t t h e e x t e n t of generat i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s s h a r p l y a f f e c t e d by the c h i l d ' s
view o f h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o h i s f a m i l y .
31
The new-or-old man dimension i s a v a r i a n t o f the preceding v a r i a b l e .
The two dimensions are moderately c o r r e l a t e d and are considered t o be i d e o l o g i c a l l y i n t e r - r e l a t e d i n Japan. Table 3 i n d i c a t e d t h a t a c h i l d c o n s i d e r i n g
h i m s e l f as a new type person o f t e n d e s e r t s h i s p a r e n t ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
w h i l e those c o n s i d e r i n g themselves as o l d t y p e persons are r e l a t i v e l y much more
apt t o i n h e r i t the p a r e n t ' s a t t i t u d e i n t h i s r e s p e c t . The degree of v a r i a t i o n
i n t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s i s s m a l l e r though than i n the case o f the " i n d i v i d u a l o r
family" variable.
A t h i r d dimension t h a t i s q u i t e i m p o r t a n t i n t h e l i f e of the average
Japanese seems t o have l i t t l e e f f e c t on the t r a n s m i s s i o n of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
The save-spend i s s u e i s b o t h a f a v o r i t e t o p i c o f d a i l y c o n v e r s a t i o n among
Japanese and a l s o a m a t t e r of r e a l n a t i o n a l importance.
I t i s closely linked
to the'system'of t r a d i t i o n a l v a l u e s " t h a t s t r o n g l y and e f f e c t i v e l y encourages
s a v i n g . The savings r a t e even i n t h e present a f f l u e n t and
consumer-oriented
s o c i e t y i s among t h e w o r l d ' s h i g h e s t . D e s p i t e t h i s , i t a p p a r e n t l y has l i t t l e
r e l a t i o n to the generational transmission of party i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
The l a s t two v a r i a b l e s i n Table 3 — y o u t h d i s c i p l i n e and r e s p e c t f o r
elder-' s v i e w — s e e m t q a f f e c t the process o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i n a somewhat s u r p r i s i n g way.
One would n o r m a l l y expect t h a t a c h i l d who t h i n k s t h a t
today's y o u t h needs more d i s c i p l i n e would be more apt t o accept h i s p a r e n t ' s
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . The c o e f f i c i e n t s i n Table 3 i n d i c a t e t h a t the o p p o s i t e
i s t h e case; a d i s c i p l i n e - o r i e n t e d y o u t h i s more apt t o d e s e r t h i s p a r e n t ' s
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n t h i s r e g a r d than i s a f r e e d o m - o r i e n t e d c h i l d . The same i s
t r u e I n the case o f r e s p e c t f o r t h e e l d e r ' s view, a l t h o u g h i n n e i t h e r case i s
the extent of the v a r i a t i o n i n c o e f f i c i e n t s p a r t i c u l a r l y large.
I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o e x p l a i n t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p adequately.
I t s h o u l d be noted,
however, t h a t q u e s t i o n s concerning t h e g e n e r a t i o n gap p r o v i d e t h e b a s i s f o r v e r y
l i v e l y and widespread c o n t r o v e r s y i n Japan and t h a t these m a t t e r s o f y o u t h
d i s c i p l i n e and r e s p e c t f o r e l d e r ' s views l i e c l o s e t o the h e a r t o f t h e i s s u e .
They t e n d t o e l i c i t e m o t i o n a l l y charged r e a c t i o n s and are i n t h i s sense f a i r l y
s e n s i t i v e . They a r e , f o r example, c o n s i d e r a b l y more s e n s i t i v e than t h e two
e a r l i e r q u e s t i o n s about f a m i l y - i n d i v i d u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s and the new versus o l d
man dimension.
I n f a c t our data on the two more: s e n s i t i v e questions are s l i g h t l y
n e g a t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h the o t h e r two v a r i a b l e s . 34
0
-13III
A n o t h e r area o f major i n t e r e s t w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n
of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s t h e r e l a t i v e r o l e s o f t h e f a t h e r and the mother i n
the t r a n s m i s s i o n process. Which i s t h e more i n f l u e n t i a l ? There i s no q u e s t i o n
t h a t w i t h i n the average Japanese household each parent p l a y s a markedly d i f f e r e n t
r o l e . 3 5 This i s t r u e w i t h r e s p e c t t o d i v i s i o n o f l a b o r , p a r e n t a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s ,
a u t h o r i t y , or even i n t h e area o f r e l i g i o n where t h e r o l e of t h e f a t h e r appears
to d i f f e r from t h a t of the mother i n e i t h e r f a c t u a l or n o r m a t i v e terms.
In
g e n e r a l i n t h e Sino-Japanese c u l t u r e area i t i s customary f o r t h e f a t h e r t o be
r e c o g n i z e d as t h e dominant and a u t h o r i t a t i v e f i g u r e w i t h i n t h e household.
Such a s t a t u s i s l e g i t i m a t e d by t h e c e n t u r i e s o f Confucian orthodoxy which has n
o n l y r e c e n t l y been undermined i n ^aw* A g a i n s t such a background i t i s tempting
to assume t h a t t h e Japanese f a t h e r p l a y s the predominant r o l e i n the p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n o f h i s c h i l d r e n . But i s t h i s t r u e i n f a c t ? Do Japanese p a r e n t s
have s p e c i f i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d r o l e s and i n f l u e n c e s i n t h i s sphere? What
happens i n t h e case where f a t h e r and mother are themselves of d i f f e r e n t p a r t i s a n
persuasions?
When we l o o k beyond Japan we see t h a t o s t e n s i b l y t h e male i n g e n e r a l plays
the l e a d i n g r o l e i n t h e p o l i t i c s of a l l modern n a t i o n s . A g a i n , one i s tempted
to conclude by e x t e n s i o n t h a t f a t h e r s do a l s o i n t h e area o f t r a n s m i t t i n g p a r t y
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n t o t h e i r c h i l d r e n . Research i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s , however, does not
c o n f i r m sucn a h y p o t h e s i s . Maccoby, Mathews, and Morton were among the f i r s t to
p o i n t out i n t h e i r e x p e r i m e n t a l study t h a t the r o l e of the..mother i s more imp o r t a n t t h a n t h a t of t h e f a t h e r i n t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
36
Jennings and Langton l a t e r c o n f i r m e d t h i s f i n d i n g on t h e b a s i s o f a n a t i o n w i d e
p r o b a b i l i t y sample.37
Our f i n d i n g s w i t h r e s p e c t t o Japan are more complex. Table 4 i n d i c a t e s
t h a t i n t h e f i r s t wave of t h e survey mothers emerge as t h e more e f f e c t i v e
i n f l u e n c e on t h e i r c h i l d r e n where the t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s
concerned, b u t t h a t i n the second wave t h i s p a t t e r n i s r e v e r s e d and t h e f a t h e r s
have become t h e more i m p o r t a n t . A s i m i l a r r e v e r s a l o f r o l e s i s found i n t h e
data from our mass survey as a whole.
(Table 4 about h e r e )
Such a s h i f t between t h e f i r s t and second waves o f the survey was not une x p e c t e d . We are i n c l i n e d t o e x p l a i n i t along t h e f o l l o w i n g l i n e s . The s h i f t
t o o k p l a c e d u r i n g a p e r i o d of i n t e n s e n a t i o n a l campaigning. I t i s c l e a r t h a t
i n Japan men are b o t h more i n t e r e s t e d I n p o l i t i c s than women and t h a t they
more f r e q u e n t l y p a r t i c i p a t e i n p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s .
Under t h e circumstances
i t seems p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e f a t h e r - i s t h e p r i n c i p a l agent of communication t o
the f a m i l y of campaign and e l e c t i o n messages f r o m t h e o u t s i d e w o r l d and t h a t
i n p e r f o r m i n g t h i s f u n c t i o n he i n c r e a s e s the p o l i t i c a l s o l i d a r i t y o f t h e
household along the l i n e s of h i s own p a r t i s a n p r e f e r e n c e s . ^ Such a r o l e would
be s i m i l a r t o t h a t of t h e o p i n i o n - l e a d e r i n t h e two-step t h e o r y of communications.^9
I n t h e Japanese case i t a l s o d e r i v e s added p l a u s i b i l i t y from t h e importance
of what are c a l l e d the j i b a n and k a n k e i dimensions of t h e i r e l e c t o r a l system.
-13aTable 4.
C h i l d ' s and Father's
Child's Party-.
Identification i n
Agreement W i t h :
or Mother's P a r t y
P a i r Sample
'1st
2nd ^
Wave
Wave
Identifications
Cross-Section Sample—
' 1st '
ZncT^
Wave
Wave.
Father's P a r t y
Identification
.22-
.49
.36
.38
Mother's P a r t y
Identification
.54
.29
.42
.32
— I n t h e c r o s s - s e c t i o n sample t h e f a t h e r ' s and mother's p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
are o n l y i n d i r e c t l y measured ( o r based upon t h e c h i l d ' s r e p o r t ) .
— E n t r i e s a r e tau-b
coefficients
!
-14A j i b a n i s a b a i l i w i c k , a d e f i n a b l e i n h a b i t e d a r e a l i n k e d by h i s t o r i c and
complex i n t e r - p e r s o n a l t i e s , t h a t a t e l e c t i o n t i m e s tends t o cast i t s v o t e
as a u n i t ( t h e tendency v a r i e s a good d e a l w i t h d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of e l e c t i o n ) . ^
K a n k e i i n t h i s sense are p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s and r e f e r t o the i n t r i c a t e web of
a s s o c i a t i o n s h i p s of f a m i l y , i n t e r e s t , r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , and o b l i g a t i o n t h a t
o v e r l a y any Japanese c o m m u n i t y . ^ Both of t h e s e networks are r o u t i n e l y
a c t i v a t e d on the occasion of e l e c t i o n s and t h e i r impact on a g i v e n f a m i l y i s
apt t o be channeled through the f a t h e r . T h e i r e f f e c t i s to s u b j e c t him t o
p r e s s u r e t o m o b i l i z e h i s f a m i l y and-other dependents i n support of p a r t i c u l a r
c a n d i d a t e s or causes. The e f f e c t of these phenomena, we s u s p e c t , i s a t e n dency t o move o t h e r members of the f a m i l y c l o s e r t o the f a t h e r i n terms of
p o l i t i c a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and thus t o t i l t the b a l a n c e of r e l a t i v e i m p o r t a n c e
i n t h e f a t h e r ' s f a v o r a t the l a t e r stages of or j u s t a f t e r a l i v e l y and h a r d
^fought e l e c t i o n campaign.
I t i s not a t a l l c l e a r , , however, t h a t t h i s s h o r t - s p a n movement cancels
the s u p e r i o r i t y . o f the mother i n a l o n g e r term sense. C e r t a i n l y a s t r a i g h t forward- i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of Table 4 would suggest t h a t the mother i s a t l e a s t
as i m p o r t a n t as t h e f a t h e r as an agent f o r the g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n of
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n ; Our i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n c l i n e s us t o h y p o t h e s i z e t h a t as
the u n u s u a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l and s o c i o l o g i c a l f o r c e s s u r r o u n d i n g the campaign
p e r i o d recede i n t o h i s t o r y we may w e l l f i n d t h a t the: mother i s n o r m a l l y the
more e f f e c t i v e agent of t r a n s m i s s i o n .
I f t h i s i s so, we. are not c e r t a i n as t o why i t should be the case,
Japanese men are o b v i o u s l y more i n t e r e s t e d and more i n v o l v e d i n p o l i t i c s
t h a n t h e i r w i v e s . We s u s p e c t , however, t h a t i t may be a f u n c t i o n o f r e l a t i v e
magnitudes of exposure where the c h i l d i s concerned. A c h i l d i s n o r m a l l y more
exposed t o his. mother's company and a t t e n t i o n s - t h a n t o h i s f a t h e r ' s .
Vogel
makes an i n t e r e s t i n g case as t o t h e - q u i t e pronounced degree t o w h i c h t h i s i s
so i n m i d d l e - c l a s s Japanese f a m i l i e s . 4 2 Under t h e s e circumstances i t seems
h i g h l y p r o b a b l e t h a t the mother i s apt i n g e n e r a l t o have a g r e a t e r e f f e c t
on t h e s o c i a l i z a t i o n of the c h i l d r e n . Where p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l i z a t i o n and i n
p a r t i c u l a r the t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n are concerned, i t i s not
u n l i k e l y t h a t such t r a n s m i s s i o n i s l a r g e l y u n i n t e n t i o n a l and u n s t r u c t u r e d ,
and
t h a t the mother i s more apt t o be the agent i n v o l v e d .
Jennings and Langton propose a s i m i l a r h y p o t h e s i s organized around the
concept o f closeness t o p a r e n t .
They argue t h a t the c l o s e r a c h i l d f e e l s
t o a p a r t i c u l a r p a r e n t , the more l i k e l y he i s t o be I n f l u e n c e d by t h a t p a r e n t
and, s i n c e a c h i l d i s g e n e r a l l y c l o s e r t o h i s mother than h i s f a t h e r , the
~~
mother i s more apt t o be i m p o r t a n t t h a n the f a t h e r i n the g e n e r a t i o n a l
transm i s s i o n of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . T h i s concept of closeness approximates our
concept of magnitude of exposure and o v e r l a p s i t i n a number of r e s p e c t s
a l t h o u g h the former i s r e a l l y an a t t i t u d i n a l and the l a t t e r a more p h y s i c a l
variable.
A n o t a b l e d i f f e r e n c e , however, i s t h a t w h i l e Jennings and Langton
a p p l y t h e i r concept t o o n l y those £ s i n w h i c h p a r e n t a l p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
are heterogeneous,.we apply ours t o a l l cases.^4
a s e
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , we d i d not i n our survey measure the e x t e n t t o w h i c h a
c h i l d f e e l s c l o s e r t o h i s mother than h i s f a t h e r .
The c l o s e s t a p p r o x i m a t i o n
-15t h e r e t o was our examination o f t h e e x t e n t to which a c h i l d f e e l s dependent
upon o r independent o f h i s f a m i l y i n t h e making- o f c r i t i c a l l i f e d e c i s i o n s . ^ 5
The two dimensions a r e c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t b u t o v e r l a p i n t h e sense t h a t they
b o t h r e v o l v e about t h e c h i l d ' s a t t i t u d e s toward parents o r a p a r e n t . I t .
may a l s o be t h a t t o some e x t e n t t h e types o f a t t i t u d e s tapped by these two
q u e s t i o n s a r e i n t e r - r e l a t e d . Under these circumstances, a l t h o u g h t h e l i n k a g e
i s h i g h l y s u p p o s i t i o u s , i t may be o f some i n t e r e s t t o h y p o t h e s i z e t h a t t h e
two v a r i a b l e s r e p r e s e n t two d i f f e r e n t ways o f o p e r a t i o n a l i z i n g t h e concept
o f magnitude o f exposure i n order" t o see what f o l l o w s . I f one t h a n assumes
t h a t magnitude of^exposure r a t h e r than t h e sex o f t h e p a r e n t i s t h e c r i t i c a l
f a c t o r i n t h e g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , we would
e x p e c t t h e s u p e r i o r i t y o f mother t o f a t h e r t o v a n i s h once we c o n t r o l f o r
magnitude o f exposure. I n o t h e r words, i f we c o n t r o l f o r t h e f a m i l y — i n d i v i d u a l
r e l a t i o n 1Q our study ( o r f o r closeness t o a p a r t i c u l a r p a r e n t i n t h e Jennings
L a n g t o n study which was n o t done), t h e e x t e n t o f t h e agreement, between t h e
c h i l d ' s and t h e mother's p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n should n o t be s i g n i f i c a n t l y
g r e a t e r than t h a t between t h e c h i l d ' s and t h e f a t h e r ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s .
Our d a t a i n d i c a t e t h i s t o be t h e case. Because o f sample s i z e and t h e number
and t y p e o f assumptions i n v o l v e d i n t h e above r e a s o n i n g , Table 5 o b v i o u s l y
(Table 5 about h e r e )
s h o u l d be t r e a t e d w i t h c a u t i o n , b u t t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s o b t a i n e d a r e d r a m a t i c a l l y
s i m i l a r t o t h e a n t i c i p a t e d r e s u l t were o u r assumptions t o be v a l i d .
Our data a l s o p r o v i d e an o p p o r t u n i t y f o r c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparison
w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e degree t o which a c h i l d ' s a b i l i t y t o r e c a l l h i s f a t h e r ' s
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a f f e c t s the p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t the c h i l d himself w i l l
develop some s o r t o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f h i s own. Comparable data a r e
p r o v i d e d f o r France and t h e U n i t e d States by P h i l i p E. Converse and George
Dupeux.46 The r e s u l t i n g percentages, w h i l e n o t o f course i d e n t i c a l , a r e
(Table 6 about here)
are g e n e r a l l y s i m i l a r f o r t h e t h r e e c o u n t r i e s and suggest a q u i t e h i g h degree
o f r e l a t i o n s h i p between a b i l i t y o r i n a b i l i t y t o r e c a l l t h e f a t h e r ' s p a r t y
i d e n t i f i c a t i o n on t h e one hand and t h e d i s p o s i t i o n o f t h e c h i l d t o a c q u i r e some
f o r m o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f h i s own. One suspects t h a t such r e c a l l
i m p l i e s t h e presence and a c t i o n o f o t h e r g e n e r a t i o n a l l y t r a n s m i t t e d cues t h a t
are i n v o l v e d i n t h e genesis and subsequent development o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
by c h i l d r e n . No c l a i m i s made i n t h e case o f such r e c a l l e i t h e r t h a t i n
f a c t t h e f a t h e r d i d have a p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h a t t h e p a r t i c u l a r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n r e c a l l e d i s a c c u r a t e . I n t h i s c o n t e x t o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l dynamics, the
p e r c e i v e d f a c t i s n o r m a l l y more s i g n i f i c a n t t h a n t h e f a c t i t s e l f .
A f i n a l aspect o f p a r e n t a l i n f l u e n c e r e m a i n i n g t o be examined i s
t h e e f f e c t o f t h e homogeneity o r h e t e r o g e n e i t y of t h e parent's -party i d e n t i f i c a t i o n
on t h e g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y " " i d e n t i f c a t i o n . As we have seen, b o t h
f a t h e r and mother a r e i m p o r t a n t i n t h e p r o c e s s , a l t h o u g h -*- somewhat d i f f e r e n t
degrees and ways. We would a n t i c i p a t e t h a t i n Japan as i n t h e U n i t e d States
homogeneity o f p a r e n t a l p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n would f a c i l i t a t e and h e t e r o g e n e i t y
n
15aTable 5.
C h i l d ' s and Father's o r Mother's P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s , by
the F a m i l y - I n d i v i d u a l Relationship
Agreement o f P a r t y
I d e n t i f i c a t i o n between:
1 s t Wave
2nd Wave
F a m i l y O r i e n t e d C h i l d and:
Father
1.00*
Mother
1.00
.84
Father
31
.18
Mother
39
.13
1.00
I n d i v i d u a l O r i e n t e d C h i l d and
— E n t r i e s a r e tau-b
coefficients.
-15b-
T a b l e 6.
Recalling Father's Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n
Respondent's P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n
and
Know F a t h e r ' s
Party
France*
USA^
Japarr^-
Do not Know
Father's Party
• France
USA
Japan
P r o p o r t i o n h a v i n g some
partisan self-location
( p a r t y or vague t e n d a n c e )
79.4%
81.6
85.0
87.9
47.7
50.7
61.1
64.9%
P r o p o r t i o n that these
are of t o t a l e l e c t o r a t e
24.0%
75.0
37.0
42.9
63.0
8.0
40.2
37.3%
f
•^-F.rom C a m p b e l l , C o n v e r s e , M i l l e r and
Stokes,
^
N
t
c>p_. c i t . , ( 1 9 6 6 ) , p.
— T h e f i r s t column of s t a t i s t i c s a r e from the f i r s t wave, and
f r o m t h e s e c o n d wave of our c r o s s - s e c t i o n s u r v e y .
282
t h e s e c o n d column
\
-16impede g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n .
Table 7 s u p p o r t s
such a view.
(Table 7 about h e r e )
We f e e l t h a t t h e s t r i k i n g degree t o which t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s i n Table 7 support
such a h y p o t h e s i s i s due i n p a r t t o t h e f a c t t h a t we r e l i e d upon i n d i r e c t data
i n measuring t h e e x t e n t o f p a r e n t a l homogeneity i n t h i s r e s p e c t . ^ 8 There i s
l i t t l e q u e s t i o n t h a t c h i l d r e n tend t o o v e r - r e p o r t t h e degree o f p a r e n t a l homog e n e i t y and t h a t t h i s tendency i n f l a t e s t h e s t a t i s t i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p i n v o l v e d .
But i n t h e Japanese case such a tendency does n o t seem g r e a t enough t o a f f e c t t h e
b a s i c v a l i d i t y o f our f i n d i n g s . Japanese c h i l d r e n were found t o o v e r - r e p o r t the
e x t e n t o f agreement between t h e i r own p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and t h a t o f t h e i r p a r e n t s o n l y i n r a t h e r s m a l l degree, s m a l l e r t h a n we a n t i c i p a t e d i n f a c t . ^ 9
xt
seems r e a s o n a b l e , t h e r e f o r e , t o assume t h a t t h e c h i l d ' s tendency t o o v e r - r e p o r t
homogeneity between t h e parent's p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s i s comparably" s m a l l . I n
any e v e n t g i v e n t h e spread between t h e c o e f f i c i e n t s i n Table 7 i t would be d i f f i c u l t
to a v o i d t h e c o n c l u s i o n t h a t p a r e n t a l homogeneity i s a s t r o n g f a c t o r i n g e n e r a t i o n a l
transmission of party i d e n t i f i c a t i o n .
What o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between p a r e n t a l p a r t i s a n homogeneity and t h e f a m i l y
i n d i v i d u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p ? We r e p o r t e d e a r l i e r a h i g h c o e f f i c i e n t o f c o r r e l a t i o n
between t h e way i n which t h e c h i l d p e r c e i v e s h i s r e l a t i o n t o t h e f a m i l y and t h e
g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . Now we f i n d a s i m i l a r r e l a t i o n
between p a r e n t a l p a r t i s a n homogeneity and such t r a n s m i s s i o n . These a r e t h e two
v a r i a b l e s t h a t , on t h e b a s i s o f our d a t a , seem t o be most s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n v o l v e d
i n t h e process o f g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . How do they
r e l a t e t o one another? I s p a r e n t a l p a r t i s a n homogeneity Independent o f t h e
f a m i l y - i n d i v i d u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p ? I f s o , does each o f these v a r i a b l e s a f f e c t generat i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i n d e p e n d e n t l y and c u m u l a t i v e l y ?
Or a r e they c o r r e l a t e d and,
i f s o , does one o f them m a i n t a i n o n l y a s p u r i o u s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h g e n e r a t i o n a l
transmission?
We f i n d l a r g e l y a f f i r m a t i v e answers f o r t h e f i r s t o f these sets o f q u e s t i o n s .
The two v a r i a b l e s a r e l a r g e l y independent o f each o t h e r . When we c o r r e l a t e
p a r e n t a l p a r t i s a n homogeneity and f a m i l y - I n d i v i d u a l r e l a t i o n s h i p , we o b t a i n tau-b
s c o r e s of-.04 and -.06 f o r our p a i r sample and .01 and .03 f o r our mass sample as
a w h o l e . A l s o each o f these v a r i a b l e s g e n e r a l l y c o n t r i b u t e s t o t h e process of
g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i n d e p e n d e n t l y and c u m u l a t e l y .
Except f o r t h e c o e f f i c i e n t
i n t h e upper l e f t hand corner in- the f i r s t wave m a t r i x , Table 8 i s c o n s i s t e n t
w i t h such a s u p p o s i t i o n . This i s a view t h a t , d e s p i t e some d i f f e r e n c e s i n design
and o b j e c t i v e , would seem t o be supported f o r t h e U n i t e d States by t h e JenningsLang t o n study.
(Table 8 about h e r e )
IV
T h i s b r i n g s us back t o one o f t h e p r i n c i p a l themes o f t h e p r e s e n t paper,
namely t h e s u r p r i s i n g degree o f s i m i l a r i t y t h a t seems to e x i s t between Japan and
-16a-
Table 7.
G e n e r a t i o n a l Transmission
P a r e n t a l Homogeneity -
o f P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n , by
3
P a r e n t a l Homogeneity
i n Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n
Agreement Between C h i l d ' s and
Parent's Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
1 s t Wave
High
67
Low
32
J
•^Parental Homogeneity i s based upon i n d i r e c t l y measured data,
— E n t r i e s a r e tau-b
coefficients
2nd Wave
49
-.47
-16bT a b l e 8.
G e n e r a t i o n a l Transmission o f P a r t y I d e n t i f i c a t i o n , by P a r e n t a l Homogeneity
and F a m i l y - I n d i v i d u a l R e l a t i o n s h i p
P a r e n t a l Homogeneity:
i n Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n
Agreement between C h i l d ' s and Parent's
Party I d e n t i f i c a t i o n s
Individual
Oriented
High
Low
• ^ E n t r i e s a r e tau-b
coefficients
2nd Wave
1 s t Wave
a
Family^
Oriented
Individual
Oriented
Family
Oriented
.85*
.38
21
59
•1.00
.41
88
00
-17the U n i t e d States w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e aspects o f t h e process of p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n t h a t we have i n v e s t i g a t e d . M e t h o d o l o g i c a l l y speaking, one reason
f o r o u r emerging w i t h such a f i n d i n g i s , o f course, our obvious and e x t e n s i v e
debt t o American s t u d e n t s o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n . We have borrowed l i b e r a l l y
from and adapted t o Japanese circumstances a v a r i e t y of hypotheses and t h e o r i e s
t h a t have been developed i n the course o f what are o b v i o u s l y f a r more advanced
and i m p r e s s i v e s t u d i e s than those a v a i l a b l e f o r any o t h e r s i n g l e modern s o c i e t y .
I n t e n t a t i v e terms a t l e a s t , we are g r a t i f i e d by the r e s u l t s and encouraged t o
b e l i e v e t h a t t h e t a c t i c s h o u l d be more b r o a d l y and s y s t e m a t i c a l l y a p p l i e d t o
e x p l o r a t i o n s o f t h e process o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n o t h e r advanced s o c i e t i e s .
We would n o t w i s h , however, t o be c o n t r u e d as p r e d i c t i n g t h a t t h e degree o f
c r o s s - c u l t u r a l s i m i l a r i t y t h a t we t h i n k we have d e t e c t e d i n t h i s q u i t e l i m i t e d
i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s a l s o apt t o o b t a i n i n most o t h e r areas o f t h e Japanese p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n process. We' are too w e l l aware t h a t degrees of f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e
on p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n are more r e a d i l y p r e d i c t a b l e and measurable than are
the i n f l u e n c e s o f most o t h e r s o c i a l i z i n g agencies and o f the advantages t h a t
a c c r u e from our h a v i n g focussed upon one o f t h e most r e s e a r c h a b l e and p r o m i s i n g
aspects o f t h e s o c i a l i z i n g p r o c e s s , t h e g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . We suspect t h a t many o t h e r a r e a s x . w i l l n o t d i s p l a y a comparable degree
of s i m i l a r i t y , b u t the p o i n t i s t h a t we do n o t now know t o what degree t h i s i s
t r u e . This b e i n g so, we are s i m p l y s u g g e s t i n g the v a l u e of an i n f o r m e d , s y s t e m a t i c ,
and c u l t u r a l l y s e n s i t i v e a d a p t a t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i v e l y w e l l - d e v e l o p e d methodology
and p r o p o s i t i o n s o f American s c h o l a r s h i p i n t h i s f i e l d t o t h e study o f p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n c o t h e r modern s o c i e t i e s . One. needs i n comparative s t u d i e s some
s o r t o f benchwork o r p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e . I n p r a c t i c a l terms t h e r e i s much to be
s a i d f o r u s i n g the best-developed one a v a i l a b l e .
B e f o r e t u r n i n g t o a few c o n c l u d i n g remarks, i t might be w e l l a t t h i s p o i n t t o
r e i t e r a t e a few s c a t t e r e d e a r l i e r remarks about the b a s i c c h a r a c t e r o f our s t u d y .
So f a r as p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i s concerned, i t i s i n t e n d e d as a p i l o t a s t u d y .
This i s t r u e b o t h i n terms o f i t s sampling d e s i g n and of l i m i t a t i o n s on t h e data
g a t h e r e d . I t i s not comparable i n e i t h e r sense t o a s t a n d a r d n a t i o n w i d e survey
I n Japan o r the U n i t e d S t a t e s . I t s goals are t o e x p l o r e n e g l e c t e d f r o n t i e r s , t o
demonstrate f e a s i b i l i t y , and t o e s t a b l i s h g u i d e l i n e s f o r and encourage the
conduct o f more d e f i n i t i v e s t u d i e s i n the f u t u r e , not t o a r r i v e i t s e l f a t def i n i t i v e c o n c l u s i o n s . We have a l s o , o f course, been i n t e r e s t e d i n r a i s i n g t h e o r e t i c a l
I s s u e s o f broader scope about t h e r o l e o f t h e f a m i l y and i t s members as agents o f
p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n and i n a t t e m p t i n g t o d e v i s e ways t o o p e r a t i o n a l i z e such
i s s u e s . We are aware t h a t t h i s i n t e r e s t has on o c c a s i o n l e d us t o q u i t e l i b e r a l
i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f some of t h e data. S t i l l t h e c o n s t r a i n t s i n v o l v e d go f a r beyond
t h o s e o f the normal s p e c u l a t i v e study and the t e c h n i c a l requirements o f data
a n a l y s i s have been c a r e f u l l y f o l l o w e d . I n t h i s r e s p e c t i t has, o f course, been
p o s s i b l e t o p r e s e n t o n l y a v e r y s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e thousands o f t a b u l a t i o n s
i n v o l v e d . The r e s u l t , we hope,„is a study t h a t i s more than s p e c u l a t i v e i n c h a r a c t e r
and i n v a l u e .
of
W i t h these q u a l i f i c a t i o n s i n mind, we would l i k e t o comment on t h r e e aspects
t h e o v e r a l l f i n d i n g s of t h i s s t u d y :
1)
t h e e x t e n t of f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e as an agent o f p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n
Japan,
2)
t h e r o l e o f t h e f a m i l y I n t h e l a r g e r and o v e r a l l process o f p o l i t i c a l '
s o c i a l i z a t i o n and p o l i t i c a l change i n Japan, and
-183)
problems a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the study of p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n
comparative and c r o s s - c u l t u r a l terms.
The study e s t a b l i s h e s a p r o b a b i l i t y t h a t i n a p a r t i c u l a r area, the g e n e r a t i o n a l
t r a n s m i s s i o n o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , t h e Japanese f a m i l y does p l a y an i m p o r t a n t
and demonstrable r o l e . This i s c o n t r a r y t o t h e view t h a t , l a r g e l y on t h e basis of
s p e c u l a t i v e commentary, has come t o be r a t h e r w i d e l y h e l d among both Japanese and
f o r e i g n s c h o l a r s . I t i s n o t a b l e a l s o t h a t t h e degree of i n f l u e n c e found f o r Japan
i s s i m i l a r t o , a l t h o u g h lower t h a n , t h a t h e l d t o p r e v a i l i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s .
T h i s does n o t mean t h a t the i n f l u e n c e o f t h e f a m i l y i s e i t h e r dominant or
n e c e s s a r i l y s i g n i f i c a n t where o t h e r areas o f t h e p o l i t i c a l . s o c i a l i z a t i o n process
are concerned. I n f a c t our data i n d i c a t e t h a t , when the focus of i n q u i r y s h i f t s
f r o m p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n t o i s s u e o r i e n t a t i o n s , f a m i l y i n f l u e n c e — a t l e a s t f o r our
f i f t e e n t h r o u g h n i n e t e e n year b r a c k e t — s e e m s t o p l a y i o n l y a m a r g i n a l and n e g l i g i b l e
r o l e ( i t might prove h i g h e r f o r younger age g r o u p s ) . T h i s , t o o , i s s i m i l a r t o the
American case.
I t i s a l s o of i n t e r e s t under t h i s f i r s t r u b r i c t o note t h a t when we l o o k more
I n t e n s i v e l y a t the d e t a i l s of p a r e n t a l i n f l u e n c e on t h e i r c h i l d r e n ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n t h a t the r o l e of the mother seems a t l e a s t as prominent as t h a t o f the
f a t h e r and p o s s i b l y more so. T h i s , t o o , resembles the Aermican experience'
b u t w i t h the a d d i t i o n of a more pronounced, i f p o s s i b l y temporary, r o l e f o r the
f a t h e r i n the l a t e r stages of e l e c t o r a l campaigns.
T u r n i n g t o the r o l e o f the f a m i l y i n the l a r g e r and o v e r a l l process o f p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n and p o l i t i c a l change i n Japan, we found i t much more d i f f i c u l t to
uncover evidence o f any c l e a r - c u t o r l a r g e - s c a l e i n f l u e n c e by the f a m i l y .
I t was
p a r t l y i n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n t h a t we suggested the d e s i r a b i l i t y o f d i s t i n g u i s h i n g
between the impact o f macro-forces and m i c r o - f o r c e s on i n d i v i d u a l a t t i t u d e s and
behavior.
I n t h i s c o n t e x t the f a m i l y , o f c o u r s e , r e p r e s e n t s a m i c r o - f o r c e .
The
case of Japan i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g i n t h i s r e s p e c t because t h e volume and
i n t e n s i t y of major s o c i a l , economic, and p o l i t i c a l changes have been so g r e a t
d u r i n g the l a s t c e n t u r y as a whole and s i n c e t h e Second World War i n p a r t i c u l a r .
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e absence of s y s t e m a t i c survey data on p u b l i c a t t i t u d e s w i t h
r e s p e c t t o such changes and the v e r y l i m i t e d temporal dimensions of our own survey
( t h e two waves were separated by o n l y a few weeks) make i t i m p o s s i b l e t o analyze the
c a u s a l i t y o f such changes w i t h any p r e c i s i o n . S t i l l i t i s obvious t h a t , f o r example,
on t h e war-peace dimension, the p r i v a t e - p u b l i c w e l f a r e dimension, o r t h e p e r s o n a l
s a c r i f i c e and s a v i n g s — p e r s o n a l enjoyment dimension Japanese a t t i t u d e s have changed
m a r k e d l y s i n c e the war.
I t i s d i f f i c u l t i n a p o s i t i v e sense t o a s s i g n any s i g n i f i cant share of the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r such s h i f t s t o m i c r o - f o r c e s such as the f a m i l y .
I t i s more the macro-forces t h a t seem t o be i n v o l v e d , probably o p e r a t i n g over time
and l a r g e l y t h r o u g h agents of s o c i a l i z a t i o n o t h e r than the f a m i l y a t t h e m i c r o level.
S t i l l t h e r e i s a l s o another f a c e t t o t h i s p i c t u r e , o f l a r g e - s c a l e s o c i a l
change i n postwar Japan, a f a c e t f e a t u r i n g a g r e a t e r element o f c o n t i n u i t y .
One
aspect o f t h i s i s enountered i n the r e a l m o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . W h i l e i t i s
t r u e t h a t t h e r e have been s i g n i f i c a n t s h i f t s i n p o p u l a r p a r t i s a n o r i e n t a t i o n s i n
c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the r i s e o f new p a r t i e s s i n c e the war, i t i s also t r u e t h a t t h e r e
have been n o t a b l e c o n t i n u i t i e s . The b u l k o f the Japanese e l e c t o r a t e was " c o n s e r v a t i v e "
i n t h e i r p a r t i s a n i d e n t i f i c a t i o n b e f o r e the war and they c o n t i n u e so t o d a y , although
-19t h e s p e c t r u m o f a v a i l a b l e c h o i c e h a s been v e r y s u b s t a n t i a l l y
expanded.
One i s l e d t o j u x t a p o s e t h e s e f i n d i n g s t h a t i n r e c e n t J a p a n e s e p o l i t i c a l
h i s t o r y i s s u e - o r i e n t e d a t t i t u d e s h a v e tended t o be r e l a t i v e l y u n s t a b l e and p a r t i s a n o r i e n t e d a t t i t u d e s r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e w i t h the c o n c l u s i o n emerging from our data
t h a t the e x t e n t of g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i s s m a l l where i s s u e - o r i e n t e d a t t i t u d e s
a r e c o n c e r n e d b u t r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e where p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i s c o n c e r n e d .
This
s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h g e n e r a t i o n a l t r a n s m i s s i o n t a k e s p l a c e i n p o l i t i c a l
s o c i a l i z a t i o n may be r e l a t e d t o t h e degree of s t a b i l i t y m a n i f e s t e d by the a t t i t u d e o r
value i n question.
I f s o , t h i s i s , o f c o u r s e , a n o t h e r way of s a y i n g t h a t a m i c r o f o r c e s u c h as t h e f a m i l y has w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h i s r e l a t i v e l y s t a b l e phenomenon of
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n p l a y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n t h e l o n g e r - t e r m p r o c e s s of p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n and p o l i t i c a l change i n J a p a n .
The p o i n t o b v i o u s l y r e q u i r e s
much f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n however.
F i n a l l y , a somewhat p u z z l e d and i n d e t e r m i n a t e word about t h e r p r o b l e m s of
s t u d y i n g p o l i t i c a l " s o c i a l i z a t i o n or o t h e r p o l i t i c a l phenomena i n c o m p a r a t i v e and
c r o s s - c u l t u r a l terms when t h e mode of s t u d y employed i s the s u r v e y method. T h i s
was o u r a p p r o a c h and we l i k e to t h i n k t h a t t h e c o m p a r a t i v e c o n t e n t t h a t was s o
o b v i o u s l y i n v o l v e d i n our s a m p l i n g d e s i g n , q u e s t i o n n a i r e d r a f t i n g , and t h e o r e t i c a l
s u p p o s i t i o n s has e n r i c h e d t h e r e s u l t s and made them l e s s remote a p p r o x i m a t i o n s t o
t h e l e v e l of c u l t u r e - f r e e g e n e r a l i z a t i o n about i m p o r t a n t p o l i t i c a l phonomena.
But
i t i s p r e c i s e l y the problems s u g g e s t e d by the i n t i m i d a t i n g compound a d j e c t i v e
" c u l t u r e - f r e e " t h a t c o n t i n u e to t r o u b l e u s .
P e r m i t us to c i t e j u s t two examples
t h a t , w h i l e c e r t a i n l y not n o v e l , a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h i s s o r t o f e n d e a v o r ,
e s p e c i a l l y where the terms of c o m p a r i s o n i n v o l v e c u l t u r e s as h i s t o r i c a l l y d i s p a r a t e as t h o s e of J a p a n and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . Both a r e a s p e c t s of t h e problem
of e q u i v a l e n c e , one a t the c o n c e p t u a l , the o t h e r more a t the t e c h n i c a l s e m a n t i c
or l i n g u i s t i c l e v e l .
Take the c o n c e p t of p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a s t h e f i r s t example.
There
a r e o b v i o u s d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e J a p a n e s e and t h e A m e r i c a n p a r t y s y s t e m s .
The
U n i t e d S t a t e s has o n l y two m a j o r n a t i o n a l p a r t i e s and t h e s e h a v e b e e n s t a b l e f o r
many y e a r s . J a p a n now has f i v e and has h i s t o r i c a l l y e x p e r i e n c e d a good d e a l of
i n s t a b i l i t y on h e r p a r t y s c e n e .
P a r t y a l l e g i a n c e i n J a p a n i s a l s o l e s s s t a b l e and
p e r h a p s l e s s s a l i e n t than i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , a l t h o u g h J a p a n e s e p a r t y o r i e n t a t i o n s
a r e somewhat more s t r o n g l y c o r r e l a t e d w i t h a c t u a l p a r t i s a n v o t e c h o i c e s than i n
the American case.
T h e s e a r e d i f f e r e n c e s between t h e two s y s t e m s .
We can a l s o
f i n d a good d e a l of common ground. Which i s more s i g n i f i c a n t where t h e concept
of " p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n " i s c o n c e r n e d ?
I s t h e r e a h i g h enough d e g r e e of s i m i l a r i t y
to t h e c o n c e p t a c r o s s the two c u l t u r e s to l e g i t i m a t e c o m p a r i s o n s of t h e t y p e we
h a v e been a t t e m p t i n g or a r e t h e d i f f e r e n c e s more c o n t r o l l i n g .
I f the l a t t e r , are
t h e r e ways of a d j u s t i n g f o r s u c h d i f f e r e n c e s ? We r e a l l y do not y e t know, and i n
t h i s s e n s e s o m e t h i n g of an a c t of f a i t h o r a t l e a s t an i m p l i c i t r e q u e s t f o r a
s u s p e n s i o n of judgment i s r e q u i r e d i n many s u c h e x p e r i m e n t s .
The problems may be
l e s s t r o u b l e s o m e where more c l o s e l y r e l a t e d c u l t u r e s a r e i n v o l v e d .
T h e n t h e r e a r e a range o f problems r e l a t i n g to t h e t r a n s l a t i o n of q u e s t i o n n a i r e s
from E n g l i s h t o J a p a n e s e and of t h e r e s u l t s b a c k i n t o E n g l i s h a g a i n .
What degrees
of freedom s h o u l d ' ^ i n v o l v e d ?
Does one s t r i v e f o r l i t e r a l a c c u r a c y i n t r a n s l a t i o n o r f o r c u l t u r a l e q u i v a l e n c e and, i f t h e l a t t e r , how can you t e l l when you
r e a l l y h a v e i t ? I t i s r e a l l y r e m a r k a b l e how v a r i a n t t h e judgments of s o - c a l l e d
e
-20-
e x p e r t s and b i l i n g u a l s can be i n t h e s e r e s p e c t s , e s p e c i a l l y when d e a l i n g w i t h
a l a n g u a g e as r e m o t e f r o m E n g l i s h and as i n t r i n s i c a l l y v a g u e by W e s t e r n s t a n d a r d s
as o r d i n a r y s p o k e n J a p a n e s e .
U n h a p p i l y , we h a v e no a n s w e r s f o r t h e s e q u e s t i o n s .
Our i n s t i n c t and o u r
e n d e a v o r has b e e n t o s e e k c u l t u r a l e q u i v a l e n c e .
We a r e n o t r e a l l y c e r t a i n t h a t i n
a l l c a s e s we o b t a i n e d i t , h o w e v e r , a n d , when d e a l i n g w i t h a t e c h n o l o g y s u c h as
s u r v e y r e s e a r c h , one l i k e s t o be as c e r t a i n as p o s s i b l e o f t h e r i g o r a r i d ~ i e l i a b i l i t y
of a l l h i s instruments.
C r o s s - c u l t u r a l r e s e a r c h o f t h i s s o r t s i m p l y seems i n h e r e n t l y
t o i n v o l v e — u n d e r p r e s e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s a t l e a s t — a somewhat g r e a t e r d e g r e e o f
u n c e r t a i n t y on s c o r e s o f t h i s s o r t t h a n does m o n o - c u l t u r a l r e s e a r c h .
One I m a g i n e s
t h a t s u c h d e g r e e s o f u n c e r t a i n t y may m u l t i p l y as do t h e numbers o f c u l t u r a l e l e m e n t s
involved.
Such i s s u e s , o f c o u r s e , a f f e c t u l t i m a t e l y , a l m o s t a l l a s p e c t s o f a c r o s s c u l t u r a l research project.
The a n s w e r s one g i v e s t o t h e m c o n d i t i o n t h e d e s i g n and
w o r d i n g o f t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e , t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e r e s p o n s e s e l i c i t e d , and t h e
d a t a a n a l y s i s process i t s e l f .
Consequently, they m e r i t very serious c o n s i d e r a t i o n .
We s e e k t o h i g h l i g h t t h e s e i s s u e s b e c a u s e o f o u r i m p r e s s i o n t h a t i n s u f f i c i e n t
a t t e n t i o n has b e e n p a i d t h e m so f a r i n t h e d e s i g n and c o n d u c t o f c r o s s - c u l t u r a l
s u r v e y r e s e a r c h , and a l s o b e c a u s e t h e y c a u s e d us a g o o d d e a l o f ' c o n c e r n i n des i g n i n g and a d m i n i s t e r i n g o u r own s u r v e y .
We w o u l d n o t l i k e t o l e a v e t h e i m p r e s s i o n ,
h o w e v e r , t h a t we c o n s i d e r t h e m so s e r i o u s t h a t t h e y n e e d i n v a l i d a t e a t t e m p t s t o
a p p l y t h e s u r v e y m e t h o d on a c r o s s - c u l t u r a l b a s i s .
Such a t t e m p t s seem t o us b o t h
e s s e n t i a l and p r o m i s i n g a t t h i s l e v e l f o r p r e t t y much t h e same r e a s o n s a d v a n c e d
w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f s u r v e y m e t h o d o l o g y on t h e t h e d o m e s t i c s c e n e .
Where a p p l i c a b l e , i t l e n d s i t s e l f t o g r e a t e r r i g o r , g r e a t e r c o n t r o l , g r e a t e r
p r e c i s i o n , and g r e a t e r c e r t a i n t y t h a n do more q u a l i t a t i v e a p p r o a c h e s .
It i s ,
f u r t h e r m o r e , e s s e n t i a l t o t h e a d v a n c e m e n t o f o u r c a p a c i t i e s t o make r e a l l y
g e n e r a l i z e d statements
a b o u t p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s and b e h a v i o r .
I t i s wise to
be a w a r e , h o w e v e r , o f t h e added p i t f a l l s i n v o l v e d and t o g i v e t h e s e t h e m o s t
serious attention.
FOOTNOTES
The r e s e a r c h on w h i c h t h i s p a p e r i s b a s e d was made p o s s i b l e by g r a n t s f r o m t h e ..
N a t i o n a l S c i e n c e F o u n d a t i o n , t h e C a r n e g i e C o r p o r a t i o n o f New Y o r k , and t h e
Ford Foundation.
The b o d y °f d a t a u s e d i n t h i s a n a l y s i s w e r e g a t h e r e d by Y o r o n
Kagaku K y o k a i o f Tokyo.
The a u t h o r s a l s o w i s h t o a c k n o w l e d g e t h e i r i n d e b t e d n e s s
t o P h i l i p E. C o n v e r s e , D o n a l d E. S t o k e s , and S u z u k i - • T a t s u z o f o r a s s i s t a n c e i n
d e s i g n i n g and a d m i n i s t e r i n g t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e s .
M. K e n t J e n n i n g s has g e n e r o u s l y
made a v a i l a b l e some o f h i s u n p u b l i s h e d d a t a o n p o l i t i c a l s o c i a l i z a t i o n i n t h e
U n i t e d S t a t e s , w h i l e K e n n e t h V. L a n g t o n has b e e n k i n d enough t o d i s c u s s and
c r i t i c i z e c e r t a i n of our f i n d i n g s .
T a b l e s and f i g u r e s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e paper w e r e
p r e p a r e d i n t h e f i r s t i n s t a n c e b y o u r r e s e a r c h a s s i s t a n t s , S u z u k i Toshikc- and
H a r l a n H i m e l . Mr. Ward w o u l d a l s o l i k e t o e x p r e s s h i s g r a t i t u d e t o t h e C e n t e r f o r
A d v a n c e d S t u d y i n t h e B e h a v i o r a l S c i e n c e s w h e r e h i s s h a r e o f t h e p a p e r was w r i t t e n .
1.
See, f o r e x a m p l e , H e r b e r t Hyman, P o l i t i c a l S o c i a l i z a t i o n . New Y o r k :
Free
P r e s s , 1959, p. 69; F r e d e r i c k E l k i n , The C h i l d and S o c i e t y , New Y o r k , Random
H o u s e , 1960, p. 46; o r James C. D a v i e s , "The F a m i l y ' s R o l e I n P o l i t i c a l
S o c i a l i z a t i o n , " A n n a l s o f t h e A m e r i c a n Academy o f P o l i t i c a l and S o c i a l
S c i e n c e s , v o l . 361 ( S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 6 5 ) , p p . 10-19.
2.
R o b e r t D. Hess and J u d i t h V. T o r n e y , The D e v e l o p m e n t o f B a s i c A t t i t u d e s and
V a l u e s Toward G o v e r n m e n t and C i t i z e n s h i p d u r i n g t h e E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l Y e a r s ,
P a r t I , U. S. O f f i c e o f E d u c a t i o n , 1 9 6 5 , p p . 193 and 200; R i c h a r d E. Dawson
and Kenneth P r e w i t t , P o l i t i c a l S o c i a l i z a t i o n , B o s t o n , L i t t l e , Brown, 1969,
p p . 1 0 5 - 1 0 8 ; o r M. K e n t J e n n i n g s and R i c h a r d G. N i e m i , "The T r a n s m i s s i o n of
P o l i t i c a l V a l u e s f r o m P a r e n t t o C h i l d " A m e r i c a n P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e Review^
vol.
6 2 , no. 1 ( M a r c h , 1 9 6 8 ) , pp. 1 6 9 - 1 8 4 .
3.
The J e n n i n g s - N i e m i a r t i c l e
on t h i s score.
4.
R o b e r t J . L i f t o n , " Y o u t h and H i s t o r y :
I n d i v i d u a l Change i n P o s t w a r
D a e d a l u s , v o l . 9 1 , no. 1 . , ( W i n t e r , 1 9 6 2 ) , pp. 172-197.
5.
See, f o r e x a m p l e , K u r o d a Yasumasa, " A g e n c i e s o f P o l i t i c a l S o c i a l i z a t i o n and
P o l i t i c a l Change: P o l i t i c a l O r i e n t a t i o n o f J a p a n e s e Law S t u d e n t s , " Human
O r g a n i z a t i o n , v o l . 24, no. 4 ( W i n t e r , 1 9 6 5 ) , pp. 3 2 8 - 3 3 1 .
6.
I n f a c t b o t h F i g u r e 1 and r e c e n t s t u d i e s o f t h i s s u b j e c t i n J a p a n I n d i c a t e
t h a t t h e JSP i s l o s i n g s u p p o r t among t h e y o u n g e s t c o h o r t s o f new v o t e r s .
See
N i s h i h i r a S h i g e k i , " A r e Young P e o p l e B e c o m i n g More C o n s e r v a t i v e ? " , J o u r n a l o f
S o c i a l and P o l i t i c a l I d e a s i n J a p a n , v o l . 2, n o . 3 (December, 1 9 6 4 ) , pp.
137-143.
The o r i g i n a l and f u l l f o r m o f t h e a r t i c l e ; may be f o u n d i n A s a h i
J a n a r u , J u l y 2 6 , 1 9 6 4 , pp. 12-19. J a p a n e s e p e r s o n a l names c i t e d i n t h i s paper
a r e g i v e n i n t h e Japanese manner; i . e . , w i t h surname f i r s t .
7.
See,
c i t e d above i s o f p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t
f o r e x a m p l e K u r o d a Yasumasa, op.
cit.,
p.
328.
and
relevance
Japan,"
-22-
8.
N i s h i h i r a S h i g e k i , N i h o n j i n no I k e n , T o k y o , S e i s h i n d o , 1 9 6 3 , pp. 93-136.
9.
Dawson and P r e w l t t , o p . c i t . , p p . 1 2 4 - 1 2 5 . W i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e s t a b i l i t y o f
t h e J a p a n e s e f a m i l y " i h t h i s r e s p e c t , s e e E z r a F. V o g e l , " K i n s h i p , S t r u c t u r e ,
M i g r a t i o n t o t h e C i t y , and M o d e r n i z a t i o n , " i n R. P. D o r e , ed. ^ s p e r . t s o f
S o c i a l Change i n M o d e r n J a p a n , P r i n c e t o n , P r i n c e t o n U n i v e r s i t y " P r e s s , 1 9 6 7 ,
pp. 91-111.
;
10.
A t h i r d may b e t h e f a m i l y ' s r o l e as t h e m a i n s o u r c e
an i n f a n t ' s b a s i c n e e d s .
D a v i e s , o p . ' c i t . , p . 10.
11.
F r e d I . G r e e n s t e i n , C h i l d r e n a n d P o l i t i c s , New Haven, Y a l e U n i v e r s i t y
P r e s s , 1 9 6 5 , p . 8 0 ; M e l f o r d S p i r o , "The A c c u l t u r a t i o n o f A m e r i c a n E t h n i c
G r o u p s , " A m e r i c a n A n t h r o p o l o g i s t , v o l . 57 ( 1 9 5 5 ) , p . 1 2 4 9 .
12.
Greenstein, i b i d . ,
13.
Dawson and P r e w l t t , op. c i t . .
14.
B e c a u s e o f t h e d i f f i c u l t y i n r e l i a b l y p i n n i n g down t h e p o i n t i n p a s t t i m e
f o r w h i c h t h e c h i l d was s p e c i f y i n g h i s f i r s t p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and t h e
p r o b l e m s o f p a r e n t a l r e c a l l a s s o c i a t e d t h e r e w i t h , we u s e d t h e c u r r e n t s t a t u s
o f p a r e n t a l p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n some e a r l i e r s t a t u s i n r u n n i n g
these c o r r e l a t i o n s .
Our d a t a i n d i c a t e l i t t l e change o v e r t i m e i n t h e p a s t
and p r e s e n t s t a t u s o f p a r e n t ' s p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s .
pp. 5 5 - 8 4 ; E l k i n , o p . c i t . ,
of satisfaction f o r
p p . 46-47.
p p . 1 0 7 - 1 0 8 , expand u p o n t h i s
theme.
15. We h a v e e n c o u n t e r e d a s i m i l a r r e c a l l , p r o b l e m i n o u r a t t e m p t t o m e a s u r e
g e n e r a t i o n a l a g r e e m e n t o f p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i n o u r mass s u r v e y d a t a as
a whole.
Although t h e numerical values o f these c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s
(.38 f o r t h e f i r s t wave and .32 f o r t h e s e c o n d w a v e ) c l o s e l y r e s e m b l e
t h o s e o f t h e comparable c o e f f i c i e n t s f o r o u r p a r e n t - c h i l d p a i r s , t h e subs t a n t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p i n t h e former i s p r o b a b l y weaker t h a n i n t h e l a t t e r .
because o f t h e problem : o f d i s t o r t i o n i n r e c a l l .
Also the fact that the
J a p a n e s e p a r t y s y s t e m has b e e n r e l a t i v e l y u n s t a b l e makes i t v e r y d i f f i c u l t
r e c o v e r s u b s t a n t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p s o n t h e b a s i s o f p e r c e i v e d d a t a o f t h e mass
survey alone.
16.
I t seems i m p r o b a b l e t h a t a p e r c e i v e d " f a c t "
c a l sense be t o t a l l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e f a c t
t h e r e I s a h i g h degree o f agreement between
p a r t y i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and t h e c h i l d ' s r e p o r t
Father
.64
Mother
.86
Entries
17.
a r e tau-b
a
of this sort w i l l i n a s t a t i s t i itself.
I n our Japanese d a t a
t h e p a r e n t ' s r e p o r t o f h i s own
of h i s parent's party i d e n t i f i c a t i o n :
.81
.88
coefficients.
T h e f i g u r e s f o r JSP i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a c c o r d c l o s e l y t o t h o s e c i t e d b y
N i s h i h a r a S h i g e k i o n p . 199 o f t h e a r t i c l e c i t e d a t f o o t n o t e 6 a b o v e , b u t
o u r f i g u r e s f o r LDP i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a r e s u b s t a n t i a l l y h i g h e r t h a n h i s .
-23-
18.
Angus C a m p b e l l , P h i l i p E. C o n v e r s e , W a r r e n E. M i l l e r , a n d D o n a l d E.
The A m e r i c a n V o t e r , New Y o r k , W i l e y , 1 9 6 0 , p p . 6 4 - 7 7 .
19.
See J e n n i n g s
and 74-82.
20.
Op. c i t . .
21.
R i c h a r d G. N i e m i , A M e t h o d o l o g i c a l S t u d y o f P o l i t i c a l S o c i a l i z a t i o n i n t h e
Family, unpublished doctoral d i s s e r t a t i o n a t t h eU n i v e r s i t y of Michigan,
1967,
22.
P h i l i p E. C o n v e r s e , "The N a t u r e o f B e l i e f Systems i n Mass P u b l i c s " i n
D a v i d A p t e r , e d . , I d e o l o g y a n d D i s c o n t e n t . New Y o r k , F r e e P r e s s , 1 9 6 4 , p p .
2 0 6 - 2 6 1 ; C a m p b e l l e t al op. c i t . , ( 1 9 6 0 ) p p . 1 8 8 - 2 6 5 .
and N i e m i , op. c i t . ,
p p . 1 7 2 - 1 7 4 , o r Hyman, o p . c i t . .
Stokes,
p p . 70-72
p p . 172-173.
K
23. A l t h o u g h i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o compare i s s u e a t t i t u d e s c r o s s - c u l t u r a l l y i n any
m e a n i n g f u l manner, i t a p p e a r s t h a t J a p a n e s e more f r e q u e n t l y s a y , " D o n ' t
know," t o a s t a n d a r d i s s u e q u e s t i o n t h a n A m e r i c a n s .
I t I s n o t unusual t o f i n d
a 2 0 % o r 3 0 % DK r a t i o i n J a p a n w h e r e a s I n A m e r i c a a c o m p a r a b l e r a t i o t e n d s
t o r e m a i n i n t h e 10 - 2 0 % l e v e l , a n d i t o c c a s i o n a l l y s u r p a s s e s t h e 2 0 %
mark.
24.
E x a m p l e s w o u l d be a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d t h e S e l f D e f e n s e F o r c e s w h i c h s c a l e d a t .40
f o r t h e f i r s t wave a n d .20 f o r t h e s e c o n d ; o r a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d p r o t e s t i n g
o f f i c i a l d e c i s i o n o n l e g i t i m a t e c l a i m s ( . 4 1 ) , t h e power o f B i g B u s i n e s s ( . 4 7 ) ,
o r t h e power o f l a b o r u n i o n s ( . 4 9 ) , a l l o f w h i c h w e r e m e a s u r e d o n l y o n c e .
25.
Examples w o u l d be c o e f f i c i e n t s r e l a t i n g t o w h i c h p a r t y t h e r e s p o n d e n t
first
l i k e d (.55 a n d . 4 5 ) , p a r t y v o t e i n t e n t i o n ( . 4 2 ) , a n d t h e r a n k i n g o f t h e
D e m o c r a t i c S o c i a l i s t P a r t y on a l i k e - d i s l i k e s c a l e (.40).
There a r e c u r r e n t l y
f i v e m a j o r n a t i o n a l p a r t i e s i n Japan.
T h e r e h a v e b e e n upwards o f t w e n t y i n
t h e 1945-1969 p e r i o d a l o n e .
26.
Op. c i t . ,
( 1 9 6 0 ) , p p . 42-88.
27. A c o m p l i c a t i n g f a c t o r i n J a p a n i s t h e e x i s t e n c e o f a m u l t i - p a r t y s y s t e m
based on a system o f multi-member e l e c t o r a l d i s t r i c t s .
T h i s may b e c o n d u c i v e
t o an added degree o f i n s t a b i l i t y i n p a r t y a t t i t u d e s .
See R o b e r t E. W a r d ,
J a p a n ' s P o l i t i c a l S y s t e m , E n g l e w o o d C l i f f s , New J e r s e y , P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 1 9 6 7 ,
p p . 52-75 f o r an e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e s y s t e m s c o n c e r n e d .
28. G r e e n s t e i n , o p . c i t . , p p . 71-75 and 80.
29. M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , we o b t a i n e d t h e f o l l o w i n g
Child's:
Interest i n election
Concern w i t h outcome
Political Interest
First
High
.49
.54
.55
statistics:
Wave
Low
.10
.25
.20
Second
High
.63
.50
.42
Wave
Low
-.05
.09
.03
24-
30.
The
q u e s t i o n u s e d t o m e a s u r e t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p i s as
follows:
I n d e a l i n g w i t h s u c h p r o b l e m s as e d u c a t i o n , o c c u p a t i o n , and m a r r i a g e , how
do y o u make a d e c i s i o n ?
W h i c h o f t h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e m e n t s comes c l o s e s t t o
your opinion?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
3 1 . The
D e c i d e on t h e b a s i s
D e c i d e more o r l e s s
D e c i d e more o r l e s s
D e c i d e on t h e b a s i s
No o p i n i o n / D . K .
my own i n t e r e s t s ;
t h e b a s i s o f my own i n t e r e s t s ;
t h e b a s i s o f my f a m i l y ' s i n t e r e s t s ;
my f a m i l y ' s i n t e r e s t s ; and
q u e s t i o n used t o measure t h i s
Would you say you
of person?
32.
of
on
on
of
The
dimension
a r e more o r l e s s a new
q u e s t i o n used t o measure t h i s d i m e n s i o n
i s as
follows:
type of person
i s as
o r an o l d
type
follows:
W o u l d y o u s a y y o u a r e t h e t y p e o f p e r s o n who t e n d s t o s a v e money o r
t y p e o f p e r s o n who t e n d s t o s p e n d i t s o as t o h a v e a good t i m e ?
33.
The
q u e s t i o n s u s e d t o m e a s u r e t h e s e v a r i a b l e s a r e as
Do y o u f e e l t h a t t o d a y ' s
Do y o u f e e l t h a t t o d a y ' s
o p i n i o n or not?
34. We
follows:
y o u t h n e e d more d i s c i p l i n e o r n o t ?
y o u t h s h o u l d p a y more r e s p e c t t o t h e i r
o b t a i n the f o l l o w i n g tau-b c o r r e l a t i o n m a t r i x :
family
new-or- y o u t h
individual
o l d man
discipline
family-individual
new-or-old-man
youth discipline
respect f o r elder's view
f o r e x a m p l e , V o g e l , op.
.184
-.093
-.109
cit.,
-.104
-.106
the
parents'
respect f o r
elder's view
.472
35.
See,
passim
36.
E l e a n o r E. M a c c o b y , R i c h a r d E. M a t h e w s , and A n t o n S. M o r t o n , " Y o u t h and
P o l i t i c a l Change,'-' P u b l i c O p i n i o n Q u a r t e r l y , v o l . 1 8 , no. 1 , ( S p r i n g , 1 9 5 4 ) ,
p p . 23^-39.
37. M. K e n t J e n n i n g s and K e n n e t h P. L a n g t o n , " M o t h e r s v e r s u s F a t h e r s :
the
F o r m a t i o n o f P o l i t i c a l O r i e n t a t i o n s Among Young A m e r i c a n s , " u n p u b l i s h e d
( 1 9 6 8 ) 34 pp.
38.
Our
index of homogeneity increases
High
1
i n t h e f o l l o w i n g manner:
2
3
Low
4
Total
F i r s t wave
57.3%
20.5
18.3
3.9%
100.0%
S e c o n d wave
70.5%
14.8
10.4
4.3
100.0%
-25-
39. P a u l F. L a z a r s f e l d , B e r n a r d B e r e l s o n , and H a z e l Gaudet, The P e o p l e ' s
(New Y o r k :
D u e l l , S l o a n , and P e a r c e , 1 9 4 4 ) , Chap. 16.
40.
R i c h a r d K. B e a r d s l e y , John W. H a l l , R o b e r t E . Ward, V i l l a g e J a p a n
U n i v e r s i t y o f C h i c a g o P r e s s , 1 9 5 9 ) , pp. 424-445.
41. S c o t t C. F l a n a g a n , " V o t i n g B e h a v i o r i n J a p a n :
The P e r s i s t e n c e of
Patterns,"
C o m p a r a t i v e P o l i t i c a l S t u d i e s , v o l . 1, no. 3 ( O c t o b e r
pp. 391-412.
42. Op.
cit.,
43. J e n n i n g s
44.
Choice
(Chicago:
Traditional
1968),
passim
and L a n g t o n , op.
cit.,
I b i d . ; J e n n i n g s and N i e m i , op.
pp.
cit.,
16-18, 25-26.
p.
181.
45. S e e f o o t n o t e 30 above f o r t h e t e x t of t h e q u e s t i o n .
46. C a m p b e l l e t a l . , . op.
47. C a m p b e l l e t a l , op
pp.
5-15.
cit..
cit.,
( 1 9 6 6 ) , pp.
( 1 9 6 0 ) , pp.
281-283.
146-148; J e n n i n g s and L a n g t o n ,
op. c i t . ,
48. S i n c e our s a m p l e i s b a s e d upon o n e - c h i l d a n d - o n e - p a r e n t p a i r s r a t h e r t h a n
upon o n e - c h i l d - a n d - f a t h e r - m o t h e r - t r i p l e s , we h a v e no c h o i c e but t o r e l y upon
p e r c e i v e d d a t a f o r the i n f o r m a t i o n p e r t a i n i n g to the remaining p a r e n t .
49. S e e f o o t n o t e
16.