Roberta S. Sigel

Image of a President: Some Insights into the Political Views of School Children*

The map of the childs political world is slowly beginning to be filled in. The areas best filled in so far are his view of certain government officials (President, judges, policemen, etc.) and his understanding (or lack of understanding) of the operation of specific political institutions (legislatures, parties, etc.). Of all persons in government none is as well known as the President of the United States. Even at an early age children know his name and even his party affiliation. Best documented so far is the nature of the childs affection for the President. Apparently he enjoys the childs deep respect, admiration, loyalty, and even love. Some scholars have gone so far as to imply that he symbolizes nation, leadership, and father all in one. This being the case, it seems imperative that we ask: Is the President merely a symbol of leadership who will be loved irrespective of the political stands he takes, or is he seen as a genuine political figure who stands for specific political principles, legislation, etc.?

How Men and Women Cope When Gender Role Orientations Change

Gender relations, or how the sexes interact with each other, has been the subject of commentaries from the days of Adam and Eve to the present. It continues to be of nearly universal interest and, unlike many others, it is a topic on which almost everyone has an opinion and considers himor herself to be an expert. Gender relations affect how individual men and women conduct their lives and how society provides for the welfare of its citizens. What evidence exists to date is that all societies use gender distinctions (albeit to different degrees) to regulate the private and public lives of their citizens. From one point of view the analysis of gender is as large as the world. Gender distinctions are basic to the social order in all societies. Like age, gender orders society and is ordered by it (Epstein, 1988, p. 6). The study of gender relations-the subject of this paper-is a topic which calls for a multidisciplinary approach, specifically the kind political psychology can provide. One cannot study gender relations without looking at individuals and how they interact with each other-that is, without being attentive to what psychology can tell us about individual behavior. But neither can one ignore what political science has to tell us about the ways in which the political system through its various institutions and public policies regulates such relations. Nor should we overlook how anthropology informs us about the ways in which a given cultures formal and informal norms shape the values and behaviors which govern gender relations. What makes the study of gender so challenging and potentially so fruitful is the insight it provides into social and cultural systems (Conway et al., 1987, p. xxix). At no time is this more obvious than during