Identify your personal political beliefs and values. Think about your current day beliefs and values. What political party you consider most accurately encapsulates your beliefs? Consider your political values and write them down.
Recall your teenage and childhood years, and think about what your political beliefs and values were at that time. Was your political party affiliation the same or different? Did you have strong beliefs in your teenage years or did your political beliefs develop later in life? Finding the root of your beliefs will help you determine when your political socialization began and grew, and where you were in your life at that time.
Talk to family and friends. Discuss your political socialization with your parents,and determine if your views are similar or different from theirs. Ask your friends and even former teachers about their interactions with you. These exercises will help you better define where and when you learned political socialization and how certain people or influences define the way you see the world today.
Write your paper, based upon what you have learned about yourself from your personal evaluation and what you have learned from talking to family and friends about how and by whom you were influenced.