They discuss the role that social learning theory plays in the acquisition of these societal norms and how different individuals assimilate societal norms at different rates. They believe that the social learning of a nation's norms can be broken down into three states: exposure, comprehension, and absorption / acceptance (Chong et al
The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development."(Turner, Chapter 1) America may have began as colonies, but its enrichment and spirit of capitalism is founded on a notion of colonizing a great and unsettled, uncivilized frontier
¶ … Political Culture of Racism and Criminology Race is not only a biological determination of skin color and ethnicity. It is also a social construct, meaning that "it is defined and created by those in power in a society, and those definitions change as conditions change" (Apple and Aasen 65)
With the opening of boundaries, the number of immigrants increased but the ability to integrate them within the society decreased. This led to the formation of the underclass of citizens (Norton, Sheriff, Blight and Katzman, 2009)
Congress reasserted its influence, but centrifugal forces made decisive congressional action even more difficult. By the end of the 1970s, American policy making had become much more tentative and conditional" (Robertson, 1998)
A relevant indicator of this is the median age of the population, which was of 30.0 years, two years higher than the median age of the previous decade (Peck and Hollingsworth, 1996)
The '70s enforced the pop culture, the sense of individuality and leisure time. "From the tongue-snapping pop rocks to the passively owned pet rocks, and from the introspective mood rings to the exhibitionistic fad to streaking […] the 1970s were trendy times" (Sagert, 2007)
Three decades later, the reforms had taken full effect and they were impacting both the political as well as the social climates in the North American country. "The New Deal had brought basic changes to American society, including a dramatic increase in the role and power of the federal government, the rise of organized labor as a significant force in the economy and state politics, the beginning of a welfare state, and a grudging realization of the needs to deal fairly with the concerns of minorities" (Spielvogel, 2008)