The Effect of Socioecomic Status on the Political Alignment of Midlands Teenagers
School Name
Heathwood Hall Episcopal School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Sociology
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Abstract
This experiment's purpose was to study the correlation between socioeconomic status and political alignment. It was initially hypothesized that if the test subject is in a higher tax bracket, they will land farther right on the political spectrum, unless they are a ethnic minority or have originations from the Northeastern or Western United States. It was also hypothesized that if the test subject lives in Northeastern Columbia, Downtown Columbia, or Irmo, they will land farther left, while those living in Forest Acres, Woodhill, Five Points, or Lexington will be classified on the right. Once accepting the consent to utilize, 104 high school students from high schools in the South Carolina Midlands area took a survey, which asked them to list their ethnicity, tax bracket, neighborhood of living, and national region of origination, as well as answer twenty-five politically based questions. Each survey was then analyzed and classified into either liberal, democrat, moderate, republican, or conservative. It was concluded that the majority of subjects in higher tax brackets landed on the right side, while the majority of subjects in the lower tax brackets landed on the left. The majority of ethnic minorities were classified as democratic, while the majority of "White" subjects were categorized on the right side. The majority of Forest Acres residents were classified on the right , while the majority Downtown Columbia and Irmo residents were classified on the left. This project rejected the null hypothesis that there is no correlation between socioeconomic status and political alignment.
Recommended Citation
Moore, Brooklyn, "The Effect of Socioecomic Status on the Political Alignment of Midlands Teenagers" (2020). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 262.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2020/all/262
Location
Furman Hall 209
Start Date
3-28-2020 9:45 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
Group Project
No
The Effect of Socioecomic Status on the Political Alignment of Midlands Teenagers
Furman Hall 209
This experiment's purpose was to study the correlation between socioeconomic status and political alignment. It was initially hypothesized that if the test subject is in a higher tax bracket, they will land farther right on the political spectrum, unless they are a ethnic minority or have originations from the Northeastern or Western United States. It was also hypothesized that if the test subject lives in Northeastern Columbia, Downtown Columbia, or Irmo, they will land farther left, while those living in Forest Acres, Woodhill, Five Points, or Lexington will be classified on the right. Once accepting the consent to utilize, 104 high school students from high schools in the South Carolina Midlands area took a survey, which asked them to list their ethnicity, tax bracket, neighborhood of living, and national region of origination, as well as answer twenty-five politically based questions. Each survey was then analyzed and classified into either liberal, democrat, moderate, republican, or conservative. It was concluded that the majority of subjects in higher tax brackets landed on the right side, while the majority of subjects in the lower tax brackets landed on the left. The majority of ethnic minorities were classified as democratic, while the majority of "White" subjects were categorized on the right side. The majority of Forest Acres residents were classified on the right , while the majority Downtown Columbia and Irmo residents were classified on the left. This project rejected the null hypothesis that there is no correlation between socioeconomic status and political alignment.
