Some Observations on Ideological Groups

Introductory Remarks on Ideology and Sociology

“…As regards the specific characteristics of ideological groups, sociological analysis seems in the main still confined to the usual and mostly mechanicistic dichotomies Gemeinschaft versus Gesellschaft, structure versus motivation, personal versus functional, and so on, as if social process would develop and move like a train on its railways tracks from one station to the next one. In this connection, the pioneering effort by Vladimir C. Nahirny has a special relevance 54 . Refusing to throw everything into the logically exclusive categories mentioned above, Nahirni tries in fact to identify the basic components of ideological orientation and to show how they differ from personal and functional ones.…”

Ideological lens matters: Credibility heuristics, pre-existing attitudes, and reactions to messages on ideological websites

“…These groups identify imperfections in the existing society and present a vision of an idealized future that could be achieved through adherence to their messages (Schweitzer, 1944). Members of these groups often develop strong relationships with others who share their views and distance themselves from those who oppose their positions (Nahirny, 1962). Green (1988) found that "evaluative reactions to parties and ideological groups are largely bipolar in nature" (p. 76), meaning that people tend to view issues and groups in terms of "for" or "against."…”