For most people, voting in political elections is a social phenomenon at least as much as it is a political one.
From a psychological perspective, there are two basic political parties: People who politically agree with their parents, people who politically disagree with their parents. In both cases, no one votes–or abstains from voting–in a vacuum. Meaning, discussing your vote (or decidedly not discussing your vote) with certain people is a very integral part of your voting experience. Voting this way or that way may have as much to do with facilitating certain family conversations as it does your core political values. This is why many reasonable people turn into bullying fourth graders when they “talk politics.” Although unaware of it, they’re really talking about their father favoring their sibling growing up, or their mother being hypercritical.
About the Author: James Robbins is a licensed professional counselor, published author and co-owner of Dallas Whole Life Counseling. He has over 15 years of experience helping people in various life stages that come from a wide variety of cultural, economic and family backgrounds. Learn more about his background by clicking here.