Division of Labor (Chapter 4)

A division of labor is people developing different kinds of work. Some people are better at some things than others, and this creates a nice division in the workforce. In this photo, this is a staffing sheet in which labor is divided by certain areas of the restaurant. There are so many different levels of a workplace and this list divides it up pretty well. There is back of the house, front of the house, dishwashers, servers, etc. The point of a division of labor is so all workers do not need to rely on each other to get their jobs completed. Instead, they depend on the completion of other jobs that are contributed to the whole group. My job could be completed with just myself, but an entire guest experience could not be accomplished without all areas working together.

Ethnocentrism (Chapter 2)

This picture of some servers at my job is an example of ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism is defined as a tendency to use our own group’s ways of doing things as a yardstick for judging others. This is very apparent with this group of girls because when we get new servers we end up judging how they serve compared to us. Little things like how we use trays and run our own food are totally different at other restaurants, but we use our methods to judge others. This was even more relevant when I went and got another server job. Everything they did at that restaurant was weird because that was NOT how MY group of servers did it. We are all taught that the way we do things is correct and good, and this creates a huge base for judgment.

Personal Space (Chapter 4)

Being too close to somebody else makes us very uncomfortable; it is in human nature. We have our “personal bubble” and when people get inside that bubble, we feel violated. Our personal space is something we really care to protect and we only open it to people like close friends and family. Each culture has different amounts of personal space and it can definitely be a culture shock to go somewhere with less space than your own culture. We are socialized to feel extremely uncomfortable when somebody is too close to us.

Social Location (Chapter 1)

This is a photo of a man holding words that are all a part of his “Social Location”. A person’s social location consists of things like gender, race, sexuality, and other traits that society will judge somebody by. Social location is all about what other people think about you and what conclusions they immediately draw from those traits without even knowing you as a person. All of our beliefs as humans are based off of our social location and what we have been raised to believe. An example is the card that this man is holding that says “Boy”. Because “Boy” is a part of his social location, he will be expected and judged on many different levels that a “Girl” would not be. Because that card says “Boy”, he will be expected to be tough and a supporter for his family someday.

Cultural Norm (Chapter 2)

The theory of sneezing into one’s arm or elbow would be an example of a cultural norm. More specifically, it would fall under the category of a folkway because although it is the “way of the road”, if you do not do it, you won’t get arrested. You may get some dirty looks or some smart comments, but you are not breaking a law by not following the folkway. Each society has different folkways and norms. Somewhere else in the country, it may be perfectly acceptable to sneeze out in the open exposing everybody to your germs. When you discover this, you may experience culture shock which is disorientation caused by a difference in norms. It will be totally strange to see everyone sneezing on their friends, but that is just how the other culture functions.

Dyad (Chapter 5)

A Dyad is the smallest of all group sizes consisting of only two members. It is the most intimate, but also the most unstable. If one member of the Dyad leaves, there is no group left. However, a benefit of the Dyad is how clean the communication is. It is impossible to play “He said, She said” games in a Dyad; you know what the other member did or did not say. Examples of Dyads are marriages, love affairs, and close friendships. The photo I included is one of these close friendships, however if one of us leaves the relationship there will be no friendship remaining because there will be no group.

Triad (Chapter 5)

A Triad is a group consisting of three people typically shown in a triangle formation demonstrating all the different relationships possible within. A Triad is a much more complicated group because alliances can be formed, and there are different dynamics included in each arm of the triangle. In this photo, the Triad includes me, my mother and an old family friend of ours. Although we are all very close, I am certainly closer to my mother than the family friend, and the family friend is closer to my mother than she is to me. The size and complications ultimately give stability to the relationships.

Social Network (Chapter 5)

I included a photo of Facebook because it so perfectly shows what a Social Network is. A social network is the network of people linked to one another through friendship, families, work, school, or people that know other people. Facebook links everybody to each other. I can click on my Facebook and learn what is going on at my workplace, in my family or in my friendship group. I am at the center of my social network and there are tons of connections all around me from everywhere I have been, and places I will soon go. The social network always grows as you meet new people.

In-Group and Out-Group (Chapter 5)

Patriotism is a great example of an In-Group (a group toward which we feel great loyalty). By wearing a USA headband and some red, white and blue leis, I am connecting with the In-Group of America. The In-Group has social power and everyone wants to be a part of it. For every In-Group, however, there is an Out-Group. The Out-Group is the group that we feel bad, harsh or hateful feelings towards. The Out-Group is alienated and kept away from the power source. America is such a good example because Americans connect so strongly with their country that it makes people from foreign countries be at a huge disadvantage. Since they are in the Out-Group they are instantly judged and stereotyped all negatively. America is one of the most tightly knit In-Groups with the most loyalty and support, in my opinion.

Dramaturgy (Chapter 4)

Dramaturgy is used in sociology to mean that our social life is like a drama or stage performance. In this picture are all of my “costumes” that I use for all of my different roles in life. There is my work costume, my school costume, my date night costume, and my relaxing costume. Every action we do is a part of a performance. We put on different acts in different situations, but they are all still an act. Our social life comes with costumes, props and lines and it is up to us to put on a five star performance at all times. This theory was brought into thinking by sociologist Erving Goffman and it is still a crucial part today.

Symbolic Interactionism (Chapter1)

A stop sign is one of the most obvious examples of Symbolic Interactionism.  Symbolic Interactionism is how we use a symbol to communicate with society and understand society. Everybody knows what a stop sign means, even if the word ‘stop’ is not there. Look at the DMV for example, they take all the words off of the road signs for testing purposes, and everyone still knows what they mean. Not only is this Symbolic Interactionism, but also a prime example of social construction; an agreed meaning of things. All of society has agreed on the meaning of the stop sign and we all obey that meaning on a day-to-day basis.

Group (Chapter 4)

A group contains people who interact with each other and feel that the values, interests, and norms they have in common are important. There are many different types of groups. There are work groups, friend groups, family groups, and other organizations that would qualify as groups. In this picture this is a picture of a group of my friends who all find each other very important. We all share interests and norms and that makes us a group. Not only do we all find each other important, we all also share an interest in where we work. An important part of being in a group is to continue to show that we share the common characteristics among us. Should we stop talking, our group would no doubt fall apart.

Agent of Socialization- Media (Chapter 3)

One of the biggest agents of socialization is the media because it is a 24 hour influence. Anybody can turn on a TV at any time during any day and there will be tons of stuff on. We learn “what is cool” from media such as TV shows, movies, and even social media. “What is cool” is constantly evolving causing society to never catch up. Media even goes as far as to tell us what is funny by putting laughter in the shows we watch. Another part of socialization we get from media is our gender roles. Just by watching any TV program, you can easily pick up on stereotypes for gender, race or sexuality.

Agent of Socialization- Peer Groups (Chapter 3)

Groups of friends are a key agent of socialization. Peer groups tend to have similar interests, similar social classes, close ages, and they are very close to us. The opinions of all included in our peer groups is crucial to us. One way we become socialized through our peer groups is by being exposed to peer-pressure causing us to conform.  One of the biggest ways we learn the ways of society are by being “dared” or “ridiculed” into doing things from which we learn from our actions. Another way we are socialized by peer groups is by obtaining information from them. When we want answers to questions we don’t want to ask our parents, we go to our peer group. Most of the time the answers are wrong, but we are still exposed to them. The types of people we hang out with really affect the kind of person we will grow up to be.

Gender Socialization (Chapter 3)

This is a baby girl pin from a baby shower I once attended and it is important because it shows gender socialization. Gender socialization is the nudges into different paths of life we are given based solely on our gender. This pin is obviously pink; because society thinks the only color baby girls like is pink. At this baby shower we had obviously not met the two twin baby girls coming into the world, but we all knew they would love pink, sparkles, they would be pros at laundry, be able to cook a mean meatloaf, and they would definitely be dating the sports superstars at their school. All of this was determined just by this little pink pin that told us they were girls. We generalize gender to an extreme and we expect children to grow up under those standards.

Feral Children and Socialization (Chapter 3)

The movie Mama is about two feral children abandoned in the woods for years of their lives. When found they could not speak, walk upright, and found smiling threatening. They acted like wild animals and took a very long time to be introduced to society. Feral children relate to sociology because they show how society socializes us as children and without those influences, we would be so far behind developmentally. Supposedly society is what makes us human, and feral children are examples that support that theory. Without socialization from society, we would all act as these abandoned children do because after all, society built us. Everything we know (consciously and subconsciously) is because society taught it to us.

Taboo (Chapter 2)

This is a picture of my dog eating another dog (it is a bit of stretch, I realize). This is a prime example of a taboo in society. A taboo is a norm so strongly ingrained in people that even the thought of its violation is greeted with total disgust. Cannibalism is a total taboo because the thought of eating our own species disgusts everybody. By my dog eating another dog, it is breaking a taboo because it is eating its own kind. Not even animals eat their own kind in the wild, so it is a universal taboo. Whenever somebody breaks a taboo, the consequences are very extreme such as going to jail or death.

Sanctions (Chapter 2)

This photo is of an award for “Employee of the Year”, and this kind of an award is an example of a positive sanction in the workplace. Sanctions are the reactions people receive for following or breaking norms. When I followed all of the norms of my workplace for an entire year, I was awarded for my behavior. This sanction was not necessarily a materialistic one, but more of a ‘status’. Sanctions can be material, or actions such as hugs and high-fives. Sanctions can also be very negative, such as taking items away or physical punishment.

Experimental Method-Survey (Chapter 1)

A survey is an example of an experimental method. A survey is a collection of data using a form and a specific population. I am somehow a part of some specific population (a group of people with something in common) since a survey company is constantly sending me requests to take surveys, like the one I posted here. Obviously a researcher cannot talk to every person in the specific population, so a sample group is formed. The best way to get results and answers from this group is a survey in which individuals are asked a series of questions and are usually anonymous.  If a researcher is surveying people in person (rather than this online survey I was invited to), it is important to make observations while surveying. These observations can be anything qualitative about the subject.  A survey is just one of many different types of research methods that can be used to obtain results.

Conflict Theory (Chapter1)

My two dogs both trying to eat out of the same food bowl represents the Conflict Theory. This is representative of the Conflict Theory in the sense that my dogs are both in a struggle for scarce resources. Conflict Theory refers to the scarce resources being things such as power, prestige, and property. The food that my dogs are struggling for would most closely relate with property. Conflict Theory is all about promoting change and wanting to change things. If my dogs were to think of this with the mindset of a Conflict Theorist, they would probably be seeing the problem of only having one bowl and wondering how to change it in order for them to more easily get food for themselves. Conflict Theory is an “angry” theory, meaning it is all about change. To say my dogs were angry and would like a change is an understatement.