Intro to Sociology
1. The sociological perspective (imagination) can be characterized as seeing the general in the particular and how the general operation of society affects the experiences of particular people. With that, sociology educates people to better understand the opportunities and the barriers that exist in their lives. Sociological perspective can be a valuable asset in coming to terms with a personal problem. After I had to take medical leave from work and could not return because of a nerve disorder I am currently having, I began to feel as if I was not being constructive enough and my self worth took a nosedive.
I was biased against myself for not doing what it is a man is ‘suppose’ to be doing in society, even though I am physically hindered right now. During this time off I figured I could take a couple of classes while wait out the pain. As I analyzed the opportunities available for me to attend college full-time such as the GI Bill, loans and grants, I also reassessed some personal and professional goals with my family as in what I should do.
I realized I didn’t want to work in a factory for 20 years, if or when I recover, so I enrolled in college to better pursue my adjusted goals which include Associates and Bachelor Degrees in Accounting to become a Certified Public Accountant. With this opportunity comes the constraint of being in debt when leaving school but that is s how society is here in America, ‘you have to give a lot to receive a lot’. As I look back at these events, I realize my lack of self worth was a direct result of not living up to what my perception of a man’s role in society is and that was causing unnecessary self-inflicted stress.
There was no reason to think I was a different person of lesser value just because of my situation, but I know if I did not believe that at that time, I would not be taking this test. This injury has caused changes in statuses such as becoming a college student, becoming unemployed, and physically disabled and performing these roles in society has made me view our society as whole in a much more critical way.
The sociological perspective in Jeremy’s terms means: Take a step back, think for yourself, process all information, and question the doubts before making decisions that effect your life and the lives around you. . “Free Will” can be achieved on a constant basis if one decides to accept certain morality standards and values that should be practiced by all mankind. We as people have the right to do whatever it is we want… but at the same must have respect for your fellow human being. If we accept the world in which we live (laws, rules and all), we will then have the choice or “Free Will” to make changes, if needed, by running for government or leading protests or being an influential personality such as Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. One could argue, “we do not have free will because we cant do whatever we want! ” If someone wants to injure, even kill someone, or something else that harms, cheats, or steals from another, they should face some kind of consequences for their inhuman acts towards another person. “Free Will”, as I perceive it, is more abundant in this country than almost anywhere in the world because free will is about having choices and being able to decide what is best for you.
Society can greatly influence the appeal of one decision over another and make one the easy choice, or programmed choice, but its here that your choice to follow the easy route, the popular societal choice or to take the road less traveled, unpopular choice is why Free “Will” exist. These choices in life that society creates are as “Free will” as it get; without society influencing our lives and the decisions we make in these ways, life would get real plain.
Choices are why I believe “free will” remains, as long I am able make the decisions, that guide my life I will have “Free Will”. . This video was about a teacher from Iowa and the process she created to tech her 3rd grade students about discrimination in 1968 and their reunion 20 years later. The teacher then later applies the same process at an adult correctional officer workshop that produces similar results as the 3rd graders. The kids were segregated into blue-eyed and brown-eyed people and the teacher discriminated toward the brown-eyes one day by telling them how bad they did everything and then treated the blue-eyes the exact same way the next day.
What she found was that her sweet, caring class of 3rd graders were vicious and mean towards the ones being discriminated on within 15 minutes of the prejudices being introduced to the classroom environment. Both group of kids took tests on both days and the results were much worse on the days their particular group was discriminated against and were not happy at all. With that, prejudices have a reactionary effect that seems to degrade the self-esteem and self-worth at once while also altering behavior and attitude..
The blue-eyed adults later in the film started getting agitated, uncooperative, combative, and mean due to the lack of respect they were receiving as a blue-eyed person in the same scenario. This documentary shows prejudices are mostly influenced by the surrounding environment and peers, or a culture of prejudices, which views certain categories as better or worse than others. Even if one does not agree with the prejudice, they might conform to the surrounding prejudices to ‘fit in’ and so as not be discriminated against themselves.
Other than both the primary and secondary groups influencing the way a person acts, most of each groups characteristics are opposite of each other. The quality of relationships in a primary group is personal orientation while secondary group are more goal orientated. The length of a primary group relationship is usually long term, where secondary groups tend to be short-term, but can vary. The primary group also will be involved in a wide range of activities, and know each other well, while secondary groups tend to involve few activities and have a narrow relationship.
The subjective perception of the primary group is “as an ends in themselves’ , while ‘an ends to an end” is the secondary groups perception. My family is my primary group that is involved in my everyday life that ranges from childcare to socializing to arguing. My family being behind me has allowed me to have the confidence and self-esteem to accomplish all that I have and am currently doing and have done in my life such as military service and high school. My mother’s continuous positive attitude and smile has always let me know that even if I failed, she loved me no less.
No matter the outcome Mom always was proud of the effort, that is all she asks. My stepfather’s behavior seems to be those of a saint to me and, despite a few bumps in my road; I strive to walk a similar path as him. Even though he is my Stepfather, this man has raised me for 20 years of my 27 with class, respect, and dignity. The combination of these two great people and their qualities has allowed me to develop the self-concept needed to have a rich and fulfilling life. An example of a secondary group is our class.
The impact on my behavior is I am more serious in class since I’m paying for this education and here to learn. I bet no one in this secondary group knows I do a GREAT pigeon impression (on the ground wobbling around and all! ). That would be too interpersonal for this secondary group but not my for my family/primary group, I have proof! My self-concept isn’t impacted by this secondary group too radically because being in a new classroom with a bunch of people I never met before is the norm, especially being in the military and after 6 years of it, I am accustom to the environment of the unknown classroom.
If anything, this secondary group, our class, has increased my self-esteem since I am more apt to speak out in class than ever before. Being able to experience some real life in the military and then coming to school has been a blessing in disguise because I am such a better student now than ever in high school. In all, despite having opposite characteristics, primary and secondary groups can both have an influential presence in self-concept, self-esteem, and behavior. 9. In defining the social structure of society, STATUS refers to a social position that an individual occupies, not its everyday meaning of ‘prestige’.
Every status is part of our social identity and defines our relationship to others. i. e. college student Over a lifetime, people gain and lose dozens of statuses and sociologists study these statuses in terms how people attain them. An ascribed status is a social position a person receives at birth or assumes involuntarily later in life. People usually have little or no choice in this status. Such as a death or disability later in life. An achieved status refers to a position a person assumes voluntarily that reflects personal ability and effort.
Some statuses matter more than others such as a master status, which has a special importance for social identity, often shaping a person’s entire life. For most in the US, occupation is the master status because it conveys a great deal about social background, education, and income. While a person holds a status, they perform a ROLE, or a behavior expected of someone who holds a particular status. Actual role performance varies according to a person’s personality, although some societies permit more individual expression than others.
In a modern high-income country, like us, role conflict arises between roles corresponding to two or more statuses, such as parenting, full-time student, and fianci??. Even roles linked to one status can cause tension known as role strain. In short, performing these roles required of us requires a balancing act throughout our life. The biggest role conflict in my life is the full-time student with parenting a child with Downs Syndrome and my current physical disability that forced me out of work and normal everyday activities without pain.
Being able to analyze each status and what was expected for each role allows me to ‘compartmentalize’ my school role so I can better focus on the needs of my family while home in the evening and pain management for myself. In the end compartmentalizing is organizing information in your head as to the environment expected in whatever role is needed at that time and not letting multiple roles conflict and cause something to happen that should not.
