Sociological Lens – Culture
Values are among the components of symbolic culture. Every group develops certain
expectations concerning the “right” way to reflect their values. Mores are norms that are strictly
enforced because they are thought to be essential to society’s core values. Pictured above are two
mores that are normally strictly enforced, the speed limit and following the traffic lights. These
are strictly enforced throughout the entire world. If exceeding the speed limit and following
traffic lights were not strictly enforced there would be an increase in accidents and possibly
deaths. As a result of these mores, if they are violated it is considered a negative sanction and the
violator could potentially receive a ticket or pricey fine. Usually when I think of culture, I think
of different ethnicities and countries not “rules” that are common throughout each. Along with
being a negative sanction and more, speeding and following traffic lights could be considered
cultural universals, which are values, norms, or other traits found everywhere but the specific
customs differ.
Sociological Lens – Social Structure
Viewed by a sociologist, this picture is a status symbol portraying an achieved status.
Carrying a pack of cigarettes or leaving a full ashtray on a table is symbolic of the person’s status
of choosing to be a smoker. The status symbols shown in this picture is usually viewed as
negative by nonsmokers, but positive by those who also smoke. The reason being a smoker is
considered an achieved status is because it is a voluntary position in the group typically referred
to just as “smokers.” A smoker seeing a fellow smoker automatically relates to them since they
share a common “group,” which is very defined by limitations on where they can express their
statuses, and many will seek out another of this status before having a cigarette.
Sociological Lens Socialization
In this photo you see two brothers again one playing a video game and the other
watching. It would be better if you could have heard the dialogue but I’ll just explain my
reasoning behind this photo. I thought this was a good photo for Cooley’s theory of the looking
glass self. While the one boy was playing the game the other older brother was saying how much
he wasn’t good at it. While the other brother was saying this the younger one was getting mad
because he kept seeing himself as a bad player just because of the way his older brother was
seeing him. In Cooley’s theory this is what he says that we interpret others reactions to us and
see ourselves as that which to me is exactly what happened in this picture.
Sociological Lens The Sociological Perspective
This photograph was taken on a friend’s property, while shooting with my boyfriend and
his dad. It’s a picture of what you see when you look through a scope. When taking it, it
reminded me of C. Wright Mills Troubles vs. Issues. When Mr. Freidenburg was going over our
notes, and giving us examples of troubles and issues, I realized that troubles are more your own
person, such as over drawing your bank account or having college loans. Issues are the “bigger
picture”, like the economy and not having jobs. Through the scope you can zoom in close to see
the small things “troubles”, or zoom out to see the “issues.” The scope allows us to filter what we
see, and focus only on what is inside that tiny round picture. You are just an observer, watching
to see what changes are happening and the effects of those changes. Much like sociologists.
Sociological Lens
Our book defines a group as “consisting of people who interact with one another and who
feel that the values, interests, and norms they have in common are important”. These groups that
we all belong to hold great influence within our lives. Most people belong to multiple groups at
the same time. One of the groups I belong to is where I work. This picture is showing the
Website of Holtzman Corporation, one of my most important groups. As a dedicated employee
to the company, I associate myself as being part of this group. My coworkers and I interact with
each other and hold the same values and interest while we work together. In sociology, this is a
very important concept because it is almost impossible not to be associated with a group.
Examples of groups can be your school, family, job, friends, etc. These groups become a part of
you and greatly influence your life. Sociologist could use this to study the effects that groups
have on an individual. An example of how a group may influence someone is how working at
Holtzman Corporation with older adults has influenced me. I feel that I have matured and grown
more responsible in the time that I have dedicated myself to this group. Sociologists could also
contrast the positive and negatives effects of belonging to a group and discover the different
groups within each community and culture.
Sociological Lens: Chapter 4
This is a photo of my work uniform, my schoolbooks, as well as my puppy Cadence. Role
conflict is being represented in this photo. Role conflict is a conflict someone feels between roles
because the expectations are at odds with one another. Roles are defined as the behaviors,
obligations, and privileges attached to a status or position that someone occupies in a social
group. My role as a full time employee requires me to come to work for forty hours every week
and also be available to come in when needed. My role as a fulltime student requires me to
attend class, study for exams, and complete all homework. With a new puppy I have the role of
taking care of her every need and making sure she is healthy and happy. The roles often conflict
and I must choose which expectation to meet and which one is most important to complete first.
Social Structure and Social Interaction: Dramaturgy and Impression Management
Erving Goffman believed that social life could be compared to a drama, or play, which he
defined by using the word dramaturgy. When we were born, we were forced onto the stage, and
our socialization consists of learning to perform. In addition, we have an idea of how we want
others to portray us, and sometimes we alter ourselves to impress. Goffman claimed that we had
front stages, in which we perform our “lines” in front of others, and a back stage, in which we
reserved for our private moments.
This picture portrays my associate at my second job. He arrived to work with his uniform
cleaned, his hair slicked back and his shirt tucked in. He was managing his impression with the
customers and managers in the store. My associate did not want to come across as unclean or
unprofessional. While checking customers out, he was performing on his front stage. He played
his part and delivered his lines as sales associate. However, once he went on break, he retreated
to his back stage. He was able to relax, and was not expected to be the same character that he
portrayed while on his shift.