Social Class Awareness

 A child does not have a care in the world. They know very little about the issues that their parents are faced with on a daily basis, when children grow up and mature they start to see the bigger picture. They begin to see inequality, racism, poverty, social class, and so forth. These issues, which they did not even know existed, become real to them. They slowly become aware of their social surroundings and the place that they hold in their society. It is something that we may wish never happened, but it happens to all of us at some point in our lives. We become aware.

            There is a place in our society for everyone and each place is just as important as the others. The different parts of our society work together and one without the rest would make society motionless. The functionalist view of social inequality is that it is “necessary so that people will be motivated to fill functionally important positions” (Schaefer 188). The key word is important. The Working Class would not be able to function without the Upper Class and vice versa. The position that the Upper Class man holds is just as important as the one that the Working Class man holds. They work together to make up a society. Social inequality is a phrase that seems at first glance unfair, but it is in fact just a condition that we are either placed in or place ourselves in.

            Schaefer terms these differences as stratifications. Stratification is a “structured ranking of entire groups of people that perpetuates unequal economic rewards and power in a society” (Schaefer 188). There are four different systems of stratifications, one of which is social class. Our society is made up of three different social classes which are the Upper Class, the Middle Class, and the Working Class. At a certain point in everyone’s life we take a place in one of these classes. Some are placed there due to uncontrollable factors and there are some who create their own fate and choose to be in the class in which they reside.

            Stratification can pass from generation to generation. My place in society started off as that of my parents, theirs started off as that of my grandparents and so forth. When the time comes, a child leaves the nest and can either stay put, go up, or go down the social class ladder. This does not necessarily mean being more or less successful. Someone from a middle class family can work very hard, be very successful and remain in the middle class. I think that most people truly acknowledge their social class when they become independent and start to travel down their career path. For me, I started to think about my place in society when I began applying to colleges and started to think about what I was going to do with my life.

            Throughout our lives we either inherit or create our social statuses. These two types of statuses are entitled ascribed status and achieved status. In most cases our ascribed status is handed down to us from our families and then as we get older we have the opportunity to figure out what our achieved statuses could be. The social class in which I am a part of and the ascribed status which I have been given is that of my parents. Now that I am in college, working toward my career, I will discover what my achieved status will be and I will eventually experience social mobility. Social mobility is the “movement of individuals or groups from one position in a society’s stratification system to another” (Schaefer 206). After I graduate, when I begin my career, I will move within my social class or move outside of it, but either way, I believe that this will be the moment when I become aware of my true position in society.

 Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.

           

           

Acts of Deviance, Informal and Formal Social Control

There are some who believe that it is very possible for a person to be born inherently evil. Arguments against this accusation would state that man himself is never born evil, but is simply capable of evil acts. Every human being is capable of committing an evil act, or better stated as, an act of defiance. Whether it is done in a rebellious manner or done with the best of intentions, a socially unacceptable act is considered deviance. Schaefer (2011) defines Deviance as “behavior that violates social norms” (165). The violation of a social norm can range from disrespecting an elder to committing a murder, and there are ways in which every society tries their best to lessen the amount of deviant behavior that takes place.

            A deviant act is any act that violates a social norm. One deviant act in particular that is very popular among college students is the act of plagiarism. Taking the ideas of someone else and expecting credit for it is something that every college student knows is socially unacceptable. A student may be lazy, simply not want to do the work or may be stressed; it may have been the idea of the one who committed the act or maybe they were pressured into it by a friend. No matter what the circumstance, the act of plagiarism is one that violates a social norm, making it a deviant act.

            Because plagiarism is a very serious offense, there are very serious consequences that are attached to it. If a teacher or professor happens to find out that a paper has been plagiarized, the student will be faced with a penalty and sometimes that penalty is expulsion. There is a rule against plagiarism, which means that there are formal social controls that were created to combat it. As stated by Schaefer (2011), social control “refers to techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behavior in any society” (159). Expulsion from school is a form of formal social control, because it is enforced by a person of authority, and it is used in the hopes of decreasing the deviant act that took place.  

            Informal social control is something used “casually to enforce norms” (Schaefer 162). Informal social control can be a phrase, an expression or even just a look. There is a certain look that almost every child has grown to despise. This particular look is one of a disappointed parent. From a very young age this look of disappointment is one that is extremely effective and grows even more effective with each passing day. It is not the case with everyone, but most children want their parents to be proud of their accomplishments. Especially as teenagers turn into young adults, they long to go above and beyond their parent’s expectations of them. They long for approval. This, of course, makes the parental look of disappointment ever more displeasing and it may even seem, at times, a punishment in itself.

            Both Informal and formal social control are very effective in their own ways. Honestly, I do not believe that one is more effective than the other. The effectiveness of the two types of social control depends on the person committing the act and on the situation. The parental look of disappointment may be enough to stop one child from a deviant act, but others may need that extra hit on the head that, for them, only comes from penalties such as getting expelled, receiving a ticket or even going to jail.

            Acts of deviance are characteristics of the society, not of the individual. A student may plagiarize for a variety of reasons, but where did the idea come from in the first place? This idea came from his/her surrounding; it came from teachers and from peers. As we learned in chapter 1, we are always influencing each other and in doing so we influence our social environment. It is a never ending cycle. Cultural transmission is a term Schafer (2011) explains as learning “criminal behavior by interacting with others” (170). We do not come out of our mother’s womb ready to lie, steal, vandalize or murder. We are constantly being molded by our surroundings, and although we ourselves determine the type of person that we want to be, it is our social surroundings which draw us closer to that conclusion.  

Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.

Group Trip to Applebees! (:

Response Paper 3: Mass media and it's role in socializing us

Socialization can occur in every environment. It can occur in the grocery store, in the mall, in our very own home, and even while sitting at a desk in front of a computer screen. According to Schaefer, the definition of socialization is, learning the “attitudes, values and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular culture” (Schaefer 80). He states that, “sociology occurs through human interaction” (Schaefer 80). When thinking in the terms of human interaction face to face contact comes straight to mind. When we interact with peers, family members, teachers, friends and so forth, we are socializing in ways that we do not even realize.

We are constantly being socialized; we are constantly being exposed to the norms and values of the society that we live in. In the two days in which I recorded my use of mass media, I realized that we are not only socialized by human interaction, but by the media by which we involve ourselves in as well. Whether we notice it or not, we are greatly affected by the many things that we surround ourselves with every day. In our society today, social networks have become a norm for many people.

Both young and old have become greatly consumed in networks such as facebook and twitter. Just because these social settings are through cyber space does not mean that socialization is not taking place. Through these websites we read the private and personal thoughts of our friends, family, co-workers and acquaintances and then we respond to them. Facebook interaction is something that I take part in quite often. As a matter of fact, while writing this paper, I have stopped at least three times to go on my facebook account. There are many aspects of social networks, such as facebook, that are helpful to us. Facebook enables us to keep in touch with friends and family that may live far away, gives us a chance to reconnect with old acquaintances and opens up more opportunities to express ourselves.

I, personally, believe that the most important aspect about facebook is that it can connect many different cultures and place them all right in front of us either to just observe, or to drink in. But many of us do not always take these different aspects into account. We participate in our different social networks for many reasons. I log into my facebook account because I am bored, to distract myself from doing something I would rather not do at the moment, to update my status, or to see what my friends have been up to. I may not go on facebook to “learn attitudes, needs, characteristics and behaviors appropriate for members of a particular society” (Schaefer 80), but whether that be the reason or not, it happens just the same.

The norms and values that we are exposed to when participating in social networks are not only that of our own society, but those of many others as well. In chapter 4 Schaefer talks a little bit about self, which is, a “distinct identity that sets us apart from others” and “emerges as we interact with others” and “continues to develop and change” (Schaefer 84). We are constantly developing and expressing our self and one of the ways in which we do this is through the social networks that we are a part of. Through a facebook status, group, or comment we express our beliefs, likes and dislikes; we express bits and pieces of our identity and we learn about the identity of others.

Social networks are defined in chapter 5 as, “a series of social relationships that links a person directly to others and through then indirectly to still more people” (Schaefer 114). Facebook is a social network; it is a source of social connection. The keyword in that definition is relationships. We form relationships, some more important or more meaningful than others, but all of them help to socialize us. Every relationship that we have will somehow impact our constantly changing self.

           

Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.

           

           

Response Paper 2: My Experience with Culture Shock

March 6, 2003 was the day I saw my South Korean baby brother for the very first time. About one year later my parents decided that they wanted to adopt again, except this time from China. A requirement when adopting from China is that the child cannot be brought to you, but a two week trip to China must be made by the parents or parent. When would I ever again get the opportunity to travel to China? So, of course, I tagged along. March 2, 2009 was the day that I held my Chinese baby sister for the very first time. Not only was I able to witness a culture that I had never even imagined witnessing, but my family and I received our beautiful little bundle of joy as well. It was an absolutely amazing experience that I will never forget.

I had no idea what was awaiting for me in to see and experience in China, but each and every part of it excited me beyond belief. I did not realize it at the time, but after reading chapter 4 and learning about culture shock, it is evident that I started to experience it. After the first few days my family and I really started to miss New Jersey. The part of Chinese culture that affected us the most was the food. Americanized Chinese food is something that we eat often in my house, but the real thing is much different than the take-out that we loved and were used to.  The island of Guangdong, where we stayed for a week, happened to have a Subway, which excited me at first glance, but after taking a bite into my sandwich, I honestly would rather have stayed with the “real deal” Chinese food.

Just as we did not know much about their culture, we had to understand that they also did not know much about ours. There were many who stopped and stared at us as we passed by, pointing fingers and chatting amongst themselves. This took us a little while to get used to. It was not exactly rude, but actually very interesting. We felt as though we were celebrities. There were even a few people who asked to take a picture with us. Schafer also talks a little bit about cultural relativism, which he states, “places priority on understanding, rather than dismissing” (Schaefer 56) someone else’s culture. I believe this to be very important especially when visiting another culture. We had to take a step back and remember that we were just as foreign to them as they were to us. My family and I had the opportunity to understand the culture we were surrounded by, other than simply viewing it.

My trip to China was most definitely an experience that I will never forget, not only because I was bedridden with a terrible case of food poisoning for two days, but also because it opened my eyes to a culture outside of my own. I had read about them, heard about them, and watched movies which displayed them, but spending time inside of one and experiencing it firsthand was something entirely different. The most important thing that I realized when entering into the Chinese culture is how blessed and fortunate I am. Having more than one child is frowned upon in the Chinese culture and because there is a desire to carry on the family name, there are so many little girls left, by their mothers, near orphanages, with the hope that they will soon be found. We may find it strange that for them to have more than one child is looked down upon and they might find it strange that sally has 9 siblings. The truth is though, that strange is the wrong term to use. It is simply different.  

Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.

Response Paper 1

The definition of sociology is the “scientific study of social behavior and human groups” (Schaefer 5). Reading chapter one of our textbook made me reflect on how each one of us, one way or another, spends a large amount of our time studying human behavior. I suppose that, in a way, we are all sociologists. We observe the people that surround us everywhere we go and, based on our observations, we make various assumptions. We observe the people next to us waiting in line at Starbucks and we observe those who are sitting across from us on the bus. We are natural observers. Unfortunately though, most of the human race has the tendency to judge a book by its cover.  This is where the study of sociology can be extremely helpful and where I especially hope that it will help me in my education and in my future career. There is a lot more to a person and to a society then meets the eye.

In our text book there was a great amount of emphasis on the words scientific study in the definition of sociology. The author mentioned quite a few times that sociology is not based on opinions, but hard core facts. We tend to believe many things that we hear on the news or read on the internet because we are made to believe that those are the facts, when in reality most of them are just opinions. I hope that this course aids me in learning to look past some of these opinions, look at the facts, and then form my own hypothesis. There are many factors which contribute to a person’s or a society’s behavior, making it very important to take all of those factors into consideration when trying to completely understand them.
I anticipate this course to help me to look deeper into situations, behaviors and societies that I will encounter in the future. One of the key terms in chapter 1 is sociological imagination, which is defined as “an awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society” (Schaefer 5). I believe this to be an extremely important aspect in sociology and one that I would love to gain and practice. To fully understand a person and that persons behavior one must look at the society in which that person lives and vice versa. It is so easy to make a quick observation and a quick assumption, but to gain and use a sociological imagination is to delve into the life of another and truly attempt to fully understand it.

In a society where the mentality of many is “me, me, me”, I truly hope that this course will help me to gain more focus on “you, you, you”. Here at Kean University I am on my way to becoming an elementary school teacher. I think that to be able to truly help and teach my students I am going to have to do much more than make assumptions based on my own opinion on why they behave a certain way. If Max is struggling with getting his homework done on time I may want to blame it on his lack of responsibility, which is how it might seem, but the truth is, it may be something much more. If my students are struggling I am going to have to be able to look at the many aspects of their behavior, as well as their everyday surroundings, to get to the source of the problem and to find a solution. I most likely am going to have students that have different backgrounds and come from different cultures then myself, which may make it harder to get through to them, but definitely not impossible. In aiding my students to reach their full potential, it is going to be very important for me to try to understand who they are and part of who they are is where they fit in our society. 
We are constantly affecting one another and as we are doing this we are also affecting our society. It is a never ending cycle of change. Chapter one talks about the major contributors to sociology, one being Emile Durkheim. Durkheim stressed the importance of looking at the “larger social context, not just in individualistic terms” (Schaefer 10). If one wants to truly learn about someone one has to take a little walk in that person’s shoes, which means, not only learning their beliefs and action, but also the role that their society plays in their beliefs and actions. Fully understanding a person’s behavior means taking a deeper look into the society in which they live in. After reading chapter one and two, I have come to the conclusion that sociology is about digging deeper; it is about getting a deeper appreciation for all types of people and all types of cultures, as well as coming to a better understanding of them.

Works Cited

Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology: a Brief Introduction. 9th ed. NY: McGraw Hill, 2011. Print.