Groups, Statuses, Roles

HW: Read Joel Charon's Should We Generalize?

Reviewing yesterday
Yesterday, we discussed the Abandon Ship simulation.  We examined how the simulation can be an example of both macrosociology and microsociology.
1.  Can you explain how each of these apply to the simulation?
2.  How do they apply to your research?

The simulation can also be analyzed using the theories of sociological imagination and social construction of reality.
3. Can you explain how each of these can be used to analyze the simulation?


Sociological Literacy: Groups and Social Structure

Groups
Yesterday's simulation can also be an example of groups.  The group was the people on the boat.  That group was an aggregate, which is just a random group of people like a crowd or people waiting in line at a store.  A group can be as few as two or as many as millions of people.  On your notes page titled "Social Network", put yourself in the center and then around the outside,  list the most important groups that you are a part of.  What are the groups that influence you?  Remember that groups can be as small as two or as large as millions.  Some groups interact with you and others simply shape your perception of who you are.  One way to think about this is who do you spend your days with?  You are not alone.  Think about who you are with in the morning, daytime, afternoon,  and evening.  And then who are you with during the week, on weekends, and in different seasons?

Status
Status is our position within each group.  For example, in the boat simulation, the descriptions of each person was made up of statuses: father, captain, student, elderly, etc... Next to each group list your status within it.  Note that in some groups, like family, you might have multiple statuses such as son, brother, uncle.

Master Status
After you list all of your statuses, choose your master status.  A master status is an individual's most important, most defining status.  It is a status that he/she takes with them everywhere they go.  It might be a status that is always present in his/her mind, or it might be a status that everyone else sees her/him with.   Put a star next to your master status.

I am always interested by all of the groups that students are influenced by and especially the unexpected groups that surprise me along the way. Sometimes it is someone who I never thought to be religious and they list a religion or sometimes it is someone who I never realized was black who lists her race as an important influence on her. All of these groups we belong to are the complex way we as individuals are made up and that is the way sociologists understand individuals; through their groups.  For example, I am part of a family, a school, a group of friends and a neighborhood. In each of these groups I have a status (dad, teacher, friend) and each of these statuses comes with a role that is expected of me (make dinner, show up prepared for class, return a phone call, etc...).

These groups shape my life. Each group creates expectations for your actions.  These expectations are called roles.  For example after becoming a dad I will never be the same. I can't help looking at kids through the eyes of a parent; I think about music lyrics differently; I am overly critical and cognizant of my own behavior and manners etc... These groups can also come into conflict in an individual's daily life.  For example, if I have to go home and cook dinner and my daughter demands attention, it is very difficult to get grading and lessons prepared for the next day, and if a friend calls to socialize or to get together, that becomes a third conflict.  My roles as a parent, teacher and friend are all conflicting. This is called role conflict.  There are also times when I experience what sociologists call role strain.  That is when I am having difficulty meeting the expectations of one role.  An example of this might be parenting. I have never been a parent before and so when my daughter is challenging me, I am not always certain how to react; do I give in, ignore or punish her?  Some statuses we choose (achieved statuses) like those I already mentioned, but sometimes we are not given a choice (ascribed statuses) like that of being bald, or white, or a son.


I hope this exercise helps students see that our class might seem homogeneous but really it is quite diverse. The unique diversity comes from each person's membership in different groups. I hope this is another way we can become sociologically mindful of each other in the class; that is, we can appreciate each person's unique membership in different groups.  This way we can be more understanding of each other and more compassionate for each other.

Abandon Ship Day 2 (debrief).

Individual Reflection: 

1.  I have been doing this activity at SHS since 1999, which means students have done this more than 70 times.  Who do you think has never been kicked off the boat ever?  Why?

2.  Who do you think has been kicked off the boat the most?  Why?

3.  Were your individual choices (from part 3 of the activity) different than who you answered in questions 1 and 2 above?  If so, how and why? What criteria did you use to make the choices that were different?

Out of 71 times, here are the totals:

1.Able-Bodied Sailor Jones:                                    22

2.Ship’s Officer O’Maley:  Mr./Ms. O’Malley:         2

3.Quarter Master MacDonald:                                 56

4.Self-Made Millionaire Douglas:                           54

5.College Student Mr/Ms Parsons:                          60

6.Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Dr. Lightfoot   35

7.Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, Dr. Singleton        0

8.Football Player Mr. Small:                                    15

9.Cheerleader Mrs. Small:                                         6

10.Army Captain Thomas:                                       15

11.Draft Evader Samuels:                                        59

12.Peace Corps Volunteer Mr./Ms. Davidson:          5

13.Med Student Mr./Ms. Ryan:                                 0

14.Elderly man Mr. Eldridge:                                  65

15.Elderly woman Mrs. Eldridge:                            62

16.Travelling Poet Mr/Ms Carpenter:                     41

Sociological Literacy:  macrosociology and microsociology.

The activity helps to understand the different levels of study that sociologists examine:  macrosociology and microsociology.

Macrosociological perspective

On the macro level, sociologists look for the influences of large scale forces on groups or individuals.   So, for the simulation, let's examine the similarities for who your class kicked off the boat compared to the other classes that I have taught.
Our class is made up of different people than my other classes.  In fact, so different that students are from a different generation!  For example, I have been doing this activity long enough that two of my students married!  They met in my class as the football player and cheerleader, and then after continuing to date during college, they asked me to marry them!  Even though they are old enough to be a different generation than my current class, patterns still emerge.

Class Discussion:  Despite the differences, what does our class share in common with all of the other classes that I have done this with?


Students in our class are Americans, teenagers, high-schoolers, from an upper-middle class suburb. All of these groups have an effect on an individual so that even when an individual makes choices alone, he/she is still being influenced by these groups.

Students consistently save the characters who they believe are useful, especially the medical student and the Nobel prize winner in Physics.  And, students consistently reject the elderly and the sick (quartermaster, college student) and the draft evader.  There are macro-sociological forces that shape these decisions. All of those participating in this simulation are Americans and teens.  I believe they are shaped by cultural values.   Other cultures might save the elderly or save the more educated or save the sick and the weak, etc...



Microsociology
On the microsociological level, sociologists study how groups interact in face-to-face conversation. That is, who makes eye contact, how loud people speak, where they sit, who is the leader, etc... So, each class that does this activity is different based on how the group interacts.

This activity is a metaphor for any group that you are a part of; all of the groups that shape you are governed by both macro-sociological forces and micro-sociological forces.  For example, apply this to high school.  If we examined these two levels in high school, there are certain macro-sociological values that one would expect to find no matter where the school is located: grades, expectations learning, homework, rules etc... So as you move from one class to the next, you will see these macro-sociological values present. On the other hand, every class is different because of the micro-sociological dynamics present in that class: some teachers are more casual, some teachers use rows vs. a horseshoe shape, some classes have a few loud boisterous individuals and other classes might be mostly girls or mostly guys etc...


Sociological Literacy:  Macro and Micro Sociology and Statuses
4.  What does macro-sociology focus on?


Small Group Discussion (don't write this down, yet)
5. How would a sociologist examine this activity using macro-sociology?


6.  What does micro-sociology focus on?



7. How would a sociologist examine this activity using micro-sociology?

8.  Individually Applying Sociology:

Apply this to the primary research article that you found.  Is the research that you found,  macro or micro? Why?

Can you see these two levels at play in your own life? Perhaps in your family, your classes or with a group of friends, or at your job? Think about that lifeboat activity and how it is a metaphor for any of the groups that you are a part of. There are macro forces like culture and social class that affect your group but there are also micro forces at play too such as the dynamic of how the group interacts.

Sociological Literacy Review:

Social Construction of RealityHow can you examine this activity using the idea of social construction of reality? 

Sociological ImaginationHow can you examine this activity using a sociological imagination? 

DataWhat data in this simulation is an example of quantitative data?
What data is qualitative?

Sociological Literacy (preview): Status

11.  What are statuses?

Odd, you see?

The special schedule for odyssey can be an odd-you-see experience because the days are so different; different groups of students mixed up doing different activities than they are used to. One of the levels of sociological analysis is called microsociology. That is how individuals interact in face-to-face situations. Sociologists pay attention to the amount of touching, eye contact, posture, who speaks up and how they talk. As you move about in your "odd-you-see" experience, think about the group dynamics. How does the size of your group and the type of art you are doing affect all of these group dynamics? You can compare this experience to the abandon ship experience we did in class.  Additionally, you can watch for how groups of students react differently.  Is there a difference in how the freshmen react as opposed to seniors?  How about boys vs. girls?  Any other groups that react differently?