Lifeboat Activity Debrief

Here are the results of 20 years of doing this activity:

Out of 71 times, here are the totals:

1.Sailor Jones:                 22

2.Ship’s Officer:                2

3.Quarter Master :           56

4.Self-Made Millionaire:   54

5.College Student:           60

6.Nobel Prize Literature:  35

7.Nobel Prize Physics:        0

8.Football Player:             15

9.Cheerleader:                   6

10.Army Captain:             15

11.Draft Evader:               59

12.Peace Corps:                 5

13.Med Student:                 0

14.Elderly man:                65

15.Elderly woman:            62

16.Travelling Poet:            41

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 any other class - including mine.  In fact, this class is 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 in 2002, and then after continuing to date after college, they got engaged in 2012 and asked me to marry them!  Even though they are old enough to be a different generation than my current class, patterns still emerge.  Why do these patterns emerge across generations?  There are social forces that lead to/construct similar results.

Social Construction of Reality 

How are the experiences of those on the boat shaped by the larger society? What are the meanings that each person's status holds on the boat?  The statuses on the boat create a very real experience for the people in the simulation.

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).  There are macro-sociological forces that shape these decisions.  Despite the differences, what does our class share in common with all of the other classes that I have done this with?  All of the students participating in this simulation are Americans.  I believe they are shaped by cultural values.   

Sociological Imagination

How might this activity play out in a different place?  How might different cultures approach the decision of who to set adrift?  

How might this play out in a different time?  How might Americans from a different time, such as 1920s, approach the decision?

Microsociological Perspective
On the microsociological level, sociologists study how groups interact in face-to-face conversation. In face-to-face interaction the words we use matter - they hold shared meaning and values.  Additionally, how we use the words matters, such as: who makes eye contact, how loud people speak, where they sit, who is the leader, etc... So, the microsociological data from each time that the activity is done, might be different based on the interaction.  This includes the words students use.  For example, if the poet focuses on being a poet, people might see that as undesirable and kick him off.  But if the poet reinforces that he is useful because of his sailing skills, that might save him because usefulness is a shared value in our culture. 

Applying this to your own life
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 college.  If we examined these two levels in college, there are certain macro-sociological values that one would expect to find no matter where the school is located: grades, expectations of learning, homework, rules etc... So as you move from one course to the next, you will see these macro-sociological values present. On the other hand, each individual 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...

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?  

How is one of your groups shaped by larger forces such as the influence of culture?

How is the group shaped by the interaction of its' members?  For example, how do they treat each other based on the statuses each person has? 

Conclusion: 

What is the difference between micro and macro sociology?

How does micro and macro apply to the boat simulation?

How do these micro and macro forces shape you in some of your groups?