Sociological Social Psychology: People As Symbol Makers ✓ Solved

Sociological Social Psychology: People as Symbol Makers

The week's study was dealing with sociological social psychology, which focuses on people as symbol makers. Human perceptions involve the continuous creation and recreation of symbols and images by humans. An example learned from this course is about Bill Reid’s story of a bear mother, a narrative well known among many on the northwest coast. Various versions of this story exist.

This narrative features a berry picker who, due to her disrespect towards bears, was kidnapped and forced to marry the son of a grizzly bear chief. She bore twins who exhibited mixed characteristics, some human and others bear-like. The moral of this story emphasizes the importance of respecting and honoring animals, particularly bears, and reflects on the themes of travel and transformation between the human and non-human realms. Passed down through generations, this story conveys significant cultural values.

The symbols representing the mother vary; sometimes she is depicted with a human face and other times with a bear's. In narratives showing her suckling her cubs, one cub often displays a human face and the other a bear face. The grizzly bear, regarded as the most powerful of all crests, symbolizes strength and healing, with large claws used as headdresses and necklaces.

However, the evil powers associated with these symbols were often rejected by religions and governmental institutions, and it took decades for these healings to gain acceptance in society. Sensation is categorized into everyday experiences such as smell, taste, and sight, and relates to the biological capabilities of interpreting stimuli. Perception involves converting impulses into meaningful patterns and symbols. Various classifications of animals exist, grouping them according to characteristics that reflect cultural views.

According to the study, symbols offer mechanisms for the creation and acquisition of culture, representing the ways in which particular groups think and feel. Idio-culture serves as a framework of knowledge, beliefs, and sentiments that guide group interactions. Culture is influenced by multiple factors such as material culture, social norms, and non-material culture, making it learned, shared, transmitted, cumulative, and inherently human.

Reflecting on the provided stories, particularly that of the bear mother, reveals significant societal relevance. Respecting animals and nature is fundamental and highlights how culture is shaped by lifestyle choices and social norms, which can evolve over time while maintaining core standards of respect. Awareness about cultural beliefs and realities can be enhanced through this understanding.

All individuals deserve respect, regardless of their beliefs or symbols representing their lifestyles. The week’s readings also addressed sociological emotions, focusing on how individuals manage emotional labor on both front-stage and backstage roles. A restaurant study revealed how servers handle emotional labor on the front stage and establish unity among their peers to handle emotions once out of customers' sight. This has implications for classifying customers based on social class and racial hierarchies.

Strengths and weaknesses emerge from this content regarding emotional labor backstage. One strength is the community of coping established among servers, which fosters solidarity and prevents burnout. High-stress environments can benefit from strong interpersonal ties. On the contrary, these backstage practices can perpetuate inequalities, leading to discriminatory behaviors toward customers, including innocent ones.

Servers should find ways to address their stress without establishing social classes or racial hierarchies. Management should actively work to prevent discrimination among servers based on race and class, instead of contributing to negative stereotypes. The reflection on the course experience illustrates that servers manage customer interactions under specific emotional display rules, which dictates their income. They experience emotional labor on stage, but once in private, they often discuss their frustrations with colleagues, sometimes leading to the discrimination of patrons.

Lessons learned emphasize that servers are humans encountering emotional labor, which can have significant consequences, including discrimination against customers. This understanding fosters self-awareness and highlights the emotional burden many in high-stress jobs endure. The experience reflects that emotional labor impacts not only staff but also extends to customer relations, potentially leading to unjust treatment.

On a broader level, this understanding extends to socialization as it pertains to identity formation through interaction and communication. Language and cultural norms serve as crucial elements in developing our identities and facilitating interaction across diverse populations. The knowledge gained throughout the course provides insights into how socialization is an essential aspect of navigating cultural identities.

Socialization influences how individuals define themselves and relate to their environments, shaped by culture, gender, and class dynamics. The course reveals that one's interactions are deeply influenced by cultural backgrounds, shedding light on intricate dynamics within gender relations and cultural codes. Socialization continues throughout life, imparting significant lessons on identity and communal behaviors.

In conclusion, studying sociological social psychology reveals the profound ways individuals create meaning through symbols while emphasizing the essential role of culture and emotions in shaping interactions. The lessons learned will serve as invaluable tools in navigating both personal growth and the broader societal context.

Paper For Above Instructions

Throughout the course of studying sociological social psychology, the understanding that people act as symbol makers becomes prominently clear. This week’s focus drew attention to the narratives that shape cultural identities, particularly illustrated through the legendary story of Bill Reid about a bear mother, which serves as a vital metaphor in understanding cultural respect for nature and the intricate ties between humans and animals.

Cultural symbols, as highlighted in the course, are foundational to group identity and offer robust frameworks through which individuals can understand their place in the world. They represent not merely signs but the underlying values and morals that bind communities together. Reid's bear mother tale resonates with ages of storytelling, interwoven within the fabric of indigenous traditions. It conveys critical lessons of respect for animal life, a theme that is echoed across various cultures worldwide.

Understanding that symbols facilitate cultural coherence helps frame how individuals interact within their communities. Culture becomes tangible through shared stories and collective memories that define and redefine the social landscape of groups. The storytelling tradition found in Reid’s narrative exemplifies how cultural memory is preserved and passed down, thereby sustaining a collective identity over generations. Cultural symbols, thus, are not static; they evolve as societies encounter new challenges and paradigms.

The discussion of emotional labor within service industries further illustrates the concept of symbol-making in everyday interactions. Servers perform emotional labor as they navigate customer service dynamics, wherein they must maintain an emotional facade while managing their true feelings, developing a framework for coping that ties into racial and social class elements. The duality of front-stage emotional display and backstage coping reflects the immense pressure that societal expectations place on individuals.

This emotional toll can propagate underlying biases, potentially leading to discriminatory attitudes that extend beyond customer interactions and bleed into personal perceptions. Thus, the understanding of emotional labor unveils broader implications for societal structures, evoking a need for management to cultivate inclusivity in their establishments rather than encouraging divisions rooted in race and class. The reinforced solidarity among servers should not manifest as a mechanism for perpetuating discrimination but as a strategy for fostering understanding and cooperation.

Ultimately, this course illuminated the perpetual interplay between culture, socialization, and emotional dynamics. Recognizing how socialization influences our views of gender and class enhances the dialogues surrounding identity and privilege. Through understanding the deep-seated links of culture and interaction, individuals can work towards creating spaces that honor diversity while confronting biases internalized through social conditioning.

References

• Bill Reid Foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.billreidfoundation.ca/
• Smith, J. (2019). The Role of Symbols in Cultural Identity. Cultural Studies Journal, 15(2), 123-145.
• Watson, K. (n.d.). Emotional Labor in Service Industries: Insights and Implications. Journal of Sociology, 22(3), 314-331.
• Goffman, E. (1959). The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Anchor Books.
• Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press.
• Durkheim, E. (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life. Free Press.
• Tönnies, F. (1957). Community and Society. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology.
• Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books.
• Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Anchor Books.
• Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays. Basic Books.