Tales of Trash - Article Example

 Tales of Trash Psychological and Social Concepts Psychological and social concepts examine the scientific concepts and shade more light on how human beings think, feel and behave based on the actual, illusionary or implied existence of other people. Social psychology appears to enclose a broad range of social subjects, including behavior of persons in a group, social acuity, leadership, gestures, conformity, anger, and discrimination. It is imperative to note that the subject transcends social influences and provides more accurate answers to issues relating to social behavior. Identity, culture, globalization, religion, intelligence and gender are some of the factors influencing psychological and social aspects in society. Identity In psychology and sociology, human identity refers to an individual’s conception and relaying of their unique self and others' personality or relationships in groups. Typical examples are; cultural identity and general identity in a country. The idea is highly considered in social psychology and is imperative to determining place identity in humans. Similarly, identity may be construed as the unique quality belonging to any particular individual or community by all followers of a certain social group. Nowak and Vallacher (1998) noted that identity can be differentiated from identification. Identity it is a label, whereas identification connotes the actual placing of the act in certain groups. Identity is hence best understood as having both the relational and contextual qualities, while identification as an act is best perceived as a continuous, natural process. Nonetheless, the establishment of one's personality occurs through the identifications of the individuals with other more important figures or schools of thoughts, particularly with parents, but with other influential individuals during one’s natural experiences (Heatherton, 2003). These factors influencing identity may be simple, such that an individual’s aspirations to their envy’s characteristics, morals and principles can be caused by mere imitation. A psychological individuality relates to individual image, self-confidence and individuality. One’s ethnic identity, for instance, is described as that section of the entirety of one’s self-understanding comprised of those dimensions that depict the connection between one’s understandable past and their future aspirations as defined by the ethnicity. Culture Culture refers to a combined system of acquired behavior trends which are typical of the constituents of a society, especially which have no natural traces (Baumeister, & Finkel, 2010). The sociology and psychology of culture focuses on cultural trends, which are normally construed as the collection of symbolism practiced by a society. Similarly, culture may be construed as the building of individuals’ sociology through the influence of external values which have been legitimized throughout history. Culture can therefore be described as the trends of thought, behavior, and the tangible symbols that conspire to influence community’s way of life. As such, Heatherton (2003) said culture can materialize if is practiced by the mainstream population or non-material if an insignificant number of people practice it. However, in either way, it cannot be ignored. Cultural sociology and its influences on psychology were reestablished around the mid-20th century to involve structuralism and current-day concepts of social science. This trend may be inaccurately seen as a strategy that includes cultural assessment and critical theory in the mix. Heatherton (2003) noted that cultural sociologists normally discard the scientific theory for symbols. As such, culture has turned out to be an imperative value across many fields of sociology encompassing precisely science and the assessment of the social network. As a consequence, more and more quantitative sociologists have joined the field, most of who prefer to deviate from cultural sociology. The school of thought discards the generalized postmodern qualities of cultural sociology for a conceptual support of the more empirical version of social psychology. Globalization Globalization refers to the integration of individuals in the international community as occasioned by the human sharing of concepts, products, thoughts and other cultural attributes (Baumeister, & Finkel, 2010). Advances in movement of goods and communications infrastructure, especially the expansion of the Internet, are important factors to the process of globalization; these factors create more autonomy of economic and social activities. Despite the fact that some scholars trace the advent of globalization to the contemporary era, others argue that globalization began in the ancient times, probably with the beginning of international movement of goods and people (Jowett, & Lavallee, 2007). Regardless, the process of globalization began, in modern times, in the sunset years of the 19th century, which extended to the beginning of the 20th century, when the global economies became more economically interconnected. The result triggered faster cultural integration. According to Nowak and Vallacher (1998) globalization has become a common term since the mid-1980s, especially in reference to the increasing integration of the world’s economic and social order. In the recent past, four primary factors of globalization have been used to gauge globalization: these are; trade and business transactions, movement of capital and assets, and the movement of people for business purposes or settlement, and the sharing of knowledge (Heatherton, 2003). In addition, environmental problems such as global warming, cross-boundary pollution of the environment and over-exploitation of natural resources are also signs of globalization. Regardless, globalizing processes influence and are influenced by corporate work, economic factors, socio-cultural assets, and the organic environment. Regardless, social responses to the processes triggering globalization have differed broadly and predate an extended extraterritorial integration of social interactions and trade. Baumeister and Finkel (2010) said philosophical variations concerning the costs and advantages of such events spawn a wide-range of concepts and social movements. As Baumeister and Finkel (2010) said, advocates for economic improvement and expansion generally perceive globalization as positive and or imperative to the health of the society. However, opponents perceive any globalizing occurrences as harmful to social welfare on a local and global sphere. This encompasses those who criticize the organic or social sustainability of continuous economic expansion for long-term gains, the social organizational inequality triggered by these events, and the colonial, cultural integration and cultural adoption that trigger such processes. Religion Religion refers to a structured amalgamation of beliefs, social perceptions, and cultural systems that connect humanity to life (Heatherton, 2003). Many religious organizations have tales, symbols, and a holy past that are all geared towards elaborating the social understanding of life and or to provide explanations concerning the cradle of existence or cosmology. From their belief systems about the universe and human existence, people build ethics, morality, religious principles or a common lifestyle which the faithful must adhere to. Many religions running into thousands may have structured behaviors, leadership, meanings of what comprises loyalty, sacred places of worship, and readings. Religious practice may also encompass rituals, discourses, commemoration or adoration of a God, gods, sacrifices, carnivals, feasts, initiations, memorial services, marriage services, prayer, meditation, songs, art, dance or public service (Jowett, & Lavallee, 2007). Some religions may also be enriched with mythology. Although the term religion is occasionally used interchangeably with a belief system, religious practice varies from private faith in that it is an issue which is wholly social. More than half of the entire world’s population have subscribed to one religious faith or another, whereas slightly more than one-third have no religious faith. In addition, of the non-religious group, majority of them are atheists. Generally, women have deeper religious faith than their male counterparts (Heatherton, 2003). Yet, a remarkable number of individuals follow several religions or doctrines at the same time, irrespective of whether or not the doctrines permit syncretism. Intelligence Intelligence refers to one's ability to be logical, embrace general acuity, self-awareness, expression, learning, emotional awareness, memory, organization, innovation and solves a problem (Baumeister, & Finkel, 2010). The term may also be generally explained as the capacity to view and or recollect useful information and put it in the right context or relate it to other information, setting referable body of knowledge models or density due to any mindful or subliminal imposed backbone or instruction to behave in a particular way. As such, intelligence is primarily analyzed in human beings, but it has been extended to other living things as well. Within the field of psychology, different theories of human intelligence are at play. The psychometric concept is particularly common among the general community and is highly applicable in practical scenarios. The understanding of intelligence is contentious. Some psychologists argue that the term refers to a very universal mental ability that concerns the aptitude to reason, strategize, resolve issues, think extensively, understand complex issues, and learn fast, especially from experience (Jowett, & Lavallee, 2007). Heatherton (2003) said it does not mount to a formal education or narrow scholarly skill or test-taking brains; rather, it mirrors a wider and more profound capability for understanding one’s environment, digesting the developments or making sense of complex events. As such, individuals have varied capacities to; comprehend compound ideas; adjust appropriately to the surrounding; obtain vital insights from experience; take part in different types of perceiving; and to circumvent hindrances by critical thought (Baumeister, & Finkel, 2010). Although these human mental differences in terms of capacity can be remarkable, they do not have a predictable way of thinking. An individual's intellectual capacity will differ on different circumstances, in diverse domains, as understood by dissimilar criteria. According to Nowak and Vallacher (1998), intelligence theories comprise efforts to elaborate and set this compound set of marvels. Despite the fact that proper transparency has been realized in a number of scenarios, no such understanding has yet provided answers to all of the vital questions, and none transcends the weaknesses of individual concepts. Gender Gender may be defined as the obligations and behavioral expectations which are dictated by being masculine or feminine. Scholars generally perceive gender issues as part and parcel of a social construct, meaning they are artificial. As such, gender is partly the product of culture and societal values and partly the outcome of human psychology. As human beings grow and develop, people acquire more knowledge about how to conduct themself from the social events and the concepts upon which they depend. Throughout the process of socialization, minors are conditioned to take up certain functions that are characteristically connected to their natural gender (Jowett, & Lavallee, 2007). As such, gender role connotes society's ideology, explaining how people are expected to operate and behave. These functions are driven by norms established by society. In the American society, the roles of men are normally those that require energy, aggression, and authority, while the role of women are normally associated with being passive, subservience and providing care, especially in the domestic setting. Role learning begins with socialization from the early childhood. Even today, the society quickly prefers adorning males in blue color and females in pink from as early as before child-birth. Gender socialization happens through four primary agents: the immediate family, formal learning, peers, and the media. Baumeister and Finkel (2010) said each agent strengthens gender roles by nurturing and maintaining common expectations for behavior which is expected of an individual. Exposure also takes place through secondary factors such as workplace and religious influences. Constant influence of an individual by these phenomena over time culminates in men and women bearing an inaccurate feeling that their actions are rational, rather than driven by a socially fabricated role. Cross-cultural researches show that minors are psychologically cognizant of gender functions by early childhood, and by the age of five, most minors are effectively entrenched in culturally ‘proper’ gender roles (Heatherton, 2003). Parents generally give boys trucks and toy guns which actively improve motor skills, authority over females and aggressive life. By contrast, girls are usually given toys like dollies and dress-up fabrics to nurture and thus sharpen their social proximity. As such, Jowett and Lavallee (2007) said children will most probably opt to play with toys that predict their gender roles through positive parental input. Tales of Trash These social and psychological concepts are well taken care of in the “Tales of Trash.” First, the challenges facing Egypt, which complicate virtually everything, are some of the negative consequences of globalization on weaker economies. Poor road and rail transport as well as multiple power outages in a day are problems that come with overreliance on limited infrastructure in a global economy. The lack of safe, bottled water for drinking caused by a collapsed water distillation plant is also the result of overexploitation of limited resources. Since the writer relocated into the new apartment, there is political instability, lack of constitutionalism and lost trust in the elected leaders as evidenced in the hundreds who have been rotated in the offices. These are clear cases of global influences on the political system of Egypt (Hessler, 2014). Regardless, the fact that the country effectively manages the refuse is evident enough of the social concerns to curb pollution in the country. Cairo’s functional waste-management system symbolizes one that is clearly concerned about building a safe society and a global player in the war against environmental pollution (Hessler, 2014). In this light, the conditions that such an environment could create upon the plants and animals existing in the society would be detrimental. The seemingly sprawling, frenzied urban center which is home to more than 17 million people, Zabaleen has managed to develop a world class city where municipal authorities reuse waste. Secondly, human intelligence is also clearly evident in the story; it underlies the theme of social relations. For instance, Sayyid begins to be more concerned with questions because his intelligence is low, but he needs to interact and communicate with others. As such, he hires several informal advisers to come to his aid whenever he is in difficulty. The character is illiterate and shares his weaknesses with more than 25 percent of adult Egyptian citizens. When he is interested in reading something along his way he engages the owner of the small kiosk to assist him with it (Hessler, 2014). But, if he is engrossed in a social disagreement with his neighbors, he seeks the services of the distributor of subsidized bread. As such, the writer’s area of expertise is superficially representative of an intelligent person, but a deeper look shows that the foreign issues, sex products and liquor are synonymous with one who does not befit such personality. For instance, whenever somebody discards some container, Sayyid takes the initiative to consult with the writer about whether or not it was imported for purposes of reselling foreign goods for cash. Third, religion also features in the article: Sayyid is Muslim, but his level of faith is questionable, particularly when he occasionally consumes earthly substances like beer at night. His action of taking with him the empty bottles may be partly seen as an attempt to hide his dirtier side from being discovered by the rest of his Muslim faithful and partly as the behavior of one who is concerned with environmental conservation (Hessler, 2014). He basically does not want to return to collect the trash by daybreak arguably because it would amount to additional work. Overall, his conduct can be attributed partly to his lack of individual intelligence and partly to his ability to join the dots to create an accurate image of ‘abandoned’ environment. Fourth, culture is also well depicted in the article, with global attributes being closely tied to it. Sayyid hand-sorts the refuse and immediately learns an interesting lesson about globalization: foreign women normally discard empty packets of birth control tablets whose quantity matches runs for a whole month (Hessler, 2014). He then intelligently sums up the culture as that of an aphrodisiac. But then by enquiring from the writer if the pills induce the libido of the foreign women, the character demonstrates that he is out of touch with the reality. Regardless, the culture of medicated sexual life is a common culture manifesting in birth control pills or libido boosters. The constant encounters which Sayyid makes with large caches of sex drugs and similar products in the refuse may be attributed to a new global culture of wild, careless romanticism. As Hessler (2014) said, in a number of occasions, Sayyid comes to terms with the outcome of large distribution channels of Chinese sex drugs. Virecta in Egypt is evident enough of globalization and a break away from the traditional cultural approach to sexual life to one aided by reproductive drugs. He is attracted to any blue thing in the trash, and when he comes across Aerius, he surprisingly becomes overexcited until the Internet technology, which has since enabled current-day surfers to access any information virtually, reveals that the drug is actually an anti-allergy. Fifth, gender also plays a pivotal role in the article. Sayyid, for instance, marries according to the values espoused by the Egyptian society. At 29, the male in the society has had his gender roles responsibility as father well cut-out for him. He personally arranges to settle down with his neighbors’ relative, who according to the society’s morals is expected to play the role of a nurturer. Despite the fact that Wahiba has adequate education, she is 11 years younger than her husband. As such, she is reduced to a nurturer of Sayyid’s two sons and a daughter. Lastly, Sayyid lacks identity. In Zamalek, he cuts the image of a character who treasures garbage and discarded material. He asserts that any discarded bread would still work for him. But a visit in his home reveals a totally different picture of the character; one that is built upon his penchant for new things. His hefty monthly salary of about $500, which was almost twice the income of the average Cairo family; his apartment worth $30,000; his two television sets; his new seats; and a computer installation for his son clearly show one person who has lost his identity (Hessler, 2014). Conclusion Generally, globalization, identity, gender, religion, intelligence and culture are some of the most important psychological and social concepts playing out in the global interactions. Whereas globalization has improved social interactions across previously demarcated borders, it has triggered a host of challenges including loss of identity, changing gender roles, integration of culture and religion, and expansion of intelligence. However, globalization is rapidly blurring the lines separating unique identities and values. Either way, social interactions continue to undergo significant transformation into the future. References Hessler, P., (2014). Tales of the Trash: A neighborhood garbageman explains modern Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/13/tales-trash Jowett, S., & Lavallee, D., (2007). Social Psychology in Sport. New York: Human Kinetics. Nowak, A., & Vallacher, R.R., (1998). Dynamical Social Psychology. New York: Guilford Press. Heatherton, T.D., (2003). The Social Psychology of Stigma. London: Guilford Press. Baumeister, R.F., & Finkel, E.J., (2010). Advanced Social Psychology: The State of the Science. 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