Controls and Deviance, Stratification, Social Class - Assignment Example

Culture Culture can be defined as the distinct way of living of a certain group of people. It consists of their behavior, rituals, values and ways of living. Learning culture made me realize that although there are different cultures in the world, there is a certain pattern to it. One culture is not the same as another but there are similarities. Also, learning about culture made me understand better that each culture is unique and one is not better or worse than the other. Groups People are grouped or classified together into different categories. People may be grouped based on their gender, class, race and culture. Within a culture, there are still different groups that work together. A society is composed of different groups that believe in the same principles, values and ethics. Although there are different groups of people, I have learned that we work together somehow to achieve the balance in the society. I have also learned that these groupings and classifications have somehow managed to set differences between each other, thus creating prejudice and discrimination. This is not to be nurtured. The differences in each group work together to put the society in order. Each group has its function in the society, and without these groups the society would be in chaos. I, then, conclude that the society should view groups not as power struggles but as a cooperative factor in maintaining the order of the society. Controls and deviance With the different groups at work within the society, a certain behavior or action can be deemed as deviant. Deviance is something that is out of balance or out of sync with the general belief and values of the society. Controls are the laws that keep deviance in check so as not to cause chaos and imbalance in the society. Deviance is not always criminal, it may just be different from the normal trend of the society. It is not always bad rather it is out of the ordinary. As with other concepts in that affects the society, deviance also has a function. It allows the society to set the normal and the usual reactions, behavior and values of the society. Deviance makes sure that we have something to compare to. Without deviance, the society won’t be able to tell what is acceptable or unacceptable. But deviance is not always unacceptable. It is just something that is different from the general perspective of the society. Say for example, in a school setting, cliques such as the cheerleaders or the popular girls see the tomboys as deviant because they are different from them. Social rules dictate that cheerleaders are more acceptable than tomboys because they embody the description of what a girl is, someone who wears skirts rather than loose pants, someone who likes frills and laces rather than wears baseball caps at school. In studying deviance, I have learned to realize that it is the society that sets the standards for what is deviant and what is normal. A society’s deviance may be another’s acceptable behavior, say for example cannibalism. With other groups, cannibalism is acceptable, for most, it is a crime to eat the flesh of the same species. Stratification Stratification is grouping the people within the society into different groups based on power and wealth. Social stratification represents the power struggle of the economic aspect of the society. There are three major classes: the upper class, the middle class and the lower class. Social stratification provided a hierarchy of the society based on class, power and status. All societies have hierarchies. Stratification opened my eyes to the great power struggle existing within the society. The higher you are in the ladder, the more power you will have, the more you can control other people. This causes the great gaps between different classes. Social Class Social class is the result of stratification. Social classes are defined within the economic sphere of the society. Social classes do not have rigid structure, one may be able to climb up the economic ladder depending on how he works for it. But I have realized that most of time, the lower class remain at their classes because their work is limited to lower class jobs, usually it is because of educational limitations as they were not able to pursue higher education unlike those in the middle class. These are the people who tend to work for their daily living rather than be able to save up for improvement of their lives. Gender Gender has been one of the most popular topics of sociological discourses. Gender can be defined as male and female and this is mostly related to gender roles and responsibilities. Same as with the social stratification, gender roles are mostly dictated by the society. Traditional gender roles such as females managing the household and the males being breadwinners have never been fully eradicated. It may cause conflict as nowadays, it is important to have both couples work for the survival of the family. Although the women have penetrated the workforce in the modern times, they are still somehow tied to the traditional female role of managing the household. Thus, they are working two roles. Race and Age Race and age are two more classifications in the society. Race clusters together people with the same background, such as being Asian, American or European. Societies tend to think better about themselves apart from other cultures. Thus, this starts of discrimination and prejudice against each other. This is closely related to deviance, as one race considers a certain cultural behavior as deviant while they accept other behavior. Age, on the other hand, affects the workforce. Older people, as well as the younger ones, are less accepted in jobs than those in the middle age bracket. The effect of age in the society mostly has something to do with the economic balance of the society. A society with more young people or older generation produces less income than those societies with a lot of numbers that can work legally. This topic made me realize that there will always be a certain classification in the society. It cannot be helped as it is needed in determining the success and failure of the economic sphere. But it also opened my eyes on the discrimination that older generation experiences. I have realized, then, that discrimination is truly a deep sickness of the society. As it classifies everyone to different groups, it repeatedly creates different kinds of discrimination and prejudice. Social Institutions Social institutions are different group functions set within the society. Examples of these are the family, religion, government and education. These institutions set standards within the society, and most of the time, they are the ones that create balance, order and social rules that the entire society follows. Social institutions have interrelated functions, functions that are important in forming and developing the members of the society into socially functioning citizens that will work to develop and improve the society. Every member of the society have experiences in almost all social institutions. The basic of which is the institution of family. Family is the very first institution that an individual encounters. It is responsible for the primary care for the individual. The values and social behavior that the family teaches the young ones are important tools that we carry on till we are adults. It is the main institution linking other institutions to the individual. Studying institutions made me realize that social rules are set up in the society by which the institutions, mainly the family transfers to the new members of the society. It is an important role of the family as it allows the new members to act and think the same way as the entire society. Family The family is the most basic institution, perhaps the most important in the society. Its function is to make sure that the upbringing of the child is the same way as how the society acts and behaves. Almost everyone has its first encounter of the society through the family. It is like the mini-society. There are family rules, much the same as there are laws that govern the society. It is like the smaller version of what we will encounter in the outside world. The family prepares us for bigger and wider social encounters that will test our strength and personality. Religion Religion is another social institution that sets standard behaviors acceptable for the society. It works the same way as the laws of the government, although its target is the psychological and emotional aspect of human behavior rather than how the laws target the functional aspect of human behavior. It is the balance in the reasoning factor why there are certain behaviors that are criminal and why certain behaviors are unacceptable. I have realized, by studying the social aspect of religion, that it is an important institution as it creates a picture of a morally and ethically just individual that will do good for the benefit of the society. Read More