The Recognition of a Person Within the Social Environment - Essay Example

Sociological observations Having received an assignment to observe a public place, I knew right away where I would go. I believe that one of the malls in our city was the perfect platform for it: no one would mind a person sitting on a bench, casually watching around. Thus, the place where I was sitting was a wide and clear one. It was some sort of a street which was formed by shops which were situated on each side of it. Speaking of special organization, one might suggest that there was a plenty of space: there were several floors and the part where I was sitting did not have a ceiling. In addition to that, the street was rather wide and the doors of the shops were big. One would make no mistake that there was a plenty of space even thought it was a little bit crowded. Nevertheless, everyone was able to maintain personal space. As for the people who come to the mall, one might say that all kinds of individuals visit it. There are teenagers, people in their twenties, the middle aged people. In the course of the observation, I was able to see several seniors. There also were people who belonged to different races. As these characteristics are easily observable, they were included in the analysis, while other could not be detected visually are left off. People came to the mall for different purposes. There was a group of teenagers who were sitting in a café, socializing and drinking cold beverages. They paid for the latter, but did not buy anything in the shops. On the other hand, there were people who came to buy something in the shops. They walked in a confident manner, directly to the place where they wanted to make a purchase. Since there was a cinema in the mall, some people were waiting for their movie to start, casually walking and window shopping. The interaction between them was quite interesting from the sociological points of view. For example, those who came to the shop to buy acted rather assertive. They did not pay much attention to the clerks who were extremely friendly and tried to do anything to persuade their new clients to buy something. On the other hand, there also were genitors. They simply did their job and people tried not to interact with them at all. The genitors did not seem to mind this at all. There were different conversations that were performed. Some of them happened between the clients and the clerks and focused around choosing a garment. The other type of conversations happened between people who were relaxing in the mall: they were drinking coffee and talked about their plans for the evening. From time to time there were commercials heard that encouraged people to buy a particular product. One might suggest that there were several subgroups of the people. First of all, it is the staff of the mall. They are those who work in the shops, the security, the genitors and many other people. Secondly, there are people who deliberately came to make a purchase. Thirdly, there are people who came to spend some time in the cafes. Finally, there were those who came to the mall and did not buy anything: they were waiting for their friends or simply could not afford certain items. One of the reasons why the mall was chosen lies in the fact that various unexpected or upsetting situations were anticipated. Indeed, some customers came to the shows and wanted to buy an article of clothing, but they did not find their size. Some of them would be very disappointed and hoped that they could wear an item that was of a wrong size. Others would try to persuade the staff to look carefully for the necessary size. However, in other case the conversation was extremely polite even though people were very disappointed. Now, it may be particularly important to apply several theories to the observations that were done and analyze them. Thus, the first theory, namely structural-functionalism would point out that the primary purpose of people’s coming to the mall was to be engaged in various economic activities (Kirby, 2000, p. 28). As it has already been mentioned, not every person bought something in the shops: some people were ordering beverages, other would buy a ticket to a cinema. However, in every case they would pay money that would be accumulated by the companies that were present in the mall. As for the people who worked there, their primary goal was to facilitate this exchange of funds. For example, a genitor was paid to make the floor clean so that the interior of the mall would be appealing to the potential customers. The clerks were paid to help the potential customers to make a purchase. The next theory, namely symbolic interactionism, would put emphasis on a different point. Thus, people who came to the mall wanted to buy new items that are probably of good quality, expensive and, possible, in trend. This way they wanted to show that they are successful or they want to be successful (Reynolds, 2003, p. 404). For example, an iPhone is a simply smart phone. However, at the present moment it turned into a symbol of being progressive, young and open minded. In addition to that, different things are often used to reflect the status of a person. In other words, one might buy a pair of shoes that is several times expensive than others quite to show that this person is able to afford that. In this sense, the mall becomes a supplier of specific symbols that contribute to the recognition of a person within the social environment. The third theory that will be engaged in the discussion is called Social conflict theory. From this perspective, the people who were present in the mall can be divided into two broad classes. On the one hand, there are those who belong to the working class: they work in the mall. On the other hand, there are people that represent the highest class as they come to the mall to spend money (Carter, 2014, p. 56). Of course, this division in not universal as the same customer who paid money for a shirt might belong to the working class as well since he or she is employed by a large company. However, the Social conflict theory would argue that the people who work in the mall are being exploited and oppressed to a certain extent. For example, the clerks have to be friendly since this way they will be able to build a rapport with the client. However, a clerk may not be willing to be friendly to the customer. It is quite understandable that the first theory, namely structural-functionalism is the best theory that is able to process the evidence which was obtained though the observation. There are several reasons to that. First of all, it provides the researcher with a correct general perspective and gives an overview of the situations, allowing situating every person who is being watched in a broader picture. Secondly, it does not make unnecessary generalizations and is able to focus on a particular set of circumstances. In other words, it does not operate with categories that employ one size fits all approach. This means that it is able to maintain the required level of precision and deliver the best results for the researcher who wants to gain a better understanding of the situation. References Carter, Bob. 2014. Capitalism, class conflict, and the new middle class. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Kirby, Mark. 2000. Sociology in perspective. Oxford: Heinemann. Reynolds, Larry T. 2003. Handbook of symbolic interactionism. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Read More