Field Analysis

Field Log

5:30 am: Waking up, interaction with family members

6:00: Go to gym, Interaction with parents, siblings. Preparation, showering and taking breakfast

7:30: Arriving at the airport, interaction with security personnel (Transport Security Administration), customer service of the airline, queuing.

8:30 am: Waiting and interacting with fellow passengers to board the flight: buying snacks and drinks at the coffee outlets; interacting with who seems to be very busy; some people seated close by are having their drinks; others are using their phones; some are reading some books; a group of men nearby is watching the news while discussing about politics and cultures in other countries; children were mostly seen with women.

9:30. on flight with few young people having a hard time with flight attendants who is trying to control their rowdy behavior; a couple seated nearby is having a deep conversation and laughing all along.

11:30: Arriving at the destined aircraft; driving for an hour to meet friends and some family members.  There are many people selling various products along the way. Some people are lazing around, others are asking for direction , and some students walking in groups while playing; others seems to have fallen on hard time and they are looking for work. Some people own fancy homes and some residential areas seem congested;

3:30 pm: friends and some family members arrive for a gathering; sharing memories and catching up; watching local and international news- child abuse and assault case and corruption in some public offices come up. Whatever I did especially during the travel the norms dictated how I was supposed to carry out my activities.

6:30: stopping in the neighborhood to meet friends who are holding a religious meeting in their home; many religious literature; a discussion arise on social injustice, racial profiling and the need for social integration.

Application

Social norms influence how I behaved and even my thinking in various situations and certain moments.  These norms influenced what to do at a certain moment   such as waking up early , going to the gym for physical exercise , greeting my family members in the morning, what to do or not do in their presence. Since the norms are shared socially and many people have an understanding of them, they influenced how I should interact with everybody I came across throughout the day. These norms have an element of sanction or control, which was able to invoke feelings, fear, shame or guilt if they are not met. They also constrained my behavior and at times my behavior and interaction with people in various were situations were highly influenced.  Theses norms affected how I treated different kinds of people, how to communicate to them and the extent to which I could interact with them. What I am expected to do in the society may be different from what I am feeling, but I still followed the social norms which sows the extent to which the society influences ones behavior and thinking. Hence, queuing at the airport, fastening of seatbelts as a requirement in-flight and observing the toad signs during driving were part of the social norms that I had to follow. That influence can be attributed to the fact that people are not automations but emotional actors who are malleable and whose decision making is affected by the social networks, shared values and the contextual cues in a given situation. 

The concept institution is depicted in the family whose interactions are present throughout the unfolding of the day. As a social institution, family seems to be a common and intimate in which major and larger functions are carried out (Newman, 2011).  From the moment I woke up, the family played an important role in my planning and preparation of the day a head. It is served as the foundation for all the activities that are carried out in the society. Belong to a family means having certain rights and responsibilities which one cannot detach from given that interactions and relationships start from this institution.  That family as an institution has laid down some specific fabrics that forms the basis of interaction and influences human behavior and interaction with their specific environment.  Family provides an environment in which basic functions can be performed freely without fear of being judged by the rest of the society. It is also a place where basic human emotional and relationships needs are met making it a very powerful cultural symbol.

The social norms defines the gender roles in the family institution and this is indicated by the fact that women were mostly found with young children as seen in the field log observations.  As such the family systems are majorly based on the roles of specific gender which are pre-designed and which assist in running the various responsibilities in a family set up. A disturbance in the role of a given gender in the family can have devastating effects or can even lead to dysfunctional institution.   The field of sociology has continuously studied how the modern life affects the gender roles and hence the family structure. There is a great meltdown of the gaps between the different genders, where the society is promoting the growth of equality in family institution (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). This goes hand in hand with the changing roles of different genders in the society, where even if women are incorporated into the workforce, men are expected to continue being heads of family finances.

Another concept is social interaction which is a fundamental feature if human life. Almost every activity carried out by a member of the society involves interactions with others unless such an individual chooses to be alone. For any order to exist in an institution, an effective interaction should be possible.  In fact, for behaviors and roles expected of different people in the society to be developed, interaction must exist between individuals.  For buyers and cashiers in a coffee shop, the social interaction is developed automatically and we find ourselves performing these roles without having to think about them.  Roles and interactions go hand in hand and these are established as social norms in the entire society. Sociologists who are interest in the field of micro-sociology have been trying to explore social life through an analysis on how people interact and how they do so (Tischler, 2013).

The other concepts include groups and social class. The groups involve the social groups, primary groups and secondary groups. The social groups can be explained by the interaction of people doing various activities together or the various family members or friends found together (Tischler, 2013). The people working at the various offices at the airport form different groups that they identify with a specific job or the couples and families at the airport or on flight .The primary groups are represented by my nuclear family, with whom there is a daily and even of some members are away from one another they still form a closely knit group. The secondary groups include those that are impersonal and are seen in the aforementioned staff at the airport and the customer care offices.  These are temporary groups with shallow relationships or interactions amongst themselves. Some people in the secondary groups end up becoming part of primary group (Tischler, 2013). Social class is a concept portrayed in the log , where people seems to be divided along the economic line or financial capability .The various  classes of people are seen where some live in congested areas , with little level of economic development while others own fancy houses . The society is therefore divided into the upper, middle and lower class across different geographical locations.

Reflection

My interaction with the society is very close and it affects how I influence the behavior of others and how they affect me. However, this interaction is based on the social norms that influences people’s motives, feelings and actions and even limit what they can and cannot do.  My roles in the society are affected by the social norms such respect for rules and regulations and the culture of different people. The decisions I make do not exist in a vacuum and as such, they are bound by what is expected of me at home, at school and work and even in the community at large.

References

Newman, D. M. (2011). Sociology: Exploring the architecture of everyday life, brief edition. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press.6-8

Tischler, H., (2013). Cengage Advantage Books: Introduction to Sociology. Nelson Education. 137-138

Andersen, M. L., & Taylor, H. F. (2008). Sociology: Understanding a diverse society. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. 20-23