How Do I Use Sociology In My Future

By Gregory Beechler

Sociology

OSC 101-001

F. Applying What I Know

November 23, 2009

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How Do I Use Sociology in My Future?

Sociology has provided me with a brand new outlook in my life and the sociological

concepts I have learned will provide me a better understanding on how I can socialized with the

people I meet and the new extended family I have started. It all started a few years ago when I

meet and starting dating a special woman which finally led me to the biggest decision and

change in my life, I decided to go and get married. So here I was newly married with a new

added extended family moving away from the only town and family I knew to a new life in

another town. With this new marriage my extended family grew with the addition of a step-son

and step-daughter who also provided me with another big event, I became a grandfather. A lot

of changes happen in a short amount of time.

I. What has Sociology taught me and how can I use it.

In reading Society, The Basics and in class lectures given by Professor Rosen I have

learned and study many new ideas and concepts that will be helpful to me in my new life and my

life ten years from now. All concepts will be useful but which ones should I use, which ones are

the most important in helping me through my new married life and future responsibilities? As

Macionis (2009), talked about in Chapter 13 Family and Religion, marriage is “a legal

relationship, usually involving economic cooperation, sexual activity, and childbearing.” And in

my case it has also lead to the extended family, “a family composed of parents and children as

well as other kin.” And I have learned by class assignment “Family & Marriage”, Rosen (2009),

how you can define and what roles marriage and family serve. But with myself (and wife) being

at a certain stage in my life (you know over a certain age and already have kids at adulthood and
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out of the house) these concepts and ideas are already in place. So the concepts that I have decide

to use and have learned will be about Socialization and Social Interaction, which seems to me be

the most important concepts which will benefit my marriage and extended family at this period

of time and in my future

II. Socialization, This Could be Fun!

As Macionis (2009), explained socialization is “the lifelong social experience by which

people develop their human potential and learn culture.” This means that as we grow up we

learn from our Mothers, Fathers, our family and peers on how we should act. What beliefs we

choose to hold, what valves are good and how we should present ourselves to the culture and

society that we live in. And as discussed by Rosen (2009), socialization is a “lifelong process”

and you are always adding to your own development through everyday life, your interactions

with the people you meet, the people you grow up with, your friends and family. With my new

extended family I will have the opportunity to use this knowledge I gained from class to help in

the development of a newly born baby. So as Macionis (2009, pg. 75) writes about Jean Piaget’s

Theory of Cognitive Development with its four stages, I will be able to use these to see how my

new grandson should be at different levels of development. At the early stage (the sensorimotor

stage) which he is at (he is just only 8 months old) I can see him now exploring, grabbing and

listening to everyone he has contact with trying to learn and to experience as much as possible.

To soak up his environment, his culture and learn from it. Ten years down the road I can explain

how he should act, how he can socialize with others he will meet in his long life that is ahead of

him. And as Macionis (2009, pg. 78) explains to me about Erik H. Erikson Eight Stages of

Development, I can help him understand as he gets older what challenges he might encounter.

With the video shown in class, Lookism and the clips from the movie Stand by Me (which I went
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home and rented and enjoyed a lot) as he gets to adolescence there will be times he will be

judged. I can explain to him that people do this because of society’s influences (magazines,

television and movies) which will tell him how he should look, how he should act and what they

say is not always right or even wrong. You should judge yourself by how you see yourself, do

not be influences by others, if some boys wear their jeans low to show off there underwear

should you?

III. Social Interaction, Honey Can I Help?

As I wrote early I am married and the have recently moved from where I grew up to my new

home town of Findlay Ohio. This was a very big change for me and now how I relate with my

new wife will determine are future together. As Macionis (2009) explains social interaction is

“the process by which people act and react in relation to others”. Both of us have certain status

within our marriage. From what I have learned I can now have a better understanding of what

these are (me a husband, companion) and use the concepts within social interaction to help form

a good relationship. One of the important ideas that I learned within social interaction as explain

by Macionis (2009) was Erving Goffman (1922-1982) “Presentation of Self”. How we all show

ourselves as performers and how we react with others with the actions we do can determine how

good we get along. The other day my wife and I had a little argument, as she was expressing

some concerns and I stood by listening with my arms crossed, looking down and just wishing I

was somewhere else. By just watching my body language my wife knew I was disrespecting her,

not listening and just being rude. But now from what I have learned using nonverbal

communication, “communication using body movements, gestures, and facial expressions rather

than speech” (Macionis, pg. 107) how simple actions can cause bigger problems, I can in the

future look at her and nod and listen to what she has to say and then communication with each
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other will improve and this will help our relationship in the future. Social interactions and the

concepts relating are to me some of the best ideas to learn about. Reading this chapter I have a

come to a better understanding of what can go wrong and also what can go right by using ones

own sociological perspective. Learning sociology has been very beneficial to me and all the

sociological concepts I have learned, which there are many will be useful for my new life. To

help the new extended family I have, to help development there lives. To show them different

cultures or show them aspects of theirs they didn’t know about. All the book reading and class

lectures will provide me with the basic tools, especially the ones I wrote about to get me the best

future possible.

References

Macionis, J.J. (2009) Society, The Basics (10th Edition)

Upper Saddle River, NJ; Pearson Prentice Hall

Rosen, N. Socialization and Social Interaction in Everyday Life Lectures

September 16th/18th and September 21st/23rd, 2009

20/20/ Films ABC Produced

Lookism

Columbia Pictures, (1986), Directed by Rob Reiner

Stand By Me