Lesson 7: Conformity

Differential association theory is a long way of saying "peer pressure". The basic idea is that one learns deviant behavior from the deviant peers they interact with, in this case it applies to excessive drinking with peers. 

Deviance avowal is a process by which an individual self-identifies as deviant, thus initiating their own labeling process. The woman here is Dr.Deb, she was the community hippy, constantly hitch-hiking, and known for her kindness and rainbow dreaded hair.

Labeling theory claims that deviance is a consequence of external judgements( labels) that modify both self identity and the way other look at the individual. In my experience if you constantly receive negative stimuli, then you are eventually going to begin to believe that you what they say. Above is a photo of a girl who was constantly called fat, and has consequently developed an eating disorder because of it.

The person above has a visible, physical stigma. A stigma is a physical or social attribute that "devalues" a persons identity, and may exclude the individual from normal social interactions.

A crime is a violation of a norm that has been codified into law. For example, urinating in public is not only breaking a social norm, but has been deemed illegal.

Lesson 12: Popular Culture

Some people show off their wealth through excessive consumption of goods and services to a point of surplus. This is called conspicuous consumption, and is considered wasteful. 

The high concentrations of enthusiasm one feels from taking part in social gatherings such as concerts (depicted above), large sports events, or a rallies is simply known as Emotional energy. 

 Interpretive communities: Consumers who share a common ground in social identity and cultural background that behave in predictable, and patterned ways based on their shared understanding of culture. For example in the ancient city of Pompeii the men of the community would visit a bath house every weekend, then cross the street to the local food vendors(above). This is an example of an  Interpretive community because it is a predictable pattern of behavior. 

Humans taste for nice things are shaped by their interest in music, theatre, fashion, and other cultural factors. The jewelry above was excavated from the famous colosseum in Rome, these pieces are examples of one the type of jewelry taste people had back then.  

Consumerism is the drive behind the belief that we need what we do not have. The holiday season is upon us and the promises of sales and amazing bargains is kickstarting the largest shopping season of the year. 

Lesson 11: Family

Family is a social group whose members are bound by legal, biological, or emotional ties, or a combination of those. Here members of a family gather for a photo. 

Here is an example of a nuclear family. A nuclear family is the traditional familial form: one mother, one father, and their biological children. 

Here are two people in a monogamous relationship, meaning they are only seeing each other. Monogamy is the practice of being married to only one person at a time. 

The emotional work we invest into supporting family members is called an expressive task. They are not necessary, but they add value to the relationship(s). Things like playing with your children, or getting flowers on Valentines day. 

Exogamy refers to a marriage to someone from a different social group. A Husband with a strong hispanic background, and a Wife born and raised in California.

Lesson 10: Sex and Gender

Above we see an example of the two sex's. Sex is determined at birth. 

 Here we see two people that identify with the male gender, even though they are of a different sex. Gender refers to the physical and behavioral personality traits that define a male or female regardless of sex. 

Here some high school friends pose for a photo. Such peer groups are important in the socialization process because they are reference groups; by conforming to the expected behavior one is accepted, by not conforming one can be excluded from the group.

Gender role socialization is the lifelong process of learning to be masculine or feminine. Above we see the product; two girls working in the kitchen. 

From a young age girls are the ones with the play kitchen sets, the pretend vacuums, and fake make-up that eventually evolve into real kitchen and housework, and real make-up. 

Social learning theory says that babies and children learn behaviors and meanings through interacting and understanding the expectations of those around them. When a camera comes out these two automatically smile, because that's what's expected of them. 

Sexual orientation is based on who you are attracted to. Above is a heterosexual couple, but there can also be homosexual couples which means you are attracted to the same sex. Or a bisexual person that is attracted to both sex's. 

Lesson 9: Race and Ethnicity

"Sociologists see race and ethnicity as social constructions because they are not rooted in biological differences, they change over time, and they never have firm boundaries."

These two people are obviously different races, you can tell just by the way they look because race is based on real or perceived biological differences between people. 

These two men are not only a different race, but a different ethnicity as well. Ethnicity is based on common language, religion, nationality, or another cultural factor. You may not know which ethnicity the people in this photo are, but you can tell that they are from different races because race is physical while ethnicity can be shown or not based on a personal preference. 

Symbolic ethnicity is an ethnic identity that is only relevant on specific occasions. May day in Hawai'i is a traditional holiday where people dance hula, give each other lei's, and eat ono local grindz. Even if you aren't Hawaiian by race, everyone embraces the Hawaiian ethnicity. 

Racial assimilation is where the racial minority group intermarries into the dominant group, and eventually gets absorbed. In Hawaii the dominant racial group is Asian, and the minority is white. Through racial assimilation a whole new race has been created called "hapa"; hapa is simply half asian half "white".  Above is an asian Husband, with a white Wife, and their hapa children.  

In Peter Balakians book Black Dog of Fate, he speaks a great deal of the armenian genocide and how it affected his family. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group  of people based on race, ethnicity, or geographic location. 

Lesson 8: Social Class

This mural shows several aspects of social class: from rulers, to philosophers, to servants and nannies, and warriors. Social class is defined by who has the most, or least, access to resources like wealth, property, education, power, and prestige. It is a system of stratification, also known as socioeconomic status. 

Caesar was a part of the upperclass, also known as Capitalist class. Back in Ancient Rome rulers like him possessed most of the wealth in the country.

The capitalists (like Caesar here) are powerful because they own the means of production, such as labor and materials. Karl Marx calls them bourgeoisie (borg-wa). 

Karl Marx calls the working class, proletariat. These are the people that sell their labor for wages like this janitor. 

The habits, expectations, knowledge, skills and cultural tastes that we acquire are collectively known as  ones Cultural Capital; which is greatly influenced by the previous generation. In the mural the father has brought his daughter along to the market place, exposing her to the culture of that time period, furthering the socialization process and her exposure to various aspects of cultural capital. 

Lesson 6: Life in Groups

This is a photo of a group of students. A group is a collection of people who identify and interact with one another. 

A football team can be classified as a secondary group because it is organized around a joint effort to complete a specific task or activity. 

Family can be an example of a primary group. This type of group has high levels of interaction, and involve feelings of belonging. A family could also be an in-group which is a group that one identifies with and feels loyalty towards. 

This group of surfers make up a triad; a three-person social group. Triad's are good because if two members of the group engage in conflict the third can act as a mediator. 

These friends make up a two-person group called a dyad; it's the smallest version of a social group you can have .