Examples Of Sociological Observation

Observation allows researchers to experience a specific aspect of social life and get a firsthand look at a trend, institution or behaviour. It promotes good communication skills, improves decision making and enhances awareness.
A sociological observation was conducted at York dale Toronto shopping center and food court at various time intervals. There were different spectres of ethnicity and different ways people acted. I chose this mall because it is one of the largest malls in Canada and the problem of reactivity could be avoided.
My first observation exercise was at the shopping arena. The shoppers tended to move in groups and were more concerned with the needs of their groups. The children however socialized in between groups prompting uncomfortable apologies and new friendships. The workers' age seemed to be distributed from as low as 18 to the mid-60s. Races were diverse ranging from Hispanic to Caucasian to Africans and Asians. The mall was female dominant though there were males present. The staff at most of the stores had on casual clothing, seeming happy and patient with the children and impatient customers. They also knew each other without having to look at their name tags and I did not observe any tension amongst the workers.

The stores were very clean and bright with shelves brilliantly arranged and the items for sale were stacked neatly. There were workers stationed at the dressing rooms ready to collect any unsatisfactory outfits and categorize them accordingly. There was soul music playing. I remember hearing the single hello by British singer Adele amongst others. The music was calming and did not confuse the buyers. It was barely noticeable but still present. One of the things observed was the importance of signs. Pedestrians who surely had no intention of shopping saw the big support for Paris 30% off sales poster ignored their buses and went in for window shopping. There were no hiring signs as well. The workers usually took their lunch break at about 1:30 pm and the happiness on their faces was prominent after spending several hours constantly smiling and being polite. They too went in groups for lunch. Specific stores had a similar set of people going into them, girls with small sizes and model body shapes frequented Forever 21, Victoria Secret, Dynamite just to mention a few while the plus-sized ladies shied away from those stores despite the fact that they all had clothes ranging from all sizes. The electronic part of the store was sparsely populated with buyers, but the workers being the male party dominating the area. There was something that struck as unusual which was the reaction of the employees of a famous designer store towards a customer who was poorly treated right from point of entry to exit. The woman who was dressed in sweats was not welcomed at all, usually the stores are empty so there are always enough workers to attend to potential customers. The workers did not even move from the intense conversation that they were having but left the lady to attend to herself, she left the store with no purchase. About an hour or so later, a well-dressed lady entered the store, it was obvious she was not lacking in the monetary aspect and the workers swiftly attended to her asking if she was satisfied with what she had or needed more help. This was surprising because I assumed that every business wanted to make a profit and so every customer is deemed important but the behaviours of the workers made it seem otherwise and this probably resulted in a loss for the business owners. Individuals who went to the mall alone spent more time evaluating various stores and looking at the difference in prices before purchasing any goods. They usually ended up buying items that were expensive. For those who went in groups, the opinion of the group seemed to have a great weight on the purchase decision. They did not spend as much time in the store and the purchase was based solely on price range and not the quality of a brand.
After the shoppers completed their spree, their purchased goods were packed neatly by the workers in recyclable bags and each customer was sent off with a warm welfare and to patronize the stores again.
The second observation was at the food court because it is the most populated part of the mall. There are various factors that influence choices of food, the factors I chose to observe were social solidarity in terms of culture, age and gender.
Individuals of the same culture sat in one section of the food court, they ordered from the stands that they found had some of their cultural foods.

There were people with faces that showed how that they were clueless on what to eat but when they saw people of the same culture through their dressing, they had the expression of happiness written all over them. It felt like they had found a sense of home just by discovering their culture food and those of the same culture. They immediately got their food and went to sit in the section where their culture was present. Women and Men in official clothing chose to dine at the Chinese and Italian section probably because the stand was of a more decorous setting than the other

stands.
Another aspect that influences food choice is age, children at the food court went for the easier meals from the fast food section mainly McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken, they got into the food court and knew what they wanted as they dragged their parents towards that section. The teenagers and the middle-aged people took their time in picking out what to eat, they went around this court a lot of times trying to find the perfect meal that was also cost effective. The older people went for the healthy meals like the children, they knew the stand where they would find their food preference.
The last aspect that plays a role in the choice of food is gender. The men ate heavier meals in large proportions while the women ate lighter meals in small proportions. The women seemed to eat slower when they were around the male company than when they were with their group of girls. They were so composed, it looked as if they needed the men's approval on their mode of eating. The same could not be said for the men, they ate with a nonchalance attitude some even goofing around. Women who were a little overweight were conscious of what they were eating leaning toward the healthy section of the court but constantly turning to look at the unhealthy food section. Some of the women did not care at all, they ate what gave them satisfaction, but they did not eat without the scrutinizing eye of other shoppers. The men who were overweight ate whatever they desired even getting large portions of very unhealthy foods and no one batted an eyelash.
This observation enables an easier connection of everyday activities to various social context. The first framework that appealed to me and provided a clear link was Symbolic Interactionism. It takes a small scale view of society and focuses on the small scale perspective of the interaction between individuals and also how they attach meanings to things. By looking at a small scale, the individual's interaction with others is observed, hence, social order and change can be explained. The symbolic interactionism noticed at the mall was the buying of goods when in a group, the presence of the group influenced the purchase decision significantly. The group here refers to the small scale society and the individual's agreeing to the group's decision of what to buy imply that the individual's shopping life is possible because, with the group's opinion, the best clothes would be bought. Also, from the observation of the food court, individuals with the same culture have created their own validation that the best food is available only at the section where their native food is served. According to George Herbert Mead, the way we act is based on the meaning we give things. This theory was observed at the mall from the pedestrians who disregarded their buses and came into the mall when they saw the sales sign. The pedestrians in this situation attached a meaning to that sales sign, they saw it as an avenue to obtain clothes at a good deal.
The second framework that appealed to this observation exercise was Functionalism. It emphasizes that social structures are based mainly on shared values and preferences. This applies to social solidarity and the frequency of social interaction. Social solidarity is perceived in the food court with people of the same culture forming groups and sitting at one section of the cafeteria. Functionalism also focuses on manifest functions and latent functions. Shopping malls are a reflection of consumer society. The manifest function of the mall is to sell goods and services to shoppers, a latent function can be to provide a communal area where people can meet with friends and enjoy an event.
Additional frameworks that appealed to this observation were Queer and Feminist Theory, Consumerism and Rationalization and Time Use.
Firstly, Queer and Feminist Theory was identified from the aspect of employment at the electronic stores, mostly men were working at those stores and if there were women they were very few. Also, at the food court, the composure of the women around men and the judgemental looks that were given to the overweight women when they purchased their meals. The over-weight men purchasing unhealthy meals were not paid attention to. Furthermore, consumerism was detected at the designer store by the workers who ignored some customers that looked to be underdressed and assisted those that looked that the purchased expensive goods and services. Lastly, Rationalization and Time Use was evident in this observation, this was through the time people went to eat, the time the mall was very busy, the pace at which people walked at specific times and a number of food people ate at various time intervals.
In conclusion, this observation was insightful as it helped improve my observation skills and also helped in the aspect of creative writing. It was a bit of a challenge because it depended solely on physical appearance and behaviours that might not have been the true personalities of the people observed. I found the aspect of watching people walk freely without a care in the world For a next observation it would be nice to observe people as well as interact with them to get a grasp of their personalities. Above all, it was a good exercise and when I visited the mall presently, I started to observe people with a sociological eye and attempting to link their behaviours to a sociological perspective.