People in our society are often judged, consciously or unconsciously, by the way they look. How someone presents and carries themselves says a lot about them. For this assignment, I chose to go out and judge strangers based on their appearance. The reason I chose to do this was because it was something that I could constantly be doing, it wasn’t limited to a certain area or my computer. Every time I went out, I could analyze what class I thought a person belonged in and why. In order to come up with accurate predictions, I used the symbolic interactionist view point, which is a framework for building theory that sees how society is affected by the interactions of individuals (Macionis 2014:20). I paid attention to the smallest details about …show more content…
His clothes initially led me to believe that he was in the middle class, however, I then took in the information around him. I saw him in the college center, and I assumed that he was a student. If he was part of the lower class and close to poverty, he probably wouldn 't be attending a college, not even a community college. This drew me closer to the middle class. Lastly, I focused on his physical appearance. He was a Caucasian in his early 20’s, and somewhat fit. This play right into my idea of the middle class. Overall, those three things led me to believe that he was in the lower middle class. The second person I analyzed was a woman at nickelodeon universe. Again, I focused on their looks, surroundings, and features. She was wearing a plain t-shirt, sweat pants, and carrying a very bland, large purse. Her clothes either suggested a lower class, or simply more laid back. Like with the previous case, her surrounding and feature gave away more things. She looked very worn out, and was leaning against a stroller. She also had two more kids and a teenager trailing behind her. Assuming that those were her kids, I mentally placed her in the lower class since raising four children really takes a toll on your income. I also noticed that none of
Lin was labeled middle class, had help from his family in school work, and had
As a result of my childhood experiences with my grandmother, I became aware and have observed the way people treat and respond to each other based on their appearances, such...
I’ve always had the belief that I lived within the middle class of society. After watching this film in limbo about where my family stands in today's socioeconomic classes. There were many aspects about socioeconomic status presented in the film Two American Families, all of which connected both families together. I’ve selected 3 aspects that I feel really enlighten me also made me question my own socioeconomic status. Prior to watching this film I’ve never thought about one’s socioeconomic status being linked to their daily lives and family interactions, I honestly just looked at from a numerical standpoint.
When an individual unintentionally enters a room full of an unfamiliar crowd, he or she is bound to be embarrassed, but also have an apprehensive sensation of how others in that room will distinguish them. A situation like that establishes a moment in which that person realizes that all eyes are gaping at that individual. Just when that person could consider forgetting what just happened, unfortunately judgments start circulating among the unfamiliar crowd. As most people know, judgments are based off of a person’s appearance, race, religion, or a quality that doesn’t appeal to the person analyzing them. Obviously, judging is something that takes place whether someone likes it or not, but there are certain limits to it that many cross by adding
There are eight classes in America consisting of the rich elite, very rich-upper class, lower-upper class, upper-middle class, middle class, working class, working poor and the underclass. The percentages of families in the various classes as established by Gilbert are thought to be 1.4 percent in the upper top class, 1.6 percent in the lower top class. 1...
The human race is comprised of a plethora of shapes, sizes, colors, and figures. Some of these images are regarded as ‘distorted’ in dominant culture, but these distortions are what makes every person unique and should be celebrated. Stereotypes, whether positive or negative, take these ‘distortions’ and assign behavioral attributes to them. This assumes that all persons who meet a certain set of physical requirements behave in a similar way. Due to the diversity of the human race, this outcome is highly improbable. Despite this, stereotypes are often used to describe a group of people, usually amplifying a negative trait that may not b...
Many people’s assumptions are driven by appearance but in some cases the appearance can be
From an interactionist perspective it is not the structure or system of society that creates and shapes our thoughts, actions and behaviour rather we create society through our constant action and interaction with each other. This is why it is a social action, rather than a social system approach. This is why it is a bottom-up rather than a top-down theory.
Typically, 2 people will form an opinion of others within the first 3 seconds of meeting one another. The way these opinions are formed so quickly is, generally speaking, solely because of physical appearance. All too often, in our society today, people are criticized for what material possessions they have and how much money said people have to spend on things that they do not need, but instead just want. It does not matter where you go; this can be observed almost anywhere. Sometimes, when people notice that someone has cheaper clothes or less objects of purely material value, the people who have more frown upon those who have less. Ev...
The first impression you have when meeting someone is their appearance, which makes it easy to judge people based on how they
First impressions are created by a composite of signals given off by a new experience (Flora, 2004). The judgment of these impressions depends on the observer and the person being observed (Flora, 2004). When you meet someone for the first time it takes about three seconds to be evaluated by the observer (Mind Tools, 1996-2011,). During this time the person forms an opinion about you based on your appearance, your body language, your demeanor, and how you dress (Mind Tools, 2996-2011,). Impressions are important to us because they are impossible to be reserved and the set the tone for all the relationships that follow (Mind Tools, 1996-2011).
Impression management is a social phenomenon that occurs in our daily life both consciously and unconsciously. “It is the act of presenting a favorable public image of oneself so that others will form positive judgments.” (Newman 184) Our first impressions of a person are always based on physical appearance and we compare them to the norms of our society. We can all admit to the initial meeting of a person and first noticing their age, gender, race, or other ascribed characteristics. Our cultural norms are ideas such that fat is “ugly” which are very different across societies and time. Also, impression management is an idea of how individuals interact in different social situations. “Sociologists refer to dramaturgy as the study of social interactions as theater, in which people (“actors”) project images (“play roles”) in front of others (“the audience”).” (Newman 169) This is our human need for acceptance and way of managing the impressions we give others and perform what we think people want to see. Our social life is governed by this concept but it only works with effective front-stage and back-stage separation. Our front-stage is the visible part of ourselves that we allow others to see unlike our hidden back-stage self.
In our society, appearance and its importance might not look like a problem because of how much it is present in our lives and how it has been presented to us but it is important because we face problems like bullying at every level from child to adult and lower self-esteem that are highly correlated to suicide. The problems that we face today related to appearances are important so this topic deserve attention. Because it affects children, parents, models, teenagers and everybody, we s...
Relationships play an important role in everyday life. It is essential for the positive, social and mental development of the people required in the relationship. It starts off with infatuation and goes through several stages. Somewhere along the way the relationship can take a toll and will take the brunt of the fall. It’s a theory that describes how relationships and relational partners change over time. This communication theory research paper will identify the theorist, his educational and professional background, along with other contributions that he has made. It will define the theory and explain it using tangible examples. Finally, I will describe what I have learned from my research.
With regards to human behavior, studies show that social perceptions are formed as a mixture of experience and expectations of how a individuals defining physical or overriding characteristics will impact how we imagine that person to be for instance through their ethnicity, nationality, religion, class or if they are living with a disability. These assumptions are often deep-rooted and formed in childhood.