Essay Sample on Social Interactions

Introduction

The observation site for the fieldwork experience was a shopping mall. The shopping mall is located in an urban area close to a suburb. The mall houses many convenience stores, eateries, movie theatres, department stores, gaming centers, an amphitheater, and food courts. It is also home to many other business outlets and a large walkway fitted at its center. There were also many groups of people in the location including families, couples, a group of nuns, groups of teens, protestors, entertainers, staff from the outlets, tourists and many others. The mall was crowded by these groups each engaging in their business. Some people were shopping, while others were at the food courts, and others were lining up for the movies, whereas others were entertaining, and serving the mall visitors.

Observations

Symbolic interaction Theory

According to (CD251, 2018) one's true self is developed over time through social interactions, and this concept forms the foundation of an individual's reaction. During the fieldwork, this concept was observed in the way people reacted to the sight of nuns with reverence since symbolic interaction has taught them to associate the nuns to piety. Another observation of the same was made, with how all groups of people reacted to the color red that was displayed near power lines and equipment. The color red is associated with danger in most western cultures. However, on the other hand, some eastern cultures associate the color red with good fortune.

Rational choice Theory

As (Wiley, 2014) states, the rational choice theory claims that people act the way they do since they believe the accomplishment of their actions will bring more profits than costs. Therefore, people perform rational choices motivated by their goals thus their goals determine their actions. An observation of this was made with the protestors who were actively picketing led by one person revealing that most human social actions are started by one person's actions.

Functionalists Theory

(Laulima.hawaii.edu, 2018) States that under the functionalist's theory, every part of society is useful for the survival of the entire system. An observation of this theory was made when people were shopping and consuming various goods and services in the mall since the economy and survival of the mall depends on the people. On the other hand, families are also dependent on the economy to survive.

Feminist Theory

According to (Sascwr.org, 2018) the feminist theory is about seeing the world in ways that promote the quest for justice and equality. By moving the focus from the perceptions of men, feminist theorists created social philosophies that are inclusive and inventive compared to those found in times of discrimination. This could be observed from the multi-cultural population in the mall and in the respect with which women were treated by the business attendants and their partners.

Game theory

(Crossman, 2017) Claims according to the game theory human interactions are a form of sport. This theory was initially a mathematical and economic theory that projected that the interactions of humans had the features of a game, with winners, losers, and strategy, rewards and penalties, and cost and profits. This could be observed among couples who spend lavishly on each other to get a reward which was to have a good time.

Interactionism

Through my observation, it was clear that people living in a social setting are based on two entities which are our body and mind and mainly usually have an effect on the other. It showed that there are different processes that people must engage to have meaningful human interaction. The concept determines how they avoid conflicts, the actions they decide to take to live in cooperation and also have an identity formation. The people in the shopping mall believed and showed some meaning which they implemented through having interactions with each other, and this was evident from the customers who came to the mall for different activities and the security guards who were at the gate and the various subsections of the mall.

Postmodernism

The theory states on how we work towards improving and making the society a better place to live in. Through my observation of the people in the mall, everybody seemed to be so much focused on modernity which is to build the economy. Also, through my observation what came to my conclusion was that people in the mall which is a public location are based on postmodernism which seemed to favor the social characteristics of industrialism, urban expansionism, and principles of earlier eras. This means that people around were showing some personal responsibility to a postmodern society creating a state of being associated with a postmodern society.

Feminism

Feminist sociology involves a theoretic perception which ensures that gender is well related with power especially at the interaction level of face-to-face and at the social structure. Through my observation, Feminist was well observed in the mall as it was clear that some most of the businesses within the premises were being run and owned by women. Unlike the traditional era and setting where there has been the historical belief that men should dominate mostly in the society, a difference in mindset was different in how people approached the issue of Feminist sociology.

Marxism

Marxism was a theory that was developed by Marx's regarding the society that helped form the discipline of sociology and other different perspectives within sociology (Barbalet, 2015). In the mall, I observed that most people around behaved to be concerned with how they related to society and the economy. It is was clear that most workers around the mall and the various business operations were being controlled by various business/organizations demands from their employers and that is to mean that capital was a factor contributing to the control of workers.

Functionalism

This is a major theory in sociology that tells us about how our society remains into existence due to various aspects such as poverty or social status that distinguish us from each other and keeping our society stable. Within the mall, I observed that different people from different backgrounds visited the mall. There were those who came driving their cars, others came by foot, and others used public means to get to the mall. Despite that fact, all came together building a framework of society that was seen to promote solidarity and stability. There was a formation of social functions and structure.

Structural-Functional

The approach is a concept that enables see society as a system that is so much complicated with parts that come together in promoting stability and solidarity. Within the shopping mall, I realized that there was some social structure that had some social functions. The structure showed that every action that anyone was involved in had some consequences to the individual or some impact on the society as a whole (Durkheim, 2014). For example, people who came in and out of the mall were obliged to observe and follow all the set rules from the security around the mall. Business individuals involved in an operation and functions that were to benefit them individually and also benefit the society at large.

Social Conflict

Social conflict is when people fight for power in society which may occur when different parties face each other in social interaction. It involves using social power with the aim of attaining scarce goals that prevent other competitors from getting them. In the shopping mall, most business would be considered to be under some organizational conflict where most businesses clashed in competition for customers and achieving the highest sales. Through my observations and based on the theory of conflict, it was clear that the society around the shopping mall was in a state of continuous conflict as most businesses competed for the limited resources.

Culture

This is one of the major sociological concepts/ideas which describes the shared norms of a specific group of people. Most of the activities that were being conducted in the mall were based on a mutual force that binds people together uniting them to create an environment that different people from different social races can come together under shared values and beliefs to build a culture.

Social Action

Every individual within the mall was involved in an interaction with other individuals and groups. All the activities that were being conducted around the shopping mall aimed at social reform.

Social Construction Reality

The theory focuses on how people present themselves to each other. For example, around the shopping mall, I realized that how people presented themselves to others was shaped by interactions between them, and also by the life experiences.

References

Barbalet, J. M. (2015). Marx's Construction of Social Theory (RLE Marxism). Routledge.

Durkheim, E. (2014). The division of labor in society. In Inequality (pp. 55-64). Routledge.

Stryker, S. (2002). Symbolic interactionism: A social structural version. Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Company.