Henslins Formal Definitions of Concepts in Sociology

Society: The social relations and groups that are formed by a specific population that is occupying a particular territory

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Institutions: Social arrangements that control conduct in prearranged ways in relevant areas of life.

Social institutions can also be defined as relatively stable and comparatively unchallenged practices and social arrangement and practices that offer frameworks for social action.

It is worth mentioning that Helsin defined society as a usual, organized, or fundamental ways through which the community met its primary needs

Reflection

Ever since my childhood, all the way to my adulthood, I have seen how human societies are pegged and very much attached to normative social constructs. Normative social constructs refer to an ideal model or standard or being founded upon what is deemed to be the normal or correct way of doing something (Lindsey and Beach). Human beings emulate what their friends and families do. We go to school because we find it conventional and because we know everyone ought to go to school. More specifically, we do what we do because we were born and found people are doing it; not because we deem what we do as the correct and deserving course in life.

On innovation and famous people like Thomas Edison, I have always thought that they enjoyed more freedom regarding school curricula than we do today. Perhaps innovations would be tenfold in comparison with what we have today if at an early age, right after middle school, we would be allowed to pursue career interests through apprenticeship offered by a professional from the field.

Values

Values refer to the principles or standards of behavior that revolve around judgment of what is important in life. Examples of values that my parents and my teachers have ingrained in me ever since I was of school-going age include honesty, kindness, loyalty, respect for others, responsibility for personal actions, and generosity among other things. In essence, values can also be defined as the principles or ideals that give people guidance on how to act.

The above-mentioned values shaped my behavior as a person; being respectable, they have helped me to be well versed with people skills and how to interact with people. I got to learn that when an individual is kind and respectful, people are drawn to him or her. In a similar way, when a person is inconsiderate and rude, he or she is bound to draw people away from them. With time I understood that values resonate with the etiquette that an individual exudes to the rest of the world. Normally, it is very much important for a person to be able to say words such as sorry and thank you; these necessary words apply to everyone despite social status.

Gender Roles

Growing up as a girl, I got to learn that my society and every other society is defined by gender roles. Gender roles refer to myriad sets of societal norms that dictate the types of behaviors that are deemed acceptable, desirable, or appropriate for individuals of their real or apparent sexuality or sex. As a girl, I got to learn that I was supposed to lend my mom a hand with household chores, e.g., the washing of dishes, cleaning the house, hanging the curtains, and all manner of basic interior design that is needed within the home.

On the other hand, my brother was always helping my father with chores perceived as manly chores. Manly chores include fixing lamps when they malfunctioned, lawn mowing, giving food and drink to all our farm animals whenever we went up-country, and fixing furniture among other things. All the same, my mother and my father made it clear to me that I should pursue any career that I would desire.

Norms

A norm refers to something that is typical, usual, or standard. Within societies norms include things like having a family, going to school, and getting married among other things. For some time in America, people developed stereotypes about single parents, that is, single families but with the passage of time such stereotypes have faded. Conventionally, the society is wired in a way such that people will perceive anything different as unusual.

Languages

For the most part, language is passed down from one generation to another through oral tradition. I can remember that before I went to school, my parents, more so my mother, made sure that I had a good command of all the keywords in English. Some of the words revolved around things used within a household setting such as cup; bat, mom, dad, plate, food, and water among others. What's more, my parents ensured that I learned how to write down and pronounce my name before I went to school (Lindsey and Beach).

English happens to be my mother tongue in as much as it is the official language in America and I must say this was very much advantageous for me because what my parents taught me at home concerning language resonated with what I learned in school. The result is that by the time I was in middle school, my English was very fluent (both written and spoken).

Society

Society refers to the aggregate of individuals that live together in a community that is more or less ordered. To me, the concept of culture has always been in resonance to our neighbors within the court, the people I meet at school, and those in the church. Besides that, the members of my extended family also stand to be of my society. Within many social constructs, we influence each other to do various things. For instance, I noticed that households within my neighborhood changed each other to purchase slim LED televisions with the dawn of such technologies. In essence, everyone within my neighborhood looks to be identified as rich and with such notions; they are bound to attempt to keep up with the Joneses.

Social Interactions

Social interactions for me have always revolved around people I am the same age with. I have always preferred to hang out people that are about the same age as mine because this way we can get to discover and pursue common interests. For instance, when I was a child, I was an ardent eater of candy and cake, and it is only natural that I would associate with other kids like myself who would like to eat candy and cake. Apart from relations of my dad and my mom, the only other adults I interacted with were my teachers. As time passed, I got to develop relationships with friends of my mom and my dad; more so because I was friends with their children within the family friendship circles.

Social Control

Social control, within the confines of sociology, refers to the myriad ways within which the behavior of individual, appearance, and thoughts are influenced a great deal by the rules, norms, social structures and laws within societies. Social control is very relevant when it comes to social order components; this is because the society cannot exist without it.

As a girl, I must say that social control influenced me a great deal when it came to things like manner of dress and the way I apply my makeup. In America and many other societies in the world, the television has proven to be a great instrument of influencing and powering social control (Jamrozik 152-152). Personally, my peers and I, during our younger years, were very much dependent on the television to find out what is hype and on fashion. Often after that, we would purchase clothing and shoes of a similar fashion as those worn by movie stars and other famous people.

Class Systems

I am American by design, and I must say the class systems I have witnessed with the people around me all through my life have never been about where I hail from or societal values but primarily money. As a white American, history dictates that we came from the Mayflower and the other migrant ships that succeeded it. Class systems in America are defined by money and influential positions of leadership. On money, there exist, three categories, that is, the filthy rich, the middle class, and the have-nots. In the same way, church elders and leaders in the government, that is, public leaders are respected.

With a society that is dispositioned to value money and positions of leadership, many people are bound to seek relevance and recognition from their peers. This they will do by striving to achieve the above-mentioned leadership positions just to feel important. In addition to that, the above-mentioned peers will work very hard to own whatever Veblen goods (luxuries) that are possessed by their friends.

Groups

Groups can also be equated to peers and within many societal settings; people like to associate themselves with groups. For instance, my mother has been a member of the Catholic Women Association's guild for the longest time possible. What's more, my father is also a member of the Catholic Men Association. Being a banker, father is also affiliated with the American Bankers Association. On a personal level, I have been a member of various clubs and groups in school. Clubs that I have been part of in school include debate club and the Red Cross. I have also been a member of the hockey team for the longest time possible, that is, throughout my years in high school. In campus, there are various sorority groups that are usually characteristic of girls.

Summary

As above mentioned, it is very much reasonable for human beings to want to emulate what their fellow people are doing or to align to normative social constructs. There are advantages and disadvantages of aligning to everything the society commends as the right way of doing things. For instance, there are some native tribes in New Zealand that are aboriginal in nature; these believe that deviating from the ways of the tribe would lead to a curse. In a nutshell, the society helps define our actions in a great deal.

Work Cited

Jamrozik, A. "Book Reviews : Sociology And Social Work: Perspectives And Problems, B. J. Heraud, Oxford, Pergamon Press. 1970, Pp. 306, $A6.75 (Cloth)". Journal of Sociology 10.2 (1974): 152-152. Web.

Lindsey, Linda L and Stephen Beach. Sociology. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print.