Hailey Thomas Ladeau MWF 1 P.M. - 2:50 P.M.

Social Impact Paper #1 Culture: The language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that are passed from one generation to the next. (Henslin, 2013) Ethnocentrism: a tendency to use our own groups way of doing things as a yardstick for judging others. (Henslin, 2013) Symbols: Something to which people attach meanings to and then use to communicate with others, such as language, shapes, letters etc. (Henslin, 2013) Norms: What is expected of people; the expectations intended to guide peoples behavior. (Henslin, 2013) Values: The standards by which people define what is desirable or undesirable, good or bad, beautiful or ugly. (Henslin, 2013) Groups: People who have something in common and who believe that hat they have in common is significant; also called a social group. (Henslin, 2013) Hierarchy: a system in which people or things are placed in a series of levels with different importance or status ( 2013 Merriam-Webster) Main goal: What you and/or the group want to achieve. Division of labor: The splitting of a groups or a societys tasks into specialties. (Henslin, 2013) Controls: Positive / Negative reinforcement.

Hailey Thomas Ladeau MWF 1 P.M. - 2:50 P.M.

Internal Controls: Internalized morality conscience, religious principles, ideas of right and wrong. (Henslin, 2013) External Controls (outer): People such as family, friends and the police who influence us not to deviate. (Henslin, 2013) Deviance: The violation of norms (or rules or expectations). (Henslin, 2013)

I have lived in Utah most of my life and not being LDS or a Mormon has created a very large impact on my own views of how to treat people. Growing up I moved around a lot so keeping friends for long periods of time was difficult. When I was 11 my mom got engaged to a man, with children of his own. I thought I would finally be able to stay in one place be able to have long lasting friendships and a big family. Only one of these would be true. We moved to Syracuse and I began to make friends. As my friends parents started to get to know me and my family they no longer wanted their kids to hang out with me. This was because my family wasnt Mormon and my mom was a cocktail waitress at a Nightclub on the weekends. I did not understand why this was a problem for them. I later found out that their parents said women who wore short skirts and have their bellybuttons showing out in public are easy, slutty, immature, and a negative person for young impressionable girls to be around, especially when that woman is also not teaching her children about their god (Mormon), organized religion or taking them to their church, but letting them make their own decisions and have their own thoughts and opinions about god and spirituality. They were afraid that this would show their children that they could feel differently than they had been raised and could cause them to leave the church. When people feel that their way of life is being threatened they

Hailey Thomas Ladeau MWF 1 P.M. - 2:50 P.M.

fight back at any cost. Even if it was making an impressionable child feel isolated and alone at a very difficult age and letting them judge a hard working mom by making her look and sound like an unworthy person because she wasnt living the life they thought was right. After my mom got married we became a bit more accepted in society because we now had a mom and dad and were seen as a proper family. She was no longer a single mom who had two children out of wedlock. She didnt have to work at the Nightclub anymore to make sure my little brother and I had food to eat, clothes on our backs, toys to play with and she was putting herself through school. She chose to sacrifice and go against the norm to always be there when we would need her. She worked at the Nightclub so she would be home to put us to bed and there when we woke up. We were only without her when we were at school and when we were sleeping and she always had someone we were comfortable with to watch us when she was gone and make sure everything was ok throughout the night. We went from it just being the three of us to being seven of us. This change was very hard for me, I was twelve when my mom got married and I had very strong opinions and wasnt afraid to express them to my stepdad. This caused many problems in our home because I didnt want to share my mom with three new kids or with a man that at the time thought children shouldnt share their opinion if it disagreed with the opinion of a parent. What he hadnt realized was that I was taught from a very young age to never let anyone make you feel like your opinion doesnt matter. If you question something its okay to express your thoughts and to be independent even if its an adult you are questioning. This was a problem for him for many years, and the cause of many fights between him and my mom. As I got older it became more acceptable to him for me to have an opinion because I was becoming an adult and seen as a credible opinion.

Hailey Thomas Ladeau MWF 1 P.M. - 2:50 P.M.

I moved out on my own after graduating High School and I have noticed more and more the way parents treat their children like they have no mind of their own. I have worked in the restaurant industry and doing security for my parents business, and have seen many parents either not notice their children at all or make all the decisions for them even for something as simple as picking their food. I now work full time and go to school, at first I started going into a business degree because that was what my counselor said would be a good idea. After only 2 semesters I realized I was not following my dream of being a fashion designer and I had let someone else make a decision for me because it was the norm thing to do. I am now listening to my instincts and acting the way I was taught, to have an opinion and express it. I am glad that my mom gave me options in my life and taught me to be expressive and to go for what I want in life. I have seen many of the girls that were my friends for a short time when I first moved to Syracuse not know what to do now that they are adults because they never had choices growing up. The norm for them would be to get married, have a family and start the cycle all over again even if that is not what you want. I look back on being the new girl in town and how they treated me and I am actually glad that things happened the way they did. I am a stronger person for it and I have been able to see two sides of how to raise children. Now when I decide to have kids on my own timeline, I have lots of views to pull from. Not being Mormon, in a very strong Mormon religious State has shaped my views on life and how to treat people because even though I am more spiritual than religious I plan to teach my kids the only rule that should matter in lifeThe Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have done to you, so basically if you dont want it done to you dont do it to someone else. If this was a norm more people taught their children maybe we would have less pain in our world.

Hailey Thomas Ladeau MWF 1 P.M. - 2:50 P.M.