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Final Essay - Mohammad Razi
Final Essay - Mohammad Razi
Final Essay - Mohammad Razi
Professor Stern
Sociology 1301-1W1
July 7th, 2015
understand the actual and oftentimes hidden reasons why individuals behave in certain social
interactions.
After studying this sociological perspective I began to notice that it truly altered my
perception of certain social environments. Instead of viewing situations from my own personal
standpoint, I now find that I am able to fully comprehend the motives behind the actions of those
that I interact with, and am therefore much more easily capable of resolving issues. I find that I
am now familiar with the fact that oftentimes, people tend to be for themselves rather than
against others. This enlightened perspective grants me a far more holistic understanding of social
interactions, which as a result make me a more sociable and content individual. To be more
specific, some insights I have gathered after applying this perspective in my life is that at work a
lot of the patients I see tend to be irate and impatient. Instead of assuming their mannerisms to be
indicative of their disposition towards me, I have begun to gain insight as to why they actually
behave that way. I find myself much calmer now as I am able to observe their mannerisms to
demonstrate their level of concern as well as their immediate need of medical attention. Instead
of becoming frustrated, this insight allows me to more effectively understand the justifiable
excuse for their behavior is their need of attention and pressing concern for their health. Outside
of work I find that I am now able to more effectively communicate with my parents and friends,
as well as understand why they have certain expectations of me. The symbolism behind their
interactions has become apparent, and I have fully incorporated the symbolic interactionist
perspective into my daily life.
them. Coming from a middle-eastern background I began to understand that perhaps I too am
biased against cultures which I do not fully understand.
The next sociological concept which enlarged my view of the social world was cultural
relativism. This concept goes hand-in-hand with multiculturalism, because it illustrates how all
individuals cannot be judged with the same standards for normality. Living in an American
society, it is very easy to dismiss ethnic minorities to be uncultured or weird. But with
cultural relativism, I understand that people should only be judged based on the culture and
environment that have formed their character. Spending the most formative years of ones life in
a society where norms and traditions differ greatly from those of the American society can be
challenging, because adapting to new cultures often involves reprogramming. After studying
cultural relativism, I began to accept the fact that individuals of other cultures do not necessarily
need to deprogram in order to reprogram into American society. The blend of various cultures is
what grants diversity, and so the differences among various cultures should be cherished rather
than shunned.
Last but not least, the sociological concept which I consider to be significantly impactful
to my viewpoint of the social world is impression management. This is one viewpoint that I feel
every individual is consciously or subconsciously aware of, despite their understanding of
sociology. I consider every social interaction to include some degree of impression management.
Granted, not all impressions are managed to be positive, as oftentimes individuals intend to
appear apathetic or even intimidating. Regardless of the motives behind impression management,
its pertinence to the social world is undeniable. After reading into the social psychology behind
impression management, I began to more closely observe the impressions I felt that individuals I
interacted with were intending to impart. Becoming aware of the impressions others were
attempting to exude as well as the symbolic interactionist perspective makes me much more
aware of the minute details of social interactions.
In conclusion, each of the three sociological concepts has had a profound impact on my
view of the social world. These concepts have helped me broaden my understanding of social
interactions which I am a part of, as well as comprehend larger social issues which I can now
properly observe.