In todays lecture, we discusessed the links and relationship between society, culture and youth. I found out that culture is he values, norms habits, and ways of life characteristics of a coherent social group. Furthermore, I found that the meaning of a society is made up of people, groups, networks, institutions, organisations and systems. These may include local, national and international patterns of relationships. We then discussed how they interact on a micro, meso and macro level. We then discussed how youth is different to adults and mentioned a few characteristics that they both have. For example, youth tend to be ignorant, rebellious and dependant whereas adults tend to be more independent and strong. Youth is the stage between being a child and an adult and within this there is subcultures. For example, goths. punks and hippies.
We then went onto studying some social theorists such as Piaget, Kohlberg, and Maslow and Eric Erikson. Piaget believes that we go through stages in our life in relation to what age we are and this impacts our mental development. We then had a look at Erikson who doesn’t believe in stages but believes in stages but believes that youth climb steps in order to become an adult.
During the day I struggled to understand Maslow as much as the other theorists. I feel that I understood the main idea of the triangle but do not feel confident enough to write about him and his beliefs in more detail. In preparation for the exam I will research him further.
From todays lecture I feel confident that I could attempt a question about youth, society and culture however I feel that to have a greater understanding I need to have a look at some case studies and further research theorists.
Monthly Archives: March 2017
Ideology and Prejudice
Todays lecture for me was the most insightful and educational input that we’ve had. We were taught what ideology and prejudice are and examples of these. I thought that the lecture was very relevant to todays society and is a topic that is prevalent in every day life – especially as a teacher. Before this lecture I think that I had a relatively good grasp of what the term prejudice meant and knew some examples of where I might see these. However, when the term ‘ideology’ was on the board, I was faced with a completely unfamiliar and new word. I learned that the correct meaning of prejudice is an unjustified or incorrect attitude towards an individual based solely on the individuals membership of a social group. I also learned that the correct and real meaning of ideology is an organised collection or body of ideas that reflects the beliefs, values and interests of a group, system, institution or nation. In general use, the term refers to the body of doctrine, myth and symbols held by the group that guides individual and group actions. I also learned that there was a link between prejudice and discrimination – someone can be prejudice towards a certain group but not discriminate against them – discrimination is acting about their thoughts whereas prejudice can be kept to oneself.
After the tutorial I feel that I can confidently speak about the 5 agents of socialisation – media, family, peers, education and technology. These 5 agents all contribute positively and negatively to society and on yourself. Our task was to discuss how each of these things impact us. We discussed how media often project false allegations and false information which can be interpreted by a naive mind to form an wrong interpretation of information which in turn, creates fallacious arguments and beliefs. Another agent that we discussed was famous and Mannheim – Sociology of knowledge. ‘The theory of generations’ – you ideology and belief systems are from the generations – whatever you have been taught from your parent, where they got theirs from etc and so views on race, sexuality and religion are often passed down the family – when in fact these views are now seen as very outdated as society has changed so much.
One concept that I did not understand fully in the tutorial or lecture was secularisation. I asked Laura for help and she gave me the example of catholics. I understood it to mean religion being adapted or used for non religious purposes for example, marriage in a church when the couple aren’t religious. I know that with this knowledge I could not confidently write and essay response on this topic and that I will need to explore it further in the library and online.
After todays lecture, I feel that I will be able to identify prejudice in a classroom and as a teacher I feel that this is essential to ensure equality.
Stress Hardiness
After our lecture on stress and the effects of stress, we were asked to read the Pengilly & Dowd (2000) article on Stress Hardiness. This article explained such a thing called the hardiness scale of commitment, challenge, and control on the relationship between stress and depression which allows us to research reasons into combatting this. The article discusses 4 main factors which can negatively impact your health;
– Normative life transitions.
– Non-normative life transitions.
– Lack of human contact or touch.
– Loneliness
– Lack of social support.
The first factor which can negatively impact your health is normative life transitions. Normative life transitions are life events that can be predicted or that you have planned – an example of this could be moving house or changing job. These type of events can cause a great deal of stress because they are life changing events however they are predicted and do not cause as much long term damage as non normative life transitions.
Another factor which can negatively impact your health are non normative life transitions. These life events are more damaging and have a more serious effect on someones life. These events are unpredictable and could be being fired from a job or a break up. Because of these life events, illnesses can become more occurrent – for example coronary heart disease and cancer.
Another factor that could negatively impact your health is loneliness. In our lecture, we learned the difference between loneliness and being alone. Being alone is literally being yourself in a room whereas feeling lonely means you could be in a room full of people and still feel yourself – this means you feel you cant talk to anyone. Lonely individuals are 4 times more likely to become sick and deal badly with stress. This can lead to unhealthy behaviours such as drinking and could also greatly contribute to illnesses such as depression.
One more factor that can impact your health is a lack of social support. Social support is the advice of your family, friends or colleagues about your life and them being there for you. If you feel you have nobody to talk to, then you will add more pressure onto yourself because you cant share it with someone else or get advice. This can be detrimental to ones health and can cause negative feelings about themselves which will effect their confidence, increase their stress levels, decrease their life expectancy, increase need for medical attention.
The last factor that can negatively impact your health is human contact or touch. Human contact is a necessity to a humans wellbeing and greatly contributes to ones mental health. From just giving your friend a high 5 or a hug, they are exposed to human emotion and get a sense of someone caring for them. This can help reduce stress levels and contribute to a healthier, happier life.
However, in todays lecture, we learned about ways to combat stress and avoid all of these problems which I am going to start implementing. One being exercising. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which give you energy and make you happier. I’ve noticed this and will often go to the gym before I start studying. But now, I need to start going a run or to the gym when i feel stressed and often do not want to see or do anything. Another stress buffer is talking to people. This helps release stress and makes you feel safe which in turn, releases your stress levels. Ive found that this has helped me the most and not bottling all of my stress up means that I can in fact be more productive. Another stress buffer is religion. Religion gives individuals a sense of inclusion and can make individuals stop participating in at risk behaviours which contribute to stress.
I am going to start implementing these factors more and from the lecture and being educated more on stress, I know that I am now aware on how to cope with it.
