Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay

Cultural Norms Determine Emotions Sociology Essay Culture has been recognized by sociologists and anthropologists to carry a particular display roles or norms. These affect the supervision of emotions and establish commonality and predictable behaviour among individuals and their social environment in response to various emotional stimulations. Therefore, it is of primary importance to address the issue how and why cultural norms can determine the emotional status of people. Levy (1984) defines culture as an internalized system of controlling people in order to construct adaptive, integrated and sane attitude. Culture influences individuals in a multi-level perspective and shapes human beliefs, emotions and behaviour through various traditions, ethnic belonging and national identification. In this paper I will attempt to illustrate how cultural norms have a profound effect on peoples emotions and demonstrate a clear understanding of the interaction between emotional state of mind and the culture and where they are positioned in soci ety. We witness culture since we were born. We are learning about culture mainly through socialization. Caruso and Salovey (2004) examine culture on a macro lever, meaning how culture influence emotional expressions in different nations and ethnic groups. They conclude that cultural beliefs, symbols and emotional patters are shared by a complex system of processes called socialization. These are the key points and issues to be discussed in this essay which aims to illustrate the dramaturgical and structural perspectives on the sociology of emotions by contrasting them. On another level culture also provides shared symbols such as norms, language, traditions, customs and frame in this way the value, feelings and behaviour of its members. On a group level culture influences emotional process through the performance roles individuals have in society (Levy, 1984). In order for sociologists and anthropologists to comprehend and explain the emotional processes they have to study cultures from t he point of view of cognitive social psychology (Druskat and Wolff, 1999). Lazarus (1991) proposes that there are two phases of the emotional process. The first one involved awareness of the events and the second one represents the behavioural response to the emotions stimulated. Culture and social structure are interrelated. Both reproduce order and alter emotions during the course of interacting with other individuals. Lewis (2000) claims that there are at least five theoretical research traditions in the sociology of emotions which are related to the significant aspects of sociological analysis. Lewis (2000) enumerates the models as dramaturgical (Culture), structural (social structure), symbolic-interactionist (cognitive appraisal) and ritual and exchange (interaction) perspectives on emotions. I will concentrate on dramaturgical and structural ones. Dramaturgical approaches to the sociology of emotions focus on the importance of culture in supplying ideologies for emotions, feeling rules, knowledge and vocabularies. This structure is provided by Gordon (1981). According to him the elements of culture act as cognitive guidelines to what emotions might be experienced and conveyed in situations. An example of dramaturgical perspective on emotional sociology is made by Schmitt and Clark (2006). Their studies conclude how emotions are culturally decoded so as to when to feel and how to give raise to feelings. During the process of socialization individuals learn how to associate certain emotion vocabularies with particular situations and internal sensations. What makes the approach dramaturgical is that individuals are screened as performing on a stage, constructed by social structure (audience). Each person employs different cultural scripts in order to perform his role. In this sense people are dramatic actors, because they utilize their emotions to manipulate others through expressive control of their behaviour on the stage. People take advantage of the knowledge they store for the appropriate feelings and their displays and follow strategies to reach their goal. Through various manipulations of postures, language, role play, or talk individuals consciously apply dramatic emotional displays to gain recognition, favour, control or social status (Schmitt and Clark, 2006). Recent research in dramaturgy reveals that there are cases when social structure demands from individuals to express emotions that they do not feel. Hochsehilds (1983) research on flight attendants and bill controllers is an example and clear illustration how dramaturg y can be inseparable from emotions in a cultural and social context. The emphasis on culture in dramaturgical perspective aids us in understanding how emotional responses are learned and applied in situations. Another example of cultural displays and emotional management is given by Pierce (1995). Her research highlights that emotions can be gendered and this is so, because of the different social positions men and women occupy and the social roles they are expected to perform. She gives an example of male and female lawyers. Lawyers who are male are supposed to be aggressive, whereas, women are generally considered paralegals and are expected to be more nurturing. Dramaturgical perspectives of sociology of emotions involve emotions associated with already rehearsed social roles and conscious emotional manipulation. All sociological perspectives studying emotions involve social structure as part of the analyses. However, it is not only an analysis of the social structure, but also how relevant is the relationship between emotions and social structures. Theories and researches in the sociology of emotions often emphasize on a relatively small specter of social-structural properties. According to Lewis (2000) the most prominent theories in this direction, investigate micro-level power (authority) and status or prestige dissimilarities among individuals and emotions during the course of interaction, including stratifications, institutional spheres and macro-level processes. Berger and Webster (2006) create set of approaches that follow the micro-level order in interactions. They reveal that there are differences in relative power and in status among individuals. Berger and Webster conclude that the dissimilarities are forced by the existing social structures. In other cases they emerge in the cours e of the very interaction. Furthermore, the differences can be encoded in cultural beliefs for the people that stay high or low in the social ladder. Here too, like in the dramaturgical perspective, emotions generate expectations. Therefore, there is a similar characteristic in the two approaches. In dramaturgical as well as in the structural the differences in emotional stimulations are likely to occur in ethnicity, age, social class, or gender. Berger and Webster (2006) state that when individuals react in accordance with the expectations what depicts them as belonging to a certain hierarchy, they display and experience positive emotions such as pride, happiness. In contrast, those who were in low-ranking status, are predisposed to experience negative emotions, for example anger or fear. Individuals perceive that their low rank in their own fault and blame themselves, and that is the reason why they are affected by negative emotions and dissatisfaction. All these are consequences of structural arrangements which work quite unfairly. Social structure, therefore determines to a large degree the level of emotions and their polarity. Kemper (1978) comments that when individuals gain power their positive attitude and self-presentation grows accordingly. For Barbalet (1998) emotions are distributes unevenly and differently across segments of society, usually corresponding to each of the socio-economic status segments. People react emotionally in regards to their social standing and what advantages this brings them particular shares of money, power, or prestige something what they can not obtain in a lower social belonging. Fear is one of the emotions that Barbalet (1998) theorizes to differentiate between social ranking. Fear is generated from the lack of power. Usually individuals attribute this to their shortcomings. In his analysis Barbalet (1998) preliminary speculates that emotions are like most resources and consequently are distr ibutes unequally. Particular kinds of emotions emerge among some subpopulations and have rather predictable conditions. However, sociological theory will have to elaborate on the conditions determining those emotions and define the potential effects that they have on collective actions in society (Lewis, 2002). Lewis (2000) says that most of the structural theories on emotions are oriented to the micro-level, meaning that they examine situations and processes and face to face and daily interactions such are power or social status. But, micro-level course of actions happen within the context of macrostructural operations. In the structural theory of emotions in order for them to emerge, there needs to be interconnections between the micro and macro level of the structure. These differentiations were no present in the dramaturgical perspective. For the structural theory of emotions a whole category of individuals regardless of their gender, class belonging, race or cultural values, can experience very similar emotions, because they are placed in the same stratification system (Lewis, 2000). They are structurally identical, thereby, they are likely to have the same experiences, which creates similar emotional reactions. Cultural concepts determine in greater degree the emotional quality and the versatile emotions that people experience. While discussing various approaches, special attention was paid to dramaturgical and structural perspectives of the sociology of emotions. Examples were given illustrating the two methods and seeing that even though they differ they are similarities namely that emotions are the result of culturally translated elements. Integrated into the cognition processes, emotions are cultural just like traditions and values. We need to posses some cultural knowledge in order to recognize certain emotions. Evaluating emotions requires a comprehensive framework about different concepts of culture and cultural norms. Emotions are socially constructed just like cultural norms and we can say that emotional are also collectively directed because they transfer the inward relation of the individual with the surrounding social structures. Both approaches, the dramaturgical and the structural are based on the social organization of human behaviour and how it is controlled through the means of psychology. Cultural norms determine emotions, because they are socially organized activities, they are psychological phenomena and they involve human behaviour.

Importance of Ignatius of Loyola Essay

In the year 1491, the future founder of the Jesuits was born in northern Spain. He would soon be known as Saint Ignatius of Loyola. By the time that he was fifteen he was already interested in to religion. When he got older he became a soldier. He would end up crushing his leg in battle by a cannon ball in the battle of Pamplona. Ignatius would soon go to college to be a teacher. And he achieved that goal. He would soon invent the Jesuits who were priests that would teach and go on missionaries. Ignatius’s goals were to become a strong church and to bring people back to Catholicism. He would soon accomplish it. Ignatius in order to become a strong again, you must have education to do that. That is when his spiritual exercises came into affect. He would teach the priests and the priests would teach the students. He would also create a constitution, so that everyone would stay good. And in 1556 he would be laid to rest. Ignatius of Loyola was important because, he founded the Jesuits, that would soon put their focus on education and missionary work. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus in 1540; these members would soon be known as the Jesuits. The Jesuits were a group of priests that believed education was key to being successful. Ignatius was so high on education that every Jesuit had to be trained to be a scholar and clerics in case someday they would take over the Catholic Church (Simon 105). Ignatius wanted the Jesuits so well educated that he started his own school for the Seminarians since there were no Universities with high enough academic standards (Simon 105). Seminarians are professors that teach students. Ignatius of Loyola taught the Seminarians through his spiritual writings. So Ignatius decided that he would build a college that would meet his standards in grammar and human relations that is when he founded the Roman College in February 1551. He also had as many as 300 students sign up for the college the following year, and in 1552 Loyola also established the German College (Dalmases 355). Loyola does this so that he can show that the Jesuits are a good order of monks. He is trying to get more people to come and join the Jesuits. Ignatius made the Jesuits go to school for ten years before they could go and teach. They also had to go to mass once a day and were required to listen to seminars that were spoken in Latin. Loyola did this so that when they went out to be professors they were equipped with the right knowledge and they would know what they were doing. Ignatius did such a good job of teaching his students that people heard about them around the world. The Jesuits were so well known, that universities and schools recruited them. They ended up taking over the teaching in many universities teaching (Simon 105). The Jesuits liked to teach so much that by the 1600’s they had over eighty percent of the Jesuits being teachers. Therefore, Ignatius is an important man because of his works in education and his beliefs that knowledge is an important aspect in the Catholic Church. Another reason that Ignatius of Loyola is important is through his missionaries. Missionaries are people who are sent out to preach about what they believe in and try to get people to switch to their religion. In order to become a Jesuit you had to be willing to do what you told by your superiors. All the missionaries had to go to class to learn about what they  are to preach about (Broderick 904). â€Å"Part of Ignatius’ inspiration was his vision of the Society as carrying out the mission of Christ to defend and extend his kingdom throughout the world† (Meissner 211). Loyola had the missionaries go to many foreign areas such as Africa, Asia, India and many other countries. On of the best-known missionaries was Francis Xavier who traveled all around the East. Loyola knew so well what he was doing that by 1749 he had 3,276 people out being missionaries teaching about the Jesuits. That is one-seventh of the Jesuits. The Jesuits had such good missionary work that that they spread throughout five continents (Broderick 904). Ignatius and the Jesuits had one of the best orders, he not only sent missionaries around the world but he started orders that stayed in the countries and preached about the Jesuits and converted them over to the Catholic Church. Thus Ignatius of Loyola wanted to create a dominant order that would bring Catholicism back to order. The second point that makes Ignatius of Loyola important are his Spiritual writings, he did this by writing the Spiritual Exercises and Constitution. Loyola started writing the Spiritual Exercises after the battle of Pamplona. He started writing the book in 1521 and ended the book twenty-seven years later in 1548 (Lewis 578). Once the book was finished was printed out and used by all the Jesuits. â€Å"The first week in concentrated on with the sinful condition of man and the three other are taken up with the consideration of the life of Christ: His hidden life and public life, His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension† (Lewis580). They would be told how to use the Spiritual Exercises. The way that they taught the Exercises were that they needed to give the students a summary explanation on what they were learning about. This would help the students to remember the material easier. Therefore, Ignatius made the Spiritual Exercises so that the Jesuits could learn and improve the knowledge of the Christ. The last reason that makes Ignatius of Loyola important was the Constitution. Ignatius created the Constitution after he founded the Jesuits in 1540. The Constitution is made up of a series of laws that consist of obedience, loyalty and respecting the Pope. When Ignatius set up the Constitution he knew that there would be changes in society and that the laws couldn’t stay  the same. So in 1558 the General Constitution made the law that you can adjust or modify the law, as long as there is no disagreement with Papal law (Ignatius 276). The Constitution ended up traveling allover the world with the missionaries and would set the standard for the Catholic Church. Consequently, Loyola wrote the Constitution so that if you became part of the Catholic Church that you would have to the follow the rules that were set. He also wrote them because if you wanted to be a Jesuit you needed to act in an orderly fashion. Ignatius founded the Jesuits and they would soon put their focus on the education and missionaries. Ignatius also was important through his spiritual writings; he did this by writing the Spiritual Exercises and Constitution. This is why Ignatius of Loyola was important because, he not only founded the Jesuits in 1540 but he emphasized on education. He was so interested in education that he started universities. The Jesuits were a major contribution in education around the world. Ignatius of Loyola thought that they needed to spread Catholicism, which is when he sent Jesuits on Missionaries. He would finally get job done by creating orders of monks around the world. He also has contributed the writings of the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitution. The Jesuits for knowledge and discipline look upon these two books. Works Cited Lewis, J. â€Å"Spiritual Exercises.† New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. De Dalmases, C â€Å"Saint Ignatius of Loyola.† New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. Meissner, W.W. Ignatius of Loyola. New Haven: Yale University Press 1992. Simon, Edith. The Reformation. New York: Time-Life Books, 1996 Ignatius. Ignatius of Loyola. Trans. George E. Ganass. New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

Geologic Time Scale A List of Eons, Eras, and Periods

Providing a Positive Environment for Nursery Children

This document is designed for a Childcare and Education Student to explain how Oak Tree Nursery Class provides a positive environment for its children. Here at Oak tree Nursery Class we strive to make sure the children are cared for within a positive environment. A positive environment means that as well as ensuring the physical environment is a safe and pleasant one, we also need to make sure the children and their families feel welcome and wanted when they enter Oak Tree Nursery class. We aim to do this by; Treating each child as an individual and meeting their individual needs by acknowledging parents wishes and beliefs. Ensuring all routines and activities are†¦show more content†¦Children, unlike adults are willing to try anything if given the chance and so allowing a child to taste test food is an ideal way to introduce new and healthy foods. Food and meal times can provide children with many learning opportunities, particularly by allowing a child to participate at meal times. 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