Social Issues

When different people come in contact with other people their reactions are almost never the same from person to person. This reaction that humans have with different variables in society is what I would like to identify as my social behavior among human groups. This reaction behavior is very interesting to me because I would like to know how come humans get different reactions or feelings in certain situations. This topic leaves me with a few questions that I would like to figure out through research and study. First I would like to know what triggers human reactions to social encounters. Then I would like to find out how peoples stereotype influences these interactions to social encounters with other human beings. Finally I would like to see if there is a way to change how humans react to different social encounters.

For my research I would be more inclined to obtain qualitative information. I would lean toward this type of information because I can better understand through what I actually see take place in the field or in a naturalistic setting. This type of information gathering will help me more than using statistics, charts or data in numerical form like what would be used in a quantitative attainment of information.

Of the four types of research designs presented in Schaefer's text book of sociology, I would choose to observation. Being able to observe human interaction and reaction during different social encounters would help me the most to develop a conclusion about this specific topic. To put this design in use I would have one person perform an action towards another human being and observe how the other human beings react or interact with the action displayed toward them. With that information I would then study what caused different people to react the way they did. I would carry out my observation in a park or open area were there might be a reasonable amount of people that I could study and observe.

An interactionist views society as an active influence which affects everyday social interaction, they tend to study small things so they can better understand larger social issues. The interactionist uses symbols, nonverbal and face-to-face interactions as key concepts in their perspective. This type of perspective views an individual as people who manipulate symbols to create their own social worlds. Finally an interactionist views a social change as being reflected in people's social positions and their