Response 2

Ralph Papillon

Chapter 3 – Response Paper 2

Visiting another country can be a very interesting experience. Something that can happen when visiting a foreign country or being surrounded around a different culture from your own is the experience of culture shock. Culture shock is the disorientation one can feel from being around an unfamiliar culture. During the summer before this semester I visited relatives in Quebec, Canada. Although a lot of aspects of culture there were similar to my life here in New Jersey, some aspects of it were confusing me and I was in culturally shocked.

One aspect of culture in Canada that was part of the culture shock for me was the attitude towards recycling. Everywhere I went in Canada, disposal containers were not limited to just garbage like you would find in most stores, restaurants and facilities in the United States, there would also be containers for plastic and aluminum products. During one trip to a grocery store I noticed a man carrying several bottles with him and putting them inside a machine. I was confused and looked closer and could see it was a machine for recycling that gave back money in return for recycling the bottles. Seeing this was such a surprise to me. Another big way I learned about Canadians recycling was milk in a bag. The plastic bag they used to contain milk uses less plastic compared to regular milk jugs, which is better for the environment. Since Canadians are “greener” than American I could say that is a folkway for them to care so much about recycling, meaning that it is a norm which is considered appropriate behavior but it can not be punished if it isn’t followed.

A formal norm in Quebec, Montreal that was part of my culture shock was a specific law. When arriving to the island of Quebec via bridge, there are signs that warn you, no turns on red lights are allowed. Fortunately I was not driving at all when I was there and would not have to worry about this law. If I was it would be very hard to adjust to this traffic law and I might of just found myself getting a ticket since I am so used to turning on red here in New Jersey, unless a sign says not to.

All over America obesity is a huge issue. Obese people can be found everywhere in America. In the province of Quebec there is no problem with being overweight, however. It was shocking to see very few people who were obese on my visit. The main reason for this is that Canadians generally have a much healthiest diet than their American counterparts.

Fortunately for me nonverbal communication was able to lessen some of the culture shock on my trip. One of my cousins only knows how to speak French and I only know how to speak English. Even though I could barely grasp the meaning of most of the words he would be saying to me, a lot of times gestures and emotional expressions on his face could help me understand him despite the language barrier between us.

Personally for me ethnocentrism did not play a big role in my culture shock experience in Canada. I do not consider myself to be a very ethnocentric person, with regard to the life I have lived in the United States. Although I did find some aspects of Canadian culture strange, some parts of it I actually found better. The mindset that I had when observing these new aspects of society was the exact opposite of using sociological imagination. Instead of viewing the society as an outsider (American), which would cause me to have a personal bias (ethnocentrism), I tried my best to simply understand the new aspects of society.

Intro to Sociology response paper 1

Ralph Papillon

Response Paper 1 – Chapter 1 and 2

Sociology is a social science just like my choice of major, Psychology. Although they may be two different social sciences, I think what I will learn from sociology will keep me more open minded on society as a whole. It will also give me more practice with collecting and analyzing information. Sociology is defined as the study of behavior and human groups. During the course this year I expect for our Professor to have us view specific groups/societies and look at them in depth, regarding relationships and influences within them.

Sociology can be observed in just about any situation. This means that situations I go through from day to day can be viewed in different sense from what I learn in this course. Sociological imagination will probably be a very important concept to keep in mind throughout the course. Looking at a situation through one perspective can often lead to bias because of personal experience. In my major, psychology I know that being open minded and being able to view something from a different perspective would be important. I expect that we will look at the sociologist perspective in more depth throughout the course, such as

Just like most other sciences, sociology uses the scientific method approach to gather information and analyze it. Some examples would be learning how to conduct surveys that would be both reliable and valid. Another important way would be conducting experiments to gather information and analyze it. The same approach is also used in my major psychology. Hopefully this course will give me more practice for future psychology and other science classes. It would help not only for the future of my education but possibly for my career in psychology where I would most likely need to know how to competently collect and interpret data.

Another important way I see this course helping me for the future of my education the disregard of common sense. Sociologists do not accept that “everyone knows it” when it comes to specific ideas. The method of sociologists is to rely on gathering scientific data to study environments and communities’ societies. This way of thinking is how a successful scholar should have their mindset. Ideas and information cannot always be simply assumed. In many assignments for classes you have to elaborate on why you are taking a side on something. Learning about the mindset needed for sociology, can make the approach to writing a paper much easier. Backing up a proposed idea through gathering information the proper way is a skill any college student would need.

I think sociology is a very important course to take personally as a freshman starting college. At the moment I am approaching the “real world” and will that the relationships I have with people are becoming very important and that they all relate to one another. If sociologists are able to guide the government through natural disasters, I bet learning some sociology myself would be very beneficial to my life. The relationships that I find myself in at this time of life will likely have a big impact on my future. The skills I learn from this sociology class can be an aid on deciding the path that I want to be on for my future. Being more aware of who I am, who I am with, and what I do. Without learning sociology I probably would not be able to go in life more open minded in the way that situations in my life are more than just personal. Learning sociology will also help me understand the people linked to me much better. (friends, family, classmates, etc)