Category: Social Psychology

Unwritten Rules: What to Say (and What Not to Say) to Someone Dealing with Loss

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology, Theory1 Comment

By Karen Sternheimer

Many of our social interactions are guided by unwritten rules. But sometimes we don’t know what to say when someone experiences a profound loss, or the words others use in attempt to provide comfort can miss the mark.

Writing in the nineteenth century, sociologist Émile Durkheim described anomie as a breakdown of social rules during times of rapid change. While he was focused on macro-level changes, and how we communicate about loss is more micro-level, we can borrow his insights. After all, in the U.S. we tend to avoid talking about death and thus might not know how to do so even if we want to.

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Humans, Dogs, and Social Interaction

On By econnellIn Cities and Urbanization, Lisa Smith, Social Psychology1 Comment

By Lisa Smith

When I hear someone refer to their dog as a “fur baby” I cringe. Apparently, I’m not alone. I recently came across a reddit thread titled r/Dog-free, where someone posted, “There is no such thing as a dog ‘parent.’” Another user said, “Anyone who thinks owning a chihuahua is the equivalent of being a father or mother is mentally ill and should be shunned by polite society.”

As a parent of two human children and an owner of one dog, I can attest that parenting and dog owning are not the same thing. I don’t know if the extreme social sanctions proposed by this disgruntled poster are quite in line with the offense. That said, it got me thinking about the ways we work out what human and dog relations mean through social interaction—online and off.

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Do Freebies Build Communities?

On By econnellIn Cities and Urbanization, Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology2 Comments

By Karen Sternheimer

The community where I live now is littered with Little Free Libraries, small boxes containing books for passers-by to take, and presumably also leave used books in as well. While taking walks in my new neighborhood, I started noticing that these little boxes are everywhere. I’ve also spotted a Free Blockbuster box in former newspaper boxes painted with the now defunct Blockbuster Video colors and logo. These boxes apparently contain DVDs and VHS tapes that are free for the taking.

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We Need More Empathy for the Emotions of Animals

On By econnellIn Social Problems, Politics, and Social Change, Social Psychology3 Comments

By Amanda Gernentz, Sociology Graduate Student, Texas Woman’s University

There is an episode of the kid’s show Rugrats that is burned into my brain. It’s called “A Dog’s Life,” and features scenes from the Pickles family dog’s point of view.

Spike (the dog) continually tries to protect baby Dil from a contraption that his father, Stu, built for him to play in, despite being repeatedly scolded. When the audience hears things from Spike’s point of view, the words the humans speak are gibberish (other than his name), but the tone is clear. You can feel Spike’s emotions, how he hates getting in trouble, but he is so loyal to his small companion that he continually risks the scolding. It really shaped my childhood understanding of the life of a pet and showed me what love and loyalty were from a companion animal.

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Becoming a Group Member

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology7 Comments

By Karen Sternheimer

I have recently become a member of a group, joining my local trail running community. The process of joining a new group got me thinking about the sociological processes involved in becoming a member of a group, a long tradition in sociology. Understanding that we are more than just individuals navigating the world around us is a core component of the sociological imagination.

Sociologists spend a lot of time thinking about social groups; it is the foundation of the discipline, and some of the most seminal work in sociology is all about the significance of the groups to which we belong. Emile Durkheim was interested in social cohesion and how connected we are to the society around us, as well as how we divide up tasks among social groups—his focus in The Division of Labor in Society. Most introduction to sociology books will have a chapter on groups, sometimes small or large if the book focuses on organizations. Max Weber’s focus on bureaucracy highlights the way that power and authority is transmitted through large-scale organizations.

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Racing to Win: Running and the Looking Glass Self

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology2 Comments

By Karen Sternheimer

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently ran my first  trail race. I entered a local 22k race, also called a “heavy half;” at 14.5 miles and more than 2,300 feet of elevation gain, the race is longer than a half marathon (13.1 miles), and the elevation puts the “climb factor” at 19 percent. This means the course requires the same amount of energy as a flat run of about 17 miles.

I felt physically prepared to run this race; I had a plan, and it was a course that I am very familiar with, so I had a good idea of what to expect. The biggest unknown for me was the impact of the other participants, reminding me of Charles Horton Cooley’s concept of the “looking glass self.”

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Trying New Things, Part II: Solo Running as a Social Act

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology2 Comments

By Karen Sternheimer

During the stay-at-home days of the pandemic, like many others, I got into running. I had run decades in the past but had mostly set it aside when my knees always seemed to be sore. But in 2020, when COVID closed my local gym and pool, a nearby hill served as my primary cardio workout. I’d run up and down this hill for an hour or more at a time, and I had built a surprising amount of endurance, much more than I ever had when I was younger. And my knees didn’t hurt.

I love this hill: it is challenging, scenic, and quiet. While harder on the body than the cardio machines in the gym, there is no waiting for a machine to free up, and no pressure to finish a workout because someone else is waiting. No social comparison when someone next to you goes much faster and harder.

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The Case for Heartbreak Workplace Support

On By econnellIn Behind the Headlines, Relationships, Marriage and Family, Social Institutions: Work, Education, and Medicine, Social Psychology, Stacy Torres4 Comments

Stacy Torres author photoBy Stacy Torres

Recovering from my own recent romantic breakups, I drew comfort from seeing one of the hardest working women in Hollywood take a break.

This spring as I walked to my office across the street from San Francisco’s Chase Center, Jennifer Lopez’s sparkling visage peered confidently from a giant advertisement for an upcoming show. Hours later, she canceled her summer tour amid poor ticket sales and rumors of marital problems with husband Ben Affleck, "taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends," according to Live Nation’s announcement. By summer’s end, J.Lo had filed for divorce on their two-year anniversary.

Most of us nurse our mangled hearts in private—for me, preferably while swaddled in a warm blanket—not under a celebrity microscope. But we should also have access to leave and other workplace support during relationship crisis or dissolution.

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Trying New Things:  Sociology and Social Challenges

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Psychology3 Comments

Karen sternheimer 72523By Karen Sternheimer

I have been encouraging a family member who recently experienced the death of a partner to try some new social activities—not necessarily to “meet someone,” but to find new interests and stay busy in the face of grief. This of course, isn’t easy to do, and a somewhat mundane experience—swimming in a different pool than I am accustomed to swimming at—highlighted how sociology can help us understand why trying new things can be so difficult.

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Role Conflict: Social Contact with your Doctor

On By econnellIn Karen Sternheimer, Social Institutions: Work, Education, and Medicine, Social Psychology3 Comments

Karen sternheimer 72523By Karen Sternheimer

Sociologists are very interested in the social roles that we take on as part of our daily lives. Our roles provide us with social scripts—ways of behaving in particular situations that are consistent with these roles.

Take going to the doctor’s office. As a patient, you will likely be asked to wait when you arrive, provide personal information about your bodily functions and your insurance. When you are called into an examination room, you might be asked to remove parts of your clothing, answer more personal questions, and undergo medical measurements.

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