1. Instructer's Influence
Entering into the school system is a very exciting time for young children and their teachers alike. Classroom settings are vital to the growth and maturity of students as they are within the setting throughout the developmental stages of life. Teachers are quite impressionable towards their students, but exactly how impressionable are they? In Karen Martin's piece titled "Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools", she is in pursuit to discover how much a school's curriculum influences little boys and girls into a gendered being. It is fascinating to break down when one is first heavily introduced and treated according to one's gender, which in turn affects how one acts and the decision-making process. Martin furthers her research according to different qualitative points within the classroom including the teacher's acceptance of different children's behaviors, voice levels, play time, commands towards children and their bodies as well as relations between the children. Martin's findings are not shocking nonetheless interesting to see how children are treated differently according to their gender in certain sitatuations. Teachers are definitely role models and social forces that influence the decision one makes, I believe, as ideas and norms are distilled to the students between the rough ages of three until eighteen.
Martin, Karen. "Becoming a Gendered Body: Practices of Preschools." American
Sociological Review: n. pag. American Sociological Association. Web. 3 Aug.
2014.
2. Media, Your Opinionated Friend
We are in a world surrounded by media; its very existence is always in the background. Whether it is music, television, advertisements or one of the various other platforms media comes in affects our decisions on how to act or look, perceive others, and what to purchase among many other factors. In an article by Johanna Blakely titled "Media In Our Image", Blakely challenges current social media standards. Blakely discusses the transformation of traditional media into the social media frenzy while begging the question will social media platforms redefine the skewed nature of advertising from a model demographic to a more realist representation of the public. This is significant because media impacts the way make your purchasing decisions are made. In this funny, yet impressionable commercial interest is sparked to both men and women via the brand Old Spice. In a not-so-subtle manner, the commercial depicts how a man and a woman's man should smell, specifically using the Old Spice deodorant, and if he does, little joys of life will pursue. Media has me left questioning are you in control of making your own purchasing decisions, or are they silently predetermined for you?
Blakely, Johanna. "Media in Our Image." Women's Studies Quarterly 40.1 & 2
(2012): n. pag. Project MUSE. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
3. Culture Rules Everything Around Me
You already know culture as your set of beliefs, customs and attitudes, but how much control does culture have over your decisions? I believe more than you would think. Amy Schalet, author of the acclaimed article "Sex, love, autonomy and the teenage sleepover" compares the cultural differences, norms and rules between an American and Netherlands household, specifically in relation to teenagers. It is clear, in Schalet's findings, that culture impacts the treatment and upbringing of teenagers. In brief, Schalet uncovers that while teenagers in the United States are reprimanded for having (sexual) relationships, teens in the Netherlands are encouraged as it is normalized and seen as beneficial. These two cultural differences offer one example about how you will go about making decisions and whether you will be open or have more discretion about decisions as culture will always be in the background. In addition, this YouTube video proposes culture as not something that can be turned on or off, but rather a force that dictates your thought process and decision-making.
Schalet, Amy. "Sex, Love, and Autonomy of the Teenage Sleepover." California
Teen Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Aug. 2014.
4. A Questioning To Religion
For some, dedication to religion is a very important aspect of life. Therefore religion, I believe, is a vital social force that dictates decision-making. Author Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip describes in his article titled "Sexuality and Religion/Spiritualty" the adversities between religion and sexuality. Religion has, according to Kam-Tuck Yip, commutated sexuality and sexual behavior as negative. Sex is a significant part of life and relationships among people. Being sexual is an important decision that your will come to face throughout your life and if religion is also a part of your life, your decision-making may be dictated by said religion. Sexual behavior is just one example among many that religion has an effect on since being devoted to religion is not usually a phase, but a lifelong commitment. Religion can even affect a small decision like the types of food you eat! Stephen Colbert is one of the most idolized people in our pop cultural world; in this video he gives his opinion on religion, basing religion as a foundation of law. It makes me wonder if agency is implented on your own or if religion plays an important role in the decisions you make.
Kam-Tuck Yip, Andrew. "Sexuality and Religion/Spirituality." Sexualities 13.6:
n. pag. SAGE Journals Online. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. .
5. Parental Persuasion
For most of us, parents are with you from the time you are born until or past maturity. Parents are instructors who mold our behavior accordingly to fit into standards of society, so of course they are a powerful social force that will affect your decision making. In an article written by William McBroom titled "Parental Relationships, Socioeconomic Status, and Sex-Role Expectations", McBroom details a varying position on parental guidance. McBroom focuses his study on parental influence on the development of the child based on the sex of the parent and child, being raised by a mother versus father, child being a girl or boy. It is a significant topic as women and men tend to raise their children differently, however, not one way being better than the other. You are most like going to act the way that your parents do, as they raised you to do so. This leads to myconclusion that your parents affect the types of decisions you make, either consciously or subconsciously. Modern Family, a quirky sitcom, revolves around three families that discuss many issues. The core of the show, however, is parenting and family. This clip shows that parenting is not always about telling your children what to do, but showing them, which in turn allows the child to make decisions of him or herself.
McBroom, William H. "Parental Relationships, Socioeconomic Status, and Sex-role
Expectations." Sex Roles 7.10 (1981): n. pag. University of Florida
Libraries. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
6. Peers Appear to Have More Influence
Next to your Parents, your peers and friends have a large impact on decision-making. Derek Kreager and Jeremy Staff wrote an excellent article titled "The Sexual Double Standard and Peer Acceptance" which discusses the acceptance of male promiscuity and shaming of female promiscuity. The article details accounts of popularity based upon sexual encounters among other factors such as economic status, gender as well as race. To many, peer acceptance is important in maintaining a good social image or standing. Many would not like to go outside of the "norm", so that they are accepted by their peers, which influences the type of decisions that you make to fit in, act, wear, etc. Further, in this clip from the praised show Friends, the character Joey is teased by his friends and other characters on the show about him carrying around a "woman's" bag. Despite what his friends say, he enjoys carrying the purse. He finally succumbs to what his peers see as a social faux pas and rids himself of the bag, even though he enjoys carrying it around. One must question, do friends and peers have major influence over your agency?
Kreager, Derek A., and Jeremy Staff. "The Sexual Double Standard and Adolescent
Peer Acceptance." Social Psychology Quarterly, 72.2: n. pag. American
Sociological Association. Web. 3 Aug. 2014. .
7. Social Class Sass
Socioeconomic status or social class certainly has an influence over decisions you make. Economic standing can influence your financial or purchasing decisions and social class can impact your decisions on behavior, dress and attitude. Hui-Hsien Hsieh and Jie-Tsuen Huang wrote an excellent research article titled "The Effects of Socioeconomic Status and Proactive Personality on Career Decision Self-Efficacy". Within the article, it is discovered that there is a positive correlation between having a high socioeconomic status and the development and success of a person. This is significant, I believe, because it shows how family support, finances as well as the ability to obtain higher education are important factors in becoming an accomplished citizen. In this pop culture example, the aunt pretends to be in a higher social status than she is to impress her nephew's wealthy girlfriend. The girlfriend, Gloria Upson, criticizes about what other people do that are social don't's and brags about what she has to place herself on the upper hand. Having a higher socioeconomic status, I can conclude, has many benefits and underlies the option and ability to make more frivolous decisions.
Hsien, Hui-Hsien, and Jie-Tsuen Huang. "The Effects of Socioeconomic Status and
Proactive Personality on Career Decision Self-Efficacy." Career Development
Quarterly 62.1 (2014): n. pag. Wiley Online Library. Web. 3 Aug. 2014.
.
8. Abortion Rights In Your Hands Or Others
A hotly debated issue is abortion. A woman's right to an abortion should be, I believe, the woman's choice and right. Abortion and anti-abortion groups definitely have influence and control one's agency, especially when abortion is prohibited in your area. In the article titled "Structure, Empowerment and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights" written by authors Victor Asal, Mitchell Brown and Renee Gibson Figueroa, they explore what factors are associated with abortion laws. The three authors researched their thesis based on data involving factors that constrain abortion rights such as economics, culture along with politics. It is fascinating that decisions for the carriers of children are made and affected by law, society and the opinions of others. If a woman has no choice in the matter, I would say agency is definitely affected, or has a choice but is persuaded by other points of matter in the decision-making process. In this clip from the show Seinfeld, Elaine is infatuated by her new romance. Despite being head over heels over the guy, his view on abortion sways her decision to end her new love affair.
Asal, Victor, Mitchell Brown, and Renee Gibson Figueroa. "Structure, Empowerment
and the Liberalization of Cross-National Abortion Rights." Politics and
Gender: n. pag. Proquest. Web. 4 Aug. 2014.
.
9. Gender Grabs Agency's Attention
10. "American Values" Long Live The White Picket Fence
The ideals of "American Values" have been engrained into our brains since we were little. To grow up, get married, have 2.5 children and a two car garage all sounds nice, but in reality it is not the "norm" and are we still basing our decisions along the criterion of our ancestors. In Sandra Anglund's piece titled "How American Core Values Influence Public Policy: Lessons From Federal Aid to Small Business" she studies the impact that American values have on our economic world. Within her article it is interesting how she discovers how much influence American values such as economic freedom and free competition truly participate in the foundation of small business and influence funding. American values, I believe, sit as a background when we are making decisions about our futures and the paths we would like to choose. On a satirical view, the intro to the show Weeds pokes at American Values at its core. I would like to think I am making decisions about my life and future, but are we or merely deciding how we think life ought to be.
Anglund, Sandra M. "How American Core Values Influence Public Policy: Lessons
From Federal Aid to Small Business." Governance: n. pag. Wiley Online
Library. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.
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