General Sociological Orientation

Development of a General Sociological Orientation (GSO)

1. The sociological phenomenon that interests me the most is that of black people, or African Americans, and the stereotypes that are assigned to them. A stereotype is a simplified image of a group, object or an individual. The basic assumptions that

I made about this particular social phenomenon are that the stereotypes that are assigned to black people have some truth to them, but are mostly based upon ignorance. I also believe that the stereotypes are in place to keep society's mind frame conditioned to place and keep certain races in superior and inferior positions. If children of each culture can categorize strangers to their "normal" groupings by the age of three, and can consistently match each racial category by the age of five, then what do adults believe, or have come to know as true in their minds, after a lifetime? Even though people's beliefs are set on what that they have been taught or what they have grown to believe, I feel that it is important to study this phenomenon scientifically because people still are ignorant to the truth of the truths.

2. The elements of my General Sociological Orientation:

 Unit of Study - the unit of study is society in general. Moreover, specifically American society.

 Focal Unit - The focal unit is people who are considered "black" or African American.

 Units of Analysis - The unit of analysis is African American people and their actions related to what people believe. This will allow an in depth look at how African Americans are characterized and stereotyped.

 Units of Observation - The group of people in America who are and are considered African American.

 Relevance of Time - Time is relevant in apprehending the maturation of social attitudes and stereotypes associated with having darker skin. My interest exists in African American's initial arrival in the United States and how they have been labeled from then up to present day.

3. The theoretical perspective that I would employ to study this social phenomenon would be structural functionalism. The mere idea of structural functionalism is parallel to how stereotypes play a huge role in society; since everyone has a particular role in society, it would be easier to assign roles by race itself.

4. The theory that I would use to study this social phenomenon would be the conflict theory. The conflict theory states that the organization or social units of society compete for resources, which creates conflict. This theory explains the conflict between social classes. Even though the conflict theory is the exact opposite of structural functionalism, I still feel that one (implementation of structural functionalism) can intrinsically, or naturally, cause the other (conflict). Starting at the beginning of the timeline, deep rooted issues began at the time of slavery. From slavery, people (specifically white people) developed a hatred for black people that sparked dominance issues and oppression. Throughout time black people have been competing for acceptance as human beings, only to encounter more and more obstacles. The stereotypes are put in place to keep black people in an inferior place, economically and socially. This creates conflict on all sorts of levels. Therefore I state:

- hypothesis one: If stereotypes about African Americans are exposed for the truth, the struggle for social acceptance will be lessened to a smaller degree.

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