Intro to Sociology Scavenger Hunt by Aarti Sharma

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 07:57:08 UTC

Symbols are things that represent specific meanings that are shaped by social norms and culture. People are taught from a young age in society what specific symbols mean and how to use them. The image above is the American flag. I chose this image because children in America are taught from a young age that the American flag is a symbol of national pride and of patriotism.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 08:08:07 UTC

When a smaller group exists within a larger culture and has its own unique values, norms, and behaviors, the smaller group is often referred to as a subculture. The image above showcases a group of children on the right side of the photograph all wearing white shirts, while the girl on the left side of the photograph is depicted wearing a pink shirt. The children on the right represent students at a private school, where they are mandated to wear their uniform, the white shirts, while the girl on the left represents a student at a public school. Within the broader culture of students, students from private schools and students from public schools both belong to separate subcultures, although many may not identify strongly with their subcultures. A unique quality, behavior, and norm of the private school students is that they choose to wear white shirts - the same shirts as their classmates - every weekday to school to follow their school's rules. A unique quality, behavior and norm of the public school student is that she, like her classmates, likely chooses to wear different outfits to school and different color combinations each weekday.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 08:18:04 UTC

Minimum wage is the minimum amount of money employers must pay their employees per hour in accordance with the law. As per the reasoning behind the concept's establishment, minimum wage is supposed to ensure all workers earn wages high enough for them to afford a basic standard of living. However, since minimum wage tends not to rise with the rising cost of living and inflation, it tends not to be high enough for workers to feasibly afford their needs and provide for their families. This leads to employees earning minimum wage often suffering from financial strain and the economic inequality that results from being unable to afford basic needs. The image above depicts workers from various professions verbally encouraging individuals to vote yes, likely on a piece of legislation, to raise the wage floor, which is another term used to reference minimum wage. I chose this image because it powerfully underscores how the minimum wage is too low to keep pace with inflation or the rising cost of living, leading to workers from a wide variety of fields taking time out of their busy lives to fight for better recognition of their labor's value via fair compensation that truly ensures an adequate basic standard of living.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 09:20:51 UTC

Conformity is the behavior of aligning one’s attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to match the expectations of a group or society. In the image above, all of the depicted individuals, with the exception of the individual drawn in red, are all drawn the exact same way with the same color and conform with one another. For instance, all of the depicted individuals stand the exact same way. I chose this image to clearly portray conformity, and, how starkly an individual that does not conform with the majority sticks out - as is the case for the individual in the image in red as opposed to the majority.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 09:26:57 UTC

Groupthink occurs when the desire for consonance and conformity by the individuals in a group leads to irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. In the image above, one individual asks a group of individuals whether they all agree with something. Out loud, all of the individuals in the group agree. However, in their minds, they are either wary or disagree with the proposed thing. This image thereby illustrates groupthink because the individuals in the image seem to be agreeing with each other without voicing their concerns and disagreement, likely due to the pressure they each feel internally to conform with what other members of the group are saying.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 10:05:35 UTC

Material culture refers to tangible spaces and possessions that people use to express their culture. The image above showcases various pieces of pottery with beautiful designs embedded into them. I chose this image because such pieces, alongside other physical objects, resources, and spaces can be used to express one's culture.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 10:12:37 UTC

Women trying to break into male-dominated levels of success in their fields of work are often considered to be "breaking the glass ceiling". Doing so requires copious amounts of skill and hard work, amounts of work that a man trying to reach the same levels of success would not have to endure, with no guarantee of success. As a result, "breaking the glass ceiling" is a deep struggle in which, despite a woman's hard work and potential, she may feel held back from her goals by an unseen constraint that makes it harder to break through. The image above depicts a woman breaking through a glass ceiling that was designed to keep women from climbing through the hole in the ceiling and reaching new heights. I chose this image because I felt as though it was a tangible reminder of the difficult obstacles women face in their careers, given how difficult and painful it is to break through glass.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 10:17:53 UTC

A reference group is a group of people you look to when evaluating your own behavior, goals, or success. They don't always have to be perfect or ideal; they are, to put it simply, the people you compare yourself to in different aspects of life. In the image above, a group of children are at school. One girl is sitting at her desk, donning a facial expression akin to stress, while the other children crowd around her and point their fingers at her. I chose this image because it reflects how someone might feel judged or compared to others in a group, which is what a reference group can sometimes create. I interpreted the children in the image to represent a reference group for the girl, as they might set the standard of behavior, success, or social expectations that she is trying to meet or navigate. Whether she feels accepted, pressured, or different from the group, these peers influence how she perceives herself, just as a reference group does for anyone in real life.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 10:35:19 UTC

In the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, a ruling that had safeguarded abortion rights for almost five decades. This decision removed the federal protection of abortion rights and granted states the authority to establish their own regulations surrounding abortion.

6. What does this/it mean?

This case touches on gender inequality by showing how political choices and legal systems continue to shape women’s rights over their own bodies. The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade also highlights how women’s autonomy can legally be restricted in the United States of America, which adds to the ongoing social and gender disparities existent in society.

4. Who benefits from this?

As for who benefits from the case's reversal of Roe v. Wade, people who support state-level decision-making on abortion laws and believe that states should in general have more power to shape laws based on the values of the state benefit from this ruling. Additionally, individuals and groups that oppose abortions being widely accessible to women also benefit from the 2022 case Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling.

w2129333 — 2025-04-07 10:53:18 UTC

George Floyd, a Black American man, was murdered by a police officer in May 2020 at the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis. When videos recorded by bystanders of his death were published online, Flyod's murder sparked outrage globally. Subsequently, people protested worldwide against police brutality and systemic racism.

7. How does the meaning of this change depending on who is using or observing it?

This quest is deeply connected to racism and conflict, given that George Floyd's murder highlighted the racial injustice perpetuated in society and in the law enforcement system, leading many to realize that institutional reform is extremely necessary to put an end to the persisting racial discrimination in the world. For members of the Black community, the murder of George Floyd was a very painful and heartbreaking reminder of the deep-rooted systemic racism that continues to target them in our society.

10. How do people interact with this?

At the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street in Minneapolis, a memorial dedicated to George Floyd was created at the spot where he was murdered. Various advocacy groups have led community-building events aimed at countering racism at the intersection.