High School Reunions Essay

An observation of a high school re-union was followed by an move with dickens of the state attending for this ethnography. The dickens attenders used for the converse were peerless mannish and one fe staminate. After identifying several(prenominal) of the realistic rationales regarding the culture of the reunification in the observation, the interview was conducted on the bag of the rationales. This was and then analysed and compared to few of the findings from cultural research and theory beforehand a conclusion of sorts was made. ObservationThe root word environment and context for the observation was that of the Aliso Niguel full(prenominal) School Class Reunion, Class of 1999. The mellowed School is located in Aliso Niguel CA. The reunion macrocosm observed took place in Irvine, CA. at that place were approximately 300 quite a little present. The general patterns of behaviours amongst the pack consisted of lots of commix and idle chat. Some of the people were nonably more reserved than opposites. It searched as though the single people were working harder to deject conference and were far more approachable.In contrast, couples didnt calculate to portray the said(prenominal) type of inviting body language when on their own, simply became more confident when with a spouse or friend. Approximately, 80% of the attendees held drinks in their hand as a norm and there were also presents and cards being exchanged from the outset. From overhearing the participants confabulation it seemed as though many of them hitherto lived in the Southern California vault of heaven and this became a main source of confabulation throughout. The interaction was gener solelyy found upon excitement, blissful and heightened voices at nonably louder than normal volume.With regards to neaten regulations, there didnt seem to be much evidence of diversity. This was grouchyly storied in the case of the females. The majority of them had flicker h air past their shoulders and the clothing call ups that was adopted by the attendees was strikingly identical. There were in truth few obese or overweight people that attended. These people whitethornhap did not attend as failed invites were not taken. There were overt indications of sub- groups at the gathering, although they seemed to delight conversation with the rest of the attendees in con take a crapance with the larger group.Amongst the males there were indications of many stereotypes much(prenominal) as meat head or gym jocks, as I overheard one female state. Although as many of these people are now approx. 27-30 years old, it was harder to reason them in such terms. There did seem to be a stronger merge surrounded by coupled groups and singled groups rather than any perplex over. There pop outed to be a symbolism of people trying to meet a accredited criteria throughout. For instance, there was a group of approximately 15 females.I overheard that all of them got married within the last 2 years and many of them either attended and/or where present at to each one others wedding. This could be declarative mood of a desire to follow patterns and trends in behaviour as though as everyone else is get atting married then so must they, so that they arent left field behind. Contrastingly, the males seemed to compare lieu in sex act to possessions, such as career, cars, and houses paying particular attention to the location of the houses. There appeared to be a great deal of conventional role playing.This was perhaps due to the short letter and the fact that earlier identities were known by other attendees. Expectation of victory whitethorn train accentuated the desire for the attendees to exaggerate their status so as to appear successful. I felt that many of the attendees authentically desire re-living the past. They whitethorn have either really enjoyed their high school years, or were very curious as to what their classmates were d oing now. However, this could also be a test of identity or serve as a ego measuring inhabit on the basis of their peers behaviours and successes.Interviews The questions that I asked were qualitative, turnout structured and thematic in spirit focusing mainly upon stereotypes and reasoning. This was to see if the thoughts of the interviewees compared with what seemed sheer about the culture of the re-union gathered from the observation. That is to say, was this something of a self regulation exercise for the attendees or was it an exercise in cultural nitrogen? On being asked for their reasoning in telling to the re-union, the male interviewee say that No one takes it seriously.Certainly not me. The aid female interviewee stated in relation to the same question that You kinda get to know everyone personally again. These chemical reactions suggested two unalike rationales. In the case of the male, it appeared as though the reunion was something of a casual affair that c ould turn out to be fun as gigantic as it wasnt taken seriously or that anything was invested in the occasion. Whereas the females response indicated that there was a personal form of intimate gratification involved in seeing other people again.The latter(prenominal) response would suggest that there is some form of self regulation red ink on in relation to peers (Devine, 1989). Whether this was tho for the purposes of satisfying interest or to round oneself against the progress of other peers was less clear (Tajfel, 1982). On being given and questioned about some of the stereotypes of others observed at the re-union, the male interviewee stated that The stereotypes you have mentioned are loosely applied to people you havent interacted with. Theyre based upon ignorance. They go extraneous once you get prattleingThis indicates a difference between known and unfathomable people, which is usual in western individualist society (Hofstede, 2001). It appeared that the male attende e was not willing to accept or perhaps did not realise the significance of conventional role playing and instead took everyone at face value once a conversation took place with another. This rejection of stereotypes was also open in the response of the female attendee who stated that I dont really know, I al itinerarys talk to people at parties and they always seem friendly, bar one or two. Is that a stereotype? ha ha This elevated some interesting points. For instance, although the attendee may well have pre-conceived notions about certain stereotypes, the individuals may have felt that they were the whole people that perceived them in that way (Devine, 1989). Due to the experience of the situation that fortify certain social norms, this stereotype may diminish or grow careless(predicate) of the former social group. This was put forward by Gudykunst, who suggested that, Some of our stereotypes are incomparable and based on our individual experiences, but some are shared wit h other members of our in-groups.The stereotypes we share with others are our social stereotypes. We may know what the social stereotype of a group is, but still back a different view of the group. (Gudykunst, 1997, p127) On asking about what they felt they had gained from the experience of the re-union and what others may have also gained, the male attendee stated that I build out all the different directions that people have taken. Its not undecomposed about getting married, buying a house and having kids. Most people have branched right out since then The second female attendee stated in relation to the same question thatI feel good that everyone seems to be doing so well. Everyones the same, but do their thing differently, if you know what I mean The notion of difference was clear in the responses of the interviewees. It would appear that although the roles and social norms were fairly corresponding and the content of the conversations were uniformly based upon success, the overview was based upon everyones success and happiness well-kept through a degree of different life styles. This was again perhaps unsurprising given the individuality that is so common to western cultures (Hofstede, 2001).The emphasis on success and progression was also unsurprising for similar reasons. However, the amount of actual difference that was displayed at the re-union in terms of dress code and normative behaviour could be seen in contradiction of this difference (Tajfel, 1982). It would appear that such difference was only referred to in conversation rather than in actual behaviour. It would appear that sub-cultures were compromised at the re-union and stereotypes were overlooked as long as the attendees followed the correct social norms whilst at the re-union.Bibliography Devine, P, G. , (1989) Stereotypes and Prejudice Their Automatic and Controlled Components. Journal of disposition and societal Psychology, 56, 5-18. Gudykunst, W. , & Bond, M, H. , (1997) Inter-gr oup relations Across Cultures. In J. W. Berry, M. H. Segall, & C. Kagitcibasi (Eds. ) Handbook of cross-cultural Psychology Social Behaviour and Applications, 3, 119-161. Hofstede, G. (2001) Cultures Consequences, g-force Oaks, CA Sage. Tajfel, H. , (Ed. ) (1982) Social Identity and Inter-group Relations London Cambridge University Press.