Common Patterns of Social Behaviors

Common Patterns of Social Behaviors

The activity that I took part in was hanging out with friends at a coffee shop. It was on the weekend, when my friends and I opted to get some coffee and catch up on the events that took place over the holiday. We walked into the coffee joint at around 3 pm and left at 5 pm, so the whole event took two hours. I chose this event as the ideal one for my participant observation field study because it was proposed by my friend Nick, thus making it perfect for me to conduct a covert observation of my friends’ behaviors, as well as those of other customers. Also, the coffee shop was ideal as it was close to the college.

Walking into the coffee shop, we were welcomed by a great ambiance. The place was clean, with adequate lighting, and of course, the aroma was scintillating. Upon taking my cup of coffee, I went to sit with my friends on a table outside the outlet. It was time to study the behaviors of patrons and even that of my friends. My first observation was how people were immersed in their conversations. In a table adjacent to ours, there were three ladies, one was African American, and the other two were white Americans. They were all engraved on their laptop screens as they occasionally sipped their coffee. One could quickly notice that they were students doing some assignments. There was some form of familiarity and opportunity to linger exhibited by these three ladies.

Another observation that I made was that of couples that came to pick coffee and left. One same-sex couple stood out during my observation. They came with their hands clutched together as they went straight to the counter. After a short while, one could here “not-so-nice” exchange between them and the fellows at the counter. However, after a few minutes, they left the place without coffee. It seemed as if though they had disagreed with the waiters on some things. From this observation, one could tell that this couple had a sense of entitlement. Then soon afterward came a guy who was smoking, but just as he was about to get into the coffee house, he was intercepted by the security guy who pointed to some banner erected adjacent to the door. The guy nodded and smiled as he put off his cigarette before proceeding to the counter.

For some time, the place was busy people moving up and down. I was also profoundly conversing with my friends, who were narrating their holiday experiences. Unfortunately, one of my friends, Jane, had lost his grandfather over the holidays and she never had the best of holidays. Otherwise, the rest of us had a relatively nice time. As we were just about to leave the place, some guy proposed to his girlfriend. This turned all the heads around, even some of us were already heading for the exit.

Some of the behaviors that stand include the use of symbolism and language. During my observation, I saw many participants use symbols, both consciously and subconsciously (Keirns et al., 2018). By the guy going on the knee, I, like the other patrons, knew that the fellow was going to propose to the girlfriend. Also, the use of X-rated language by the gay couple indicated that there was a misunderstanding between them and the waiters at the counter. Also, by the security person pointing to the “no smoking” symbol to the guy who walked in while smoking, it was clear that symbols were an important part of interaction in the coffee shop. There was also an element of familiarity among the patrons. Many of the patrons knew the place well, looking at how they interacted with the staff and even fellow patrons. This can also be said about the three ladies that sat adjacent to us, who were quite comfortable to stay at the place for more than two hours because we found them at the coffee restaurant and left them still working on their computers.

I believe that people will continue to find ways to socialize. Technology has made it even easier because with just a click on the send button, one is able to share information and other interactive material with colleagues and strangers. People will also continue to exhibit different social behaviors in different social settings like schools, workplaces, eateries, and even in religious places. Symbolism and language are still common and most used patterns of social interaction. The way people walk, what they wear, how they communicate, among other symbols, largely dictate different social interactions. Regardless of different social dynamics and perspectives, common social patterns will always help bring people from different walks of life together.

To sum it up, my observations at the coffee place with colleagues was quite a success in unraveling the common social patterns of interaction, especially language and symbolism. This paper has, therefore, analyzed these different patterns of what I observed as a participant-observer.

References

Keirns, N. J., Strayer, E., Griffiths, H., Vyain, S., Bry, J. D., Cody-Rydzewski, S., & Sadler, T. (2018). Introduction to Sociology 2e: OpenStax.