THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES FURTHER ILLUSTRATE HOW SOCIAL FORCES AFFECT A SEEMINGLY PERSONAL MATTER: THE CHOICE OF NAMES, OF HOW WE WISH TO BE IDENTIFIED / KNOWN!

WHAT’S IN A NAME?HOW SOCIAL FORCES AFFECT PERSONAL CHOICES…

IDENTIFY THE FOLLOWING CELEBRITIES WHO CHOSE TO ADOPT / MODIFY THEIR NAME(S):

GUESS WHO?

CHERILYN SARKISIAN

CHER

GUESS WHO?

CHERYL STOPPELMOOR

CHERYL LADD

GUESS WHO?

LARRY ZEIGLER

LARRY KING

GUESS WHO?

NATHAN BIRNBAUM

GEORGE BURNS

GUESS WHO?

PAUL RUBENFELD

PEE WEE HERMAN

GUESS WHO?

GEORGE KYRIAKAO PANAYIOTOU

GEORGE MICHAEL

GUESS WHO?

ANNIE MAE BULLOCK

TINA TURNER

GUESS WHO?

JEROME SILBERMAN

GENE WILDER

GUESS WHO?

BERNADETTE LAZZARA

BERNADETTE PETERS

GUESS WHO?

RAMON ESTEVEZ

CHARLIE SHEEN

GUESS WHO?

HENRY JOHN DEUTSCHENFORF, JR.

JOHN DENVER

GUESS WHO?

ALLEN STEWART KONIGSBERG

WOODY ALLEN

GUESS WHO?

JACOB COHEN

RODNEY DANGERFIELD

GUESS WHO?

LEE YUEN KAM

BRUCE LEE

INDIVIDUALITY IN THE SOCIAL CONTEXT Sociological insights often challenge

common sense by revealing how human behavior is not as individualistic as we may think.

Perhaps the most compelling demonstration of how social forces affect human behavior is the study of suicide.

Why? Because nothing could be more personal

than taking one’s one life.

DURKHEIM

A SOCIOLOGICAL PIONEER EXAMINED THE RECORDS OF SUICIDE IN

HIS NATIVE FRANCE. THE STATISTICS CLEARLY SHOWED THAT

SOME CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WERE MORE LIKELY THAN OTHERS TO COMMIT SUICIDE. SPECIFICALLY, MORE MEN, PROTESTANTS,

WEALTHY PEOPLE, AND THE UNMARRIED EACH HAD SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHTER SUICIDE RATES THAN WOMEN, CATHOLICS & JEWS, THE POOR, AND MARRIED PEOPLE.

DURHEIM’S CONCLUSION:

REASONED THAT SUICIDE VARIED ACCORDING TO PEOPLE’S SOCIAL INTEGRATION.

LOW SUICIDE RATES, IN OTHER WORDS, CHARACTERIZED CATEGORIES OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE STRONG TIES TO OTHERS.

A CENTRY LATER, STATISTICAL EVIDENCE STILL SUPPORTS HIS ANALYSIS.