Psych 305 Observation Paper
PSYCH 305 observation paper
The setting that I chose to observe is a Sunday morning Methodist Church service that included a baptism. It is Sunday morning at 6am and the church is pretty crowded. The candidates that are awaiting baptism are lined up on the front pew of the church; and they are all dressed in white. The reverend is speaking at the front of the church and he is dressed in white as well. The candidates are of a mixed crowd consisting of men, woman, teens, boys and girls.
As far as behaviors I noticed that some of the younger children were chatty and oblivious as to what was going on. Based on their behaviors, it would appear that the being baptized was a choice made by their parents. The teenagers appeared to be more focused and following the reverend intensely in efforts to figure out what were going to happen to them during the baptism.
The adult candidate understood what this ritual so to speak meant and consists of so they were totally at ease. I would have to say that social beliefs and judgments play a huge role in religion and how we practice it today. Many of us were raised (at least in my community) that you had to go to church on Sunday and this was not an area to bargain in; even though many of us didn’t know why we were actually going. Many of these beliefs are passed down from generation to generation and are practiced to this day. This is where conformity comes in. I can tell by the youth that were waiting to be baptized that they really didn’t want to be here but had to because this is what their parents said. The level of anxiousness varied based on Gender; the girls looked nervous and were more fidgety than the boys. From where I was sitting, you could tell that the boys were nervous as well, but their macho bravado (even for the younger ones) wouldn’t let them exhibit it too much; I am guessing that they didn’t want to look like they were weak in the eyed of their peers. All of this is a part of Group
The setting that I chose to observe is a Sunday morning Methodist Church service that included a baptism. It is Sunday morning at 6am and the church is pretty crowded. The candidates that are awaiting baptism are lined up on the front pew of the church; and they are all dressed in white. The reverend is speaking at the front of the church and he is dressed in white as well. The candidates are of a mixed crowd consisting of men, woman, teens, boys and girls.
As far as behaviors I noticed that some of the younger children were chatty and oblivious as to what was going on. Based on their behaviors, it would appear that the being baptized was a choice made by their parents. The teenagers appeared to be more focused and following the reverend intensely in efforts to figure out what were going to happen to them during the baptism.
The adult candidate understood what this ritual so to speak meant and consists of so they were totally at ease. I would have to say that social beliefs and judgments play a huge role in religion and how we practice it today. Many of us were raised (at least in my community) that you had to go to church on Sunday and this was not an area to bargain in; even though many of us didn’t know why we were actually going. Many of these beliefs are passed down from generation to generation and are practiced to this day. This is where conformity comes in. I can tell by the youth that were waiting to be baptized that they really didn’t want to be here but had to because this is what their parents said. The level of anxiousness varied based on Gender; the girls looked nervous and were more fidgety than the boys. From where I was sitting, you could tell that the boys were nervous as well, but their macho bravado (even for the younger ones) wouldn’t let them exhibit it too much; I am guessing that they didn’t want to look like they were weak in the eyed of their peers. All of this is a part of Group