What game did you play and/or observe? Briefly describe who, when and where you observed.
What is the main objective or goal of the game? In other words, how can someone “win”?
Describe the rules of the game that are important to understand. Why are they important?
Describe the strategies for playing that you recommend people use in the game. Why do you recommend them?
Describe your subjective experience of the game.
Did you have an emotional reaction (laughter, boredom, anxiety, satisfaction) to anything during the observation?
Did you enjoy it, overall? Explain what you did and did not enjoy.
Describe how you interacted with other players during the game or how you simply observed.
How did people interact in the game? What did they say to each other and how did they react to each other?
What symbols did they use to interact? Words? Facial expressions? Body language?
Were there any disagreements about the definition or meaning of a rule, a move by a player, or someone’s action? Describe at least one.
What roles did individuals have in the game? What duties did each individual perform?
How did individuals try to achieve the goal of the game – winning?
compete
negotiate/make a deal
dominate/show power
cooperate/conform/obey
follow ritual
innovate
retreat
rebel
Does the game resemble aspects of a small community of people, a city or an entire nation?
Which level is more accurately demonstrated in the game?
Where do you see evidence of it in the game?
What common belief or value in U.S. culture does the game teach players?
Examples of common beliefs or values: winning is everything, pull yourself up, anyone can make it, treat others as you would like to be treated, everyone is equal, work together for the good of all
How does the game teach players this belief? Describe the rules, interactions or goals which teach it.
Which social institutions in U.S. society have similar rules, goals and strategies to those in the game?
Examples of institutions: economy, government, education, family, healthcare, media/entertainment…
Give examples of how the institutions are similar to the game.
What macrolevel (large-scale) events or trends does the game demonstrate? (i.e. war, economic changes, changes in culture, etc.)
What did you learn about your own social interactions as you observed the game or wrote the report?
What did you learn about your own beliefs about society as you observed the game or wrote the report?
Did you find it easy to see how aspects of a game represent large-scale social institutions, trends or events? Give examples.
The ability to make deductions about social situations is an important critical thinking skill. Review the deductions you made using sociological paradigms in the previous section of this report.
Which of the arguments or concepts was the easiest for you to use? Explain.
Which of the arguments or concepts was the most difficult for you to use? Explain.
Which paradigm makes the most sense to you?
Which paradigm is most confusing to you
