1)A behavior or event is “patterned” when it is recurrent. Find patterns in your everyday life for example, in mass media use, dietary choices, musical preferences, and clothing styles.
2)Connect your particular, or personal, pattern to a more general pattern for a “group” or “category” of people who occupy a place in the social structure: (e.g., the core audience for heavy metal music is young white males). Is this a named pattern (e.g., Metalheads, Vegans)?
3)What are the rules or “norms” that govern a general pattern like social media use, musical taste, or dietary choice? For example, dietary choices or media usage may be governed by religious beliefs.
4)Use the literature to interpret this general pattern as a social “institution” (e.g., “marriage”, “youth culture”, “Hip Hop”). In particular, what can explain these patterns sociologically (e.g., heavy metal reflects and channels the symbolic rebellion of certain young males against adult authority)?
5)To what extent do you derive an individual identity from this pattern? How does this connect you to others and a group or collective identity (e.g., as a New York Yankees fan)?