MCAT Behavioral Sciences Chapter 11: Social Structure ane Demographics

functioinalism

focuses on the function of each component of society and how those ocmponents fit together

• manifest functions

• latent functions

manifest functions

are deliberate actions that serve to help a given system

latent functions

are unexpected, unintended, or unrecognized positive consequences of manifest functions

• the consequences of social instituitons that weren’t intended

conflict theory

focuses on how power differentials are created and how these differentials contribute to the maintenance of social order

symbolic interactionism

is the study of the ways individuals interact through a shared understanding of words, gestures, and other symbols

social constructionism

explores the ways in which individuals and groups make decisions to agree upon a given social reality

• It emphasizes that knowledge and meaning are created through social processes and interactions

• things we perceive as “objective fact” or “inherent truth” actually arise from social interaction

rational choice theory

states that individuals will make decisions that maximize potential benefit and minimize potential harm

• applied in exchange theory

exchange theory

applies rational choice theory within social groups

feminist theory

explores the ways in which one gender can be subordinated, minimized, or devalued compared to the other

• involves discussion of gender inequality

gender roles

refer to the behaviors expeced of a given gender

objectification

being viewed as a sexual object rather than a person

glass ceiling

a phenomenon that demonstrates a limited upward mobility for women and minorities in the workplace, often preventing them from reaching top leadership positions

Four Key Ethical Tenets of American Medicine

• beneficence

• nonmaleficence

• respect for autonomy

• justice

social institutions

well established social structures that dictate certain patterns of behavior or relationships and are accepted as a fundamental part of culture

• common…… include

  • family

  • education

  • religion

  • government and the economy

  • health and medicine

family

influenced by a number of different factors including culture, value, systems, beliefs, practices, gender, age, race, ethnicity, and others

• may reflect different patterns of kinship

• may be source of abuse

  • domestic abuse

  • elder abuse

  • child abuse

mandated reporter

someone who is legally required to report suspected cases of abuse or neglect, particularly involving children or vulnerable adults

education

systems that aim to arm the poulation with information

• may be in the form of facts, figures, and mental processes

• includes hidden currilculum of social norms, attitudes, and beliefs

religion

consideren to be a pattern of social activities organized around a set of beliefs and practices that seek to address the meaning of existence

• persists over time and has a structure into which members are resocialized

secularizstion

movement away from religious influence and institutions towards one pervaded by rationality and science

religous fundamentalism

strict adherence to religious code

church

large, universal religious group that can be dividied into multiple coexisting denominations

• cult: extreme or deviant religious philosophies

Government and Ecnomy

systematic arrangements of political and capital relationships, activities, and social structure that affect rule making, representation of the individual in society, rights, and privileges etc

• impact all other institutions to some extent

Capitalism

an economy focuses on free market trade and laissez-faire policies, where success or failure in business is primarily driven by consumerism with as little intervention from central governing bodies as possible

division of labor

where speicifc components of larger task are seperated and assigned to skilled and trained individuals

• promotes specialization and efficiency

Socialism

an economy that treats large industries as collective, shared businesses , and compensation is provided based on the work contribution of each individual into the system

• profit is then distributed equally to the workforce

healthcare and medicine

aimed at maintaining or improving the health status of the individual, family, community, and society as a whole

• have some key goals

  • increased acces to care

  • decreased costs

  • prevention of disease

  • decreased paternalism

  • etc, etc,

teacher expectancy

the idea that teachers tend to get what they expect from students

• example of self fulfilling prophecy

social structure

that is, a system of people within a society organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships

function

the beneficial consequences of people’s actions

Beneficence

refers to acting in the patient’s best interest

nonmaleficence

refers to avoiding treatments for which risk is larger

respect for autonomy

refers to respecting patients’ rights to make decisions about their own healthcare

justice

refers to treating differnt patients similarly and distributing healthcare resources fairly

Material Culture

includes the physical items one associates with a given group, such as artwork, emblems, clothing, jewelry, foods, buildings, and tools

symbolic culture

includes the ideas assoicated with a cultural gorup

cultural lag

refers to the idea that material culture changes more quickly than symbolic culture

cultural barrier

a social difference that impedes interaction

language

consists of spoken or written symbols combined with a system and governed by rules

value

what a person deems important in life

belief

something a person considers to be true

ritual

a formalized ceremonial behavior in which members of a group or community regularly engage

• governed by specific rules, including appropriate behavior and a predetermined order of events

norms

societal rules that define the boundaries of acceptable behavior

Demographics

refer to the statistics of populatoins and are the mathematical applications of sociology

• age

• gender

• race and ethnicity

ageism

prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a person’s age

gender

the set of behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with a biological sex

gender inequality

the intentional or unintentional empowerment of one gender to the detriment of the other

race

a social construct based on phenotypic differences between groups of people

• these may be either real or perceived differences

ethnicity

a scoial construct that sorts people by cultural factors, including language, nationality, religion, and other factors

symbolic ethnicity

recognition of an ethnic identity that is only relevant on special occasions or in specific circumstances and does not specifically impact everyday life

sexual orientation

can be defined by one’s sexual interest towrad members of the same, opposite, or both sexes

demographic shifts

changes in the makeup of a population over time

push vs. pull factors

pull: positive attributes of the new location that attract immigrants

push: negative attributes of the old location that envourage emmigrants to leave

Immigration

the movement into a new ggeographic area

Emigration

movement away from a geographic area

fertility rate

the averae number of children born to a woman during her lifetime in a population

birth rate

relative to population size over time,

• usually measured as the number of births per 1000 people per year

mortality rate

the average number of deaths per population size over time

• usually measured as the numebr of deaths per 1000 people per year

migration

refers to the movement of people fron one geographic location to another

demographic transition

a model used to represent drops in birth and death rates as a result of industrialization

Demographic transistion model

Stage 1: Preindustrial society

• birth and death rates are both high

Stage 2: improvement in healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and wages

• cause death rates to drop

Stage 3: Improvements in contraception, women’s rights, and as shift from an agricultrual to an industrial economy cause birth rates to drop

• children go to school longer and be supported by parents longer

• results in lowered fertility rates

Stage 4: an industrialized sociery

• birth and death rates are both low

social movements

are organized to either promote or resist social change

• proactive: promote social change

• reactive: prevent social change

relative deperivation

a decrease in resources, representation, or agency relative to the past or to the whole of society

globalization

the process of integrating a global economy with free trade and tapping of foreing labor markets

urbanization

refers to the process of dense areas of populaiton creating a pull for migraiton or, in other words, creating cities

ghettos

defined as areas where specific racial, ethnic, or religious minorities are concentrated, usually due to social or economoic inequities

slums

an extremely densely populated area of a city with low-quality, often infomral housing and poor sanitation

cultural sensitivity

the recogntion and respect of differences between cultures, and research ethics

• part of the biopsychosocial model of medicine