Studied by 0 PeopleTags & Description
Biopsychosocial approach to health and illness
Illness is determined by a variety of influences
Biomedical approach to health and illness
Disease is studied by examining only the biological factors of illness
Models
Provide an approximation (physical/conceptual representation) of a scientific phenomenon that cannot be observed directly
Theories
Provides the conceptual framework for understanding objects of study
Social constructionism
Human actors actively construct their "reality"
Brute facts vs Institutional Facts
-Part of WEAK social constructionism -Brute facts are physical realities that exist outside of human input -Institutional facts only exist as a function of society's structures and beliefs
Symbolic interactionism
Micro social perspective. Focuses on the smaller scale interactions between individuals in small groups. Through social interactions
Symbols
Terms
Functionalism
Founder: Emile Durkheim Macrosocial perspective -Factions of society work together to maintain stability. Society is a system that consists of different components working together
Conflict Theory
Founder: Karl Marx Macrosocial perspective Views society in terms of competing groups that act according to their own self-interests
Culture
All of the beliefs
Culture shock
The discomfort and ensuring reevaluation of personal cultural assumptions when an individual experiences a culture different from her own
Material culture
Objects involved in a certain way of life
Nonmaterial culture
Encompasses the elements of cultures that are not physical. Includes shared ideas
Social norms
Expectations that govern what behavior is acceptable within a group. Social interactions help define a culture by establishing these
Social group
A subset of a population that maintains social interactions. Alternatively
Symbolic culture
Non-material culture that consists of the elements of culture that only have meaning in the mind. Based on a shared system of collective beliefs in the form of symbols. Includes the meanings ascribed to rituals
Language
The use of symbols to represent ideas
Society
Two or more individuals living together in a definable area and/or sharing elements of a culture. A society can encompass multiple cultures.
Social institutions
Stable hierarchical systems that bring order to interpersonal interactions
Government/economy as a social institution
Provides order to a society through the services it provides and the making and enforcement of law
Education as a social institution
Provides a formal structure during childhood and the transition to adulthood
Religion as a social institution
Acts as an organized structure of behaviors and social interactions that addresses the spiritual needs of society. From a functionalist standpoint
Religion
A system of beliefs that affects how people make sense of their experiences and provides a framework for questions about life
Family as a social institution
Creates a social group in which to procreate
The nuclear family
The concept of family in which one man and one woman live together with their children
most common concept of family in the US. Consists of DIRECT blood relations.
Polygamy
An individual married to more than one individual
Polyandry
More than one man married to one woman
Health/medicine as a social institution
Fulfills the need for healthcare in an organized manner
Demographics
Statistics used to examine the nature of a specific population by quantifying subsets of that population. They are a statistical snapshot in time
Quantified demographic parameters include:
Age
Demographic transition
A demographic change that takes place over time
Fertility
The production of offspring within a population
Cohort study
Following a subset of a population over a lifetime
Period study
Examining the number of offspring produced during a specific time period
Mortality
The death rate within a population.
Migration
The relocation of people from one place to another
influences population size
Immigration
The influx of new people to a specific area
increases population size
Emigration
The outflow of people to other areas
reduces population size
Social movement
Group of people who share an ideology and work together toward a specific set of goals
Urbanization
Increase in the proportion of people living in specified urban areas
Globalization
Increasing amount of interaction and integration on the international scale through exchange of products
Social inequality
The unequal distribution of opportunities or treatment of individuals within a society based on various demographic categories
Spatial inequality
Unequal access to resources and variable quantity of life within a population or geographical distribution. Can be affected by income
Environmental justice
The equal treatment of all people regardless of race
Residential segregation
Instance of social inequality on the local scale
Food deserts
Areas where it is difficult to find affordable
Social class
System of stratification that groups members of society according to similarities in social standing. Multifaceted
Power
Influence over a community
People in higher social class tend to have more:
Power
Socioeconomic status (SES)
Defines the economic and social position of a person in terms of income
Income vs wealth
Income is assets EARNED while wealth is assets already OWNED.
Prestige
the relative value assigned to something within a particular society
White-collar work
Jobs that are professional
defines the middle class
Blue-collar work
Occupations that require skilled or unskilled manual labor
Caste system
Hierarchy of society is strictly defined
Upward mobility
The movement of an individual up the class hierarchy. Achieved through education
Downward mobility
The movement of an individual down the class hierarchy. Due to unemployment
Intragenerational mobility
Movement of a young person from a lower social class to a higher social class through merit (achieving the "American dream")
Intergenerational mobility
Movement through the class system between generations (old generation is poor/rich
Meritocracy
Society in which advancement is based solely on the abilities and achievements of the individual
Cultural capital
The set of non-monetary social factors that contribute to social mobility. Examples include dress
Social capital
An individual's social networks and connects that may confer economic or personal benefits
Social reproduction
Transmission of social inequality from one generation to the next
Poverty
an insufficiency of material goods
Isolation
Also known as social exclusion. Describes how impoverished people are often excluded from opportunities available to others.
Absolute poverty
Lack of essential resources (food
Relative poverty
Social inequality in which people are relatively poor compared to other members of society in which they live
Health disparity
Aka health inequity. Differences in health and healthcare that occur between groups of people
Sociology
The study of how individuals interact with
Emile Durkheim
-Father of sociology
Dynamic equilibrium
Aspect of functionalism. Complex societies contain many different but interdependent parts working together to maintain stability. Unhealthy cites are unable to maintain this.
Social facts
The elements that serve some function in society
Manifest functions
Intended and obvious consequences of a social structure
Latent functions
Unintended or less recognizable consequence of a social structure. Can be considered beneficial
Social dysfunction
Social process that has undesirable consequences
Karl Marx
Father of sociology. Associated with Conflict Theory. Looked at the economic conflict between different social classes
Ludwig Gumplowicz
Proposed that society is shaped by war and conquest
Max Weber
Father of sociology. Argued that in a capitalist society inequalities would lead to conflict