Unit 10: Sociological Perspectives Task 1 1
Understand how sociological concepts and perspectives are applied to the study of health and
social care
Introduction
Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behaviour. Sociologists focus on the environment and
the social aspects of human behaviour. For example, sociologists would examine if an individual was
socialised with racist values or look at how ethnic minorities have been ‘scapegoated’. Therefore, they study
how these groups relate to each other and influence individual behaviour. Society is made of six
fundamental ‘social institutions’:
Family – parents teach culturally appropriate values, norms and skills so people can become
productive and sociable in society.
Education – schools pass down generation knowledge and teach culturally appropriate values, norms
and skills so the individual can become a productive member of society.
Economic System – division of labour through work among paid and non-paid workers contribute to
the wellbeing of society members.
Political System – the criminal justice and military systems protect individuals from internal and
external harm. This is done through laws, policies and tax revenues, the government ensures
individuals’ wellbeing.
Religious organisation – culturally accepted values and norms give people comfort and provide
answers to the meaning of life and death.
Health and Social Care services – keeps people healthy so they can fulfil their societal roles.
Primary Socialisation occurs in the family, during a child’s early years. For example, a child learns how to use
the toilet, and this behaviour will be expected of them as they mature and become full members of society,
when going to the toilet of a public area, or someone’s house. Secondary Socialisation takes place in social
settings outside of the family, like in school, work and friendship group. It is where children and adults learn
how to act in a way that is appropriate for the situation they are in. for example, being a teacher means to
act differently from the pupils and learn the new rules from people around them.
Norms are rules or guidelines that govern how people behave in society or groups within society. For
example, by following policies and procedures correctly, social care workers can learn to work in a
professional way to support individuals with their care. Deviant is an individual or group that does not
conform to the norms of a society or social group. For example, robbery, rape and murder.
Membership of a group brings a range of expectations and obligations and these are called ‘social roles’ so
parents are expected to care for their children, keep them warm and safe, send them to school. If this does
not happen from them, they are regarded as deviant.
Therefore, in a health care system, a patient’s role should be making their healthcare experience safer by
being active, involved, and informed members of the healthcare team. For example, seek information about
the illness or condition that affects the patient, options and possible treatment plans. The patient can do this
by asking questions from doctors, nurses, medical society websites and support groups. This is because, the
patient should be aware of the their illness, the medication as it can have side effects or the patient may be
allergic to it and, they should have a clear understanding of the treatment plan so they can agree to it or
choose to refuse.
Sociologists study different groupings in society and how membership of those affect values, attitudes,
behaviours and health and wellbeing:
, Unit 10: Sociological Perspectives Task 1 2
Social class and its stratification – a person’s social and economic standing in society. Social
stratification describes hierarchies in society, where some groups have more status and prestige
than other groups. For example, some religions are not used for a particular individual, instead, it is a
collection of so many people altogether. (Sociology Group, 2017)
Race and ethnic or national – Race refers to how a person categorizes people by skin colour and
physical facial features that are shared to a certain degree by a given group. Ethnicity is based on a
shared common culture including language, religion, music, literature, norms and history. However,
there is little social mobility, which means moving from one social level to another and, it can be
upward or downward
Gender – social or cultural expectations of men and women in society as contrasted with the
biological, sexual or physical differences between men and women. For example, girls and women
are expected to dress in feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing and, men are
expected to have a muscular figure and bold personality.
Age – combination of biological, psychological and sociological process that affect people, as they
grow older. For example, the risks of living in poverty as an older person are not equally distributed
as they have the highest death rate than those in a higher socioeconomic status.
Region – there are regional variations in the level of poverty in the UK, and regional differences in
patterns of health and illness. For example, life expectancy in certain geographical areas is much
lower than in others.
Religious groupings – example of belief systems that influence and potentially control behaviour and
norms centred on basic social needs and values. For instance, in every culture, funeral rites are
practiced in some way, although these customs vary between cultures and within religious
affiliations.
Sexual orientation – refers to an individual’s sexual attraction to other people of a certain type of
sex/gender category. For example, these divided into heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality,
queer sexuality, and asexuality.
Disability and impairment – restrictions that arise for a person with an impairment because of
attitudes and lack of appropriate services and facilities to meet their need, for example, being unable
to walk. Impairment are restrictions on day-to-day activity caused by a physical or mental
dysfunction or abnormality. For example, missing limb or diagnosed mental disorder.
Education – attempts to determine the laws which govern the human behaviour in the society. For
example, a higher education leads to receiving a good job with higher income.
Hallam Street Mental Health Services Provides a range of adult inpatient and outpatient services, covers a
range of disorders from severe psychosis to psychological problems such as anxiety and phobias provide by a
range pf specialist staff to charities focused on after care. In Sandwell, the estimated people aged 16-74 to
have any mental health disorder is 16.10%, which is than in England that has 10.29%. Also, 26% of all adults
have been diagnosed one mental illness and, women (33%) were more likely than men to report ever having
been diagnosed with a mental illness (19%). The most reported mental illness was depression, including
post-natal depression, with 19% of adults reporting this. (Sandwell Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, 2017)
Learning Aim A:
Functionalism, health and ill-health
Functionalism, theorised by Emile Durkheim, states that there is an order to how things should be and that
each part plays a necessary but none of the parts can function on its own, which means, it describes how
different parts of society to fill in pieces to make sure it is functioning. The different social institutions are
designed to fill the different needs of society and each one is designed to meet good and positive needs,
, Unit 10: Sociological Perspectives Task 1 3
which encouraging social solidarity and social integration. For example, without social media, there wouldn’t
be public awareness of different circumstances around the world or conformity among people. Without
religion, there may have been a lack of peace as religion was often seen as social control and social stability.
Without schools, society would have lacked education and knowledge of how to read or write. Therefore,
functionalists argued that there must be leaders, rules, shared norms and values in society to avoid chaos.
They call this value consensus. (Billingham et al, 2016) However, to meet new needs, social change occurs as
functionalists see change as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Anomie, the social condition in which
there is a disintegration or disappearance of the norms and values that were previously common to the
society, can occur within society when things move too quickly, and people can lose this balance. If not
resolved this can cause anarchy, when society is freely constituted without authorities or a governing body.
Talcott Parsons extended on these ideas for example, the family is viewed as a key institution, which
contributes to social order and social stability to develop basic norms and values, as they see family
members as those who will meet emotional and social needs of an individual. For example, the mother who
had emotional connections with her children and did the house routine tasks and, the father was the
breadwinner and was not always involved with the child due to him working for long hours. Therefore, the
nuclear family was considered as the exemplary family. Parsons wrote about American society and taught
that the American society had basic and irreducible functions. (Billingham et al, 2016) It illustrates that, the
norms and values people have in society and helps them cope with support and security to cope with the
wider world. He also uses the human body to argue that institutions in society were like organs in the body,
performing specific, necessary functions to the maintenance of the whole (Social stability) therefore, society
should be understood in terms of what they contribute to the maintenance of the whole. (Lumen, 2019)
Parsons defines health as the ability to complete people’s social roles in society. Functionalists believe that
illness is a deviance (it’s not acceptable or differs from the norm) as, ill health impairs people’s ability to
perform their roles in society, and if too many people attain the ‘sick role’, social functioning and stability
suffer therefore, they value medication and healthcare as it keeps the society’s health positive and
functioning and stable. Whole body needs to be able to function separately and as a whole, for them to be
productive members of society. Therefore, this deviance needs to be policed, which is the role of the health
professional who maintain a functioning society and act as a ‘social control’ by telling the sick individual
when they acquire the sick role, and when they can participate in society. (Lumen, 2019)
An advantage of functionalism is that all the institutions have set roles in society and work together to keep
social stability. Additionally, the approach shows how a social institution can work at two different levels,
both fulfilling the needs of each individual and meeting the needs of the whole society at the same time. On
the other hand, a disadvantage is that, functionalist approach is too optimistic. It suggests that family life Is
always positive and happy, as functional relationships can easily slip into damaging relationships. For
example, child abuse is a major social problem in the UK as 1 in every 14 children have been physically
abused, according to BBC in 2016 and 26% rape survivors said that most likely attacker was a family member.
(BBC, 2016) Also, by stating nuclear family is universal, functionalism ignores other types of family functions
and household and, assumes that they are inadequate. For example, single-parent families and families
where the mother plays the role of the head of the family or household. However, many people still have a
desire to live in the type of nuclear households outlined by Murdock and Parsons.
Marxism, conflict, health and ill-health
Conflict theories focus on social differences (on negatives) rather than on consensus and harmony (on
positives). They identify inequalities and discuss the conflict and tensions between the rich and the poor,
men and women, different ethnic groups and employers and employees. (Billingham et al, 2016)
Understand how sociological concepts and perspectives are applied to the study of health and
social care
Introduction
Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behaviour. Sociologists focus on the environment and
the social aspects of human behaviour. For example, sociologists would examine if an individual was
socialised with racist values or look at how ethnic minorities have been ‘scapegoated’. Therefore, they study
how these groups relate to each other and influence individual behaviour. Society is made of six
fundamental ‘social institutions’:
Family – parents teach culturally appropriate values, norms and skills so people can become
productive and sociable in society.
Education – schools pass down generation knowledge and teach culturally appropriate values, norms
and skills so the individual can become a productive member of society.
Economic System – division of labour through work among paid and non-paid workers contribute to
the wellbeing of society members.
Political System – the criminal justice and military systems protect individuals from internal and
external harm. This is done through laws, policies and tax revenues, the government ensures
individuals’ wellbeing.
Religious organisation – culturally accepted values and norms give people comfort and provide
answers to the meaning of life and death.
Health and Social Care services – keeps people healthy so they can fulfil their societal roles.
Primary Socialisation occurs in the family, during a child’s early years. For example, a child learns how to use
the toilet, and this behaviour will be expected of them as they mature and become full members of society,
when going to the toilet of a public area, or someone’s house. Secondary Socialisation takes place in social
settings outside of the family, like in school, work and friendship group. It is where children and adults learn
how to act in a way that is appropriate for the situation they are in. for example, being a teacher means to
act differently from the pupils and learn the new rules from people around them.
Norms are rules or guidelines that govern how people behave in society or groups within society. For
example, by following policies and procedures correctly, social care workers can learn to work in a
professional way to support individuals with their care. Deviant is an individual or group that does not
conform to the norms of a society or social group. For example, robbery, rape and murder.
Membership of a group brings a range of expectations and obligations and these are called ‘social roles’ so
parents are expected to care for their children, keep them warm and safe, send them to school. If this does
not happen from them, they are regarded as deviant.
Therefore, in a health care system, a patient’s role should be making their healthcare experience safer by
being active, involved, and informed members of the healthcare team. For example, seek information about
the illness or condition that affects the patient, options and possible treatment plans. The patient can do this
by asking questions from doctors, nurses, medical society websites and support groups. This is because, the
patient should be aware of the their illness, the medication as it can have side effects or the patient may be
allergic to it and, they should have a clear understanding of the treatment plan so they can agree to it or
choose to refuse.
Sociologists study different groupings in society and how membership of those affect values, attitudes,
behaviours and health and wellbeing:
, Unit 10: Sociological Perspectives Task 1 2
Social class and its stratification – a person’s social and economic standing in society. Social
stratification describes hierarchies in society, where some groups have more status and prestige
than other groups. For example, some religions are not used for a particular individual, instead, it is a
collection of so many people altogether. (Sociology Group, 2017)
Race and ethnic or national – Race refers to how a person categorizes people by skin colour and
physical facial features that are shared to a certain degree by a given group. Ethnicity is based on a
shared common culture including language, religion, music, literature, norms and history. However,
there is little social mobility, which means moving from one social level to another and, it can be
upward or downward
Gender – social or cultural expectations of men and women in society as contrasted with the
biological, sexual or physical differences between men and women. For example, girls and women
are expected to dress in feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing and, men are
expected to have a muscular figure and bold personality.
Age – combination of biological, psychological and sociological process that affect people, as they
grow older. For example, the risks of living in poverty as an older person are not equally distributed
as they have the highest death rate than those in a higher socioeconomic status.
Region – there are regional variations in the level of poverty in the UK, and regional differences in
patterns of health and illness. For example, life expectancy in certain geographical areas is much
lower than in others.
Religious groupings – example of belief systems that influence and potentially control behaviour and
norms centred on basic social needs and values. For instance, in every culture, funeral rites are
practiced in some way, although these customs vary between cultures and within religious
affiliations.
Sexual orientation – refers to an individual’s sexual attraction to other people of a certain type of
sex/gender category. For example, these divided into heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality,
queer sexuality, and asexuality.
Disability and impairment – restrictions that arise for a person with an impairment because of
attitudes and lack of appropriate services and facilities to meet their need, for example, being unable
to walk. Impairment are restrictions on day-to-day activity caused by a physical or mental
dysfunction or abnormality. For example, missing limb or diagnosed mental disorder.
Education – attempts to determine the laws which govern the human behaviour in the society. For
example, a higher education leads to receiving a good job with higher income.
Hallam Street Mental Health Services Provides a range of adult inpatient and outpatient services, covers a
range of disorders from severe psychosis to psychological problems such as anxiety and phobias provide by a
range pf specialist staff to charities focused on after care. In Sandwell, the estimated people aged 16-74 to
have any mental health disorder is 16.10%, which is than in England that has 10.29%. Also, 26% of all adults
have been diagnosed one mental illness and, women (33%) were more likely than men to report ever having
been diagnosed with a mental illness (19%). The most reported mental illness was depression, including
post-natal depression, with 19% of adults reporting this. (Sandwell Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, 2017)
Learning Aim A:
Functionalism, health and ill-health
Functionalism, theorised by Emile Durkheim, states that there is an order to how things should be and that
each part plays a necessary but none of the parts can function on its own, which means, it describes how
different parts of society to fill in pieces to make sure it is functioning. The different social institutions are
designed to fill the different needs of society and each one is designed to meet good and positive needs,
, Unit 10: Sociological Perspectives Task 1 3
which encouraging social solidarity and social integration. For example, without social media, there wouldn’t
be public awareness of different circumstances around the world or conformity among people. Without
religion, there may have been a lack of peace as religion was often seen as social control and social stability.
Without schools, society would have lacked education and knowledge of how to read or write. Therefore,
functionalists argued that there must be leaders, rules, shared norms and values in society to avoid chaos.
They call this value consensus. (Billingham et al, 2016) However, to meet new needs, social change occurs as
functionalists see change as evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Anomie, the social condition in which
there is a disintegration or disappearance of the norms and values that were previously common to the
society, can occur within society when things move too quickly, and people can lose this balance. If not
resolved this can cause anarchy, when society is freely constituted without authorities or a governing body.
Talcott Parsons extended on these ideas for example, the family is viewed as a key institution, which
contributes to social order and social stability to develop basic norms and values, as they see family
members as those who will meet emotional and social needs of an individual. For example, the mother who
had emotional connections with her children and did the house routine tasks and, the father was the
breadwinner and was not always involved with the child due to him working for long hours. Therefore, the
nuclear family was considered as the exemplary family. Parsons wrote about American society and taught
that the American society had basic and irreducible functions. (Billingham et al, 2016) It illustrates that, the
norms and values people have in society and helps them cope with support and security to cope with the
wider world. He also uses the human body to argue that institutions in society were like organs in the body,
performing specific, necessary functions to the maintenance of the whole (Social stability) therefore, society
should be understood in terms of what they contribute to the maintenance of the whole. (Lumen, 2019)
Parsons defines health as the ability to complete people’s social roles in society. Functionalists believe that
illness is a deviance (it’s not acceptable or differs from the norm) as, ill health impairs people’s ability to
perform their roles in society, and if too many people attain the ‘sick role’, social functioning and stability
suffer therefore, they value medication and healthcare as it keeps the society’s health positive and
functioning and stable. Whole body needs to be able to function separately and as a whole, for them to be
productive members of society. Therefore, this deviance needs to be policed, which is the role of the health
professional who maintain a functioning society and act as a ‘social control’ by telling the sick individual
when they acquire the sick role, and when they can participate in society. (Lumen, 2019)
An advantage of functionalism is that all the institutions have set roles in society and work together to keep
social stability. Additionally, the approach shows how a social institution can work at two different levels,
both fulfilling the needs of each individual and meeting the needs of the whole society at the same time. On
the other hand, a disadvantage is that, functionalist approach is too optimistic. It suggests that family life Is
always positive and happy, as functional relationships can easily slip into damaging relationships. For
example, child abuse is a major social problem in the UK as 1 in every 14 children have been physically
abused, according to BBC in 2016 and 26% rape survivors said that most likely attacker was a family member.
(BBC, 2016) Also, by stating nuclear family is universal, functionalism ignores other types of family functions
and household and, assumes that they are inadequate. For example, single-parent families and families
where the mother plays the role of the head of the family or household. However, many people still have a
desire to live in the type of nuclear households outlined by Murdock and Parsons.
Marxism, conflict, health and ill-health
Conflict theories focus on social differences (on negatives) rather than on consensus and harmony (on
positives). They identify inequalities and discuss the conflict and tensions between the rich and the poor,
men and women, different ethnic groups and employers and employees. (Billingham et al, 2016)
