Lecture 1

Question 1

Claims of the Bipsychosocial approach

Answer 1

1. illness is determined by a variety of influences.

2. cause and effects of illness can be examined at multiple levels in the life of an individual

Question 2

Define a model

Answer 2

a physical or conceptual representation of a scientific phenomena

Question 3

Define a theory

Answer 3

provide the conceptual framework for understanding objects to study.

Question 4

Define social constructivism

Answer 4

human actors constructor create reality rather than discovering a reality that has inherent validity. Some contend that all reality has no inherent meaning beyond human beliefs others say there are brute facts which are physical realities and institutional facts which only exist as a structure of society’s structures and beliefs

Question 5

define symbolic interactionism

Answer 5

through social interactions, individuals develop shared meanings and labels for various symbols.

Question 6

Define functionalism

Answer 6

factions of society work together to maintain stability. Actions of individuals and groups can be analyzed by asking how they contribute to long term societal stability

Question 7

define coinflict theory

Answer 7

views society in terms of competing groups that act according to their own self interests, rather than the need for social equilibrium.

Question 8

Define Biomedical Approach

Answer 8

Focuses on the aspects of physical illness

Question 9

Define a culture

Answer 9

Thought of as all of the beliefs, assumptions, objects, behaviours and processes that make up a shared way of life.

Question 10

Define material culture

Answer 10

Objects involved in a certain way of life. All of the things an archaeologist might uncover and study.

Question 11

Define non material culture

Answer 11

Encompasses the elements of culture that are not physical. Non-material culture is comprised of shared ideas, knowledge assumptions, values and beliefs that unify a group. Ex. religions, superstitions. Studied by living with people

Question 12

Define social norms

Answer 12

Expectations that govern what behaviour is acceptable within a group.

Question 13

Define a social group

Answer 13

A subset of the population that maintains social interactions. Broader definition includes collection of shared experiences that create a group identity among a set of individuals.

Question 14

Define symbolic culture

Answer 14

A type of non-material culture that consists of the elements of culture that have meaning only in the mind. Based on a shared system of collective beliefs in the form of symbols. Meaning ascribed to symbols are determined by social norms and cultural values. Includes meaning ascribed to rituals.

Question 15

Define a society

Answer 15

Two or more individuals living together in a community and/or sharing elements of culture.

Question 16

Define Social Institutions

Answer 16

Hierarchical systems that bring order to interpersonal interaction, structuring society. Address a specific purpose or set of tasks.

Question 17

Define government and economy in the context of social institutions

Answer 17

Government provides order through services it provides, laws it makes and enforces.
Economy is institution that distributes goods and services to meet the needs of society.
Local, state, national and international levels. Provides framework and rules to society.

Question 18

Define education in the context of social institutions

Answer 18

Provides formal structure during childhood and transition to adulthood and provides opportunity to instruct youth on social norms, expectations for behaviour, knowledge and skills that they will need to operate within a society. It is essentially the transfer of cultural knowledge. By creating a formal space for learning, education encourages technological advances, innovation and discovery.

Question 19

Define religion in the context of social institutions

Answer 19

System of beliefs that affects how people make sense of their expectations and provides framework for questions about life, death and purpose of existence. Organized structure of behaviours and social interactions that addresses spiritual needs of society. Monotheistic is one god and polytheistic is two gods.

Question 20

Define Family in the context of social institutions

Answer 20

Consists of bonds of kin and marriage and make up a major organizing institution of society. Creates a social group to procreate, rear children, pass on cultural knowledge and cooperate to better meet life’s challenges.

Question 21

Define health and medicine in the context of social institutions

Answer 21

Fulfills the need for healthcare in an organized manner. Beliefs about disease and approaches to healing vary between societies and cultures.

Question 22

Define demographics

Answer 22

Statistics used to examine the nature of a specific population by quantifying subsets of the population.

Question 23

Define a demographic transition

Answer 23

A demographic change that takes place over time

Question 24

Define a social movement

Answer 24

Group of people who share an ideology and work together toward a specified set of goals.

Question 25

Define urbanization

Answer 25

Increase in proportion of people living in specified urban areas

Question 26

Define Globalization

Answer 26

Increasing amount of interaction and integration on the international scale through exchange of products, services, ideas and information.

Question 27

Define social inequality

Answer 27

Unequal distribution of opportunities or treatments of individuals within a society based on various demographic categories.

Question 28

Define spatial inequality

Answer 28

Unequal access to resources and variable quality of life within a population or geographical distribution.

Question 29

Define global inequalities

Answer 29

evident in the disparities between regions and nations in aspects such as gross national product, natural resources, access to healthcare and types or amounts of work available.

Question 30

Define environmental justice

Answer 30

Equal treatment of all people regardless of race, gender, or other social groupings with regard to prevention and relief from environmental and health hazards.

Question 31

Define residential segregation

Answer 31

instance of social inequality on the local scale. Different neighbourhoods for different demographic groups. Affects access to transportation, quality of education, availability of goods, health hazards and levels of crime or feelings of personal safety

Question 32

Define a social class

Answer 32

System of stratification that groups members of society according to similarities in social standing. Class is tied to status within a community and power or influence over that community. Associated with socioeconomic status.

Question 33

Privilege

Answer 33

Someone in a position of privilege has advantages of power and opportunity over those who lack privilege.

Question 34

Prestige

Answer 34

Relative value assinged to something within a particular society

Question 35

Upward vs Downward Mobility

Answer 35

Upward mobility refers to moving up in class which can be achieved through education, marriage, career or financial success.
Downward mobility refers to moving down in class by unemployment/underemplyment

Question 36

Intra vs Inter generational mobility

Answer 36

Intra is moving class within a persons life. Person invents something and gets rich etc.
Inter is taking many generations to move up. Immigrants are poor but their children and children's children are doctors and lawyers.

Question 37

Meritocracy

Answer 37

A society in which advancement is based solely on abilities and achievements of the individual.

Question 38

Cultural capital

Answer 38

Set of non-monetary social factors that contribute to social mobility.

Question 39

Social capital

Answer 39

An individual’s social networks and connections that may confer economic and/or personal benefits.

Question 40

Social reproduction

Answer 40

The transmission of social inequality from one generation to the next.

Question 41

Poverty

Answer 41

An insufficiency of material goods, monetary wealth and access to resources.

Question 42

Isolation/Social exclusion

Answer 42

A person’s lack of access which denotes how impoverished people are often excluded from opportunities available for others.

Question 43

Absolute Povery

Answer 43

A lack of essential resources such as food, shelter, clothing and hygiene.

Question 44

Relative Poverty

Answer 44

Describes social inequality in which people are relatively poor compared to other members of the society in which they live.

Question 45

Health Disparities/Inequity

Answer 45

Differences in health and healthcare that occurs between groups of people. Can occur according to demographic categories.