Lecture 1 Flashcards
Biopsychosocial Approach (BPS)
expands upon the biomedical approach by incorporating psychology and sociology in practicing medicine.
Developed to allow for a more complete and accurate understanding of patients and their medical conditions.
Biomedical Approach
Focuses too narrowly on the physical aspects of illness only
BPS Claims (2)
- Illness is determined by a variety of influences rather than a single cause.
- The causes and effects of illness can be examined at multiple levels in the life of an individual. (not just biological but also psychological and sociological)
Social Constructionism
Human actors construct or create “reality” rather than discovering a reality that has inherent validity. The beliefs and shared understandings of individuals create social realities. (diagnosis of an illness requires an agreed upon set of criteria and there’s a gap between bio/physio reality of the medical condition and the societal created meaning of the diagnosis)
Symbolic Interactionsim
Smaller scale than social constructionism. Focuses on interaction between individuals and small groups. Through social interactions, individuals develop shared meanings and labels for various symbols. People actively create meaning through their social interactions.
Functionalism
Factions of society work together to maintain stability. Society works like an organism with systems that work together even though they all have distinct roles.
Conflict Theory
Views society in terms of competing groups that act according to their own self-interests rather than according to the need for societal equilibrium. (Feminist theory is a particular type of conflict theory)
Macrosociology
Broad social structures that affect society. (Social constructionism, functionalism, conflict theory)
Microsociology
Smaller scale social interactions between individuals. (symbolic interactionism)
Rational Choice Theory
People’s actions are dictated by a rational consideration of alternatives. Individuals choose the action that is most likely to bring some type of profit.
Exchange Theory
Applies rational choice theory to social interactions. Behaviors within relationships are determined by individuals’ expectations of reward and punishment.
Culture
All of the beliefs, assumptions, objects, behaviors, and processes that make up a shared way of life. Through interactions with other cultures, people can learn about their own cultural assumptions.
Material Culture
Refers to objects involved in a certain way of life.
Non-material culture
encompasses the elements of culture that are not physical. Shared ideas, knowledge, values, and beliefs.
Sanctions
Social expressions of approval for conforming to norms or disapproval for failing to conform. Can be positive (small smile) or negative (glare)
Folkways
Norms governing casual interactions. Violation of a folkway is not punished harshly.
Mores
Norms enforcing the moral standards of society. Violation lead to serious negative sanctions. (murder)
Taboo
The most extreme end of disapproval. Considered immoral and repulsive.
Social group
The subset of a population that maintains social interactions. A group identity among a set of individuals created by a collection of shared experiences
Symbolic Culture
Type of non-material culture that consists of the elements of culture that have meaning only in the mind. (thumbs-up, handshakes, etc). Includes meanings ascribed to rituals, gestures, and objects
Society
Tow or more individuals living together in a community and/or sharing elements of culture
Social Institutions
Hierarchical systems that bring order to interpersonal interactions, structuring society. (Government, Education, Religion)
Power
Allows individuals or groups to exert their will even when they are opposed by others
Authority
Type of power that is viewed as legit by the population
Division of Labor
Individuals engage in work that is highly specific. Members of a society must rely on one another to meet their daily needs.
Hidden Curriculum
In schools, transmits cultural ideals beyond the stated goals of the institution. Teaching children to conform to social expectations.
Teacher Expectancy
Teachers treat students differently according to preconceived ideas about their capabilities. This influences student achievement
Educational Stratifications
Separation of students into groups on the basis of academic achievement. Process begins early on and creates a snowball effect that influences opportunities later in life.
Religion
An organized structure of behaviors and social interactions that addresses the spiritual needs of society.
Religiosity
The extent to which religion is important to an individual or community.
Church
Religious organization that is well established in the larger society. (Not associated with Christianity)
Sect
More radical group that forms by breaking away from the established norms or beliefs of a mainstream church.
Cult
Like a sect, but tends to form outside of any pre-existing religion. Have views and practices that situate it outside the traditions of mainstream society.
Secularization
Decreasing devotion to religious doctrines and practices. “culturally Jewish”
Fundamentalism
Entails a strictly literal interpretation of scared writings. A limited tolerance for other religions often accompanies.
Kinship
Social bonds that unite individuals into families (bloodline, marriage, adoption)
Medicalization
Effort to describe a type of behavior as a symptom of an underlying illness that should be treated by a doctor. Criticized as an attempt on the part of the powerful to control behaviors that are inconsistent with societal demands. (Students with ADHD)
Sick Role
Individuals who are diagnosed with illnesses may assume this role by exhibiting the expected behaviors for an ill person. Behaviors and exemptions they receive (Outward behaviors)
Illness experience
Describes how an individual adjusts to interruptions to their health. Two people with the same disease can have markedly different illness experiences.
Demographics
Statistics used to examine the nature of a specific population by quantifying subset of that population (age, gender, race, ethnicity, SES)
Gender
Social and Psychological phenomenon. Intersection of sex, gender identity, and gender expression
Social Construction of Gender
The development of gender is subject to cultural influences and depends on social interactions. Range of accepted gender presentations and identities varies between societies.
Social Construction of Race
Process by which racial categories are created through social forces
Racialization
Imposition of a racial identity on a particular group. Used to support the domination of less powerful groups.
Racial Formation Theory
Race is a social construct, with no basis in actual genetic differences, and emphasizes how a variety of social factors interact to construct definitions, expectations, and experiences of race
Social Significance of Aging
Aging is more complicated that simply the measured time since birth.
Total birth rate or total fertility rate
Average number of children that one woman is expected to have over her lifetime
Crude birth rate
Number of live births in a year for every thousand people. Used as a measure of a particular group’s fertility
Age-specific birth rate
Fertility of women who are a specific age or fall within a range of ages.
Crude death rate
The number of deaths per year for every thousand people in a population
Infant mortality rate
How many people less than one year old die per every thousand live births in a given year
Push and pull factors in migration
Distinct motivations for migrating. Push factors are reasons to leave. Pull factors are reasons to move to a specific location.
Malthusian theory
Starvation is the inevitable result of population growth because the population increases at a geometric rate while food supply can only increase arithmetically.
Demographic transition theory
Links population growth to the society’s use of technology, describing sequential stages of change in birth and death rates. Technology is what keeps population size in check, but fails to consider other factors that limit pop. growth. (technology also helps with fertility)
Relative Deprivation
Feeling of disadvantage that arises when individuals compare themselves to others of similar status and feel that they possesses relatively fewer resources and privileges. This feeling can spur social movements.
Strategy
General plan describing the goals of the movement. “what”
Tactics
Describe how the movement implements a strategy. “how”
Relationship between industrialization and urban growth
Development of industry generates in growing cities and urban growth.
Suburbanization and urban decline relationship
Movement of people from cities to suburbs which then leads to a decline in the standard of living in urban areas. Property values in urban areas fall, less property tax leads to Higher unemployment and crime.
Urban Renewal
Attempts to improve urban conditions through the restoration of buildings and public infrastructure
Gentrification
A specific urban renewal pattern in which middle and upper class people move to areas of a city with cheap buildings that are in need of restoration. Rising property values increase the economic strain on neighborhoods’s poor. resulting in tension. Less affluent inhabitants are often driven out.
Globalization
Increased contact between individuals on an international scale.
Communication Technologies
Allow an unprecedented type of interaction unbound by spatial constraints. Technologies reduce the extent to which distance limits interactions. (internet)
Economic Interdependence
Corporations often conduct operations across multiple continents which contributes to globalization. Manufacturing occurs in less economically developed nations.
Terrorism
The use of violence to coerce countries and governments in order to achieve political or ideological ends.
Civil Unrest
Disorder caused by a group of people in public, due to a perceived injustice over how resources are distributed
Social Inequality
Unequal distribution of opportunities or treatment of individuals within a society based on various demographic categories. (Laws and/or discrimination)
Spatial Inequality
Unequal access to resources and variable quality of life due to the geographical distribution of a population and its resources. (Income, unemployment, access to education and clean water)
Global Inequalities
Evident in the disparities between regions and nations in aspects like gross national product, natural resources, access to healthcare, etc.
Environmental Justice
Equal treatment of all people regardless of race, gender, or other social grouping with regard to prevention and relief from environment and health hazards
Residential Segregation
Social inequality on the local scale. Separation of demographic groups into different neighborhoods comprises residential segregation.
Social Class
System of stratification that groups members of society according to similarities in social standing. Tied to status and power. Related to privilege and power.
Privilege
Has advantages of power and opportunity over those who lack privilege.
Prestige
Relative value assigned to something within a particular society.
Upward mobility
Moving up the class system. Achieved through education, marriage, career, or financial success.
Downward mobility
Moving lower within the class system. Can result from unemployment, reduced income due to divorce, lack of education, or health issues.
Intragenerational mobility
Movement within the class system that takes place within an individuals lifetime. Social changes within the same generation
Intergenerational mobility
Movement throughout the class system between generations. (immigrant parents -> successful grandchildren)
Meritocracy
Society in which advancement is based solely on the abilities and achievements of the individual. (NOT america - to be a true, parents can’t pass monetary goods on to their children)
Cultural capital
Set of non-monetary social factors that contribute to social mobility. (dress, accent, manners, education, cultural knowledge)
Social capital
An individual’s social networks and connects that may confer economic and/or personal benefits (Who you know)
Social reproduction
Transmission of social inequality from on e generation to the next. (cultural and social capital)
Isolation/Social Exclusion
Impoverished people are often excluded from opportunities available to others.
Absolute Poverty
Lack of essential resources such as food, shelter, clothing, and hygiene.
Relative Poverty
Social inequality in which people are relatively poor compared to other members of society.
False consciousness
Failure to recognize poverty as the product of an oppressive class system
Class Consciousness
Collective self-aswareness based on class (could lead to a remedy for poverty and class inequality)
Health Disparity/Health Inequity
Differences in health and healthcare that occur between groups of people. Occur according to demographic categories and can affect the prevalence and prognosis of disease.
Socioeconomic gradient in health
SES can influence health.
Social epidemiology
Considers how social factors affect the health of a population.
Healthcare disparity
Difference in accessibility of health services
