1.1. Summarise the sociological approach to the study of human behaviour.
The sociological approach to the study of human behaviour examines the way in which humans interact with each other in a social setting. It looks at how social factors such as family, education, work, and leisure influence the way we think, feel and behave.
Social cohesion, defined as the glue that holds society together, has been shown to influence a variety of aspects of human behaviour. Social cohesion is a social factor that can influence sexual behaviours. It is made up of social trust and social participation.
Social values are cultural standards that indicate the general good that is desired in organised social life. These are societal assumptions about what is right and important. They give ultimate meaning and legitimacy to social arrangements and behaviour. They are abstract feelings or ideals. “Equality of opportunity” is an example of a significant social value. It is widely regarded as a desirable end in itself.
A key feature of group life is the presence of a set of values that govern the behaviour of individual members. As we’ve seen, groups do not appear out of nowhere with stable relationships among members. Individuals interact to form groups. When a group of people interact, a set of standards emerges that govern their interactions and modes of behaviour. These standards of group behaviour are known as social norms. Brothers and sisters should not have sexual relations; a child should defer to his parents, and an uncle should not joke with his nephews and nieces are examples of norms that govern kinship relationships.
Values and norms are inextricably linked because norms are typically justified by values. Values, as beliefs about what is desirable and undesirable, are frequently associated with normative beliefs that require or preclude certain behaviour, establishing boundaries to indicate what is acceptable versus unacceptable.
Culture is a broad and varied term that refers to a wide range of mostly intangible aspects of social life. Sociologists define culture as the values, beliefs, systems of language, communication, and practices that people share and that can be used to define them as a group. Material objects shared by a group or society are also considered part of the culture.
Subcultures are self-contained communities that exist within a larger culture. Subcultures emerge from communities with shared values, beliefs, and experiences.
Every individual is born into a social and cultural environment—family, community, social class, language, religion—and grows up with numerous social connections. Through instruction, rewards and punishment, and modelling, the characteristics of a child’s social environment influence how he or she learns to think and behave. The home, school, neighbourhood, and possibly local religious and law enforcement agencies are all part of this environment. Factors include the child’s mostly informal interactions with friends, other peers, relatives, and the entertainment and news media. It is difficult to predict how people will react to all of these influences, let alone which will be the most Study materials and AI study tools on mawcloud.com
powerful. However, there is some significant similarity in how people respond to the same pattern of influences, such as growing up in the same culture.
Social Institutions: A social institution is a group or organisation with defined roles, norms, and expectations that meet society’s social needs. Social institutions include the family, government, religion, education, and media. In everyday communities, social institutions are interdependent and constantly interact with and influence one another. Some religious organisations, for example, believe they should have authority over governmental and educational institutions.
One of the most important social institutions and the oldest is the Family. It is regarded as a “social building block” because it is the primary unit through which socialisation occurs. The family, as a social institution, performs a variety of functions. The family socialises its members by instilling values, beliefs, and norms in them. It also offers emotional support and financial stability. If one of the family members is ill or disabled, the family may even act as a caregiver in some cases (Little & McGivern, 2020).
Education, as a social institution, helps to socialise children and young adults by teaching them cultural norms, values, and beliefs. It also passes down cultural heritage from generation to generation. Education also provides people with the necessary skills and knowledge to function in society. Education may also aid in crime reduction by providing people with alternatives to criminal activity.
Religion is another social institution that is important in society. It is a structured set of beliefs and practices intended to meet the human need for meaning and purpose (Durkheim, 1915).
Religion can be used to instil moral values in individuals and socialise them into a community. Religion has a significant impact on how people perceive themselves and the world around them.
Other answers in the full document:
- 1.2. Describe sociological perspectives.
- 1.3. Describe in relation to health and social care:
– Social realism
– Social constructionism
– Labelling theory - 1.4. Describe the biomedical, social and ecological models of health and well-being.
- 2.1. Explain the social classes recognised in own Home Nation.
- 2.2. Explain patterns of health across social classes.
- 2.3. Explain how demographic data is used in planning health and social care services.
- 2.4. Explain sociological explanations for the patterning of mortality and morbidity rates in the demographic groups:
– Gender
– Age
– Ethnicity
– Area of residence