Learning aim A: To understand how sociological concepts and perspectives are applied to the
study of health and social care
Introduction
In this assignment, for learning aim A, I will cover how sociological concepts and perspectives are
applied to the study of health and social care. On the other hand, for learning aim B, I will be
examining how sociological approaches support understanding of models and concepts of health
such as the biomedical model of health. Sociology is the scientific study and exploration of human
behaviour. It is important to study sociology as sociology allows us to gain a greater understanding
of the complex and simple nature of humans and their societies and ultimately look beyond a
common-sense understanding of the social world. Sociology helps us understand key institutions in
society as sociology enables us to understand why different groups of people behave the way they
do and highlighting how key institutions such as such as the family, school, and religion influences
how people act and how their actions can affect society. Sociological perspectives are insights on
human behaviour that is shaped by the groups which people belong to and by the social interaction
that takes place within those groups.
Some key sociological terms include:
Norms and values are social rules, standards, or expectations that determine the anticipated
behaviour in a given situation. An example of a norm would be lining up in a queue. It is
important to study norms and values in order to find out how norms came about, why
norms are the way they are and what happens if norms are broken.
Socialisation: The process of learning how to behave according to the expected norms of
your culture. It is important to study socialisation because socialisation teaches impulse
control and aids in the development of a conscience in individuals. Therefore, socialisation
enhances the development of common forms of value and meaning as people learn to
determine what is significant and valued within a culture through socialisation. Some types
of socialisations would include primary socialisation and secondary socialisation. Primary
socialisation is the early socialisation which normally takes within the family whereas
secondary socialisation takes place in social settings beyond the family, such as in a nursery
and friendship groups.
Roles and status: Social roles are an expectation about the way an individual acts and
behaves that are linked to their position in society. For example, a man may have the status
of father in his family and his role would be to protect his children and provide for the home.
Gender: Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially
constructed.
Social class: Social Class refers to divisions in society based on economic and social status.
For example, the upper class are known as the bourgeoisie and the lower class are known as
the proletariat.
Some key perspectives include:
1. Functionalism sees the institutions in a society as working in harmony with each other this is
because functionalists understand society by likening society to the human body. Just as the
body functions through effective interrelationship of major body organs and has the
mechanisms to deal with disease. This can be compared with society as different institutions
each have specific contributions to make within society have which means they to work
, together and use strategies of social control to deal with deviant members or groups to
ensure that society functions smoothly. Parsons that the organs within the body are like
institutions in society such as the family, education and religion. This is known as the
‘organic analogy’ In his view, each part of society helps society to function properly and if
one part of society fails, then the rest will fail too. Therefore, a continuation of a well-
functioning society will enable everyone to live in harmony, known as value consensus as
there is a common agreement about the values and beliefs in the society. This links to social
cohesion and social solidarity. This is because social cohesion is the term used to describe
member of the society bound together and integrated as they all share common values.
Similarly, social solidarity makes people feel like they're part of something bigger while also
teaching them acceptable behaviour to ensure that society runs smoothly.
Functionalism argues that the social structure is responsible for all stability and instability and that
the social structure is continuously attempted to maintain social equilibrium among all the
components of society. This links to Murdock’s: four functions of the family which would a strength
of the functionalist perspective. Murdock believe that a functional family should have 4 features: 1)
Sexual function: This allows expression of sexually approved context and ensures that adults’ sexual
relationships are controlled and stable. 2) Economic function - The family provides an economic
function to all its members by sharing resources and ensuring all have what they need which will
provide food, shelter and financial security for the family 3) Reproductive function – This produces
the next generation of the society and ensures stability for raising children 4) Socialisation – Children
are taught the norms and values of society (also known as primary socialisation) to teach children
appropriate ways of behaving.
Therefore, functionalism is important to study as it provides valuable understanding of society
because it effectively shows that how social institutions exist to shape people's behaviour through
socialisation. These members of society are connected and dependent on one another in order to
maintain social order. Furthermore, functionalism suggests how "value consensus," is needed for
member in society to cooperate and work together to accomplish common goals which will
eventually result in a stable society.
However, some weaknesses of the functionalist theory would be that it doesn’t recognise the
conflict in society as they believe the institution all have positive functions when this isn't necessarily
the case. This is because functionalism places a strong emphasis on consensus and agreement,
painting a pleasant imagine of institutions having positive functions and effectively cooperating for
the good of all. However, this is a weakness of the theory as this imagine does not appear to be the
reality of many people in today’s world, when there are non-conformists and clear winners and
losers in society.
Moreover, the theory assumes that societies share the same basic values and beliefs known as value
consensus and how our behaviour is a direct result of socialisation rather than personal choices. This
is a weakness of the theory as in contemporary societies, researchers have not been able to
establish clear evidence of shared ideologies and values.
2. Marxism is a conflict model developed by Karl Marx (1818-1883) who believed that the
economic system defined society and people’s place within it which influenced individual
behaviour. Marx held the view that society was divided in two key social classes: 1) The
bourgeoise – the small powerful social class who owned factories and other places of
employment 2) The proletariat – a large poorer group of workers. Marx believed that these
two social classes would always be in conflict because the bourgeoise are able to organise
, economy and other social institutions to their own advantage and the proletariat have only
their labour to sell as they work for, and are exploited by, the bourgeoise. This is known as
alienation which is the process of making a worker feel marginalized from the results of his
or her labour. This will result in the bourgeoise wanting high profits while the proletariat
would want higher wages, which would eat into their profits. Marx believed that this conflict
would lead to revolution as the unequal relationship and conflict between the bourgeoise
and the proletariat was inherited in the economic system. Marxists also argued that the
bourgeoise exert authority in other social institutions and shape society because they
control the media and the legal system, and it is their ideas which influence educational
curriculum. This means that the ruling class values and attitudes is being passed on through
the socialisation, rather than the functionalist common value system. This contributes to
inequality in society as the proletariat are unaware that they are being exploited or that they
are supporting the bourgeoise's interests rather than their own. For example, by working
hard they are serving the interests of the capitalist class. The proletariat's lack of awareness
is called false consciousness which is used to explain why clashing interests rarely erupt into
actual conflict or revolution.
Therefore, Marxism is important to study as it helps us understand society through highlighting how
the lower classes are unaware that they are being exploited and taken advantage of by the upper
classes. This will mean that the inherent exploitation of workers by capitalists will inevitably lead to
class conflict which will disturb social order in society.
However, some weaknesses of the Marxist perspective would be that it does not appear to work in
the real world. This is due to the fact that it ignores the human being's innate greediness and
selfishness. Marxism focuses on individuals working hard simply because they should and for the
opportunity to get wealthy as a result of their efforts. Similarly, Marxists put too much emphasis on
various class interests and potential conflicts of interest. Moreover, some writers believe that the
Marxist model, which sees the economy as the driving force behind all others, undervalues the
influence of other institutions such as religion, race and family life in shaping human behaviour
which would be another weakness of this theory.
3. Feminism is split up in three main feminist approaches:
1. Liberal Feminists focus their efforts on campaigning on issues to seek equal rights equal
rights for women and believe individuals should be treated according to their individual
merits. They campaign to remove any obstacle, political, social, legal or economical, that
gets in the way of women having the same opportunities as their male counterparts in order
to improve women’s position in society. However, Liberal Feminists don’t blame capitalism
or men for unequal treatment of women unlike Radical or Marxist Feminists. They believe
that gender inequality is gradually being challenged and eroded by changing laws and
attitudes. For example, the Equal Pay Act (1970) was introduced in and the Sex
Discrimination Act (1975) which both aimed to promote equal rights for women although
equality still doesn’t exist. According to studies, males are doing more domestic work.
Moreover, parents are socialising their sons and daughters in a more equal manner than in
the past, and they share comparable goals for them. Furthermore, women's status in society
has also risen significantly, with better access to divorce, better career possibilities, control
over their own fertility, and the opportunity to marry or cohabit.
