spiritual health needs. The functionalist approach to health and ill health In the functionalist model, Parsons argued that illness is a form of deviance that disturbs the social function of a society; within the functionalist approach to health it studies the relationship between a sick individual and the society as a whole. Parsons stated that for the society to function efficiently the members of the society must be free from illness and must be of well health. Functionalists argued that stability
Words: 2558 - Pages: 11
and assess Marxists explanations of class inequality There are many concerns in sociology as to whether class is still important. Many argue that it is not important as an individual’s identity is based on status, values and intelligence. Postmodernists claim that class is now dead. We can now be defined by consumption (what we spend money on) rather than class. However, others argue that class in still an influence on people’s lives, affecting certain aspects such as health and education. Marxism
Words: 1281 - Pages: 6
Assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households. (29 marks) Functionalists believe that society is based on a value consensus into which society socialises its members. This enables them to cooperate harmoniously to meet society’s needs and achieve shared goals. However, other sociologists argue that contemporary society is not harmonious but is ridden with conflicts. Functionalists regard society as a system made up of different sub-systems that depend
Words: 990 - Pages: 4
Outline and assess the Marxist view of the role of education in society. Marxists view society as based on conflict. They believe that the role of all institutions in society can be understood in terms of how they relate to the economic system. They therefore see the education system as an institution which reproduces the class system and provides the economy with a suitable workforce. The labour force needs professional and managerial workers, as well as skilled and unskilled manual workers
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
Assess the relationship between sociology and social policy In order to understand the role of sociology in relation to social policy, it is important to firstly distinguish between social problems and sociological problems. According to Peter Worsley, a social problem is some piece of social behaviour that causes public friction and private misery and calls for collective action to solve it. According to Worsley, a sociological problem is “any pattern of relationships that calls for explanation
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
Using material from Item 2B and elsewhere, assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism Marxists see all society’s institutions, such as the education system, the media, religion and the state, alone with the family as helping to maintain class inequality and capitalism. Capitalism, also known as Marxism, is a perspective based on the ideas of Karl Marx. It sees society as divided into two opposed classes, capitalist class, who own means of
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
feminists use the term ‘dual burden’ to describe the woman’s role in the family today. Item 2B Government policies and laws include tax and benefit policies as well as legislation such as relating to divorce and marriage. Sociologists have different views on the impact of these policies and laws on families. For example, feminists argue that social policies assume that the ideal family is a patriarchal nuclear family, and that government policies and laws therefore favour this sort of family. On the
Words: 5042 - Pages: 21
Brenna McRandal Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of Functionalism to understanding of the role of education When studying education, Functionalists seek to discover what functions it performs to meet society’s needs. Durkheim identified two main functions of education: creating social solidarity and specialist skills. Durkheim argues that society needs a sense of solidarity, and that without solidarity, social life and cooperation would be impossible because each
Words: 548 - Pages: 3
Using material from Item A and elsewhere, assess the contribution of functionalism to our understanding of families and households (24 marks) According to functionalist sociologists, the family is a key institution of society. It performs vital functions for the maintenance of society as a whole and for the benefit of all its individual members. For example, according to George Peter Murdock, it provides for the stable satisfaction of the sex drive and thus avoids the social disruption and conflict
Words: 1055 - Pages: 5
item 2b and elsewhere assess the Marxist view that the main role of the family is to serve the interests of capitalism. Marxism is a conflict theory which sees all society’s institutions, such as the education system, the media, religion and the state, as helping to main class inequality and capitalism. For Marxists, therefore, the functions of the family are performed solely for the benefit of the capitalist system. This view contrasts sharply with the functionalist view that the family benefits
Words: 814 - Pages: 4
