Download University of Al-Qadissyah college of Nursing Medical sociology for

University of Al-Qadissyah college of Nursing Medical sociology for
Nursing
Lecture (7-8) Medical Definition of sociology
Set by :. Rana Mohssin .
Medical Definition of SOCIOLOGY
sociologies
1. : the science of society, social institutions, and social
relationships; specifically: the systematic study of the
development, structure, interaction, and collective
behavior of organized groups of human beings
DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY
'Sociology' which had once been treated as social philosophy, or the
philosophy of the history, emerged as an independent social science
in 19th century. Auguste Comte, a Frenchman, is traditionally
considered to be the father of sociology. Comte is accredited with
the coining of the term sociology (in 1839). "Sociology" is composed
of two words : socius, meaning companion or associate; and 'logos',
meaning science or study. The etymological meaning of "sociology"
is thus the science of society. John Stuart Mill, another social
thinker and philosopher of the 19th century, proposed the word
ethology for this new science. Herbert Spencer developed his
systematic study of society and adopted the word "sociology" in his
works. With the contributions of Spencer and others it (sociology)
became the permanent name of the new science.
The question 'what is sociology' is indeed , a question pertaining to
the definition of sociology. No student can rightfully be expected to
enter on a field of study which is totally undefined or unbounded. At
the same time, it is not an easy task to set some fixed limits to a field
of study. It is true in the case of sociology. Hence it is difficult to give
a brief and a comprehensive definition of sociology.
Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different
sociologists. No single definition has yet been accepted as completely
satisfactory. In fact, there are lot of definitions of sociology as there
are sociologists. For our purpose of study a few definitions may
be cited here.
1. Auguste Comete, the founding father of sociology, defines
sociology as the science of social phenomena "subject to
natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the
object of investigation".
2. Kingsley Davis says that "Sociology is a general science of
society".
3. Harry M. Johnson opines that "sociology is the science that
deals with social groups".
4. Emile Durkheim: "Science of social institutions".
5. Park regards sociology as "the science of collective behavior".
6. Small defines sociology as "the science of social relationships".
7. Marshal Jones defines sociology as "the study of man-inrelationship-to-men".
8. Ogburn and Nimkoff : "Sociology is the scientific study of
social life".
9. Franklin Henry Giddings defines sociology as "the science of
social phenomena".
10.
Henry Fairchild: "Sociology is the study of man and his
human environment in their relations to each other".
11.
Max Weber defines sociology as " the science which
attempts the interpretative understanding of social action in
order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course
and effects".
12.
Alex Inkeles says, "Sociology is the study of systems of
social action and of their inter-relations".
13.
Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack say, "Sociology is
the scientific study of social aspects of human life".
14.
Morris Ginsberg: of the various definitions of sociology
the one given by Morris Ginsberg seems to be more
satisfactory and comprehensive. He defines sociology in the
following way: "In the broadest sense, sociology is the study of
human interactions and inter-relations, their conditions and
consequences".
A careful examination of various definitions cited above, makes it
evident that sociologists differ in their opinion about definition of
sociology. Their divergent views about the definition of sociology
only reveal their distinct approaches to its study. However, the
common idea underlying all the definitions mentioned above is that
sociology.
Theories on Health Behaviors
In behavioral medicine, professionals base their interventions on a
few models that attempt to explain people’s health-related behavior:
the health belief model, reasoned and planned behavior theory,
learning theories/classical conditioning, and social cognitive theory.
These models are termed continuum theories, for they aim to
recognize variables that influence people’s behavior, and using the
sum of variables, how likely the person will engage in a particular
behavior (Weinstein, Rothman, & Sutton, 1998). They are often
criticized on their narrow focus on outcome behavior of interest (e.g.
smoking cession) and its non-inclusion of race, gender, and
socioeconomic status — all features known to have a somewhat
strong influence on health behavior. Nonetheless, the model
dynamics are useful to describe particular types of behavior.
Health Belief Model
As the one of the earliest frameworks for understanding human
behavior, the health belief model declares that individuals will take
health related actions based on six types of factors and associated
beliefs:
Perceived Susceptibility: the condition may hurt the individual on
any aspect of the biopsychosocial model.
Perceived Severity: the condition is severe enough to have a negative
consequence.
Perceived Benefits: the advised actions may stop, lower, or lessen
the affect, risk, and consequences of the condition, respectively.
Perceived Barriers/Costs: the corrective/preventive benefits
outweigh the psychological and physical harms of abiding to the
advised behavior.
Cues to Action: there is an internal or external cue, or both, that
trigger the individual to finally act.
This model is better for predicting simple, one-time or limited
behaviors (e.g. immunizations) than habitual behaviors.
Reasoned Action & Planned Behavior Theory
This theory recognizes that individuals act rationally and
emphasizes the power of individual’s intention to induce behavior
governed by three principles:
Attitudes: the individual’s positive or negative feelings about
engaging in a given behavior.
Subjective Norms: standards or influences established by the
individual’s larger context, for instance, familial beliefs, media
conceptions, and societal models.
Perceived Behavioral Control: the degree to which the individual
could perform a behavior.
The theory is limited to discrete sample populations and does not
incorporate profiles of previous behaviors nor does it address when
positive intentions are not enough to enact behaviors (e.g. cues of
action).