Download A2-Level Sociology

A2-Level Sociology
Suicide
Defining Suicide
Defining suicide is an issue which needs to be
considered before we can investigate the
reasons behind suicide.
Interpretivist's would argue that we know
whether someone has committed suicide or
not because we use our interpretation.
Although we all interpret situations differently
– therefore can we define suicide
specifically?
What is your definition of suicide?
A Definition of Suicide
Taylor – A Realist
Taylor criticised the common definition of
suicide and came up with the following three
forms of suicide:
• Suicidal Gesture – No intention of dying
• Clear-Cut Suicides – Clear intention to die –
known often from a suicide note
• Para-Suicides – Risk taking acts which gamble
with life
Positivism and Suicide
What key words can you remember in
relation to positivism?
How can those key words be applied to
suicide?
What types of research methods do
Positivists use?
Positivism and Suicide
Durkheim is one of the most useful
examples to use when explaining
Positivism and suicide.
Durkheim decided to study suicide as he
wanted to prove that our actions are
influenced by wider social forces in
which we have no control over.
Durkheim’s Definition of Suicide
“all causes of death resulting directly or
indirectly from a positive or a negative
view of himself, which he knows will
produce this result”
Durkheim's Methodology
• Comparative method – making
comparisons between data to identify
differences.
• Official Statistics – Durkheim used
these to make comparisons between
countries.
Durkheim’s Discoveries
1. Suicide rates varied between countries
although overall they were fairly
stable.
2. Suicide rates varied between groups.
From Durkheim’s discoveries he concluded that suicide rates were not
driven by individual s but by wider social forces.
If suicide was driver individually then suicide rates would have been
more scattered.
Durkheim’s Categorisation of
Suicide
Type of Suicide
Integration
Regulation
B
A
L
A
N
C
E
Lack of Integration
Egoistic
Over-Integration
Altruistic
Lack of Regulation
Anomic
Over-Regulation
Fatalistic
Read the definitions for each of these types of suicide on the handout.
Task
Complete the activity on the handout
headed What type of suicide?.
Positivist Response to Durkheim
Halbwachs (1930)
Halbwachs claimed that Durkheim over
emphasised the influence religion has
over suicide. Halbwachs claims that
living in a rural or urban area has more
of an impact.
Positivist Response to Durkheim
Gibbs and Porterfield (1960)
Gibbs and Porterfield studied suicide
statistics for New Zealand and found
them useful as the provide an individuals
occupation class at birth and death.
From this they then drew conclusions.
Interpretivism and Suicide
What key words can you remember in
relation to Interpretivist's?
How can those key words be applied to
suicide?
What types of research methods do
Interpretivist's use?
Interpretivism and Suicide
Interpretivist Sociologists study suicide
in a non-scientific method.
Interpretivist's reject the use of
official statistics as they prefer to look
at why individuals behave in the ways
they do.
Interpretivism and Suicide
J.D Douglas (1967)
Douglas identifies that suicide statistics
are based on the coroners decision as to
whether the death was a suicide or not.
Douglas saw how suicide can have
different meanings decedent on the
reason for the death.
Interpretivism and Suicide
Jean Bachelor (1979)
Bachelor aims to identify what motivates
people to commit suicide.
Escapist Suicide
Escape an unbearable situation
Aggressive Suicide
To hurt or harm someone else
Oblative Suicides
Used to gain a desire – E.g. Heaven
Ludic Suicides
Done for the risk and excitement
A Phenomenological Approach
Atkinson (1978)
Atkinson rejects the idea of coroners
classifying suicides because the facts
are social constructions.
Atkinson saw how there are four
commonsense factors which affects a
coroners decision to classify a death as
a suicide or not.
A Phenomenological Approach
Atkinson's commonsense factors are:
1. The presence of a suicide note
indicates suicide
2. Type of death such as hanging indicate
suicide
3. Location and circumstances
4. Evidence of illnesses. E.g. Depression