The Medicalization Of Society

Symbolic Interactionalism: One of the three perspectives of sociology is Symbolic Interactionalism, this is a microlevel theory that concerns

Symbolic interactionism is a theory is defined as, ”a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning,

Sociology has its unique perspectives and each perspective makes sense on its own basis. From the three perspectives which are called conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and functionalism the one that makes most sense to me is symbolic interactionism. Symbolic interactionism as stated in the book is, “[A] theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world and communicate with one another.” The sociological perspective of symbolic interactionism was developed by Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead. Symbolic interactionism is analyzed at a microsociological level unlike conflict theory and functionalism.

The last sociological perspective and the most challenging to recognize is symbolic interaction. Symbolic interaction focuses on how human beings interpret symbols and communicate and forge a sense of self ( Halperin, 2/13/15). Symbolic interaction has five/six questions that need to be answered “What communication is taking place? What symbols are being used &/or how is the communication taking place? How does the communication shape perception? How are the parties being influenced by their interaction with one another? What social roles are being played out? (Halperin. 2/13/15).

Within this assignment I am going to explore the sociological perspectives of Marxism and Functionalism and a brief view on interactionism in relation to health and inequalities in health. I will explore sociological explanations for these inequalities focusing on structural materialist, artefact, social selection and cultural explanations.

In this essay, the terms social model and medical model will be explored. Then, aspects of sociological theory and how it influences the delivery of health and social care will be explored

Even in the movies, sociology can be found. Most people think sociology is limited to just worldly problems, but it can be it can be a very broad term. Symbolic Interaction is a communication theory that states society and individuals are created based upon the interactions between each other. One Disney movie that stands out is Aladdin. I feel this movie does a great job of providing examples of symbolic interactionism. My plan is to discuss symbolic interaction and provide examples of the theory.

While most people generally categorize war as a deathly arena consisting of gunfire, the stench of rotten corpses, and the cries of trauma of soldiers; war can be seen as a time for prosperity and growth in the medical profession. The lack of resources in battlefield hospitals, cause people to believe that treatment options are limited. However, history has shown that these limited resources provide an outlet for creativity and exploration, the seeds to advances in the medical profession. During the American Revolution, more casualties were due to illness as opposed to gunshot wounds, opening up the eyes of medical professionals that new ways for disease prevention were needed. Additionally, before World War II biomedical research was limited

The history discipline will cover the past that leads to the current social issue. Secondly, sociology discipline will be used to examine the socio-effects of this social issue. Also, the theory linked to the essay is from the field of study: sociology. Indeed, symbolic interactionism theory stipulates that people communicate and participate

a. Symbolic Interaction/pg. 23: a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another.

Medicalization is defined as the process by which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as medical problems, usually in the terms of illnesses and disorders. Medicalization consists of using medical terms to define, understand and treat a problem. There are three levels of medicalization: fully medicalized, partially medicalized, and minimally medicalized. Childbirth and death are two examples of a fully medicalized condition. Menopause and drug addiction are examples of problems that are partially medicalized. Domestic abuse and sexual addiction are examples of conditions that are minimally medicalized (Conrad, 1992). However, it is unclear of what exactly determines what level of medicalization a condition falls under. The process of medicalization is very broad and not very consistent from case to case. There are some instances where medical professionals are involved in a condition becoming medicalized, while there are other times where there are no medical professionals involved in the process whatsoever. It was not until the 1970’s that the social issue of medicalization began being debated. It was during this decade where social problems like hyperactivity in children, child abuse and alcoholism all were becoming medicalized (Conrad, 1992). The biggest controversy over this was that many believed that nonmedical issues were inappropriately becoming medicalized. Ever since then, more and

Illich, a non-conformist social critic of the institutionalization and bureaucratization of various areas of life previously regarded as personal, believed that the medical institution was intended to produce good but has instead damaged our humanness with several negative consequences. In his argument against the increasingly prominent heteronomous mode of production in the medical realm, he speaks of counterproductivity to criticize the heteronomous (the external aids) paralyzing the autonomous (us, the people) and our ability to do anything for ourselves. He argues that beyond a critical threshold, there are tipping points that produce the opposite of what they were intended to produce lead to terrible results.

Sociology is the function of the human society, and social problems among us. There are three different theories that I will be discussing in this essay. The theories are symbolic interactionism, The conflict theory and functional analysis perspectives. These perspectives help make up the way society thinks as a whole. All three of these perspectives are alike, as much as they are different.

Discuss what is meant by medicalisation and in what ways we can consider diseases to be socially constructed.

Symbolic interaction offers a dramaturgical perspective of how people identify and create their social self through social interaction. Many social theorist studies social interaction/ self as a function to our society. In addition, microsociology develop the idea of applying social interaction on a smaller sample size within the society. Therefore, there were an increase in the study of human interaction and the self. Mead develop his idea through symbolic interaction and social psychology of the human mind. Simmel develop his idea through the perspective of symbolic interaction of urban sociology. Both sociologist focus on the inter social aspect of the human life.