Individuals and Society Assignment: Sociology Perspectives Analysis

This assignment, completed for the University of Bedfordshire's FYA002-0 Understanding Individuals and Society course, analyzes various sociological perspectives on key social issues. The student examines a newspaper article on terrorism through a functionalist lens, exploring how this perspective explains terrorism and its implications. The assignment then delves into sociological perspectives on mental health, focusing on gender stereotypes and identifying key thinkers and concepts. Furthermore, it explores different sociological perspectives on gender, including functionalist and conflict perspectives, and provides an example of gender oppression. Finally, the assignment addresses the role of religion and science in society, comparing functionalist and conflict perspectives on religion and discussing different definitions of religion, including their weaknesses. The assignment demonstrates an understanding of sociological theories and their application to contemporary social issues.

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INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY
by [NAME]
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Week 5
Question 1.
Subject: Terrorism
Date: 6th January 2020
1. Identify a recent newspaper article which discusses the issue of terrorism. You will
also need to clearly state the name of the newspaper and the author(s) of the article.
A newspaper article on The Guardian which is a British daily addressed the issue of
indefinitely jailing terror offenders in need be. This article was published on Tuesday the
4th of February. The article was authored by Simon Murphy and Rowena Mason.
According to the article, the public should be made to feel safe by convicting and jailing
terrorists who put the safety of the general population at risk.
2. Identify the sociological perspective being used to discuss the issue of terrorism.
The authors of the article wrote that the government was facing legal challenges relating to
the proposed emergency legislation after the Streatham attack. According to the article,
Michael Gove a senior cabinet minister argued that Islamist extremists were categorized
differently from other offenders and they must therefore not be released before the Parole
Board in the UK deems them safe to be on the streets. These offenders according to Gove
should be indefinitely locked up to protect the public and prioritizing public safety until
these offenders are completely de-radicalized. In the current system, an offender can be
released halfway through their sentence but the new proposal aims at ensuring that the
public is safe before such offenders are released. However, this legislation could be

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potentially challenged in court because experts warn that it is retrospective.
Terrorism is sometimes perceived differently in society. Different social perspectives can
be used to describe terrorism and they include functionalist perspective, conflict
perspective, and interactionist perspective. The issue of terrorism in the article by Simon
Murphy and Rowena Mason is addressed using the functionalist perspective. This
perspective argues that society is made up of different systems that work together to
maintain the balance of the entire society. For example, the family offers a way of
reproduction and nurturing children; education is a way of transferring knowledge and
culture; politics offers a way of governance; economics deals with the production and
consumption of food and other goods and services; religion provides for moral guidance
(Lawler, 2015).
This article, therefore, uses the functionalist perspective because the government plays an
important role in holding the perceived terrorists in jails until they are deemed harmless.
Through education during their jail terms, these offenders undergo de-radicalization to
ensure that they get rid of their terrorist ideologies. The safety of the public is prioritized to
ensure that these offenders do not come back to harm or potentially kill members of the
public.
3. In which way does this perspective explain terrorism?
The functionalist theory explains terrorism as a deviation from the normal occurrences in
society. This perspective argues that terrorism is a function given that it brings individuals
who perpetuate it together thus bringing a feeling of solidarity among the extremists
(Bartolucci and Gallo, 2015, p. 21). Terrorism is a dangerous activity and society must use
it to reassert social norms into individuals. This will make people make the right choices

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that can be used to bring social changes thus leading to a healthy society. Terrorism
compels the society to come up with better ways of protecting itself and that is why this
article talks about the indefinite jailing of terrorists to protect the general public.
References
Bartolucci, V. and Gallo, G., 2015. Terrorism, system thinking and critical discourse
analysis. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 32(1), pp.15-27.
Lawler, S., 2015. Identity: sociological perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
Week 6
Question 2.
Subject: Mental Health and Contemporary Society
Date: 13th January 2020
1. Identify a sociological perspective on mental health.
Sociological perspectives on mental health argue that different individuals will experience
similar levels of mental illness or health if they are placed under the same circumstances.
Sociological perspectives regard mental health as an aspect of social circumstances such as
levels of social support, life events, and stressful circumstances. One of the sociological
perspectives on mental illness gender stereotype. More men are experiencing difficulties in
dealing with mental illness as compared to women because of the pressure of living up to
their masculinity. This pressure causes stress among men thus leading to mental illness.

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2. Who is the key thinker of your chosen perspective?
Mental illness is believed to be one of the leading contributors to the global burden of
disability and diseases. Men and women have different socially constructed responsibilities
and roles that define their status and power. These roles and responsibilities interact with
biological differences to contribute to the differences witnessed in mental health between
the two genders. Gender-based roles in adolescents and adults have proven that girls and
women are more prevalent in mental illness as compared to boys and men (Busfield, 2017,
p. 32). Other studies have also proven that men are more prevalent to mental illness due to
the burden of responsibilities that they have to carry. This shows that there is no huge
difference in the overall prevalence between men and women. The key thinker in this
perspective is, therefore, both genders.
3. What are the two (2) key points used to explain mental health?
Mental health can be best described as being in a state of a continuum where an individual
is either mentally well or mentally ill. Some of the factors of a continuum in mental health
include stresses, life circumstances, and genetic make-up of individuals. Two key points
used to describe mental illness include mental disorders such as anxiety and depression;
states of positive mental health (Grob, 2019, p. 288). A mentally healthy individual is able
to build and maintain relationships, be confident themselves, and be in control of their
emotions.
4. What are the disadvantages of these perspectives?
Social perspectives on mental health argue that mental illness or wellness is a social
construct and it is affected by societal occurrences such as poverty, discrimination,
violence, and substance abuse (Vaughan and Hogg, 2013). These are very accurate

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arguments because the said factors are major contributors to mental health among
individuals. It is, however, important to note that these social perspectives have some
disadvantages in how they describe the idea of mental illness. One of the disadvantages is
that it does not take into consideration other major contributors such as biological factors
and other unavoidable circumstances like accidents and traumatic injuries. It is important
to note that social perspectives and any other factors collectively contribute to the mental
health status of an individual.
References
Busfield, J., 2017. Men, women and madness: Understanding gender and mental disorder.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Grob, G.N., 2019. Mental illness and American society, 1875-1940 (Vol. 5316). Princeton
University Press.
Vaughan, G.M. and Hogg, M.A., 2013. Social Psychology. Frenchs Forest.
Week 7
Question 3.
Subject: Gender
Date: 20th January 2020
1. Which sociological perspectives explain the issue of gender?
Sociological perspectives that explain gender issues include functional, conflict, and
interactive perspectives. According to the social perspective, gender roles are meant to
maximize social efficiency. This perspective considers society to be a complex system with

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different parts that work together to promote stability (Giddens and Sutton, 2013). The
functionalist perspective additionally argues that gender inequalities are in existence to
help in the division of labor where some roles are specifically meant for a particular group
of individuals. This division of labor aims to maximize efficiency and resources.
Conflict perspective, on the other hand, argues that men are the dominant gender and must,
therefore, subordinate women so that they can maintain privilege and power in society.
According to this perspective, different social groups struggling for dominance compete for
the same resources where men attempt to maintain power at the expense of women
(Giddens and Sutton, 2013). This theory suggests that social problems are created because
dominant groups suppress and exploit the less dominant groups.
2. Give one example where women are oppressed by their gender.
Women experience discrimination most of the time and reports suggest that women in
male-dominated workplaces experience high levels of discrimination. This oppression does
not only apply in workplaces but within society at large. For example, in most African
cultures, women are excluded from their parents’ inheritance. Most African cultures
believe that only men should be allowed to inherit any property belonging to their deceased
parents. This is a clear form of discrimination that is perpetuated by patriarchy to ensure
that male dominance is maintained and that women keep being subordinates in society.
This is a gender inequality that is discriminatory against women just by the mere fact that
they are women.
3. What are the similarities between the two (2) sociological perspectives you have
identified?

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Functionalist and conflict perspectives are two different sociological perspectives but one
of the fundamental concepts that make them similar is that they both logically explain the
behavior of groups of people in society based on their gender, age, ideologies, and social
status among others (Judge, 2012). Additionally, both these perspectives acknowledge the
fact that there exists a relationship between individuals and systems. Therefore, they both
explain that there is a relationship between the societal system and gender inequality.
Reference
Giddens, A. and Sutton, P.W., 2013. Sociology. edition.
Judge, P.S., 2012. Foundations of Classical Sociological Theory: Functionalism, Conflict
and Action. Pearson Education India.
Week 8
Question 4.
Subject: The role of religion and science in society
Date: 27th January 2020
1. Which two (2) sociological perspectives are critical of the role of religion in
society?
Functionalist, conflict and interactionist perspectives are all influential in trying to
understand religion. The most important sociological perspectives in religion include
functionalistic and conflict perspectives. According to functionalism, religion is important

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because it serves several societal functions. It is alleged that religion and society coexist for
their existence and values. It is important to note that religion is used to provide answers to
mysterious questions that involve spirituality as well as being an avenue for social
interaction and emotional comfort (Courses.lumenlearning.com, 2020). Religion offers
social networking and social support for different people to come together and share values
and ideas.
The conflict perspective, on the other hand, argues that religion is an institution whose aim
is to uphold forms of social inequality. This can be explained by using the example of the
Vatican that is known to have huge amounts of wealth. Catholic priests, on the other hand,
have small average incomes (Courses.lumenlearning.com, 2020). This perspective,
therefore, argues that religion is used to perpetuate the oppressive activities of monarchs
and justify unfair social structures.
2. What are the differences between the sociological perspectives identified?
The functionalist perspective argues that each societal aspect is important and serves a
fundamental function in society. These aspects are believed to be essential for the survival
of society. The conflict theory, on the other hand, argues that society is always in conflict
resulting from an unequal distribution of resources, therefore, the dominant individuals
oppress the subordinates (Thompson et al., 2016). Another difference between the two
aspects is that according to functionalism, all elements within the society are
interdependent and work together for the stability of the society. The conflict perspective,
on the other hand, addresses the issue of classism that creates a conflict between classes

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due to unequal resource distribution and this conflict may lead to social changes.
3. Discuss the different definitions of religion and the weaknesses of the definitions.
Religion can be defined in two ways that include functional and substantive definitions.
Substantive definition of religion argues that religion is about content where one is said to
have a religion if they believe certain things and lack it when they do not believe these
things, for example, believing in gods and spirits (Oman, 2013, p. 24). The weakness of
this definition is that it defines religion simply as bizarre beliefs and a collection of
primitive analogies and understanding about reality and nature.
The functional definition, on the other hand, defines religion based on what it can do. For
instance, when an individual believes that something can have an impact on their life
socially or psychologically then that is religion (Oman, 2013, p. 31). This definition,
however, leads to a radical misunderstanding of the origin of religion.
4. Give an example of the way in which religions influences human behavior.
Religion is considered by some individuals as a rule book that prevents believers from
acting in uncultured ways. It influences thinking patterns, self-identity, and the collective
identity of an entire community. Religion influences human behavior by enforcing morality
through the use of scriptures. For example, the bible talks about heaven, hell, and life after
death. When these things are communicated to believers, they become fearful especially of
hell and how it is talked about. No individual can honestly wish to go to hell. The bible
scriptures, therefore, instill fear in them and they change their behaviors to correspond with
the scriptures with the hope of going to heaven and enjoying life after death.

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References
Courses.lumenlearning.com. (2020). The Sociological Approach to Religion | Introduction
to Sociology. [online] Available at:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/sociology/chapter/the-sociological-approach-to-religion/
[Accessed 24 Feb. 2020].
Oman, D., 2013. Defining religion and spirituality. Handbook of the psychology of religion
and spirituality, 2, pp.23-47.
Thompson, W.E., Hickey, J.V. and Thompson, M.L., 2016. Society in focus: An
introduction to sociology. Rowman & Littlefield.
Week 9
Question 5.
Subject: Sociological perspectives on criminal behaviour
Date: 3rd February 2020
1. In what way is Charles Murray’s explanation of crime similar to Emile Durkheim’s
explanation?
They both believe that crime is a function of the society and that the society is made up of
different structures that aim to hold it together and enhance its stability. These two
perspectives are similar because they both argue that crime occurs due to some societal
factors such as normlessness and the underclass.

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2. In which ways are these two (2) perspectives different?
According to Charles Murray, the underclass is the major cause of crime in society.
Additionally, this perspective argues that the only way of getting rid of crime is by making
it extremely expensive (Cruickshank, 2013, p. 87). If potential criminals are made aware of
the possible losses associated with crime in terms of financial costs and loss of liberty, then
they can be deterred from engaging in crime-related activities. Emile Durkheim, on the
other hand, argues that crime results from a condition of normlessness that may be caused
by rapid social changes. He, additionally, argues that crime can be reduced by instilling
social control and order that helps in creating social cohesion (TenHouten, 2016, p. 94).
Durkheim further says that crime is important in society to initiate social change; an
argument that critics may find very flawed.
References
Cruickshank, J., 2013. Social theory and the underclass: social realism or rational choice
individualism?. In Rational Choice Theory (pp. 84-101). Routledge.
TenHouten, W.D., 2016. Normlessness, anomie, and the emotions. In Alienation and
Affect (pp. 91-108). Routledge.
Week 10
Question 6.