Analyzing Social Factors, Lifestyle, and Inequality: Sociology Essay

This sociology essay delves into the influence of social factors on lifestyle and social inequality. It examines how elements such as social class, gender, ethnicity, norms, values, and individual behaviors shape people's lives. The essay explores the implications of these factors on education, health services, and employment opportunities, particularly for marginalized groups. Furthermore, it evaluates sociological explanations for social inequality, discussing functionalist, symbolic interactionism, and conflict perspectives. The essay highlights the importance of addressing social inequality through various strategies and emphasizes the need for effective steps to achieve desired results in creating a more equitable society. The essay also includes a discussion of the role of government in addressing social inequality through health campaigns and the importance of individual responsibility in maintaining health. The essay concludes by summarizing the key findings and emphasizing the relevance of sociological insights for understanding and addressing social issues. The essay includes references to relevant books and journals.

Sociology

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
Social factors affecting lifestyle and its implication on society.............................................1
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................2
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Sociology refers to study of social life, change, cause and consequences of behaviours
which investigate by sociologists (Wach, 2019). It includes study of groups, individuals and
communities in society regarding gender, racism, ethnicity etc. This essay will focus on social
factors affecting lifestyle and reducing social inequality among citizens.
TASK 2
Social factors affecting lifestyle and its implication on society
Social factors are responsible for making basis of people to judge an individual and
behave with them accordingly. It includes number of elements that has an impact to make
perspectives about a person in regards to their gender, ethnicity, norms etc. However, the social
factors are helpful to identify other person according to their gender, financial status, behaviours
and many more. There are are various components which impact on lifestyle of people in which
some of them are mentioned here. Initially, social class divide population of country in several
categories like upper, upper-middle, middle, working and lower class which decided by society
as per financial status of an individual. This economic condition of people make the capable to
afford required services within the limitations to fulfil basic needs of life (Gottdiener, 2019). The
society is divide into these five social classes which influence the choices and preferences of
individuals as some of them face very difficulty to complete their basic needs whereas few of
people can buy expensive things whatever they want accordingly.
Secondly, gender plays an important role in society as many of perspectives regarding
roles and responsibilities of male & female depends on their gender. For example, society has a
popular thinking from the very beginning that women should not required to study and take
employment as they have to manage the household aspects whereas men cannot remain at home
for household things but mandatory to do a job. Thirdly, ethnicity can be defined as belonging of
an individual to specific social group, community or caste according to which some of citizens
face discrimination in society. People behave negatively towards them while such individuals
seeking for education, employment and health care facilities. It has been analysed that the
discrimination based of social communities impact negatively on entire life of such families as
they remain pressurise to live a bad life. They are not capable to complete their need of hunger,
medicines, education which make their life terrible. However, norms and values are affiliated
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by specific culture or religion of people which reflect on their personality and way of thinking.
An individual follow their cultural norms while carry put tasks in their personal and professional
life that may create conflicts with others. Society can judge the person on the basis of their
cultural values to understand their thoughts or ideas and make in accurate perception about them.
For example, people in society think that priest do not eat non vegetarian food and drink alcohol
but this is not true in practical life.
On the other hand, the behaviour of people reflect about their choices, preferences and
internal sight of an individual. For example, a person having an attitude or less talking behaviour
may results negatively on others as people think that they are not be able to become friends.
Behaviours also develop perceptions about specific cultural values, personality features and
psychology of a person (Collins, 2019). Moreover, life style of people can be affiliated from
their own choices, perceptions and cultural norms which they are following every time. It
includes the fact that lifestyle of an individual reflect about their financial status and standards of
living because poor lifestyle indicate about inappropriate condition of individuals who are not
able to fulfil heir basic need of food, shelter, clothing & water.
Considering the above mentioned social factors, these have an impact of life of people
while they are seeking for education, health services, attainment and employment. It is observed
that poor financial condition of lower social class category is not able to afford expensive health
facilities which develop complications on their condition. The factor of ethnicity create
discrimination that create problem for lower community individual to gain proper education,
employment and attainment in life (Whitty, 2017).
TASK 3
Date: 29-01-2020
Evaluate sociological explanations for the existence of social inequality
Social inequality refers to existence of number of practices and concepts on the basis of
which people not behave equally with every individual. It includes the various factors like cast-
ism, ethnicity, gender, disability and so on. However, people shows negative behaviour of
discriminated communities because of having perspectives that they take birth for facing partial
activities. It has been analysed that discrimination exist in every sector such education,
corporate, health care etc. which eliminate growth opportunities for discriminated citizens
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which results into terrible situation of them. It has been analysed that social inequality develop
the condition of health inequality that people belongs to specific groups of community have
week medical condition as compared to other citizens. Considering the campaigns applied by
government for reducing social inequality by carried out investment to health campaigns for
motivating them to alter their own behaviour. It consist the criterion of encouraging citizens for
avoiding habits of smoking and consumption of alcohol, improve diet, conduct physical
exercise regularly. This campaigns results into increase in problem of health inequality besides
of reducing the problem whereas it has been analyse that individualistic approach of looking
after own health & welfare seems beneficial (Thompson, Hickey and Thompson, 2016). The
motivating event for citizens to look after their own health is favourable as it facilitate to reduce
the the inequality related to health by enhancing entire health status of the country. Moreover, it
is necessary for government to monitor and evaluate the
The sociological perspective consist functionalist perspective, symbolic interactionism
and conflict perspective which has some of pros and cons. Initially, the functionalist perspective
can be described as macro level of analysis which state about relation between different sections
of society and way of becoming functional. It has an advantage of being a grand theory which
consist social institutions and it is responsible for concentration on stability of the society. In
contrary, the disadvantage of functionalism is that it does not focussing on individuals and
develop dysfunction in society. Secondly, the symbolic interactionism perspective is a micro
level analysis which is based on face to face interaction concept. It has a pro that it focusses on
individuals by considering them actors and follow ever changing conception. Comparatively, it
has a cons of ignoring structures, remaining unscientific and limited while explanation society
as a whole.
Thirdly, the conflict perspective is also known to be macro level analysis focus on
competition for scarce resources and the way of elite control the poor and weak. It has an
advantage that it is responsible for permitting in regards to practical or praxis action which has
been carried out on the basis of theoretical as well as intellectual understanding (Wexler, 2017).
It also has benefit of advocating from equality and justice of overall population in society. In
contrary to this, conflict perspective has a disadvantage of ignoring the working well aspects of
the society and may overstate the purpose for inequality. Meanwhile, it also conflates equity
with inequality. It has been evaluated that factor of inequality is required to reduced by taking
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effective steps along with ensuring their effectiveness for achieving desired results.
CONCLUSION
From the above essay, it has been concluded that sociology can be described as specific
aspects for studying the social life, change, cause and consequences of behaviours. It includes
the number of social factors that impact of lifestyle of people including social class, gender,
ethnicity, norms & values and behaviour along with health inequality.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Collins, R., 2019. The credential society: An historical sociology of education and stratification.
Columbia University Press.
Gottdiener, M., 2019. New urban sociology. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and
Regional Studies, pp.1-5.
Thompson, W.E., Hickey, J.V. and Thompson, M.L., 2016. Society in focus: An introduction to
sociology. Rowman & Littlefield.
Wach, J., 2019. Sociology of religion. Routledge.
Wexler, P., 2017. Social analysis of education: After the new sociology. Routledge.
Whitty, G., 2017. Sociology and school knowledge: Curriculum theory, research and politics.
Routledge.
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