MCAT Basics (from MedSchoolCoach) Social Institutions
May 29, 2025
Explore the intriguing world of social institutions and their profound effects on society. Discuss the roles of health, education, family, religion, and government in shaping individual behaviors and societal norms. Delve into concepts like medicalization, educational segregation, and family structures. Discover the dynamic interplay between religion and social change, and learn how political systems influence authority and power. Gain insights on social determinants of health and the hidden curriculum in education, all essential for mastering the MCAT!
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
What Defines A Social Institution
- Social institutions combine positions, roles, norms, and values to organize stable patterns of human activity across generations.
- Institutions sit between simple social norms and entire cultures, providing structure and function within society.
Healthcare's Structure And Latent Role
- Health and medicine provide care, promote health, and serve latent functions like large-scale employment.
- The healthcare system includes hierarchical roles and varied physical settings like hospitals and clinics.
Medicalization Can Help And Harm
- Medicalization frames non-medical conditions as medical problems, which can both pathologize normal behavior and enable research and treatments.
- Examples include shyness being treated with antidepressants and Alzheimer's once dismissed as senilism.