SOC101Y1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Altruistic Suicide, Canada Men'S National Soccer Team, Erving Goffman
Document Summary
Suicide appears to be a superemely antisocial and non-social act. Emile durkheim demonstrated that suicide is more than an individual act of desperation but a psychological disorder that is influenced by social forces. His findings did not support his initial hypothesis as groups with the highest amount of psychological disorders didn"t have the highest suicide rates. Durkheim felt this was due to differences in social solidarity - refers to the degree which group members share beliefs and values in addition to the intensity and frequency of their interaction. He shows examples of why social interaction deters suicide like married couples are less likely than unmarried and women are less likely than men as they have more close knit ties. Altruistic: suicide in high solidarity settings ex) soldiers who knowingly give up their lives to protect comrades commit altruistic suicide. Men are almost 4 times as likely as women are to commit suicide.
