1 | Social Problems

Social constructs

objective social problem

objective social problem

Sociology

A social group recognizes and turns a condition/behavior into Transformation Process turning a private trouble into a public one

Objective:

• For any condition or behavior to be considered a social problem, it must have empirical evidence of negative consequences for large numbers of people

• Can be proven true or false, must be impartial or unbiased

Subjective:

• There must be a perception that a condition or behavior needs to be addressed for it to be considered a social problem (i.e. identification process of the problem, it must be recognized)

• Personal Concerns (Social Issue only)

• emphasizes that a condition or behavior does not become a social problem unless there is a perception that it should be considered a social problem

• even if there is little or no basis for this perception, as long as it is recognized by society’s participants as a problem: it is a problem.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION

Sociological imagination

Legitimation Process

yes

Emergence/Recognition/Claims Making

• A social group recognizes and turns a condition/behavior into Transformation Process turning a private trouble into a public one

Legitimation Process

• Social groups persuade officials and higher ups to take some action to address the problem.

Renewed Claims Making

• action is too limited in goals or scope to be able to successfully address the social problem.

• readjustments of solution and a critical moment in solving the problem

Development of alternative strategies

• alternative strategies as opposed to looking at the govt. for help because they are not doing enough

• The group can no longer work in the established system; radically change the system or work outside of it

HYPOTHESIS

• disclosed with the variables

INDEPENDENT (cause) and DEPENDENT (affected)

• correlate with one another to give more insight into the pattern of the social problem at hand.

DATA COLLECTION

• quantitatively (through statistical, nominal data)

• qualitatively (utilizing observations, historical models, and surveys)

Functionalist

Social Issue

• short term

• anything potentially positive or negative that may or may not affect you

• can have a solution

Social Problem

• long term, lingers in the community throughout time

• negative issue that affects our social and physical world

• calls for our immediate action

• exists in a time, space, community

• can be identified

Basic research

• expands our understanding of cause & effect of these problems

• focuses on the advancement of knowledge

Applied research

• program application or policy evaluation

• efforts toward finding a solution to a specific problem.

Social policy

• Force of action through formal law/program

Advocacy

• Use resources to support, educate, and empower individuals/communities

Innovation

• Unique/untested approaches

• Starts at community level that can be applied to national & international prog

It identified gender, often interconnected with race and social class perceptions, as a source for inequality, conflict, or social problems

Social groups persuade officials and higher ups to take some action to address the problem.

Sociology

Functionalist

• Considers how the problem emerges from society and how it works together as a whole; macroperspective

Conflict Perspective

• society is in a constant state of conflict due to competition for limited resources between social classes or groups.

Feminist Theory

• It identified gender, often interconnected with race and social class perceptions, as a source for inequality, conflict, or social problems

Interactionist

• focuses on the way that we as individuals act or make conscious choices regarding our behavior that proceed from how we interpret situations,

• how we interact using language and symbolism to construct and define a social problem; microperspective

• focuses on the everyday interactions between individuals as the basis for the development of society.

how we interact using language and symbolism to construct and define a social problem; microperspective

Renewed Claims Making

ability to recognize the links between our personal lives and experiences to our social world

Functionalist

• Considers how the problem emerges from society and how it works together as a whole; macroperspective

• alternative strategies as opposed to looking at the govt. for help because they are not doing enough

• The group can no longer work in the established system; radically change the system or work outside of it

EVENTS

• Main identified event that causes a domino effect for other social issues and problems

• Lots of manifestations for conditions

CONDITION

• How you exist in a particular time as a result of the events

SITUATION

• Lead by specific set of conditions or circumstances to a particular circumstance in time

EXAMPLE

• Gender Inequality causes for the gender pay gap, leading to further exploitation and discrimination against women for making less

• Poverty causes unemployment, leading to starvation

The science of our social world, relying on logical & systematic methods to investigate social phenomena

• How one perceives, interprets, and labels a matter which is made real by the general perception/agreeance

• action is too limited in goals or scope to be able to successfully address the social problem.

• readjustments of solution and a critical moment in solving the problem

• it is a condition or behavior

• condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people

• generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed.

• become a social problem once recognized by policymakers or large numbers of citizens

Spector and Kituse, 1987

Address a social problem

society is in a constant state of conflict due to competition for limited resources between social classes or groups.

Feminist Theory

Conflict Perspective

Emergence/Recognition/Claims Making

Development of alternative strategies