The Social Problem Process Essay - due in 12 hours

Chapter 1

The Social Problems

Process

Defining Social Problems Slide 1

What is a social problem?

Defining Social Problems Slide 2

 Objectivist definitions of social problems

 Conditions considered objectively harmful

include crime, racism, and sexism.

 Objectivist definitions attempt to measure the

characteristics of harmful conditions.

Defining Social Problems Slide 3

 Problems with objectivist definitions

1. Harmful conditions are not always identified

as social problems.

 Sexism was not considered a social problem

until recently.

2. Conditions that some identify as harmful may

not be considered harmful by others.

Defining Social Problems Slide 4

 Problems with objectivist definitions

3. Social problems are very diverse, so

definitions that try to include them all are

often vague.

4. It can be difficult to specify what constitutes

harm.

 Not everyone will agree if or why a condition is

harmful.

Defining Social Problems Slide 5

 Constructionism (subjectivist approach)

 Conditions are not viewed as problems

because of objective standards.

 They are problems because people think they

are.

 What matters is people’s responses to, and

perceptions of, harmful conditions.

Defining Social Problems Slide 6

 What makes a social problem?

 Subjective reactions, not an objective quality.

 Social problems vary by country because

experiences shape what we see as bad.

 Social problems are not a type of condition, but

rather a process of responding to conditions.

 That process involves social construction.

Defining Social Problems Slide 7

 Constructionism

 Social construction refers to the way people

assign meaning to the world.

 Language plays a key role in the construction

process.

 Individuals learn about and understand their

world by naming things and talking about them.

Defining Social Problems Slide 8

 The social problems process

 The only thing social problems have in

common is that some people have defined

them as social problems.

 How and why do particular conditions come to

be constructed as social problems?

Defining Social Problems Slide 9

 Claim: a statement asserting that a condition

is troubling or harmful

 Claimsmaking: asserting that a condition

should be perceived as a social problem

 Claimsmakers: individuals or groups seeking

to convince others that a condition is

troubling and that something should be done

 Activists, experts, and officials

Natural History of a Social Problem Slide 1

 The process of constructing a social condition

into a social problem has six stages.

 The sequence of these stages is the natural

history of the social problem.

Natural History of a Social Problem Slide 2

 Stage 1: Claimsmaking

 People make claims that there is a problem.

 Stage 2: Media coverage

 Media report on claimsmakers.

 Stage 3: Public reactions

 Public opinion focuses on the social problem.

Natural History of a Social Problem Slide 3

 Stage 4: Policymaking

 Lawmakers and others address the problem.

 Stage 5: Social problems work

 Agencies implement the new policies.

 Stage 6: Policy outcomes

 The various responses to new arrangements.