Social Problems 2 Pages

Chapter 1: Sociology and the Study of Social Problems

Lecture Notes

I. Chapter introduction: Identifying and studying social problems from a sociological perspective.

A. Some people identify certain issues as social problems while others do not.

B. One’s views of a social issue are often based on personal opinions, life experiences, or good guesses and not on valid and reliable scientific research.

C. Taking a global perspective allows us to look at the interrelations between countries and their social problems.

D. Sociology is the systematic study of individuals, groups, and social structures.

1. Sociology, as a social science, offers an objective and systematic approach to understanding the causes of social problems.

II. Using our sociological imagination.

A. As first promoted by C. Wright Mills, our sociological imagination is the link between our personal lives and experiences with our social world.

B. The sociological imagination identifies the social structural bases of social problems, and challenges the claim that a problem is “natural” or based on individual failures.

III. What is a social problem?

A. The negative consequences of social problems.

1. A social problem is a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals or our social or physical world.

B. Objective and subjective realities of social problems.

1. A social problem has objective and subjective realities.

a) An objective reality stems from an unbiased acknowledgement that a social condition exists and can be confirmed through data collection.

b) A subjective reality stems from how individuals define situations.

(1) Berger and Luckmanns’ Social Construction of Reality proposes that experiences just don’t happen to people, they subjectively attach meaning to their experiences which in turn creates their sense of reality (i.e., social constructionism).

(2) Subjective reality will lead to one segment of society defining a social condition as a problem, while another segment of society will not.

(3) From the social constructionist perspective, problems are in the “eye of the beholder.”

C. The history of social problems.

1. Spector and Kituse identify four stages in the identification of a social problem.

a) Transformation – taking a private trouble and transforming it into a public issue.

b) Legitimization – formalizing the manner in which the social problems or complaints generated by the problem are handled.

c) Conflict – activists, advocates, and victims have feelings of distrust/cynicism because established remedies/problem solvers are unsuccessful.

d) Advocates/activists are frustrated and feel they must either radically change the existing system or work outside of the system.

IV. Understanding the sociological perspective.

A. Theory – a set of assumptions and propositions used for explanation, prediction, and

understanding.

B. Theories vary in their level of analysis.

1. Macro level – focus on society.

2. Micro level – focus on individual.

C. Theoretical perspectives.

1. Functionalist perspective (macro level) focuses on the structures (e.g., family, economy, education) of society and their essential and unique functions that create and maintain social order.

a) As applied to social problems, a functionalist will seek out positive consequences and ask does the social problem serve a function?

b) Functionalists, like Merton, will also identify the negative consequences of social problems that are referred to as dysfunctions.

2. Conflict perspective (macro level) focuses on how social problems emerge from the continuing conflict between groups (e.g., social class, gender, ethnicity and race) in society.

a) As applied to social problems, the biggest social problem is the system itself and the inequality it creates.

b) Karl Marx, C. Wright Mills, and other followers of the Conflict perspective believe most social problems stem from the economic substructure of capitalism.

3. Feminist perspective (micro/macro level), the newest perspective presented, focuses on the experiences of women as the starting point in all sociological investigations to ultimately promote a better world for women and for all humankind.

4. Interactionist perspective (micro level) focuses on the subjective creation and definition of symbols (e.g., language, gestures) and interaction which will lead to the evolution of the social creation of social problems.

a) Interactionists stress human agency: the active role of individuals in creating their social environment.

b) How do social problems emerge from interaction?

(1) Mead, Blumer, and other Interactionists believe that problem behavior is learned from others.

(2) Social problems emerge based on how and who defines or labels the situation.

V. The science of Sociology.

A. Sociology relies on the scientific method to produce valid and reliable results.

B. Sociology can be either basic or applied.

1. Basic sociology expands knowledge with no desire to advocate change.

2. Applied sociology involves the pursuit of knowledge for program application or policy evaluation.

C. Theories explain and provide explanations for the social patterns or causal relationships between variables.

D. Variables are a property of people or objects that can take on two or more values.

1. A dependent variable is the variable to be explained.

2. An independent variable is the variable expected to account for the cause of the dependent variable.

E. A hypothesis is a tentative statement about how variables are related to each other.

F. Research methods are quantitative which are based on collection of statistical data or qualitative which are based on capturing social life as participants experience it.

1. Survey research – data collection based on responses to a series of questions.

2. Qualitative methods – data collection conducted in the field emphasizing the observations about natural behavior as experienced or witnessed by the researcher.

3. Historical/comparative methods – focus on one specific time frame.

4. Secondary data analysis – involves the analysis of previously collected data.

VI. The transformation from problem to solution.

A. By continuing to use our sociological imagination and recognizing the role of the larger social, cultural, and structural forces, we can identify appropriate measures to address social problems and move to solutions.

B. Solutions require social action in one or more forms.

1. Social policy – the enactment of a course of action through a formal law or program.

2. Social advocates, like the National Coalition for the Homeless, use their resources to support, educate, and empower victims and their communities.

3. Social innovation – may take the form of a policy, a program, or advocacy, but features an untested or unique approach.

VII. Making sociological connections.

A. Throughout the text, three connections are explored.

1. Connecting personal troubles and public issues.

2. Sociological imagination – connecting social problems with social solutions.

3. Making connections to social problems and solutions in your community.

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