Sociology 2140: Social Problems

Introduction

What Is a Social Problem?

Social problems are interrelated

Debate in society centers on: the causes of social problems who is responsible for the problem solutions to the problem

Definitions vary…

What is a Social Problem (cont.)?

A condition (e.g., poverty)A pattern of behaviour (e.g.,

violence) that people believe warrants

public concern and collective action to bring about change

Social problems are conditions that: affect the quality of life of a large number

of people affect cherished values

What is a Social Problem (cont.)?

Social problems can also be discrepancies between ideals and achievement

For example, between rights guaranteed by the Charter and discrimination: actions or practices of dominant group members that have harmful effects on members of subordinate groups

The discrimination could be acted out in the form of violence, a hate crime, an act of violence motivated by prejudice against people on the basis of racialized identity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

Why Study Social Problems?

To understand social forces that shape our lives on personal and societal levels

To gain new insights into ourselves and connections between our world and that of other people, and

To make more effective decisions about these concerns

Index of Social Health

To measure “social problems” The need for “a single quantitative measure of social

well-being resulted in the development of the Index of Social Health (ISH) in 1986 by Marc Miringoff at Fordham University in the United States. The Index focuses on specific social problems, to determine if there has been an improvement or a decline over time.”

Retrieved from http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/sp/sdc/pkrf/publications/bulletins/1997-000006/page03.shtml May 12, 2007

The Index of Social Health Measures sixteen major social problems in the

U.S. including: Unemployment Percentage of children in poverty Average weekly earnings Levels of child abuse Health Insurance Coverage

In Canada, this index was revised in 1997 by HRSDC to look at 15 “Canadian” social problems and a comparison was done between GDP and the index for both the US and Canada (see http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/cs/sp/sdc/pkrf/publications/bulletins/1997-

000006/page03.shtml for more detail)

US Index compared to US GDP

Modified Can. Index compared to Canadian GDP

Crosscultural Look: Social Problems from a Canadian Perspective (text): Poverty and Economic Inequality Crime and Violence Drugs and Alcohol Abuse Racial and Ethnic Relations Sexism and Gender Inequality Sexual Orientation and Homophobia Aging and Ageism Family Work and Unemployment Health and Health Care Population, Urbanization, and Environment War and Terrorism

Social Problems from an Indian Perspective: (http://www.khoj.com/Society_and_Culture/Social_Problems/)

Adoption and Child Support Poverty  Sati Social Work  Unemployment Women's Rights  Child Labour Child Marriage  Consumer Rights Crime and Enforcement  Dowry Female Infanticides  Homelessness Illiteracy

History of Social Problems Theory Early: medical model used, did not take

complexities of a diverse society into account

1920s-1930s: focused on the conditions of society that fostered social problems

Past few decades: sought the sources of

deviation within the social structure and focused on the role of society in creating deviance through labeling people viewed as abnormal

Recent: subjective nature of social problems

Creating A Comprehensive Definition of Social Problems

Objective reality Subjective factors will always be present The study of social problems can never be

value-free Tepperman, Curtis, and Kwan define a social

problem as both an objective and a subjective dimension: A condition that can be empirically observed A process by which society comes to define the

problem

Types of Social Problems

Acts and conditions that violate the norms and values present in society

Societal-induced conditions that cause psychic and material suffering for any segment of the population

C. Wright Mills (1959):The Sociological Imagination

The ability to see the relationship between an individual’s experiences and the larger society (C. Wright Mills)

For example, the relationship between personal unemployment, and technological change and economic cycles that cause it

The task of sociology is to realize that individual circumstances are inextricably linked to the structure of society.

The Sociological Imagination

For Mills the difference between effective sociological thought and that which fails rested upon imagination. The sociological imagination is simply a "quality of mind" that allows one to grasp "history and biography and the relations between the two within society.”

Sociological Imagination (cont.)

Connections between personal and socioeconomic levels is made through:

Microlevel analysis focusing on small-group relations and individual interaction, and

Macrolevel analysis focusing on large-scale institutions, e.g., government and the economy

Examining the historical circumstances that link the two levels.

Main Elements of a Sociological Imagination A willingness to view the social world from the

perspective of others Focusing on the social, economic, and historical

circumstances that influence families, groups, and organizations

Questioning the structural arrangements that shape social behavior and seeing the solutions not in changing problem people but in changing the structure of society

Read an excerpt of C. Wright Mills’ Sociological Imagination (1959) at: http://www.lclark.edu/~goldman/socimagination.html

Private Troubles and Social Issues

One main distinction to keep in mind when using the sociological imagination is the distinction between private troubles and social issues.

Mill uses this example: when 1 person in a city of 100,000 is unemployed, that is a private trouble, but when 5 million in a nation of 150 million are unemployed, it is a social issue…we need to focus on the larger issue, not that one person who is unemployed, blaming him/her for his/her) situation

The Sociological Imagination

"What I am suggesting is that by addressing ourselves to issues and to troubles, and formulating them as problems of social science, we stand the best chance, I believe the only chance, to make reason democratically relevant to human affairs in a free society, and so to realize the classic values that underlie the promise of our studies" (1959: 194).

Why are Social Structure and Culture Important? Social problems are rooted in both the

structure and culture of society In order to use “the sociological imagination”

we need to understand the basic elements of both social structure and of culture

Macro-level theories (functionalism, conflict and feminist theory) focus their attention on social structure while micro-level theories tend to focus more on culture and the creation of meaning

Elements of Social Structure

1. Institutions patterns of social relationships Family, media, religion, etc.

2. Social groups Members have common identity Primary and secondary

Social Structure (cont.)

3. Statuses: position in group Ascribed, achieved and master status

4. Roles Associated with status rights, obligations, and expectations

Elements of Culture

Culture = the meanings and ways of life that characterize a society

1. Beliefs: what is assumed to be true

2. Values: agreements about good and bad

3. Norms: socially defined rules of behaviour Folkways, laws, mores

Culture (cont.)

4. Sanctions: social consequences for conforming to, or violating norms positive, negative, formal and informal

5. Symbols: language, gestures, and objects The meaning commonly understood by group

members They form communication

Another View: Culture as Stories

According to George Gerbner’s (1986) “cultivation theory” culture is a set of stories passed through generations

Stories about: 1. What things are 2. How they work 3. What to do about them

Gerbner believes the media now tell our stories Heavy exposure (esp. to TV) “cultivates” our beliefs,

attitudes and values

Person-Blame vs. System-Blame

Person-Blame: The assumption that social problems result from

the pathologies of individuals System-Blame:

The assumption that social problems result from social conditions

The sociological imagination recognizes that large-scale social problems originate with the system, are formed through historical circumstances, and can then affect individual’s lives adversely.

Ideology of Cultural Deprivation

A loaded ethnocentric term Implies that the culture of the minority is

inferior and deficient in comparison to the culture of the majority

Examples: children in a low-income area school, ex-convicts, inner-city poor.

Ideology of Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism was developed by Herbert Spencer (1860’s)

Coined the term “survival of the fittest” Has its origins in Charles Darwin’s work on

natural selection (1859) in nature which was applied to society

The belief that the place of people in the stratification system is a function of their own ability and effort.

Consequences of the Person-Blame Approach

Frees the institutions of society from any blame and efforts to change them

Controls “problem” people in ways that reinforce negative stereotypes

Legitimizes person-control programs Justifies the logic of Social Darwinism

Danger of System-Blame Approach

It is only part of the truth It presents a rigidly deterministic explanation

of social problems It suggests that people are merely robots

controlled by their social environment

Reasons to Use the System-Blame Approach

A need to balance the perspective of the average citizen, police, and legislators who typically use a person-blame approach

The system is the subject matter of sociology, not the individual

The institutional framework of society is the source of many social problems

Sociological Perspectives

Perspectives are an overall approach toward a subject. Four main perspectives are:

Functionalist Conflict Interactionist Feminist (not in text)Theory is a set of logically related statements

that attempt to describe, explain, or predict social events

Functionalist Theory

Assumption: Society is a stable, orderly system composed of interrelated parts that perform functions to keep society stable

Concepts: Manifest functions are intended and

recognized consequences of social processes

Latent functions are unintended; and Dysfunctions are undesirable

Functionalist (cont.)

Dysfunctions can create• Social disorganization: conditions in

society that undermine the ability of traditional institutions to govern behaviour

Which cause breakdowns in• Values: collective ideas about what is right

or wrong and norms are established or standards of conduct

Application: Violence occurs when institutions become disorganized. To solve problems regenerate institutions

Conflict Theory

Assumption: Groups in society are engaged in continuing power struggles for control of scarce resources

Two types: Value conflict: problems come from

incompatible group values, e.g., liberty and group values

Critical-conflict: problems come from contradictions in the organization of societies, e.g., class and gender inequalities.

Conflict (cont.)

Concepts: Ideal vs. Real Culture, e.g., people claim

they support liberty, but not with issues of ethnic relations

Capitalist class controls working classApplication: Violence occurs because of

conflict between groups’ values and relations of capitalist domination and subordination

Interactionist TheoryAssumption: Society is the sum of the

interactions of individuals and groupsConcept:

self-fulfilling prophesy: a false definition of the situation that evokes a new behaviour that makes the original conception become true, e.g., labelling behaviour as delinquent may cause more delinquent behaviour

Application: Violence is a learned response, not an inherent characteristic, to rewarded behaviour or inappropriate socialization

Interactionism (cont.): Labeling and Self-fulfilling Prophecies

Social problems as conditions, behaviors and situations that are defined and labeled as social problems

Labeling and deviance Secondary deviance-stems from

adapting to the effects of the label and taking on the self concept and roles associated with it

Deviance as a Social Problem

Deviant Individuals (Norm Violators): Norm violators are symptoms of social

problems, not the disease itself Most deviants are victims and should not be

blamed entirely The system should also be blamedInstitutionalized Deviance: When a society is organized in such a way When a society is organized in such a way

that it is not meeting the needs of individuals.that it is not meeting the needs of individuals.

Interactionism (cont.): The Social Construction of Social Problems

Social problems are created through the actions of others which raise our consciousness to issues in society

The media and the creation of social problems

Universities and colleges Government agencies Civic voluntary organization

Moral Entrepreneurs Those who have or develop the power to “label”

problems or problem behaviour in society Often members of elites or interest groups Malcolm Spector and John Kitsuse (1977) saw

social problems as Claims-Making activity Stage 1: Problem Definition

- gaining public recognition Stage 2: Legitimacy

- acceptance by official agencies Stage 3: Reemergence of demands

-reasserting demands Stage 4: Rejection and institution building

- forming new organization to solve the problem

Moral Panics and The Media

Modern mass media aids in “claims-making” Mass media allows for the rapid spread of

new information The media is often the vehicle by which the

public becomes aware of social problems Create intense public concern about and

issue – a “moral panic” Two factors help:

Media and the need for news Public demand for sensational news

stories

Feminist Theory

Assumption: Theorists should look at differential impacts of social phenomena on men and women, and emphasize power relationships. Every issue is a feminist issue and interlocking oppressions, e.g., sexism, racism, and homophobic are addressed

Concept: Patriarchy is control by menApplication: Violence comes from power

differences especially between men and women and is a means of reinforcing patriarchy

Population Health Perspective (used by text authors)    

A comparatively new theory that emerged due to the observation that many social problems are associated with health consequences.

Is a broad approach whose goals are to improve the health of the entire population and to reduce health inequalities among social groups.

Reducing Social Problems through Social Change

Social change: alteration, modification, or transformation of public policy, culture, or social institutions over time

Efforts can be: Short-term, middle-term, or long-term Micro-level, mid-range, or macro-levelFor most problems, a combination of

strategies is required

Micro-Level Attempts to Solve Social Problems

Micro-level attempts focus on how individuals operate within small groups to solve problems

Example: people turn to primary groups: small, less specialized groups in which members engage in face-to-face interactions, for help, e.g., getting a job

Limitation: Fails to consider that secondary groups and institutions play a major part in creating, maintaining, and exacerbating many social problems

Mid-Range Attempts to Solve Social ProblemsMid-range attempts focus on how secondary groups

and formal organizations deal with problems such as drug addiction

Example: Self-help groups, like AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)

and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) often work to change an individual’s behaviour and…

Grassroots groups, started by people with a problem in their territory, sometimes grow to social movements

Limitation: Local efforts usually lack the capacity to produce the larger changes needed at the national or international levels

Macro-Level Attempts to Solve Social Problems

Macro-level attempts focus on how large-scale institutions (e.g., government and media) may become involved in remedies

Limitations: This approach may Overemphasize structural barriers in

society, making them appear insurmountable

De-emphasize the importance of individual responsibility

Politics and Social Policy

Debate on policies often focuses on how best to address the social problem

Opinions range from neo-conservativism to left-wing liberalism

Conservatives - limiting governmental involvement in the solution to social problems

Private enterprise as a solution Focus on individual responsibility

Liberals - government intervention in social-welfare institutions as the solution to social problems

Politics (cont.)

Emancipatory Politics: Involve liberation of people from

adverse conditions through eliminating exploitation, promoting justice

Life Politics: Involve lifestyles, particularly issues

pertaining to the self, sexuality, reproduction, and the body

Looks at global concerns such as ecological survival

Special-Interest Groups and Social Change in Solving Social Problems

A political coalition composed of individuals or groups sharing a specific interest

Types of pressure groups: Issue focus: Single issue, e.g., gun control,

versus multiple demands, e.g., better schools View of the present system of wealth and

power:people have a range of demands

Beliefs about elites: Whether to influence them or replace them

Type of political action: Working through the system

Social Movements and Social Change in Solving Social Problems

Collective behaviour: Voluntary Often spontaneous Engaged in by large number of people Typically violates group norms and valuesCivil disobedience: Non-violent action that seeks to change a

policy or law by refusing to comply with it

Types of Social Movements:

Reform movements: Seek to change some aspect of the social structure

Revolutionary movements: Seek to bring about a total change in society

Religious movements: Seek to renovate people through “inner change”

Alternative movements: Seek limited change in some aspects of behavior

Resistance movements: Seek to prevent or undo change

Research on Social Problems

Ethnography (field studies) - the close observation of interaction among people in a social group or organization

Provides in depth understanding of the nature of a problem

Demographic Studies - how social conditions are distributed in human populations

How many people are affected Characteristics of the people that are

affected

Research (cont.)

Survey Research – way of gathering information from a large population

Sample-representative part from the population to be studied

Cross-sectional data – data collected at one point in time

Longitudinal data – data collected at different points in time

Interviewing or administering a questionnaire to a sample

Research (cont.)

Social Experiments – are studies that are conducted in a controlled setting

Random assignment of subjects to two groups

Experimental group Control group

Test the effect of a treatment on the experimental group

A Humanist Agenda

Criteria include: Improving most of the world’s people’s lives Corresponding to widely held common interests Providing handles for action at a variety of levels Including elements that can be implemented

independently but are compatible Making it easier to solve non-economic problems,

such as environmental protection Growing out of social movements in response to

the needs of diverse peoples

To Conclude:

Each perspective involves different assumptions and thus provides a different analysis of social problems

Also need a means to solve them Strategies are short-, middle- and long-term Remedies are found at the micro-, mid-

range-, and macro-levelCanadians do have a number of pressing

social problems to address, and it is our responsibility to work together for a better world