what is a social problem?
- existence of a social condition |
- someone has to think its a problem (BELIEF) |
larger group= more attention |
- awareness/ spreading thru out media |
example- drug addiction, not a social problem unless part of society BELIEVES it diminishes quality of human life |
methods of data collection
experiments, surveys, field research, secondary data research |
Social Groups
- 2 or more people who have a common identity, interact, and form a social relationship |
primary groups- characterized by intimate and informal interactions (friends and family, comfortability) |
secondary groups- task oriented and characterized by impersonal and formal interaction (class mates, co workers) |
Blumer's Stages of a Social Problem
1. societal recognition |
process by which a social problem is "born" |
2.social legitimation |
social problems is recognized by the larger community |
3.mobilization for action |
leads to development and implementation of a plan for dealing with the problem |
roles
the set of rights, obligations, and expectations associated with a status |
- guide our behavior and allow us to predicts others behaviors |
examples student: do work; prisoner: w/ guards and w/ inmates |
- you learn what the roles are, then accept them to maintain that status |
Structural- Functionalist Perspective
society is composed of parts that work together to maintain a state of balance |
latent- consequences unintended and often hidden |
father got fired, how kids feel; gay rights ( ur gay), how fam feels |
manifest- intended and commonly recognized |
a problem that throws that ""norm" off |
social pathology- social problems result from 'sickness' in society |
social disorganization- rapid social change disrupts norms in society |
you adapt ( like coming to college) |
The Sociological Imagination
putting yourself "in" the situation to get a different perspective and better understanding |
- im not homeless, but what would it be like if i was |
methods of data collection
experiments, surveys, field research, secondary data research |
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SOCIAL PROBLEM DEFINITION
a social condition that a segment of society views as harmful to members of society and in need of remedy |
GOOD EXAMPLES |
gun control- threat to civil rights OR its necessary for safety |
abortion- pro life OR pro choice |
Theoretical Perspectives
labeling theory: |
social condition or group is viewed as problematic if it is labeled as such |
social constructionism: |
argues that reality is socially constructed by individuals who interpret the social world around them |
symbolic interactionist perspective
basic premise is that a condition must be defined or recognized as a social problem for it to be a social problem |
individual level |
3 types: |
Blumer's Stages of a Social Problem |
labeling theory |
social constructionism |
conflict perspective
two groups opposing each other |
rich vs poor, pro life vs pro choice |
culture
the meanings and ways of life that characterize a society, including beliefs, values, norms, sanctions, and symbols |
people think the same way as you do |
... wouldn't be in the drug culture if you don't believe in drugs |
beliefs: definitions and explanations about what is assumed to be true |
"is 2nd hand smoke dangerous?" |
values: social agreements ab what is considered good or bad, right and wrong* |
racism, sexism , child abuse, violate the values of equality and fairness |
norms: defined rules of behavior |
1. folkways: customs, habits, and manners of society (not the law) |
ways u act (sneeze= cover ur nose) |
2. laws: formal norms backed by authority (LAW) |
3. mores: norms w/ a moral basis |
Statuses
a position that a person occupies within a social group |
ex: mother, father, child, husband |
ascribed statuses: status that society assigns to an individual on the basis of factors with NO CONTROL over (age, race etc) |
achieved statuses: assigned on the basis of some characteristic or behavior over which there is some control (college graduate, spouse, parent, criminal) (+/-) |
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elements of social structure and culture
the structure of a society refers to the way it is organized |
Organized into: |
institutions |
social groups |
statuses |
roles |
symbols
something that represents something else |
- language, gestures, and objects whose meaning is commonly understood by the members of a society |
ex.) flipping someone off, gang sings (meaning to them not me) |
sanctions
consequences for conforming to or violating norms |
- can be positive or negative |
(+)= being nice, receiving an award for a kind act |
(-)= breaking the law |
levels of analysis
macrosociology looks at 'big picture' of society suggests how social problems are affected at the institutional level |
STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM and CONFLICT THEORY |
microsociology concerned with the psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups |
SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM |
elements of social structure
an institution is an established and enduring pattern of social relationships |
5 traditional institutions are: |
family, religion, politics, economics, education |
family- everyone comes from one (+/-) |
religion- guides a lot of issues ( gay rights, legalized prositution) |
politics- huge impact, set policies with a direct impact on you (happy if ur guy wins, sad if loses) |
economics- micro and macro, every thing is tied into it, SPENDING, globally interconnected, high unemployment = worst economy |
education- HS drop outs: not great jobs, high crime |
Research
Stages of conducting a research study |
1. formulating a research question |
2. reviewing the literature (whats already out there?) |
3. defining variables (measurable event, characteristic, or property that is subject to change) |
4. formulating a hypothesis (B4 research) |
*methods of data collection |
experiments: involves manipulating the independent variable to determine how it affects the dependent |
survey: not v accurate; eliciting info from respondents thru questions (sample: portion of population) |
interviews: survey research, people ask respondents questions and make written notes ab (advantage: clarifying questions) |
questionnaires: less expensive and less time consuming but response rate is a downside |
web based surveys: growing in popularity, thought to reduce problems associated with traditional survey research |
field research: observing social behavior in settings in which it occurs naturally |
^^ participant observation (researcher participates in whatever is studied); nonparticipant observation ( researcher observes).... presence influences behavior |
secondary data research: researching what has been researched |
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