Download Social Problems

SOCIAL PROBLEMS:
CHAPTER 1
The Sociological Perspective
Overview
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What is sociology and the sociological
imagination?
 If
you have taken an introduction to sociology course this
will look familiar!
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How do sociologists define social problems?
 To
sociologists, nothing is inherently a problem- a social
problem must be collectively defined as one by some
portion of the population.
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How do Sociologists study social problems?
 Research
methods
What is Sociology and the sociological
imagination?
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Sociology is the systematic study of human society
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It is a social science
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It uses the scientific process to collect and evaluate information.
Sociologists research a variety of social issues or problems. Many are social
advocates.
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Sociologists study society and how society affects the individual.
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How do the groups that we belong to shape us? These “groups” are what
sociologists call our social location. This includes our gender “location”, racial
or ethnic “location,” and socioeconomic “location.” Our experiences in the world
may vary based on whether or not we are female/male (or transgender), black
or white (among various other races), rich or poor. etc.
These social locations shape the way we view the world. This is VERY significant!
What do sociologists do?
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Sociologists study everything and anything that has to do with how people
relate to one another.
They often look at issues that have to do with power- that is, who has a lot of
power and how do they choose to exercise this power?
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i.e, corporations, politicians, the media, the wealthy, etc.
they also look at who has little power in our society (the poor, homeless, minority
groups).
Sociologists do many things- for example, they may be affiliated with a
university and conduct ongoing research. They may work for the government
collecting census data, or they may work with organizations that assist the
poor, racial/ethnic minorities, or women.
Someone who studies sociology does not have to become a sociologist.
Studying sociology will help you understand how society affects your own, and
other people’s, behavior. This is enlightening.
When we study sociology we exercise our sociological imagination- see the
next slide!
The Sociological Imagination
Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills):
Looking at people’s behavior and attitudes in the context of the social
forces that shape them. This is a very different perspective for most
of us. In our culture we tend to look at behaviors from an
individualistic (or psychological) perspective. Exercising our
sociological imaginations means we look at human behavior IN
SOCIAL CONTEXT
 We examine how changes in society have a profound influence on
people’s personal lives.
 Emphasis on how larger events have an impact on how we think,
feel, act
 We connect personal troubles and public issues

See the next two slides for examples
The Sociological Imagination: examples
Going to college
 Some of you may have been laid off or are having difficulty finding a decent paying job
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that you like. This is what we call a personal trouble. Perhaps that is why you are taking
this class. You understand that in order to be competitive in a tough economic climate you
need to be “marketable.” If good paying jobs were plentiful, you may have decided
there was no need for a college degree.
Thirty years ago one could find a good paying job with benefits with no college
education! Today, this is rare. Society has changed, so our personal decisions are
affected. This public issue (a competitive job market) can create personal troubles
(unemployment, juggling work and school). By looking at it this way we are exercising our
sociological imaginations.
This might sound like common sense but what if you could not afford college (and many
people can’t)? You may become, or remain, poor. How do we view the poor in our
country? We might blame someone for being poor- as if it was an individual choice- as
opposed to looking at it sociologically- like- college is really expensive! Using our
sociological imaginations we can see that lack of good paying jobs and high college
prices keep many people poor- NOT individual attitudes and choices (although this may
play a role).
The Sociological Imagination: another
example
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The obesity epidemic
Why are so many Americans overweight? The 2009 Gallup-Healthways WellBeing Index shows that 63.1% of Americans are overweight or obese (up from
62.2% the previous year). That is 2/3rds of the country. Consider that in the
1950’s this number was about 40% and it has been growing ever since. What’s
happening?
Certainly it’s easy to blame the individual for being overweight (and this is what
we tend to do). After all we all choose what to eat. We also make the choice
to either exercise or sit in front of the TV. Fair enough- but this is NOT exercising
our sociological imaginations. To exercise our sociological imaginations we would
consider how our society promotes unhealthy habits. What encourages people to
eat more and exercise less?
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Ubiquity of fast food restaurants and processed foods (and lots of ads for them)
Our national love for sedentary leisure activities such as watching TV, playing video games
Fast paced, stressful lives, that make preparing healthful meals more challenging
Desk jobs (as opposed to farming- what most people did 100 years ago)
Can you can think of other reasons?
What is a Social Problem?
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Social Problem:
Some aspect of society that people are
concerned about and would like changed.
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Examples of Social Problems:
 Violence
 Poverty
 Sexual abuse
 Access to Medical Care
 War
 Racism
Top 10 Social Problems identified by
Americans
In 1935
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Unemployment and a poor economy
Inefficient government
Danger of war
High taxes
Government over-involvement in
business
Labor conflict
Poor farm conditions
Inadequate pensions for the elderly
High concentration of wealth
Drinking alcohol
In 2010
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The economy
Federal budget deficit
High price of gasoline and oil
The social security system
Dissatisfaction with government
Crime and violence
Access to affordable health care
Hunger and homelessness
Illegal immigration
The quality of the environment
The Characteristics of Social
Problems
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Two Essential Elements:
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Objective Condition- what are the facts?
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Subjective Concern- how do people feel about the facts, or how are they affected?
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For example: Abortion is currently legal. 63% of Americans are overweight or obese. Women can
vote in the U.S. These are all objective conditions, they are facts; they are unbiased.
Some people have a problem with the fact that abortion is legal, just as some think that there is an
obesity epidemic that needs to be addressed. Just as some people are concerned about violence on
TV, internet pornography, or racism. Some people think that some, or all, of these issues are social
problems. Other people think they aren’t. It’s subjective- (it depends on the person, and that person’s
social location).
Social problems are dynamic
• they are always changing and responding to what is happening in society. And
society is always changing
Social problems are relative
• what may be a problem for some is a solution to others (i.e. Roe v Wade).
Example: Unemployment and Objective
Conditions and Subjective Concerns:
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Objective Conditions (the facts)
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the unemployment rate in the U.S., as of January
2013, is 7.7%
Subjective Concerns (how people are
affected)
 People
have lost jobs, homes
 More people visiting food banks
 College grads nervous about paying back loans and
getting a good job!
Example: Obesity and Objective
Conditions and Subjective Concerns:
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Objective conditions(facts)
 63%
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of Americans are overweight or obese
Subjective concerns(how this affects people):
 Rise
in childhood diabetes
 Increased illness
 Soaring health care costs
 Loss of self-esteem (especially in kids and teens)
Objective & Subjective Concerns:
Abortion before Roe vs. Wade (1973)
Objective (the facts)
 Abortion was illegal.
 Subjective (how the facts affected people)
 Women who wanted abortions could not get
them.
 Untrained individuals performed abortions
 Women died from botched, underground
surgeries.
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Defining the Problem
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How we define a problem (if we think there is one) is important, and as you
may suspect, people interpret facts according to their values
As you can see from the table below, language matters. People who are
opposed to abortion are likely to define what is aborted as a baby, while
those who are pro-choice will define it as a fetus. These words hold
tremendous power because they reflect our values and shape how we
define, and perceive, an issue. The video Fault Lines illustrates this well.
The Role of Sociology in Examining
Social Problems
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Sociology is a tool for breaking through emotions and
defenses
There are five ways sociology penetrates emotional
convictions to yield objective understanding of social
problems:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Sociologists can measure objective conditions.
Sociologists can measure subjective concerns.
Sociologists can apply the sociological imagination.
Sociologists can identify different ways to intervene in a
social problem.
Sociologists can evaluate likely consequences of social
policies.
A way to measure objective conditions:
SURVEYS
Notice how the responses are broken down- by sex, race/ethnicity (previous slide), age, education, and
income (this is social location). Where do you see the most dramatic difference in responses? Clearly
education, income, and age influence one’s perspective on this issue. This is something that sociological
research can show us. But what does it mean? For example, why do you think that 27% of adults age
50-64 think that abortion should always be legal- the highest of any age category? Perhaps it has
something to do with the fact that this is the “baby boomer” generation that grew up in the 1960’s
during a time of radical social change?
Why do those with the most education and highest salary also tend to favor the legality of abortion?
And how do we explain the opposite (that those who have the least education and earn the lowest
salary oppose it?)
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More sociological data. Notice the political and regional differences!
Note that most people tend to fall in the middle (‘Legal Under Certain
Circumstances’) in all categories
Principles Underlying Sociological
Research
Sociologists use scientific methods to provide
objective, systematic research findings
 Sociologists do not base their conclusions on
emotions or personal values
 Sociologists use the sociological imagination
 Because sociology cannot dictate that one set
of values is superior to another, it provides no
basis for making value decisions
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Methods for Studying Social Problems
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Sociologists conduct experiments, gather information
via surveys, study people in “the field” (their natural
setting) and also do in-depth case studies.
They gather information by administering
questionnaires, conducting interviews, being a
“participant observer” or doing a content analysis.
The research methods you use will depend on what
you want to find out!
Should Sociologists Take Sides?
Problem of determining morality
 Research methods allow one to gather objective
information on social problems, but do not reveal what
attitude or social policy is “correct.”
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Should sociologists forget their own subjective concerns
and strive to remain dispassionate, detached, and valuefree or should they report the facts and take sides on the
social issues that affect our society?
This is an issue that is intensely debated in the field!
 My perspective is that we should use our sociological knowledge
to work for positive social change. Of course what we consider
“positive” is not necessarily objective. Hence the dilemma….
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