Chapter 1- What is a social problem

social problem

Any condition or behavior that has negative
consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally
recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed

social constructionist view

The belief that negative social
conditions or behaviors do not become social problems unless
citizens, policymakers, and other parties call attention to the condition
or behavior and define it as a social problem

claims-making process

The use of arguments to try to influence public
perception of a social problem, the reasons for it, and possible solutions to it

personal troubles

The personal problems that many individuals
experience

public issues

Problems in society that underlie personal troubles

sociological imagination

The realization that personal troubles are
rooted in public issues

blaming the victim

The belief that people experiencing difficulties
are to blame for these problems

blaming the system

The belief that personal difficulties stem from
problems in society

functionalism

The view that social institutions are important for their
contributions to social stability

conflict theory

The view that society is composed of groups with different
interests arising from their placement in the social structure, and these various
parts of society contribute to ongoing inequality

class consciousness

Awareness of one’s placement in the social
structure and the interests arising from this placement

feminist theory

The view that society is filled with gender inequality characterized by
women being the subordinate sex in the social, political, and economic dimensions of
society.

symbolic interactionism

A perspective that focuses on the meanings people
gain from social interaction

respondents

which gathers its data with the help of a
questionnaire that is given to a group

random sample

A subset drawn from the larger population in which every unit in the population
has the same chance of being included in the subset.

response rate

Another type is a face-to-face survey, which can yield much information because
interviewers typically spend at least an hour asking their questions

experimental group

the researcher can be fairly
sure of a cause-and-effect relationship because of the way the
experiment is set up

control group

In an experiment, the group that does not experience the experimental
condition.

participant observation

Field research in which
the researcher is an active member of the group or setting being
observed

nonparticipant observation

Field research in which the researcher
merely observes a group or setting.

secondary data analysis

Sometimes sociologists do not gather their own data but instead
analyze existing data that someone else has gathered