Social Problems Process Review

Flashcards covering key definitions, theories, and concepts regarding the social problems process, claims, activists, and expert claimsmakers.

What are the format and submission requirements for the Unit Reflection assignment?

The Unit Reflection must be a one-page handwritten paper (college-ruled or wide-ruled notebook paper) worth 10 EC points, brought to exam day and turned in before the exam begins.

What are the five guiding questions for the Unit Reflection assignment?

The guiding questions are: 1) What critiques or praise do you have for the material? 2) How can you see the material in your life? 3) Did the material reinforce or challenge your perceptions? 4) How does the material connect to previous concepts in the course? 5) What questions did the material leave you asking?

How does the objectivist definition of a social problem operate, and what are its main limitations?

The objectivist definition locates a harmful condition and attempts to measure or count it. Limitations include: public worry over conditions that measures show are not harmful to many, lack of worry over conditions with significant harm, lack of consensus on objective standards of harm, and varying definitions of harm across conditions.

How does the constructionist (subjectivist) approach define social problems?

It views conditions as social problems not because of objective standards, but because people perceive and react to them as problems. It focuses directly on people's claims about troubling conditions.

In the social problems process, how are a claim, claimsmaking, and claimsmakers defined?

A claim is a statement, action, or nonverbal gesture highlighting a troubling condition. Claimsmaking occurs when an individual or group states that a condition should be perceived as troubling. Claimsmakers are the people who feel something is wrong and should be done about it.

What are the six sequential stages in the natural history of a social problem?

Stage 1: Claimsmaking, Stage 2: Media coverage, Stage 3: Public reaction, Stage 4: Policymaking, Stage 5: Social problems work, and Stage 6: Policy outcomes.

What three components comprise the standard rhetorical format of a claim?

Grounds (descriptions of the troubling condition), Warrants (reasons stating why we should care, appealing to shared values), and Conclusions (proposed solutions or policy changes).

What elements typically make up the basic rhetorical recipe for grounds in claimsmaking?

Typifying examples or atrocity stories that shape public perception, naming or orienting the problem (e.g., medical or scientific), and offering statistics that suggest the severity and extent of the condition.

What is the difference between valence issues and position issues?

Valence issues are topics nearly everyone agrees are significant social problems, making claimsmaking easier. Position issues are topics without widespread consensus where people hold opposing views, making persuasion more difficult.

How do claimsmakers use domain expansion and piggybacking to refine claims and keep audience attention?

Domain expansion broadens the definition of a problem to add more victims and villains. Piggybacking builds on an older, established claim by asserting that a newer issue is 'just like' the established problem.

What are cultural resources, and how do they impact claimsmaking?

Cultural resources are the well of words, ideas, and images that a culture sees as reasonable. They constrain claimsmakers to what is perceived as practical, but also enrich the options available for constructing claims.

How do outsider claimsmakers differ from insider claimsmakers?

Outsider claimsmakers operate externally to sources of power and must work hard to gain attention. Insider claimsmakers are already near sources of power, making it easier to conduct claimsmaking without as much public attention.

What are diagnostic, motivational, and prognostic frames in social movements?

Diagnostic frames discuss the nature of the troubling condition; motivational frames explain why individuals ought to care; prognostic frames detail what needs to be done to solve the troubling condition.

What are the four types of frame alignments used by activists to recruit supporters?

1) Frame bridging (linking to similar causes), 2) Frame amplification (using shared values to rally support), 3) Frame extension (expanding a frame to encompass recruits' beliefs), and 4) Frame transformation (convincing recruits to adopt the activists' worldview).

How are beneficiaries, constituents, and conscience constituents distinguished in social movement organizations?

Beneficiaries are those who directly benefit from proposed policy changes. Constituents are individuals who support the movement. Conscience constituents support the movement but are less likely to benefit directly from policy changes.

What are opportunity structures, and how do cultural and political opportunities differ?

Opportunity structures are moments when barriers to claimsmaking lower. Cultural opportunities occur when the audience lowers its guard to listen to claims. Political opportunities arise from shifts in the political landscape, changes in political priorities, or weakened opponents.

What is medicalization, and what concerns are associated with it?

Medicalization is defining troubles as medical problems. Concerns include: individuals being perceived as less responsible, framing societal issues as individual troubles, ceding ownership to medical professionals, and expanding medical oversight into more behaviors.

What is biomedicalization?

Biomedicalization is the newest iteration of the medical model frame, arguing that biological causes (such as genetics) explain conditions and provide potential solutions.

Why are officials considered insider expert claimsmakers, and what instrumental reasons drive their claimsmaking?

Officials have substantial data resources and direct involvement in policymaking. Their instrumental reasons include gaining increased power within government bureaucracy and securing greater budgetary allocations if their agency's claims gain media focus.

How does audience feedback influence expert claimsmakers?

Feedback helps experts transition away from overly technical language toward user-friendly terms, and helps manage audience expectations by clarifying the limits of technical knowledge in solving complex social problems.