Sociology Readings 2

social mobilization strategies

involve the exertion of influence “downward” by organization, community, societal, or other leaders who are attempting to initiate social change from their positions of power; primary concern is to persuade citizens to adopt intended changes

social mobilization major dynamics

leader initiated

established system leaders identify an issue that they believe requires attention, formulate a policy concerning it and programs to enact that policy, and then seek to persuade citizens to accept the policy and to participate in the programs

citizens may be able to replace leaders if system is very unpopular

social mobilization typical problems

likely to be unsuccessful unless they can mobilize the public to adopt those changes

large numbers of citizens are likely to remain ignorant of the leaders’ efforts, be apathetic or indifferent toward them, or flatly reject them

the exchange transaction being proposed by the leaders may appear to be unfair or even exploitive to many people

many of the mobilization strategies described above can be quite costly in terms of time, effort, and resources without any guarantee of success

social involvement strategies

involve reciprocal influence flows among leaders and citizens who are jointly attempting to change social life

social involvement major dynamics

leaders have begun working with citizens rather than on them

establish and conduct a cooperative citizen involvement program to resolve a pressing problem, formulate a policy concerning it, and carry out an action program to deal with it

citizens support because they’ve participated in shaping it

social involvement typically problems

time, effort, and resources, most citizens have little experience, and you have to teach to gain their trust, not look suspicious

legal decision makers must agree in advance to support and participate in the program

social confrontation strategies

involve the exercise of influence “upward” by citizens who are dissatisfied with existing conditions and want to change them despite resistance from system leaders

social confrontation major dynamics

applies to situations in which only a set of citizens define an existing situation as a problem that require action

citizen initiated, identify nature of problem, organize themselves for collective action, bring pressures to bear on leaders to accept new change

central dynamics are power generation and exertion coupled with negotiation and compromise

social confrontation typical problems

may not be able to find strong leaders, attract enough members and supporters, or obtain sufficient financial resources

may be no leverage points, not exert sufficient pressures on leaders

leaders may be unwilling to negotiate

negotiations may end in impasse neither side can overcome

social problems claimsmaking

the process of convincing the public and important public official that a particular issue or situation should be defined as a social problem

begins by creating controversy and continues as people explain what changes are needed and why

“As claims making gains public attention, it is likely to prompt counterclaims from opponents”

in other words, most controversial issues involve claims making from at least two different positions

ex: abortion controversy

conservative views on crime

believe effective social controls are needed to keep people from engaging

most effective type of control = conscience, because of this, emphasize importance of families, churches, schools, and communities

believe crime rates increased due to weakening of religious values, traditions, and neighborhood ties

criminal justice system can’t operate on its own, needs parents teaching children

liberal views on crime

like to think people want to do the right thing but living situations keep them from doing so

believe economic renewal is needed in poorer communities

key to controlling crime = giving everybody the opportunity to succeed

until society can provide jobs for everyone, view criminal justice system as revolving door

Radical left views on crime

believe real crime in society is nation’s great economic inequality

if people resort to crime, it’s because there’s no other way

think conservatives are blaming the victim when blaming parents

conservative view on drugs

children raised by involved parents are able to resist any drug use

view increase in drugs use as evidence for society losing its way

major responsibility always lies with parent

liberal views in drug use

claim drug use is product of too little economic opportunity and too much hopelessness

more tolerant on drugs

less emphasis on police, courts, and prisons and more emphasis on drug education for children and treatment programs for those struggling with addiction

child abuse horror story

refers to stories that elicit strong negative feelings

“The routine child abuse case does not make very good ‘copy’ for news reporting”

very few end in death with perpetrators who have prior criminal records, or result in court proceedings

what makes a good copy is a dramatic case

“Publishing child abuse horror stories served a wide range of uses”

fits the organizational needs and interests of news organizations

helps many professional and occupational groups, social science and medical researchers, and various private and nonprofit agencies

played strong role in legitimizing the problem

“Statistics, then, can become weapons in political struggles over social problems and social policy”

people use statistics to make their points

“Statistics — numerical statements about social like — became an authoritative way to describe social problems”

done in 19th century, people started putting more faith in science

innumeracy

an inability to deal comfortable with the fundamental notions of number and chance

many people have trouble thinking clearly about numbers, leads to people accepting social statistics uncritically

many statistical claims don’t get the critical attention they deserve

“The problem of homelessness has been socially constructed”

it was through the social process that people began to notice homelessness as a problem; prior to 1980s, homelessness wasn’t term seen as an issue

“effectively divided homelessness and poverty into two separate public issues”

advocates noticed that the public reacts differently to the homeless in comparison to the poor

focus on homelessness produced more results

“focus on homelessness did not threaten established institutions and inequalities”

painted to simple a picture of homelessness

two consistent findings noted to have been produced by research into social media news consumption

social media have become a major source for news about public affairs

using social media for news increases individuals’ political engagement

“Social media can be used to promote antidemocratic processes”

hate groups, online harassment, hyperpolarization, and state-sponsored propaganda exploit information value of social platform

surveillance motivation

when individuals use social media to learn about one’s community, events, and political affairs

Explanations that “have been advanced to account for the relationship between news in social media and political engagement”

news exposure raises awareness and knowledge of political issues, increasing the likelihood of engaging in political activities

informational uses of social media increase participation by promoting poilitcal expression

misinformation

a category of claim for which there is at least substantial disagreement (or even consensus rejection) when judged as to truth value among the widest feasible range of observers

why people accept or share misinformation

some believe it’s true and wish to enlighten others

others know it’s false and wish to advance an agenda

some spread it because it’s interesting and somehow promotes their social standing or visibility

media are “unlike criminologists”

the media do not aim to construct an objective, scientific reality of crime

goal in capitalist society is to sell stories

“The frequency with which the media portray crime incidents and the ways the media portray them provide frames from which people draw their understandings of crime and support for crime policy”

media talks about crime in a way that the public listens and it depends on how much the people care

most likely to report violent crimes, homicide receives more attention

causes unlikely to be reported making it seem random and like it happens to anyone

media portrays justice system as extremely lenient

“It may be important to account for political ideology”

conservatives will look at FOX who paints a picture one way while liberal trust MSNBC or CNN who give a completely different perspective