Week 2 - Intro to Social Problems

What is a social problem?

There is no universal, constant, or absolute definition. Social problems are defined through a combination of objective and subjective criteria that vary across societies, among individuals and groups within a society, and across historical periods.

What are the two important elements that all social problems share?

An objective social condition and its subjective interpretation.

What is the objective element of a social problem?

The existence of a social condition that is objectively real and exists independently of our perception (e.g., homelessness, financial crises, joblessness, illness, disease).

What is the subjective element of a social problem?

The belief that a particular social condition is harmful to society or to a segment of society, and that we should and can change it.

According to Spector and Kitsuse (2001), what is central to the development of a particular view of a social fact as a bona fide social problem?

Claims-making activities (the activities of individuals or groups making assertions of grievances and claims with respect to some putative conditions).

What is the sociological imagination?

The ability to see the connections between our personal lives and the social world in which we live (C. Wright Mills, 1959).

What does the sociological imagination enable us to distinguish between?

"Private troubles" and "public issues."

What is the difference between a private trouble and a public issue?

A private trouble affects one person (e.g., one person unemployed). A public issue affects thousands of people (e.g., thousands unemployed in Canada).

What metaphor is used to visualize the two central features of society?

Society is a coin with two sides: on one side, social structure; on the other, culture. Each is distinct but inseparable from the whole.

What does the structure of a society refer to?

The organization of society into different parts: institutions, social groups, statuses, and roles.

What is an institution?

An established and enduring organization of social relationships.

What are the five traditional institutions?

Family, religion, politics, economics, and education.

What are four examples of other social institutions that some sociologists argue play important roles in contemporary society?

Science and technology, mass media, medicine, sport, and the military.

What is a social group?

Two or more people who have a common identity, interact, and form a social relationship.

What is the difference between a primary group and a secondary group?

Primary groups involve small numbers, intimate and informal interaction (families, friends). Secondary groups are task-oriented with impersonal and formal interaction (employers/employees, clerks/customers).

What is a status?

A position a person occupies within a social group.

What do the statuses we occupy largely define?

Our social identities.

What is an ascribed status?

A status that society assigns to an individual on the basis of factors over which the individual has no control (sex, race, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, age).

What is an achieved status?

A status assigned on the basis of characteristics or behaviour over which an individual has some control (e.g., university graduate).

According to Canadian research cited in the text, what percentage of those from low SES families achieved a university degree by 1999, compared to those from high SES families?

35% of those from low SES families; 62% of those from high SES families.

What is a master status?

The status considered the most significant in a person's social identity. Typically, gender and race trump all other statuses, though occupation may also operate as a master status.

What are roles?

The rights, obligations, and expectations associated with a status.

What are the elements of culture?

Beliefs, values, norms, sanctions, and symbols.

What are beliefs?

Definitions and explanations about what is assumed to be true.

Do sociologists accept beliefs as true?

No. Sociologists do not accept beliefs as true, but as sources of information about how social relations operate and how they influence the directions that social actors will take.

What are values?

Social agreements about what is considered good and bad, right and wrong, desirable and undesirable.

What are norms?

Socially defined rules of behaviour that serve as guidelines for personal behaviour and for our expectations of the behaviour of others.

What are the three types of norms?

Folkways, laws, and mores.

What are folkways?

The customs and manners of society (e.g., shaking hands when introduced, saying "excuse me" after sneezing).

What are laws?

Formalized norms backed by political authority.

What are mores?

Norms that have a moral basis. Violations may produce shock, horror, and moral indignation (e.g., child sexual abuse).

What are sanctions?

Social consequences for conforming to or violating norms.

What are the four types of sanctions?

Positive informal, positive formal, negative informal, and negative formal.

What is a positive informal sanction?

Praise from neighbours for organizing a neighbourhood recycling program.

What is a positive formal sanction?

Receiving a citizen's award for organizing a neighbourhood recycling program.

What is a negative informal sanction?

Criticism from neighbours for refusing to participate in a neighbourhood recycling program.

What is a negative formal sanction?

Being fined by the city for failing to dispose of garbage properly.

What is a symbol?

Something that represents something else.

What is a theory?

A set of interrelated propositions or principles designed to explain an observable phenomenon; a theory provides a perspective for looking at the world.

What is structural-functionalism?

A perspective that assesses social structures and their functions or dysfunctions; society is a system of interconnected parts working together in harmony to maintain balance and social equilibrium.

According to structural-functionalism, what are the two types of functions?

Manifest functions and latent functions (Robert Merton, 1968).

What is a manifest function?

An intended, recognizable consequence or intent (e.g., education's manifest function is to transmit knowledge and skills to society's youth).

What is a latent function?

An unintended, commonly hidden consequence or denied intention (e.g., education's latent functions include job streaming and providing a place to meet potential mates).

What are the two dominant theories of social problems that grew out of structural-functionalism?

Social pathology and social disorganization.

According to the social pathology model, what causes social problems?

Some "sickness" in society; when parts of society no longer perform properly, or when members are not adequately socialized to adopt norms and values.

According to the social disorganization view, what causes social problems?

Rapid social change disrupts norms, leading to a state of anomie (normlessness).

What is anomie?

A state of normlessness in which norms and values are weak or unclear; results from rapid social change and is linked to social problems such as crime, drug abuse, and deviant behaviour.

What is conflict theory?

A perspective that views society as a struggle among different groups and interests competing for power and resources; conflict and struggle are central features of the social world.

Who originated the classic works of conflict theory?

Karl Marx.

What are the two classes of people Marx argued develop as societies shift from agricultural to industrial?

The bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) and the proletariat (workers who earn wages).

What did Marx suggest about religion?

That it serves as an "opiate of the masses" that distracts attention from suffering in working-class conditions and focuses workers on spirituality, God, and the afterlife.

What are the two general types of conflict theories of social problems?

Marxist and non-Marxist.

What do Marxist conflict theories focus on?

Economic inequalities; social problems result from class inequality inherent to capitalism.

What is corporate violence?

Actual harm or risk of harm inflicted on consumers, workers, and the general public as a result of decisions by corporate executives or managers, resulting from negligence, profit-seeking, or wilful violations of laws.

What is alienation?

Powerlessness and meaninglessness in people's lives; bred in the workplace and classroom.

What do non-Marxist conflict theories focus on?

Conflict that arises when groups have opposing values and interests (e.g., anti-abortion vs. pro-choice activists).

What is macro-sociology?

The level of sociological analysis that looks at the "big picture" of society and how social problems are affected at the institutional level.

What is micro-sociology?

The level of sociological analysis that focuses on the psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups.

What is symbolic interactionism?

A micro-sociological perspective emphasizing that human behaviour is influenced by definitions and meanings created and maintained through symbolic interaction with others.

What did W.I. Thomas suggest about definitions and meanings?

Humans respond to their definition of a situation rather than to the objective situation; situations we define as real become real in their consequences.

What is the "looking-glass self"?

Charles Horton Cooley's concept that we develop our self-concept by observing how others interact with us and label us; we see a reflection of ourselves.

What is Verstehen?

Max Weber's term meaning "empathy"; the approach of seeing the world from the eyes of the individual or group being studied.

According to Blumer (1971), what are the stages through which social problems develop?

1. Societal recognition (the problem is "born"), 2. Social legitimation (recognition by larger community), 3. Mobilization for action (individuals/groups become concerned and develop an official plan).

What is labelling theory?

A symbolic interactionist theory suggesting that a social condition or group is viewed as problematic if it is labelled as such; resolving social problems sometimes involves changing meanings and definitions attributed to people and situations.

What is the basic premise of feminist theory?

The experiences, social relations, and locations of women's lives are missing or discounted in traditional sociology; gender comprises a central subject matter and is viewed as a problem.

Who is considered perhaps the first feminist sociologist, dedicating a chapter of her 1837 study to "The Political Non-Existence of Women"?

Harriet Martineau.

What is Dorothy Smith's "women's standpoint" theory?

A view of knowledge and experience that begins from the position (standpoint) that women occupy in larger society; this marginalized position can offer critical awareness that those in positions of power cannot readily perceive.

What is postmodern theory?

A perspective that rejects the progressivist stance of modernism and recognizes that subjectivity and interpretation do not move in one unified direction; rejects simple categorization and perspectives that claim to be utterly true and objective.

Who are two of the most prominent postmodernists?

Jean-François Lyotard (known for critique of "meta-narratives") and Jean Baudrillard (known for work on "simulacra").

What is queer theory?

A perspective that refuses the commonly assumed distinction between sex and gender and challenges social problems that result from accepting the sex/gender model as a "natural" structure.

Who is a prominent Canadian sociologist whose work on gender and sexuality helps people understand the complexities of gender and identity in persons who do not perform gender in "traditional" ways?

Aaron Devor.

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research uses field research and in-depth interviews to gain specific information about particular groups. Quantitative research uses surveys with attitude scales or brief interviews to generalize about larger implications for society.

What is a hypothesis?

A prediction or educated guess about how one variable is related to another variable.

What is the dependent variable?

The variable that the researcher wants to explain; the variable of interest.

What is the independent variable?

The variable that is expected to explain change in the dependent variable.

What is an operational definition?

A specification of how to measure a variable in research.

What are the four main methods of data collection discussed?

Experiments, surveys, field research, and secondary data research.

What is a strength and a weakness of the experimental method?

Strength: provides evidence for causal relationships. Weakness: experiments are often conducted on small samples in artificial laboratory settings, so findings may not be generalizable.

What are the three types of survey research methods discussed?

Interviews, questionnaires, and "talking" computers.

What are the two types of field research?

Participant observation (researcher takes part in the phenomenon) and nonparticipant observation (researcher observes without actively taking part).

What is secondary data research?

Analyzing data already collected by other researchers or government agencies (e.g., historical documents, police reports, school records, official records of marriages, births, deaths).

What change did the federal government make to the Canadian census in 2010?

Discontinued the mandatory long-form census and replaced it with the voluntary National Household Survey.

Who characterized the loss of the long-form census as part of a larger federal government "war on knowledge"?

Munir A. Sheikh, Chief Statistician of Canada 2008-10.

What organization was formed in 1971 by Jim Bohlen, Irving Stone, and Paul Cote to protest U.S. nuclear tests at Amchitka?

The Greenpeace Foundation.