Studying Social Problems in The Twenty-First Century

Chapter 1
Studying Social
Problems in the Twenty-
First Century
Foundational Terminology
• Sociology: systematic study of human

society
• Society: Individuals sharing geographic
area and culture
• Culture: Knowledge, values, customs,
material objects passed person to person
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Defining a Social Problem:
• A social problem is:

– a social condition; a behavioral pattern
• A social problem harms:
– certain individuals; all people in a society
• A social problem causes:
– public concern; collective action for change

Sociological Imagination
• Developed by C. Wright Mills (1959)

• Allows us to:
– Connect private problems to public issues
– Shift focus to a larger social context
• Personal problems such as job loss are
caused by economic trends
– Downsizing, new technology

Social Problems and Theory
• Theory is:
– A set of logically related statements
– Attempt to describe, explain, or predict social
events
• Theory gives us a framework for viewing
society called a sociological perspective.

Functionalist Perspective
• Views society as:

– Stable and orderly
– Made up of smaller interrelated parts
• Manifest function:
– Intended and recognized activity of a social
process
– Recognized as the purpose of the process

• Latent function:
– Unintended consequences of a social process
– Not usually overtly recognized by society
• Dysfunction:
– Undesirable consequences of a social
process
– Can lead to social disorganization

• Conditions which undermine ability for institutions

to govern
• Applying the Functionalist Perspective to
Problems of Violence
– Violence increases when social institutions
are weakened
– Solution: Strengthen social institutions

Conflict Perspective
• Macrolevel analysis
• Assumes inherent power struggle
• Different groups working to control scarce
resources
Sources of
• Critical-Conflict Perspective Inequality
Power

Conflict Perspective
• Applying the Conflict Perspective to

Problems of Violence
– Violence is a response to inequalities in
society
– Solution: Reform political and economic
institutions to change inequality

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
• Microlevel analysis
• Society is sum of interactions between
groups and individuals
• Must have shared set of symbols for
interaction to be meaningful
• Labeling Theory and the Social
Construction of Reality

Symbolic Interactionist Perspective
• Applying Symbolic Interactionist

Perspectives to Problems of Violence
– Violence is learned behavior
– Solution: change societal values which
encourage violence

Research Methods
• Strategies or techniques to collect data

about society
• Uses a systematic approach
• Produces results that are:
– Quantitative: explanations using numbers
– Qualitative: explanations using interpretive
descriptions (words)

Field Research
• Observe behavior in a natural setting

• Can be an outsider or observe as a
participant
– Participant observation: joining the group you
are observing
• Gain a complete understanding by seeing
all aspects on the interaction taking place

Survey Research
• Respondents asked a series of questions

• Data collected through questionnaires or
interviews
• Most frequently used method
• Target smaller samples of people who are
representative of the larger population

Secondary Analysis
• Use of already existing data

• Unobtrusive: researcher has no contact
with subjects
– Examples: public records, U.S. Census
Bureau data

Secondary Analysis
• Includes Content Analysis:

– Systematic examination of artifacts or
documents
– Extraction of thematic data to explain social
life
– Examples: television programming, lyrics to
songs, political speeches

Solutions
• Functionalist/Conservative Solutions
– Maintain and preserve traditional moral and
social values
• Conflict/Liberal Solutions
– Pass legislation that requires that workers be
paid a wage high enough that they can:
• Adequately support their families

Solutions
– Improving public schools so young people will

receive a better education
• Be able to find decent jobs
– Have community, state, and national
economic development programs that:
• Create good jobs and benefit all people, not just a
small percentage of the world’s wealthiest people

Solutions
• Symbolic Interactionist Solutions

– Teach people of all ages to engage in
nonviolent conflict resolution
• Critique of Our Efforts to Find Solutions

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Chapter 1

• Sociology: systematic study of human

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• A social problem is:

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Developed by C. Wright Mills (1959)

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Views society as:

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Conditions which undermine ability for institutions

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© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Applying the Conflict Perspective to

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© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Applying Symbolic Interactionist

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• Strategies or techniques to collect data

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Observe behavior in a natural setting

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Respondents asked a series of questions

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Use of already existing data

© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Includes Content Analysis:

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© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

– Improving public schools so young people will

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• Symbolic Interactionist Solutions

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