Social Problem: Unequal Opportunity, Racism, and Malnutrition Are Examples of

Social Problem
 What Is a Social Problem?

 A social problem is an issue within the society that makes it difficult
for people to achieve their full potential. Poverty, unemployment,
unequal opportunity, racism, and malnutrition are examples of
social problems. So are substandard housing, employment
discrimination, and child abuse and neglect
 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.
 When enough people in a society agree that a condition
exists that threatens the quality of their lives and their
most cherished values, and they also agree that
something should be done to remedy that condition,
sociologists say that the society has defined that condition
as a social problem.
 A consensus that a condition that affects some members
of the population is a problem for the entire society, not
just for those who are directly affected.
 Social problem refers to social conditions that disrupt or damage
society—crime, racism, and the like.
 It focuses on how and why people come to understand that some
conditions ought to be viewed as a social problem, that is, how they
socially construct social problems.
 A social problem has two important components:
 An objective component and;
 A subjective component.
 The objective component is that for any condition or behavior to be considered a
social problem, it must have negative consequences for large numbers of people.
 The objective element is the reality of the conditions of poverty:
 the reality of insufficient access to food, health services, and education;
 and high rates of infant mortality, preventable diseases, and illiteracy.
 How do we know if a social problem has negative consequences?

 Perception of the seriousness of the situation
 Resentment of a large numbers of people
 Availability of authentic data
 Subjective component of the definition
 There must be a perception that a condition or behavior needs to be addressed
 The subjective element of poverty is the level of public concern about these
objective conditions, the desire to alleviate them, and the belief that
this is possible.
 This component lies at the heart of the social constructionist view of social problems
(Rubington & Weinberg, 2010).
 the social constructionist view holds that negative conditions and behaviors exist.
 Social constructionism- a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory
that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that
form the basis for shared assumptions about reality
 Many of these problems are considered sufficiently negative to acquire the
status of a social problem; some do not receive this consideration and thus
do not become a social problem;
 However, some become considered a social problem only if citizens,
policymakers, or other parties call attention to the condition or behavior.
 The history of attention given to rape and sexual assault in Pakistan before
and after the 2010 provides an example of this latter situation.
 These acts of sexual violence against women have probably occurred from
the beginning of humanity and certainly were very common in Pakistan till
2010 but after that legal policymakers received little attention in academic
literature and the news media.
 It in fact globally was highlighted when the contemporary women’s
movement began in the late 1970s.
 It soon focused on rape and sexual assault as serious crimes and as
manifestations of women’s inequality.
 Rape and sexual assault eventually attracted public consciousness,
and peoples’ views of these crimes began to change, and legal
policymakers began to give them more attention.
 It led sexual violence against women to a social problem.
 The social constructionist view raises an interesting question:
 When is a social problem a social problem?
 According to some sociologists who adopt this view, negative
conditions and behaviors are not a social problem unless they are
recognized as such by policymakers, large numbers of lay citizens, or
other segments of our society.
 Others would say that negative conditions and behaviors should
be considered a social problem even if they receive little or no
attention; this group of sociologists would thus say that rape and
sexual assault was a social problem even before the 2010.
 Perception matters at least as much as reality, and sometimes more
so.
 Social constructionism thus emphasizes that citizens, interest groups,
policymakers, and other parties often compete to influence popular
perceptions of many types of conditions and behaviors.
 They try to influence news media coverage and popular views of the
nature and extent of any negative consequences that may be
occurring, the reasons underlying the condition or behavior in
question, and possible solutions to the problem.
 Social constructionism’s emphasis on perception has a provocative
implication
 Just as a condition or behavior may not be considered a social
problem even if there is strong basis for this perception.
Sociological Imagination and Social Problems
 C. Wright Mills idea of sociological imagination, the means by which the relation
between self and society can be understood.
 Sociological imagination is an ability to see the context which shapes your
individual decision making, as well as the decisions made by others.
 But the reason why it's useful is because it allows us to better identify and
question various aspects of society, as opposed to passively living within it.
 Crime, poverty, lack of medical care, violence, drug abuse, and many other
behaviors or situations that we commonly think of as social problems- rarely
exist in isolation.
 Social problems, personal choices and powerful social forces
The Natural History of a Social Problem
 We have so far discussed some of the difficulties in defining a social problem

and the fact that various parties often try to influence public perceptions of
social problems.
 Beside these issues, most social problems go through a natural
history consisting of several stages of their development (Spector & Kitsuse,
2001).
Stage 1: Emergence and Claims Making
 A social problem emerges when a social entity (such as a social change
group, the news media, or influential politicians) begins to call attention to a
condition or behavior that it perceives to be undesirable and in need of
remedy.
 As part of this process, it tries to influence public perceptions of the problem,
the reasons for it, and possible solutions to it.
 Because the social entity is making claims about all these matters, that is why
this aspect of Stage 1 is termed the claims-making process.
 Not all efforts to turn a condition or behavior into a social problem succeed,
and if they do not succeed, a social problem does not emerge.
 Because of the resources they have or do not have, some social entities are
more likely than others to succeed at this stage.
 A few ordinary individuals have little influence in the public sphere, but masses
of individuals who engage in protest or other political activity have greater
ability to help a social problem emerge.
 Because politicians have the ear of the news media and other types of
influence, their views about social problems are often very influential.
 Most studies of this stage of a social problem focus on the efforts of
social change groups and the larger social movement to which they
may belong, as most social problems begin with bottom-up efforts
from such groups.
Stage 2: Legitimacy
 Once a social group succeeds in turning a condition or behavior into a social
problem, it usually tries to persuade the government (local, state, and/or
federal) to take some action—spending and policymaking—to address the
problem.
 As part of this effort, it tries to convince the government that its claims
about the problem are legitimate—that they make sense and are supported
by empirical (research-based) evidence.
 To the extent that the group succeeds in convincing the government of the
legitimacy of its claims, government action is that much more likely to occur.
Stage 3: Renewed Claims Making
 Even if government action does occur, social change groups often
conclude that the action is too limited in goals or scope to be able to
successfully address the social problem.
 If they reach this conclusion, they often decide to press their
demands anew. They do so by reasserting their claims and by
criticizing the official response they have received from the
government or other established interests, such as big businesses.
 This stage may involve a fair amount of tension between the social
change groups and these targets of their claims.
Stage 4: Development of Alternative Strategies
 Despite the renewed claims making, social change groups often
conclude that the government and established interests are not
responding adequately to their claims.
 Although the groups may continue to press their claims, they
nonetheless realize that these claims may fail to win an adequate
response from established interests.
 This realization leads them to develop their own strategies for
addressing the social problem.

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Social Problem

 What Is a Social Problem?

 How do we know if a social problem has negative consequences?

 We have so far discussed some of the difficulties in defining a social problem

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