Social Problems Chapter 1

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Chapter One

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Social Problems 12th Edition: 

Social Problems 12 th Edition Eitzen, Baca Zinn, and Smith Chapter 1: The Sociological Approach to Social Problems

Issues Facing America: 

Issues Facing America Immigration and the browning of America The graying of America The inequality gap Globalization and the transformation of the economy

Slide 4: 

The plight of the poor The environment Growing global inequality An increasingly dangerous world

History of Social Problems Theory: 

History of Social Problems Theory Early U.S. sociologists The medical model Focus on deviant individuals 1920s and 1930s Focus on conditions of society that foster social problems Modern sociologists Focus on the subjective nature of social problems

Toward a Definition of Social Problems: 

Toward a Definition of Social Problems Objective reality of social problems Material or psychic suffering Social conditions which limit opportunities Discrepancies between values and actual conditions The dangers and limits of objectivity

Two Main Types of Social Problems: 

Two Main Types of Social Problems Norm Violations Norm violators are symptoms of social problems Deviance is culturally defined and labeled The powerful in society define who is deviant and what constitutes a social problem

Slide 8: 

Social Conditions Psychic and material suffering Who benefits from the existing arrangements? Focus is on the bias of the system rather than problem individuals

The Sociological Imagination: 

The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills (1916-1962) The ability to see the link between individual circumstances and the structure of society

Elements of a Sociological Imagination: 

Elements of a Sociological Imagination Viewing the world from the perspective of others Focusing on the social, economic, and historical circumstances that cause individual problems Questioning the structural arrangements of society

Social Structure as the Basic Unit of Analysis For This Text: 

Social Structure as the Basic Unit of Analysis For This Text Person-Blame Approach The assumption that social problems result from the pathologies of individuals VERSUS System-Blame Approach The assumption that social problems result from social conditions

Person-Blame Approach: 

Person-Blame Approach It is popular for social problems and their remedies to be viewed from an individualistic perspective Cultural deprivation Implies that the culture of a group is inferior or deficient compared to the majority culture

Consequences of the Person-Blame Approach: 

Consequences of the Person-Blame Approach Shifts the blame from institutions to individuals so the system goes unchallenged The well-off retain their advantages Treats the symptom and not the disease Justifies the logic of Social Darwinism

System-Blame Approach: 

System-Blame Approach System-blamers point to deficiencies within societal institutions This perspective coincides with the sociological approach Sociologists ask: Who benefits under the existing social structure? Who does not benefit?

Sociological Methods: 

Sociological Methods Problems in collecting data Objectivity/Bias Is it possible/desirable to be “value-neutral”? Generalization/Sampling Use of aphorisms to explain social occurrences

Sources of Data: 

Sources of Data Survey Research Experiments Observation Existing Data