Chapter 1 Study Guide and Review Identifying Point of the Late 1800s

1.i What Is a Social Problem?

Learning Objectives

1. Ascertain "social problem."
2. Explain the objective and subjective components of the definition of a social problem.
3. Sympathise the social constructionist view of social problems.
4. Listing the stages of the natural history of social problems.

A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers of people and that is generally recognized as a status or beliefs that needs to be addressed. This definition has both an objective component and a subjective component.

The objective component is this: For any condition or beliefs to exist considered a social problem, it must take negative consequences for large numbers of people, as each chapter of this book discusses. How do we know if a social problem has negative consequences? Reasonable people can and do disagree on whether such consequences exist and, if and then, on their extent and seriousness, simply ordinarily a body of data accumulates—from work by academic researchers, regime agencies, and other sources—that strongly points to extensive and serious consequences. The reasons for these consequences are often hotly debated, and sometimes, as nosotros shall see in sure chapters in this book, sometimes the very existence of these consequences is disputed. A current example is climate change: Although the overwhelming majority of climate scientists say that climatic change (changes in the earth's climate due to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the temper) is real and serious, fewer than two-thirds of Americans (64 percent) in a 2011 poll said they "call back that global warming is happening"(Leiserowitz, et. al., 2011).

This type of dispute points to the subjective component of the definition of social problems: There must be a perception that a condition or behavior needs to be addressed for it to be considered a social trouble. This component lies at the middle of the social constructionist view of social problems (Rubington & Weinberg, 2010). In this view, many types of negative conditions and behaviors exist. Many of these are considered sufficiently negative to acquire the status of a social problem; some practice non receive this consideration and thus practice not go a social problem; and some get considered a social trouble just if citizens, policymakers, or other parties call attention to the status or behavior.

Sometimes disputes occur over whether a item condition or behavior has negative consequences and is thus a social trouble. A current example is climate change: although about all climate scientists retrieve climatic change is real and serious, more than one-tertiary of the American public thinks that climate modify is non happening.

The history of attention given to rape and sexual assault in the The states earlier and after the 1970s provides an example of this latter state of affairs. These acts of sexual violence against women have probably occurred from the beginning of humanity and certainly were very common in the Us before the 1970s. Although men were sometimes arrested and prosecuted for rape and sexual assault, sexual violence was otherwise ignored by legal policymakers and received trivial attention in college textbooks and the news media, and many people thought that rape and sexual assault were just something that happened (Allison & Wrightsman, 1993). Thus although sexual violence existed, it was not considered a social trouble. When the gimmicky women's movement began in the late 1970s, information technology soon focused on rape and sexual attack equally serious crimes and as manifestations of women'south inequality. Thanks to this focus, rape and sexual attack eventually entered the public consciousness, views of these crimes began to modify, and legal policymakers began to give them more attending. In short, sexual violence confronting women became a social problem.

Before the 1970s, rape and sexual set on certainly existed and were very common, just they were generally ignored and not considered a social problem. When the contemporary women's movement arose during the 1970s, it focused on sexual violence against women and turned this beliefs into a social problem.

The social constructionist view raises an interesting question: When is a social problem a social problem? Co-ordinate 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; these sociologists would thus say that rape and sexual assail earlier the 1970s were not a social trouble because our lodge as a whole paid them lilliputian attention. Other sociologists say that negative atmospheric condition and behaviors should be considered a social problem even if they receive little or no attention; these sociologists would thus say that rape and sexual attack earlier the 1970s were a social problem.

This type of debate is probably akin to the age-old question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, is a sound made? Equally such, it is non easy to answer, but it does reinforce 1 of the fundamental behavior of the social constructionist view: Perception matters at least as much as reality, and sometimes more so. In line with this belief, social constructionism emphasizes that citizens, involvement groups, policymakers, and other parties oftentimes compete to influence pop perceptions of many types of weather 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 beliefs in question, and possible solutions to the problem.

Sometimes a condition or beliefs becomes a social trouble even if there is petty or no basis for this perception. A historical example involves women in college. During the late 1800s, medical regime and other experts warned women not to go to higher for two reasons: they feared that the stress of college would disrupt women'southward menstrual cycles, and they idea that women would not do well on exams while they were menstruating.

Social constructionism'south emphasis on perception has a provocative implication: Simply as a condition or behavior may not exist considered a social problem even if there is stiff ground for this perception, so may a condition or beliefs be considered a social trouble fifty-fifty if there is little or no basis for this perception. The "issue" of women in higher provides a historical example of this latter possibility. In the late 1800s, leading physicians and medical researchers in the United states of america wrote journal manufactures, textbooks, and newspaper columns in which they warned women not to become to college. The reason? They feared that the stress of college would disrupt women'southward menstrual cycles, and they also feared that women would not do well in exams during "that time of the month" (Ehrenreich & English, 2005)! We now know meliorate, of course, merely the sexist behavior of these writers turned the idea of women going to college into a social trouble and helped to reinforce restrictions past colleges and universities on the admission of women.

In a related dynamic, various parties can distort certain aspects of a social problem that does exist: politicians can requite speeches, the news media tin can use scary headlines and heavy coverage to capture readers' or viewers' interest, businesses can apply advertising and influence news coverage. News media coverage of violent offense provides many examples of this dynamic (Robinson, 2011; Surette, 2011). The news media overdramatize vehement law-breaking, which is far less common than holding crime like burglary and larceny, by featuring so many stories virtually it, and this coverage contributes to public fear of criminal offence. Media stories about violent crime also tend to be more common when the accused offender is black and the victim is white and when the offender is a juvenile. This type of coverage is thought to raise the public's prejudice toward African Americans and to contribute to negative views nigh teenagers.

The Natural History of a Social Problem

We have but discussed some of the difficulties in defining a social problem and the fact that various parties oftentimes try to influence public perceptions of social problems. These issues aside, well-nigh social problems get through a natural history consisting of several stages of their evolution (Spector & Kitsuse, 2001).

Phase 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 procedure, 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 near all these matters, this aspect of Stage 1 is termed the claims-making process. Non all efforts to plow a condition or behavior into a social problem succeed, and if they do not succeed, a social trouble does not emerge. Because of the resource they take or practice not accept, some social entities are more probable than others to succeed at this stage. A few ordinary individuals accept petty influence in the public sphere, just masses of individuals who appoint in protest or other political activity accept greater ability to help a social problem emerge. Considering politicians accept the ear of the news media and other types of influence, their views most social problems are frequently very influential. Most studies of this phase of a social problem focus on the efforts of social change groups and the larger social motility to which they may belong, equally most social bug begin with lesser-upwardly efforts from such groups.

A social problem emerges when a social change group successfully calls attention to a condition or behavior that it considers serious. Protests like the ane depicted here accept raised the environmental consciousness of Americans and helped put pressure level on businesses to exist environmentally responsible.

Stage 2: Legitimacy

In one case a social group succeeds in turning a condition or behavior into a social problem, it usually tries to persuade the government (local, country, and/or federal) to take some activity—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 probable to occur.

Stage 3: Renewed Claims Making

Even if authorities action does occur, social change groups ofttimes conclude that the action is too limited in goals or scope to be able to successfully address the social problem. If they reach this decision, they oft decide to printing their demands anew. They do and then past reasserting their claims and by criticizing the official response they have received from the authorities or other established interests, such as big businesses. This phase may involve a fair corporeality of tension between the social change groups and these targets of their claims.

Stage four: Evolution of Alternative Strategies

Despite the renewed claims making, social change groups frequently conclude that the government and established interests are not responding fairly to their claims. Although the groups may go along to press their claims, they nonetheless realize that these claims may neglect to win an adequate response from established interests. This realization leads them to develop their own strategies for addressing the social problem.

Key Takeaways

• The definition of a social problem has both an objective component and a subjective component. The objective component involves empirical evidence of the negative consequences of a social condition or behavior, while the subjective component involves the perception that the condition or behavior is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.
• The social constructionist view emphasizes that a condition or behavior does not become a social problem unless in that location is a perception that it should be considered a social problem.
• The natural history of a social problem consists of four stages: emergence and claims making, legitimacy, renewed claims making, and culling strategies.

For Your Review

1. What do you think is the nigh important social trouble facing our nation correct at present? Explain your reply.
2. Do you agree with the social constructionist view that a negative social condition or behavior is not a social trouble unless at that place is a perception that it should exist considered a social problem? Why or why not?

References

Allison, J. A., & Wrightsman, L. S. (1993). Rape: The misunderstood offense. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Ehrenreich, B., & English, D. (2005). For her own good: Two centuries of the experts' advice to women (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Leiserowitz, A., Maibach, E., Roser-Renouf, C., & Smith, N. (2011). Climate change in the American mind: Americans' global warming beliefs and attitudes in May 2011. New Haven, CT: Yale Projection on Climate change Communication.

Robinson, M. B. (2011). Media coverage of crime and criminal justice. Durham, NC: Carolina Bookish Printing.

Rubington, E., & Weinberg, Chiliad. Due south. (2010). The written report of social problems: 7 perspectives (7th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Spector, M., & Kitsuse, J. I. (2001). Amalgam social problems. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

Surette, R. (2011). Media, offense, and criminal justice: Images, realities, and policies (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Source: https://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/1-1-what-is-a-social-problem/

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