Social Problems
What is a social problem?
• Social condition or pattern of behavior that
harms some individuals or all people in a society
– Raises public concern and collective action to bring
about change
• Examples: violence, crime, poverty, substance
abuse, environmental pollution, inadequate
access to health care, weakening economy,
inadequate schools, etc.
• What constitutes a “social problem” changes over
time
Social problems
• Some social problems are viewed as
conditions that affect all members of society,
while others are viewed as conditions that
affect only some members of society
• ALL SOCIAL PROBLEMS MAY BE HARMFUL TO
ALL MEMBERS OF SOCIETY WHETHER THEY
REALIZE IT OR NOT
How do personal problems relate to
the larger society?
• Sociological imagination- the ability to see the
relationship between individual experiences
and the larger society
– Enables us to connect our private problems to
public issues
Sociological Imagination Example:
violence
• It is easy for a victim of violence and their families
to see themselves as individual victims rather
than placing the attack within a larger context
• Micro level- focuses on small group relations and
social interactions among individuals
• Macro level- focuses on social processes
occurring at the societal level especially in social
institutions like government and economy
Sociological perspective
• Allows us to move beyond myth and common
sense notion
• Things are not always what they seem- social
problems are multifaceted
• By taking a global perspective on social
problems we realize that the lives of all people
are intertwined
– Any other nation’s problems are part of a larger
global problem
Social theories
• Theory- set of logically related statements that
attempt to describe , explain or predict social
events
• Perspectives- an overall approach or
viewpoint toward some subject
• 3 major perspective:
– Functionalist
– Conflict
– Interactionist
Functionalist
• Society is a stable, orderly system composed
of a number of interrelated parts, each which
performs a function that contributes to the
overall stability of society
• Compare society to a living organism
– Just as muscles, tissues, and organs of the human
body perform specific functions, the various parts
of society contribute to its maintenance and
preservation
Manifest v. latent function
• Manifest functions- intended and recognized
consequences of an activity or social process
– Example: Education• Provide students with knowledge, skills, and cultural
values
• Latent functions- unintended consequences of
an activity or social process that are hidden and
unacknowledged by participants
– Education- keeps kids off streets and provide
opportunities for students to meet and socialize
Dysfunctions of society
• Undesirable consequences of an activity or
social process that prevents society from
adapting or adjusting
Conflict perspective
• Based on the assumption that groups in
society are engaged in continuous power
struggle for control of scare resources
• Certain groups of people are privileged while
others are disadvantaged
Symbolic interactionist perspective
• Focuses on micro level analysis of how people
act toward one another and how they make
sense of their daily lives
• Views society as the sum of the interactions of
individuals and groups
• Analyze how certain behaviors come to be
defined as a social problem
• How people interpret the messages they
receive from others influences their behavior