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    The Social Problems Process: Joel Best

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    The Social Problems Process: Joel Best

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    SOCPROB3_lectppt_Ch.01

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    2K views16 pages

    The Social Problems Process: Joel Best

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    John

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    You are on page 1of 16

    CHAPTER 1

    Chapter 1
    The Social
    Problems
    Process

    Joel Best
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    What is a social problem?

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    Objectivist definitions of social problems

     Conditions considered objectively harmful


    include crime, racism, and sexism.
     Objectivist definitions attempt to measure the
    characteristics of harmful conditions.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    Problems with objectivist definitions


    1. Harmful conditions are not always identified
    as social problems.
     Sexism was not considered a social problem until
    recently.
    2. Conditions that some identify as harmful may
    not be considered harmful by others.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    Problems with objectivist definitions

    3. Social problems are very diverse, so definitions


    that try to include them all are often vague.
    4. It can be difficult to specify what constitutes
    harm.
     Not everyone will agree if or why a condition is
    harmful.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    Constructionism (subjectivist approach)


     Conditions are not viewed as problems because of
    objective standards.
     They are problems because people think they are.
     What matters is people’s responses to, and
    perceptions of, harmful conditions.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

     What makes a social problem?


     Subjective reactions, not an objective quality.
     Social problems vary by country because
    experiences shape what we see as bad.
     Social problems are not a type of condition, but
    rather a process of responding to conditions.
     That process involves social construction.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    Constructionism

     Social construction refers to the way people


    assign meaning to the world.
     Language plays a key role in the construction
    process.
     Individuals learn about and understand their world
    by naming things and talking about them.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

    The social problems process

    The only thing social problems have in common is


    that some people have defined them as social
    problems.
    How and why do particular conditions come to be
    constructed as social problems?

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    DEFINING SOCIAL PROBLEMS

     Claim: a statement asserting that a condition


    is troubling or harmful
     Claimsmaking: asserting that a condition
    should be perceived as a social problem
    • Claimsmakers: individuals or groups seeking
    to convince others that a condition is
    troubling and that something should be done
     Activists, experts, and officials

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    NATURAL HISTORY OF A SOCIAL PROBLEM

    The process of constructing a social condition


    into a social problem has six stages.

     The sequence of these stages is the natural


    history of the social problem.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    SOCIAL PROBLEMS
    C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 8 W. W. N O R T O N & C O M PA N Y
    NATURAL HISTORY OF A SOCIAL PROBLEM

    Stage 1: Claimsmaking
     People make claims that there is a problem.
    Stage 2: Media coverage
     Media report on claimsmakers.
    Stage 3: Public reactions
     Public opinion focuses on the social problem.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    NATURAL HISTORY OF A SOCIAL PROBLEM

    Stage 4: Policymaking
     Lawmakers and others address the problem.
    Stage 5: Social problems work
     Agencies implement the new policies.
    Stage 6: Policy outcomes
     The various responses to new arrangements.

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS, THIRD EDITION


    COPYRIGHT © 2016 W.W. NORTON & COMPANY
    ADDITIONAL THEMES

    • Resources

    • Rhetoric

    • Feedback

    SOCIAL PROBLEMS
    C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 8 W. W. N O R T O N & C O M PA N Y
    SOCIAL PROBLEMS
    C O P Y R I G H T © 2 0 0 8 W. W. N O R T O N & C O M PA N Y

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