Ch 1. Studying Social Patterns in the 21st Century

Question 1

Social Problem

Answer 1

a social condition or a pattern of behaviour that people believe warrants public concern and collective action to bring about change.

Question 2

Claims making (and why people react) (4)

Answer 2

the process of trying to convince the public of the importance of a social issue or a social movement.

(reasons why people react)
1. proximity to the problem
2. scope of the problem
3. severity of the problem
4. frequency of occurrence

Question 3

Why Study Social Problems? (2)

Answer 3

1. Help us understand the social forces shaping our lives and personal beliefs.
2. Evidence-based policy-making and practice. (Using evidence rather than common sense knowledge, ex. Boot camps)

Question 4

Sociological Imagination

Answer 4

the ability to see the relationship between an individual’s experiences and the larger society in which they are contextualized

Question 5

Role of Theory

Answer 5

The role of theory in understanding social problems

Question 6

Theory

Answer 6

a set of logically related statements that attempt to describe, explain, and occasionally predict social events.

Question 7

Structural Functionalist Perspective (Durkheim)

Answer 7

society is a complex system whose parts work together for solidarity and stability

Question 8

Manifest Functions/Latent Functions

Answer 8

intended/unintended

Question 9

Dysfunction (Structural-Functional Perspective)

Answer 9

undesirable consequences of an activity or social process that inhibit a society’s ability to adapt or adjust

Question 10

From a functionalist perspective, social problems arise…

Answer 10

…when social institutions do not fulfill their functions or when dysfunctions occur.

Question 11

Social-Conflict Perspective

Answer 11

based on the assumption that groups in society are engaged in a continuous power struggle for control of scarce resources.

Question 12

Value Conflict (Understanding Conflict)

Answer 12

conflict arises when there are inconsistencies between ideal and real culture

Question 13

Critical Conflict (Understanding Conflict)

Answer 13

problems arise out of the contradictions inherent in the organization of society

Question 14

Symbolic-Interaction Perspective (Max Weber)

Answer 14

society is the “sum interactions of individuals and groups”

Our understanding of social problems is based on social perceptions and definitions

Question 15

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 15

a false definition of a situation that evokes new behaviour that makes the original false conception true.

Question 16

Feminist Perspective

Answer 16

Central assumption – research has historically reflected a male and Western centered lens

Question 17

Social Change (4)

Answer 17

Alteration, modification, or transformation of public policy, culture or social institutions over time

1. Occurs all the time
2. Intentional or not planned
3. Always controversial
4. Some changes matter more than others

Question 18

Reducing Social Patterns: Micro-Level Approaches

Answer 18

Individual level solutions

Question 19

Reducing Social Patterns: Midrange Approaches

Answer 19

Social movement and grassroots-level action

Question 20

Reducing Social Patterns: Macro-level approaches

Answer 20

Large scale institutional change

Question 21

Thomas Theorem

Answer 21

“If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. ”

In other words, the interpretation of a situation causes the action

Question 22

Labelling Theory (Howard Becker)

Answer 22

once individuals have been labeled as deviants, they face new problems stemming from their reactions to themselves and others to the stereotypes of someone with the deviant label