Learning Objective 1: What is a social problem?

A social problem is a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world. Most social problems share five characteristics: 1) A social problem goes beyond the experience of an individual. 2) A social problem results from a conflict in values. 3) A social problem arises when groups of people experience inequality. 4) A social problem is socially constructed but real in its consequences. 5) A social problem must be addressed interdependently, using both individual agency and collective action.

Learning Objective 2: How are social problems created and resolved?

Sociologists use a five step social problems process to describe how social problems arise and resolve. These steps are: 1) Claimsmaking: People make claims that there is a social problem, with certain characteristics, causes, and solutions. 2) Media Coverage: Media reports on claimsmakers so that news of the claims reaches a broader audience. 3) Public Reaction: Public opinion focuses on the social problem identified by the claimsmakers. 4) Policymaking: Lawmakers and others with the power to set policies to create new ways to address the problem. 5) Social Problems Work: Agencies implement the new policies, including calls for further changes.

Learning Objective 3: Why does the interdependent nature of social problems require both individual agency and collective action to support social justice?

Addressing social problems requires a both/and approach. We need collective action, people acting in groups to address social problems, because the problems are too interconnected to be addressed alone. We also need individual agency because individual people must act to create change in their own way. Each act of positive social agency matters to that person and their community. Our effective response to social problems strengthens social justice, creating a society that meets everyone’s needs equitably.

claim: an argument that a particularly troubling condition needs to be addressed.

claimsmaker: a person who seeks to convince others that there is a troubling condition about which something needs to be done.

collective action: the actions taken by a collection or group of people, acting based on a collective decision.

consent: freely given agreement to do something. This term is often applied to sexual activity, but can be used in other situations.

individual agency: the capacity of an individual to actively and independently choose and to affect change; free will or self-determination.

interdependence: the concept that people rely on each other to survive and thrive.

norm: the rules or expectations that determine and regulate appropriate behavior within a culture, group, or society

prison-industrial complex: the overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems.

power: the ability of an actor to sway the actions of another actor or actors, even against resistance.

social construction: shared understandings that are jointly accepted by large numbers of people in a society or social group.

Sociological Imagination: a quality of mind that connects individual experience and wider social forces.

social justice: full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to meet their needs

social problem: a social condition or pattern of behavior that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or our physical world

value: an ideal or principle that determines what is correct, desirable, or morally proper.

1. Define a Social Problem: Choose a social problem that interests you. Please describe how it meets the definition of a social problem as described by Leon-Guerrero, or the five characteristics of a social problem.
2. Social Problem Process: How would you explain sexual violence or COVID-19 as a social problem using Best’s model in Figure 1.14?
3. Social Construction: Do you think social problems are socially constructed or objectively real? Please support your answer with specific evidence.
4. Individual Agency and Collective Action for Social Justice: Jane Addams and Angela Davis took very different actions to create social justice. Why do you think their actions are so different?