Final Exam Study Guide: SYG2010•What is a Social Problem? •A condition in society that people want changed•Condition is “perceived” to undermine the “well being” of a society•Controversial •Deemed harmful •Subjective concern-norms and values are violated •Affects a significant number of people or/and a number of significant people •What are the characteristics of a Social Problem?•Dynamic•Change across a time •Ex. Cellphones and driving •Relative •A problem for some is a solution for others •Ex. Big government •Visible•Publicized on the radar screen of the most members of society •Ex. abortion•Objective •Social conditions are found harmful •Subjective •Agreed to be harmful or problematic (with/without objective facts)• Objectivist/Constructionist model-What are they? How do they differ? •Objectivist-condition deemed harmful, harmful to a large amount of people•Constructionist (subjective)-how people feel, something that people say is a prob-lem•How do social problems appear on the “radar” screen?•Public outrage=Social movements (organized efforts at claims making) •Occupy Wallstreet •Gay Marriage •Abortion•Publicity •Media •Resources •Directed to it •Cares enough to want to fix it•Organizations are formed •Ex. MADD (mothers against drunk driving)•Institutionalized •Ex. Laws against it = its a social problem •How are social problems constructed?•Claims making•Type of communication•Type of action•Source of claims making=media, public leaders, official announcements•Give it legitimacy and credibility •Typification•Characteristics that form a social problem as a particular type•Ex.moral, medical, economic issue •Can associate it with other problems •1.Grabber (horror story)•Can be real, sometimes fabricated •Ex. Use drugs once and die immediately •2.Naming•Ex. “welfare queen”-abusing the heath care system•Think better than everyone else and frame health care as govt give away•Claims •Must be visible or have power •Must resonate with peoples values, norms and means •Must be controversial •MJ vs PB•PB-not enough claims against it to be a social problem•Allergies, recall, high in calories •MJ-objectivist concern, moral issue •Missing #’s by Joel Best-What are they? Why? •#’s that are deliberately suppressed •Fail to give all info about a social problem •Used to shift focus away from data that might undermine claims about that prob-lem •Categories •Powerful •Ex. Arouse emotion •Forgotten #’s•Old data •Only look at one part •Legendary #’s •Fabricated •Consequences of missing #’s •Distortion •Worry about the wrong thing; focus resources on issues that dont affect us •Distraction •Limits understanding of problem •3 main theoretical perspectives •structural functionalism (macro level) •Biological model •Social problems stem from change (negative) •Causes disorganization; loss of defined roles •Social conflict (macro level)•Power divides the “haves” and “have nots” •Forms of inequality and struggles over power •Symbolic interactionalism (micro level) •Social problems stem from differences of definition and people behave based on what is right and wrong Crime (chapter 6) •What is crime?•Violation of criminal law enacted by the federal, state of local government•Crime is wide spread in the media and fear •Limits the things people do and places they go •Label imposed by society •What norm is violated•How we define what criminal is•Product of social relations (objectivist)•What explains criminal behavior •Defined socially •Explanations of Crime•Biological explanations •Esare Lambroso (italian doctor) •Criminals were physically different from everyone else, they had low foreheads and prominent jaws and cheekbones, hairy bodies and long arms•William sheldon •Athletic bodies more likely to be criminal •“not cause of criminal behavior”•NO CLEAR EVIDENCE FOUND ON BIOLOGY AND CRIME •How is crime measured?•“iceberg” model •FBI Arrest Data •FBI offenses known to police (only crimes known to police) •Victimization Survey Date•Self report survey data •Missing data •Violent Crimes-which are the most common and trends in the last 20 yrs? Why?•Violent crimes against person account for 12 percent of all serious offenses •1960-1990- rate rose quickly then dropped •Strong economy in 1990s •drop in crack cocaine •hiring more police•tougher sentences •Types of violent crimes •Murder•Forcible rape •Robbery•Aggravated assault •Social characteristics of street criminals •Age (15-24)•Highest arrest in young adults •Gender•Police arrest more men for property crimes, twice as often as woman •For violent crimes gender is more important •Woman are more arrested for larceny theft, fraud, embezzlement, prostitution •Gap is narrowing •White Collar crimes vs. Corporate crime?•White collar crimes•Illegal activities conducted by people with high social positions during the course of their employment •Ex. Banks and corporations•Get off easy and not serve jail time•Fined or placed on probation •Corporate crime •Illegal act committed by a corporation or by persons acting on its behalf•Gross negligance-knowingly produced faulty or dangerous products •Cost US billions of dollars!! •Hate crimes-Why are they a problem?•Criminal offense against a person, property or society motivated by the offender is bias against a race, religion disability, sexual orientation or ethnicity or national ori-gin•Most are not reported out of fear•Hate crimes are high for cross sectional members •Ex. Gay and colored •Controversial because •Acts are already against law so hate crime law is unnecessary •Affects people attitudes •Govt controlling what we think•Society Disocovers Child Abuse •Kempe-suspected injuries could be caused by violence in homes •Created “child protection team” to investigate injuries•Disocovered battered children syndrome •Resulted in physical and psychological harm •Difficult to trust others•Family violence •Got on the radar screen as a social problem •Most common was child to child •Parents stress at home and work led to the violence •Consequenses •Cheats, lies, bullys, dont feel sorry for misbehaving •Corpal punishment•Causing child to experience pain