SOCIAL PROBLEMS

NAVANEETA MAJUMDER
MEANING OF SOCIAL PROBLEM
• A social problem is any condition or behavior that has negative consequences for large numbers
of people and that is generally recognized as a condition or behavior that needs to be addressed

• This definition has both an objective component and a subjective component

1. For any condition or behavior to be considered a social problem, it must have negative
consequences for large numbers of people
2. There must be a perception that a condition or behavior needs to be addressed for it to be
considered a social problem, i.e. not all problems are considered as social problem at the
same time
DEFINITION – SOCIAL PROBLEM
• Merton and Nisbet define social problem as “a way of behavior that is regarded by a
substantial part of society as being in violation of one or more generally accepted or
approved norms”

• According to Carr, “a social problem exists whenever we become conscious of a

difficulty, a gap between our preference and the reality”
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIAL PROBLEM
• All social problems are situations that have harmful consequences for the society
• All social problems are deviations from the ideal situation
• Social problems are caused by many factors
• All these factors are social in origin
• Social problems are interrelated
• Social problems affect every individuals of the society
• Social problems affect different individuals differently
TYPES OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS
NORM VIOLATION
• Norm violations assume that a standard of behaviour exists

• People who study norm violations are interested in society's failures like the criminal, the
mentally ill, or the school dropout

• Eitzen et al. (2009:10) contend, however, that norm violations are symptoms of social
problems rather than the problem itself. Deviants, for example, are victims and should not be
blamed entirely. The system in which they live is blamed as well
SOCIAL CONDITIONS (1/2)
• Eitzen et al. (2009: 11) suggest that a second type of social problem involves conditions that
cause psychic and material suffering for some category of people

• The focus is on how society operates and who benefits and who doesn't benefit under existing
social arrangements

• “What is the basis of the system?”

 How are society's rewards distributed?
 Do some categories of people suffer due to the way schools are organized?
 Are some groups of people put at a disadvantage because of the manner juries are selected?
 Do some categories suffer because of the way health care is delivered?
SOCIAL CONDITIONS (2/2)
• Eitzen et al. (2009:12) cites Maslow when describing the basic needs of human beings,
such as, the need for shelter, sustenance, security, group support, esteem, respect, and
self-actualization

• When these needs are not met, individuals will be hostile toward society and its norms
and the frustration will be expressed in "withdrawal, alcohol and other drugs, or the
violence of crime, terrorism, or aggression"

• As people withdraw from the system that fails to meet their needs, they will be defined by
that society as "bad people, but this is so because they live in bad societies”
OTHER TYPES OF SOCIAL PROBLEM
• Socio-cultural problems: communalism, untouchability, population explosion, child-
abuse and problems of the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes, women, and alcoholism
and drug addiction

• Economic problems: poverty, unemployment

• Legal problems: crime, delinquency, violence, and terrorism

APPROACHES TOWARDS SOCIAL
PROBLEM
SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION - MEANING
• Society is dynamic in nature when the various parts of society are properly adjusted, we have
a well organized society but when they fail to adjust themselves to the changing conditions
the result is social disorganization leading to social problems

• Emile Durkheim defined social disorganization as “a state of disequilibrium and lack of social
solidarity or consensus among the members of a society”

• Thus, social disorganization can be said as the process by which the relationship between the
members of social group, whether a family, a society or a nation are broken down or dissolved
SOCIAL DISORGANIZATION APPROACH
• According to this approach social maladjustment delays human progress and happiness

• Social problems were regarded as ‘the disease of society’ which threatened the welfare of
the groups

• This approach also suggests that social problems existed in those societies where
individual and collective deviation are considered to be desirable by society
DEVIANT BEHAVIOUR /
PERSONAL DEVIATION APPROACH
• Social problems and deviance are conceived as products of social processes in which
members of a group, community, or society perceive, interpret, evaluate, and treat
behavior, persons and conditions
• They shift attention from the behaviors and conditions of those who are commonly
thought to constitute the problem to the members of society who conceive those
behaviors and conditions as problems
• Such a focus demands a theory and method to document and account for the symbolic
processes through which the meanings of such behaviors and conditions are generated
and institutionalized
THE SOCIO-LEGAL APPROACH
(SOCIOLOGY OF LAW)

• Critical theory is key to the socio-legal approach towards social problems

• The interpretation of ‘law’ by the society is most important to understand various social
problems
• The methodology of a sociology of law does not start with the primacy of legal rules or
laws or a legal system
• The methodology is determined by an initial understanding of society, of the social
system
• The aim being to analyze social structures and social institutions, law being one such
institution (there are clearly many others)
RELIGIOUS APPROACH
• French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) had defined religion as a “unified system
of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things”

• Whereas, the critical theorists view religion as an institution that helps maintain patterns of
social inequality (ex. Caste system, tolerance towards homosexuality)

• It is argued that this power dynamic has been used by religious institutions for centuries to
keep poor people poor, teaching them that they should not be concerned with what they lack
because their “true” reward (from a religious perspective) will come after death (Moksha in
Indian Context)
CULTURAL LAG APPROACH
• Cultural lag is a situation in which some parts of a culture change at a faster rate than
other related parts, resulting in the disruption of integration and equilibrium of the culture

• This theory in particular holds that in modern societies there has been a tendency for
change in the political, educational, family and religious institutions to fall behind
technological changes

Ex. Even after rapid industrialization in the last quarter of the 19 th century and the first quarter of
the 20th century, some people were so influenced by the rigid caste system that they refused to
work with members of different caste in the industries and preferred to remain unemployed
VALUE CONFLICT APPROACH
• Values provide the generalized standards of behaviour to which the members of a group feel a
strong, emotionally-toned positive commitment

• Each member of the group is expected to remain committed to the values accepted by the
group

• Incompatibility between the values of two or more groups to the extent that the role per­
formance of individuals is interfered with is called ‘value conflict’

Ex. Conflict in values of workers and employers leads to industrial unrest, strikes and lockouts
ANOMIE APPROACH
• This approach was propounded by Merton

• This theory refers to the discrepancy between the institutionalised means available within the
social environment and the goals individuals have learnt to aspire

• This leads to strain or frustration in the individuals resulting in break down of normative
structure and emergence of deviant behaviour

• However, Merton failed to explain why all persons in similar situations do not choose deviance
SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH (1/2)
• Sociologist assumes that social problems resulted from maladjusted people who were
abnormal because of mental deficiency, mental disorder, lack of education or incomplete
socialization
• Sociologist theorists emphasize the subject nature of social problems, i.e. they say that
what is defined as a social problem differs by audience and by time
• Objective reality of social problems: Some societal conditions harm certain segments of
the population and therefore are social problems
• The Sociological Imagination is stimulated by a willingness to view the social world from
the perspective of others
SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH (2/2)
• Person-blame approach: The assumption that social problems result from the pathologies
of individuals. For example, a person-blamer might argue that a poor person is poor
because he or she is not bright enough to succeed
• System-blame approach: System-blamers look elsewhere for the sources of failure. In
other words, system-blame approach is that the institutional framework of society is the
source of many social problems. (such as racism, pollution, unequal distribution of
healthcare, poverty and war)
• Social Darwinism: Is that the placement of people in the stratification system is a
function of their ability and effort. By this logic, poor are poor because they are dregs of
society
THANK YOU