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Sociology Test 1 Outline

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Outline for Sociology 110 Test 1:
Definitions:
My Definition: A social problem is an aspect of society that people are concerned about and would like changed. Social problems are divided into objective and subjective elements. An objective element is the existence of a social condition and a subjective element is the belief that a particular social condition is harmful to society as a whole or harmful to a segment of society and that it should and can be changed. Book Definition: Social Problems are defined by a combination of objective and subjective criteria that vary across societies , among individuals and groups within a society and across historical time periods. Social Problems are composed of 2 elements:
Objective elements, …show more content…

Examples of the subjective element of social problems: Wealth, crime, rape, law etc.
My Definition: Sociological imagination is defined as the ability to see the connections between our personal lives and the social world in which we live. Book definition:The Social Imagination, a term C. Wright Mills developed, refers to the ability to see the connections between our personal lives and the social world in which we live.
Book Definition: Two dominant theories of social problems grew out of the structural functionalist perspective: social pathology and social disorganization (pg 9 Understanding Social Problems). Social pathology is a social problem like a sickness in a society Examples: Unemployment, which causes a breakdown in the economy. Poverty, due to disruption of the family farm and lack of family values.
Social disorganization is characterized by rapid social change that disrupts the norms in society.Examples: when you are rich and famous the traditional norms of society become blurred and no longer apply to you. You can say you're in a state of anomie - a state of normlessness or conflicting or weakening

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