social problem definition, effects,

characteristics, classification causes

the norms, values, customs, traditions, mores and law of the society get changes as the changes are
occurring inside the society. it means that the society disturbed by external or internal forces of social
change. a changing society inevitably develops problems, either the conditions themselves change and
become unacceptable (population growth, soil erosion, and deforestation create a conservation
problem) or the society's changing values define an old condition as no longer tolerable
(child labor, poverty, racism. or sex inequality). social problem is part of the price of social change. in
the coming pages we are discussing various dimensions created by social change.


definition of social problem
some important definitions of social problems are given below.

horton and leslie:
it is often defined as a condition which many people consider undesirable and wish to correct.

lindbergh:
"it is any deviant behavior in a disapproved direction of such a degree that it exceeds the tolerance limit
of the community".

l. k. frank:

any difficulty of misbehavior of a fairly large number of persons which we wish to remove or correct."



fuler & mayer:
"a social problem starts with the awakening of people in a given locality, with the realization of certain
cherished values that are threatened by the conditions which have become acute."

we can say that an undesirable and unwanted disturbing situation, which has no readymade solution, is
called a social problem.



effects of social problems

social problem very adversely affect our society. one of the major effects is that our harmony disturbed
and in its stead in the society there is hostility and suspicion. these also result in large-scale
social dissatisfaction and create suffering and misery. on the whole these do not at all help in solving any
problem but creates problem of serious magnitude, which is disadvantageous to the whole society. but
in this connection it may be pointed out that 'problem' is not an absolute term. it is only a relative term
because what is problem for one society may not be problem for the other. similarly 'problem' is
not permanent and universal. what may appear problem today may not remain so tomorrow. we found
that in india child marriage was problem till yesterday but today it has received universal condemnation
and as such is no problem at all. so is the case with sati system and so on. but in spite of
this there are still some universal problems which are same all around
e.g.
poverty, unemployment and crime etc.



characteristics of social problems.

salient features and characteristics of social problem are that it changes the situation in such a way that
a problem is created to the extent that existing social order have to be changed. it also means that it is
difficult to solve the problem but to feel that such a solutions inevitable or undesirable is not proper. but
one of the significant characteristics are that it becomes problem only when the people begin to feel
and take that in that sense. as long as the people are not aware of the problem, even though that exists,
there is no social disharmony, but maladjustment comes to the front only when the masses become
conscious of it.



classifications of social problems

so far no universally accepted classification has been produced about social problem. our sociologists
have tried to give different classifications.

according to harold a. phelps classification such problems as biological.
e.g. physical defects; bio-psychological
e.g. feeble mindedness cultural,
e.g. juvenile delinquency and economic
e.g. poverty and unemployment.

another classification is based on heritage
e.g. physical heritage, biological heritage, and social heritage. but so far no universally accepted
classification has been produced.
primary reason for this is that in society no problem is absolute. every problem is relative and is also
linked with one or more aspects of our life.


causes of social problems


social problem is not welcomed in any society. problems create disharmony and maladjustment but still
the problems exist. what are the main causes, which has been posed by our sociologists. so far the
problem has found no solution and every attempt made in this regard has failed. the main reason for
this is that the sociologists cannot pinpoint a single cause responsible for creating such problem. the
cause, which may be responsible in one society, may not be responsible in the other society. similarly
what may be responsible under certain circumstances may not be under certain other circumstances
and so on.
in fact in actual practice it has been found difficult to find out any single cause responsible for creating
social problem. some of the many causes include feeble mindedness of the individual and his
physical disability. industrialization, immobility and weak social institutions may be other causes
responsible for it.



social change

meaning of social change sociology
involve not only man's relationship with other
but also man's relationship with non human.
reference:introductory to
sociology. by: william e .cole.
deffinetion of social change:
* social change is a deviation from the past in the
structure.organization and composition of social system
and in the structure and function of the society of which
social system are a part.
reference;introduction to sociology.
by william e cole.
*social change refer to basic illustration, overtime in the
behavour pattern, culture and structure of the society.
reffernce;sociology.
by donald light.
*many social problems are set to be the result of social
change problem.they are attributed to the social
disorganization process caused by social change.
reference ;a study of social work in pakistan.
by; muhammad khalid.
sources of social changes;
*new invention.
many changes have their origin in new invention and their uses for example the use of
radio and motor car has produced many profound social and economical changes in the population
radio and television has speeded up the transmission of news and music and have influenced greatly the
buying habits and the recreational habits of people. all of these invention changes society and cultrure.
*innovaton.
another sources of lies is innovation. a basic invention may be adopted to many uses. new
uses for prevailiny invention and discoverys we calles innovation.
for example radio action materials now a days used as a tracers body and as a treatement of many
disease.
*changes in generation.
another source of change lies in the change of generation.there is the ever present change
in germ plasma or chromosomes or heredity and environment are always interacting.a generation ages
is replaced by the younger ones.the younger generation modifies the culture of the past ones.even the
agency of generation take place its needs and its cultural requirement ismodified.
*ideas.
ideas are a source of change they may be looked upon as known mterial innovation and in instance
as a form of innovation. the changes growing out of new ideas are often not immediate but may take
place as a later date as an example one may develop the idea of world court ,a world parliment of power
an atomic bomb or a regional development plan perhaps well a heas of their realization.
*fear.
fear is perhaps a cause of change the use of gas war never common in war because of humatitarian
feeling and the fear.it is just possible that the fear of atomic weapons may cause leading world powers
to cooperate in the control of these weapons. it is also said curosityand craziness frequently lead to
invention.
*catastropes and disasters.
they are source of social,cultural change a series of grat crossing accident will cause people to do
some thing about crossing a disaterous war and may cause several countries to combine their effects to
seek a lasting peace closely associated with change in the natural environment.
*education and learning.
these also a source of change.one studies community development and settles in a locality and
proceeds to change the community beacause he knows the potential of community .in the feild of
medician and microbiology and in the reserch point of development a vaccine against polio .many
changes are purposefully instituted or developed.sometimes these development developed new
invention or innovation .for instance changes in automobile styling is not only the result of public
response but are also designed to atleast new customers or to start a revival in automobile
purshaing.planned changed has been defined as changees which drives from a purposeful desicion to
effect improvement in a persnality system or social system and wqhich is acheived with the help of
professional guidance.
*cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different
cultural group. it describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards
acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture.
[1][2]
it can include the introduction of
forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. these
elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, can take on meanings that are
significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held.
appropriation practice involves the 'appropriation' of ideas, symbols, artifacts, image, sound,
objects, forms or styles from other cultures, from art history, from popular culture or other
aspects of human made visual or non visual culture.
[3]
anthropologists have studied the process
of cultural appropriation, or cultural borrowing (which includes art and urbanism), as part of
cultural change and contact between different cultures.
[4]

cultural borrowing.