This document discusses several social problems in society and how social psychology can address them. It describes issues like alcoholism, caste systems, child labor, materialism, lack of girls' education, and unemployment. For each problem, it outlines the effects on individuals and society, and how social psychologists could help through counseling, convincing people, and addressing the root causes through research methods. The document argues that social psychologists have effective ways to deal with social issues and improve societies.

1. Assignment On:_
‘’ Social Problems of Our Society and Applications of
Social
Psychology Today’’
Submitted to:_
Mam Sana Bashir
Submitted by:_
Name………..Zahra Naz
Roll No……….04
Study Programme:_
BS-BioTechnology………3rd semester
Study Course:_
Social Psychology
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology,
B.Z.U., Multan.

2. Social problem:_
A social problem is a problem that relates to society's
perception of a person or a group of persons' life, moral character,
occupation, etc.. Different cultures have different perceptions and
what may be "normal" behavior in one society may be a significant
social issue in another society.
Social psychology is can deal with these problems by
different methods like
 Survey method
 Counseling
 Observations
 Research method
 Competative influence
 Examples, etc.
Some of the most common social issue are
 Alcoholism/drug abuse
 Caste system
 Child labor
 Dowry demand
 Illiteracy
 Inequality or biasness
 Jealousy
 Materialism
 No education for girls
 Street crimes
 Terrorism
 Unemployment, etc..

3.  Alcoholism/drug abuse
There was a time in history when most of the actors n
actresses appear on screen with cigarette in hand.This implied
that smoking was cool.As a result,youngers and even kids
started smoking.Well,an awareness to danger increased,cool
image of smoking disappear.Unfortunately,the same can not be
said about alcohol and drugs.Media and othem communication or
entertaining means are showing both these are cool.
Effect on individual and society
Alcoholism or drug addiction affects the body organs of
addicted individual.He becomes susceptible to diseases and
looses its attention towards his work and loss his confidence.
Addicted person becomes a problem for society.As he can
not perform his duties as well as can not continue his relations
in good manner.He only thinks of his self.So,society also get
affected by drug usage by people.
Social Psychologist and alcoholism
Psychologist can deal with addicted person to reduce
drug abuse.He can do so by knowing about individual
family,relations,activities and reasons behind his attraction
towards drinking or drug use.Then by counseling with
people,psychologist can convince them for getting rid of drug
abuse.Psychologist can talk to person’s family to provide
comfortable environment for the addicted person so that he can
reduce his attraction for drugs.
 Caste system
Caste system means biasness of people towards
different castes,thinking that one caste is good or superior and

4. other ones are not good or inferior.Caste system arises due to low
literacy level in society and narrow mindedness of people.
Effects on individuals and society
Caste system affects both individuals and society a
lot.This caste system divides people in many groups and internal
war in a society begins.A few castes think their people best and
consider only the people of their own caste.In this way,stron
conflicts arise and cause disorganization in the society.And when
the people are not united,society has opponent groups then it
becomes so difficult for a country or nation to stand in progress
race with successful nations and countries.
Social psychologist and caste system
Social psychologist can deal with the narrow minded
people promoting caste system by counseling with them and by
showing them examples of unbiased people and societies.The
psychologist can change thinking of caste system following people
by telling and convincing them about importance of education and
points that they should not follow caste system.This caste system
can make people and even groups strong opponent and this
oppositness can creat a lot of troubles for society and other
individuals.
 Child labor
Society viewd children as able bodies that could do
work just as or if better than adults.Children could work
for much longer and more difficult conditions than adults for
less pay.That is why,mostly people utilize energy of innocent
children for less wealth use as pay for labor.This action shows no

5. sympathy and empathy of cruel people for children.This act of
them is,no doubt,un ethical and a cruel act.The people who are in
favour of child labor are the people who think of their selves only
and no consider the small age and innocence of beautiful children.
Effect on individuals and society
In more ways than one child labor brings many
consequences on the children who work. Children begin to lose
their childhood and are rushed into adulthood, therefore Child
labor leads into early marriage.This lead to many family issues and
social problems.Children are forced to work and help provide with
the family that they are likely to drop out of school and continue
working full time. The lives of these children are being harmed
and even thought they are helping currently with money for the
family, the consequences are much deeper.In this way,society
looses future educated people only because of increased child
labor.
Social psychologists and child labor
Child labor has emerged due to different reasons:
poor economy, uneducated authoritative figures (parents or
guardians), poor education in the country. Therefore, in order to
solve this social problem, there is a need to create a combined
solution or solutions that will decrease child labor, and hopefully
eliminate child labor completely as time goes.Social psychologist
can deal with people to reduce child labor favour.He can do so by
counseling with people and telling them about the consequences of
children working as labor.The psychologist can make landlords and

6. people who are in favour of child labor to make opportunities for
educating people and children instead of utilizing the power of
children for less money expenditure.
 Materialism
We live in a society that promotes materialism and so we
perpetuate this particular malady by instilling bad habits into our
children. We teach our children that the measure of success and
happiness in life is how much stuff you have. Kids naturally want
things especially if their friends have something similar.
Unfortunately, there seems to be little restraint on accompanying
guidance as we go about this.
Essentially, we provide our kids with whatever they want
that is within our financial ability to do so. The concept of “earning”
what you get or the idea that something “you don’t need” seem to
have been lost and discarded. We have a mentality of getting what
we want and when we want it that has been ingrained in us since
childhood. The unfortunate result is that there are devastating
consequences for such continued behavior later in life.
effect on individuals and society
When a few people can bring each and everything to
their children and other people can not.then a state of poor and rich
arise.This difference brings people a far away from each other.The
children with no expensive things loose their confidence and they
ask their parents for things like that of others.And when people an
not afford these things in their legal earning,they adopt evil’s way
and become decates of thieves for earning lot of money and to fulfil
the desires of their children.Hence,a great unsecure and unstable

7. condition is maintained in society and society moves towards state of
disorganization.
Social psychology and materialism
Social psychologist can convince people to minimize
their expenses so that each and everyone can keep his family
happy.By counseling,people can be made known of problems and
consequences which are brought about due to extra spending and
preference of wealth over relations and people.
 No education for girls
"Is there a need to get our girls educated? Whats the
use?". These are questions frequently asked by the educationists
who go to rural areas to spread awareness about the importance of
getting the females educated.
Girls in rural areas have to face many cultural and social
problems.One of the most deplorable aspects is that in some places,
particularly northern tribal areas, the education of girls is strictly
prohibited on religious grounds.This is a gross misinterpretation of
Islam,which like other religions urges men and women both to seek
knowledge.
Effect on individuals and society
To educate a girls means to educate a family and
house.So,when a girls is kept uneducated,she can not properly
perform her duties as she could do with education.Boys are educated
frequently and girls are preferred to stay at homes for domestic
works only.This inequality creats a conflict and many problems arise
due to biased thinking of people.Girls can not fight for their
rights.And the society becomes disorganized.
Social psychologists and no education for girls

8. People who are not in favour of education for girls do so
because of less education and narrow mindedness.They do not trust
on girls in many matters and they thought girls at low status than
boys.Social psychologist can counsel with them in a way to convince
them to educate their girls and show no partiality for both girls and
boys.He can convince them by quoting religious verses and hadiths as
well as examples from the religious histories.
Unemployment
Unemloyment occurs when people are without work and
actively seeking work.The unemployment rate is a measure of the
prevalence of unemployment and it is calculated as a percentage by
dividing the number of unemployed individuals by all individuals
currently in the labor force. During periods of recession an economy
usually experiences a relatively high unemployment rate.It is due to
economical,social as well as laziness.
During a long period of unemployment, workers can lose
their skills, causing a loss of human capital. Being unemployed can
also reduce the life expectancy of workers by about seven years.
Effects on individuals and society
High and persistent unemployment, in which economic
inequality increases, has a negative effect on subsequent long-run
economic growth. Unemployment can harm growth not only because it
is a waste of resources, but also because it generates redistributive
pressures and subsequent distortions, drives people to poverty,
constrains liquidity limiting labor mobility, and erodes self-esteem
promoting social dislocation, unrest and conflicts. Unemployed
individuals are unable to earn money to meet financial obligations.
Failure to pay mortgage payments or to pay rent may lead to
homelessness through foreclosure. An economy with high
unemployment is not using all of the resources, specifically labour,

9. available to it. Since it is operating below its production possibility
frontier. it could have higher output if all the workforce were
usefully employed. However, there is a trade-off between economic
efficiency and unemployment: if the frictionally unemployed
accepted the first job they were offered, they would be likely to be
operating at below their skill level, reducing the economy's
efficiency.
Social psychologist and unemployment
Social psychologist can make unemployed people employee
by giving them certain activities to keep them involve in useful
work.He can counsel the person’s family to understand the condition
of of person and cause of his unemployment.Psychologist can make
the person to share his experiences and reasons for no
working.These reasons could be lack of confidence,laziness,or unfair
means of earning.These reasons may be due to unstable economy of a
country.Social psychologist can make him to perform his duty well
by pondering upon the reason.
Hence,it is clear from the above discussion that social
issues can be solved easily by consulting a social psychologists.
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