Deck 2: The Changing Nature of the Helping Process

Question 1

Discuss the philosophy of Social Darwinism.

Answer 1

• The adaptation of the ideas of Charles Darwin on evolution to the realm of sociology.
• Herbert Spencer used Darwin's work to coin the phrase "survival of the fittest" The fittest were presumed to be those people who were able to make money. Poor people were declared unfit

Question 2

Discuss how the discriminatory classification of people as "deserving" versus "undeserving" has impacted what kinds of social service programs are likely to be implemented?

Answer 2

The opposing classifications of individuals as deserving versus undeserving have resulted in very different approaches to giving help. Victim blamers feel superior to the victims and separate people into "them" and "us". The blaming the victim ideology always sees character defects in individuals. Entire groups of people are blamed for their behavior. This results in programs that address character or personality defects, rehabilitation programs, punishing programs designed to correct behavior, programs to detect fraud.

Question 3

What kinds of social service programs are people who believe in opportunity theory likely to implement?

Answer 3

Programs that make changes in the social system which will create more opportunities for people, such as job programs, community development, or organizing for social change.

Question 4

Why do liberals tend to prefer universal over means-tested programs?

Question 5

Discuss the difference in how people view Social Security programs for children and the TANF program.

Question 6

Name some of the achievements of the welfare rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s

Question 7

Describe how Opportunity Theory explains the emergence of social problems.

Question 8

Summarize the Catholic Bishops' statement on poverty.

Question 9

What were Charles Murray's beliefs about teenage pregnancy?

Question 10

What statements in the Personal Responsibility Act reflected Charles Murray's philosophy?

Question 11

What are some of the things that help to reduce teen pregnancy?

Question 12

Why does the National Organization for Women (NOW) maintain that the Personal Responsibility Act is an attack on women?

Question 13

Describe how welfare provides a good example of the cycles of reform using the theory of Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward.

Question 14

What is the "principle of less eligibility"?

Question 15

Why is welfare like "society's lightning rod"?

Question 16

Why does Wacquant say that the government's policy for poor people is now "prison fare and workfare"?

Question 17

Discuss some of the beliefs of the mental patients' liberation movement.

Question 18

What have been the unintended consequences of deinstitutionalization of mental patients?

Question 19

Why are so many mentally ill patients placed in nursing homes?

Question 20

When does a particular kind of personal or social behavior become defined as a "social problem"?

Question 21

What are the differences between the Charity Organization Societies (COS) and the settlement house movement?

Question 22

What might account for the initial slow government response to the problems associated with AIDS?

Question 23

Discuss the findings of the study by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) about how the media contributed to stereotyping of welfare recipients?

Question 24

How did the civil rights movement affect the human services?

Question 25

How did the OEO War on Poverty affect the human services?

Question 26

Describe the New Careers movement.

Question 27

The federal government supports college programs in prisons.

Question 28

The poor have always been treated with suspicion and mistrust throughout history.

Question 29

Governments have generally been eager to give help to the needy.

Question 30

What philosophy of social welfare believes that all citizens should have help as a social right?

A) Capitalism
B) Institutional
C) Means-tested
D) Special needs
E) Residual

Question 31

The first large-scale federal involvement in income supports was

A) General Assistance.
B) Food stamps.
C) Social Security Act.
D) Women, Infants, and Children Program.
E) War on Poverty.

Question 32

The last major federal expansion in the welfare state was the:

A) Social Security Act.
B) Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act.
C) Mothers' Pension.
D) War on Poverty.
E) TANF Program.

Question 33

The welfare rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s helped welfare recipients feel that their job as mothers deserved society's respect and recompense.

Question 34

The view that poverty and other social problems are caused by the people who are enmeshed in those problems is called

A) victim-blaming.
B) family-centered theory.
C) opportunity theory.
D) socialism.
E) social democracy

Question 35

The Catholic Bishops have called for more help for the poor and oppressed.

Question 36

A victim-blamer would be likely to attribute the cause of homelessness to personality defects.

Question 37

People who believe that problems are caused by an unjust social system are likely to prefer means-tested over universal programs.

Question 38

The Personal Responsibility Act gave generous benefits to teen parents.

Question 39

Welfare has been called one of the battlegrounds of a war on women.

Question 40

In the 1990s, a victim-blaming theory was more prevalent in the United States than an opportunity theory.

Question 41

More women are behind bars today than at any other point in U.S. history due to mandatory sentencing for drug offenses.

Question 42

Charles Murray believes that the most serious social problem today is

A) AIDS.
B) drug use.
C) teenage pregnancy.
D) pollution.

Question 43

Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward believe that welfare expands in times of civil turmoil.

Question 44

The "principle of less eligibility" states that welfare payments are kept lower than wages in order to encourage people to take any low-wage job rather than go on welfare.

Question 45

Middle-class women who choose to stay home to care for children receive tax deductions.

Question 46

The rate of recovery of mental patients is higher in

A) the United States
B) England
C) Third-World countries

Question 47

Abstinence education is effective in lowering birth rates.

Question 48

The Progressives wanted to abolish mental hospitals.

Question 49

The child-saving movement led to the development of children's institutions, foster care, and the juvenile court.

Question 50

Deinstitutionalization was a large-scale reform movement that.

A) returned people from the community into state hospitals
B) took people out of institutions and returned them to their community
C) was very successful and lived up to its promise

Question 51

Since the Gault case, juveniles have the right to confront and cross examine their accusers and witnesses when accused of a crime.

Question 52

The largest proportion of anti-drug money has been spent on law enforcement and jails rather than on drug treatment programs and supportive services for addicts.

Question 53

After basketball star Magic Johnson and tennis champion Arthur Ashe admitted that they were HIV positive or had contracted AIDS, the media was less sympathetic in its discussion of the disease.

Question 54

African-Americans use cocaine more than white people.

Question 55

The media consulted research, advocacy groups, and welfare recipients frequently when they presented information on welfare.

Question 56

A good diet and exercise would have the same benefits for poor people as they do for the rich.

Question 57

The Charity Organization Societies were the first to use:

A) Group work.
B) Case work.
C) Community organizing.
D) Advocacy.
E) Community development.

Question 58

The settlement house movement relied mainly on case work.

Question 59

The settlement house tradition has influenced the profession of social work more than the Charity Organization Society tradition.

Question 60

The designers of the War on Poverty criticized social work for being out of touch with poor people.

Question 61

The New Careers movement created many entry level human service jobs for poor people.

Question 62

As welfare and other safety net programs were cut back, the criminal justice system has expanded.