The Sociological Imagination Exam Questions Answered Correctly Latest Update 2025 (Already Passed)

The Sociological Imagination Exam Questions Answered Correctly Latest Update 2025 (Already Passed) path dependence - Answers the notion that earlier events or decisions deeply affect current and future policy decisions or outcomes sociology - Answers -the systematic study of human society (technical definition) -in reality, it is the study of everything -a way of seeing aspects of our lives that we so completely take for granted, we don't notice them at all -why are things the way they are? -how did things get to be like this? -could things be arranged differently? -can be used to challenge widely held (but incorrect) beliefs and assumption about the social world how it is studied - Answers what is unique about sociology? sociological imagination - Answers -the ability to see the connections between personal experiences and larger forces in history -the intersection of biography and history -allows us to see the ways in which individual behavior and choices are shaped by cultural, historical, political, and economic forces individualism - Answers giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications personal troubles - Answers -what we experience as individuals -private matters between ourselves and those immediately around us public issues - Answers public matters that transcend our local environments and have to do with larger aspects of social life contested - Answers the line between private troubles and public issues is a ________________ one -example: domestic violence c. wright mills - Answers -explained the sociological imagination -stressed a terrible yet magnificent lesson: "[T]he individual can understand his own experience and gauge his own fate only by locating himself within his period, that he can know his own chances in life only by becoming aware of those of all individuals in his circumstances." Translation: We can only understand our lives and anticipate our futures if we can see how our social environment affects us, and affects others in the same way. individuals - Answers with the sociological imagination, we tend to solve problems by treating _________________ mary romero - Answers -wrote "An Intersection of Biography and History" -grew up in a world of domestic service -she reinterprets her personal experiences with domestic service by considering the larger social context of Mexican Americans and the de-valuation of housework -stayed with a man who had a domestic worker she called "Juanita" -having a sociological imagination involves moving away from Juanita's individual story and instead focusing on the social, economic, and historical circumstances that produced her predicament sociological theory - Answers -an explanation for how certain facts are related to one another -all of these rest on certain assumptions about how the world works -general statement about how different parts of society fit together or work functionalist, conflict, symbolic interactionism - Answers what are the three major sociological theories? functionalism - Answers -draws on the theories of Talcott Parsons and other scholars of the 1950s that were concerned with political stability and social order -societies tend towards balance -every social institution has a function, and when all parts of society fulfill their functions, society is in a normal state -when one part of society changes (such as the economy), we should expect to see changes in the family, schools, immigration patterns, etc. robert merton - Answers extended Parson's theory by observing that some institutions and activities facilitated balance in society (functional), while other institutions and activities disrupted the smooth functioning of society (dysfunctional) -also argued that the functions of any institution can be either manifest or latent manifest functions - Answers overt, obvious, intended latent functions - Answers hidden, unintended, but still important three major assumptions functionalists share about the social world - Answers 1) in any society, there is consensus about what values and norms are important 2) society is made up of many integrated parts 3) all societies seek stability and avoid conflict; conflict is not normal three major assumptions conflict theorists share about the social world - Answers 1) in any given society, there are subgroups who have different beliefs, values, and goals 2) these subgroups are in competition with each other for scarce resources and power 3) society is never harmonious; conflict is normal conflict - Answers beginning in the 1960s, functionalist theory was criticized for failing to explain the ______________ of the 1960s and for reinforcing the status quo conflict theory - Answers -society is made up of different social groups competing for scarce resources and power -those who have power seek to maintain it -those who do not have power seek to attain it micro sociology - Answers how face-to-face interactions create the social world symbolic interactionism - Answers -focuses on micro sociology -analyzes how our behaviors depend on the ways we define ourselves and others -people act in response to the meaning that symbols hold for them -by acting on perceptions of the social world, we then collectively make those meanings so -example: if none of us ever stopped at a red light, it wouldn't mean stop; by acting as if a red light means stop, we make it so four major assumptions symbolic interactionists share about the social world - Answers 1) how people act depends on how they see and evaluate reality