Sociological Imagination

1. According to C. Wright Mills, applying the Sociological Imagination requires:
   a. Placing our lives in the context of the society in which we live.
   b. Understanding how personal troubles may become public/social issues.
   c. Recognizing that solutions to social issues must not only focus on individual strategies.
   d. All answers are correct.
2. An example of a public issue is:
   a. A dad going through a divorce.
   b. A factory worker losing her job.
   c. High unemployment rates.
   d. A child being bullied.
3. Personal troubles and social issues are considered the following:
   a. Negative conditions that impact people.
   b. Positive conditions that impact people.
   c. Can either be positive or negative conditions that impact people.
   d. It depends on how people interpret their condition.
4. In understanding the Sociological Imagination, which of the following would be an incorrect statement:
   a. It is important to understand how the social structures (social institutions) in society can impact our individual choices.
   b. It is important to recognize that history has an impact on our individual biography.
   c. It is important to recognize that as an individual I have total control of my own destiny.
   d. It is important to understand that people from different backgrounds within our society may be oppressed and privileged.
5. What is the main purpose of Social Institutions?
   a. To create an infrastructure system throughout the world.
   b. To help carry out functions that are crucial for society’s survival.
   c. To make buildings, such as prisons, to help society.
   d. To create unique differences in the world, so each society is unique.
6. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Social Institutions:
   a. Institutions have history.
   b. Institutions are physical buildings in society.
   c. Institutions allocate scarce and valued resources in unequal ways.
   d. Institutions constantly change.
7. Who coined the term Sociological Imagination?
   a. Karl Marx
   b. Emile Durkheim
   c. Auguste Comte
   d. C. Wright Mills
8. In understanding the Sociological Imagination, it is important to understand the following:
   a. How social institutions can create public/social issues.
   b. How our personal troubles impact public/social issues.
   c. How personal solutions can solve public/social issues.
   d. All answers are correct.
9. Which of the following is NOT true about the Sociological Imagination:
   a. It involves seeing how we are connected to the society in which we live.
   b. It means considering the ‘big picture.’
   c. It considers how social and historical circumstances affect our lives.
   d. It involves imagining how society should be.
   True/False Question

10.True or False: Personal troubles create social issues.
True
False

11. All societies have the same social institutions:
    True
    False
    Short Answer Questions
12. What are four (4) key aspects in understanding the Sociological Imagination?
13. Why is it important to understand the Sociological Imagination?
14. Using the information from the reading on Social Institutions, choose two social institutions and explain the purpose of each Social Institution.