SOC 124 Study Guide - The Sociological Imagination, Sociological Perspectives, Global Issue
Document Summary
Chapter 1 sociology and the study of social problems. Sociology is the systematic study of individuals and social structures. A sociologist examines the relationship between individuals and our society, which includes institutions (the family), organizations (to military) pan systems (our economy). As a social science, sociology offers an objective and systematic approach to understanding the causes of social problems. The sociological imagination is a way of recognizing the links between our personal lives and experiences and our social world. A social problem is a social condition that has negative consequences for individuals, our social world, or the physical world. A social problem has objective and subjective realities. The objective reality of a social problem comes from acknowledging that a particular social condition negatively affects human lives. The subjective reality of a social problem addresses how a problem becomes defined as a problem. They become real only when they are subjectively defined or perceived as problematic.
