Sociological Imagination Importance

Concluding Essay: Importance of the sociological imagination In sociology, the focus on the social is very significant because it allows sociologists to see much that escapes the notice of other observers (McIntyre, 2014, p. 29). The focus is not on one particular individual, instead the focus is on the social environment and the ways it affects people. To do this, sociologists rely on their sociological imagination. “Which is the ability to look beyond personal troubles of individuals to see the public issues of social structure. Which are the social forces operating in the larger society” according to C. Wright Mills (McIntyre, 2014, p. 31). Furthermore, this has a major impact on the greater scheme of things. Since, “it opens up new resources for problem solving” (McIntyre, 2014, p. 32). An example of this is shown in Zimbardo’s article titled “The Pathology of Imprisonment,” which discusses how individuals act differently in a role. Zimbardo’s Stanford prison experiment revealed how social roles can influence our behavior. The subjects were randomly assigned to play the role of “prisoner” or “guard.” The attitudes and morals of the prison guards changed due to their role as prison guards. They mistreated the prisoners and made them feel less than a …show more content…
and uncaring” (McIntyre, 2014, p. 33). Which is what happened to the individuals who played the role of the guards. However, this was only found because the sociological imagination was used, which helped to understand the simulation. Moving on, in the couple tie signs observation and analysis, I made use of the sociological imagination as well. Since, I was viewing tie signs that allowed me to make the assumption on which gender was dominate in their