Download Unit 1- Intro To The Social Sciences

INTRODUCTION TO THE
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social Sciences
-Is the general term to describe the study of people
in many differing situations
-There are 3 major sections or disciplines
-Think of Social Science as the umbrella and the
three disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology and
Psychology as the spokes holding up the umbrella
Types of Social Sciences
• Anthropology
•Psychology
•Sociology
•Geography
•Political Science
•Economics
•Family Studies
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
ANTHROPOLOGY
 Studies the behaviour of human
culture from the past and present
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-It looks at who we are and how
we are shaped by our past

E.g. How did people survive
before we knew how to grow
food?
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Example of an anthropological question is:
Why is death celebrated in some cultures?
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Eg. Days of the Dead in Mexico or Nine Nights in
Jamaica
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
PSYCHOLOGY
 Studies how the mind
influences behaviour

Are we born a
certain way?

Are serial killers made
or influenced?
THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
SOCIOLOGY
 Studies humans and how they act and change their
behaviour according to the groups that they
belong to.

E.g. Your school self vs. your home self
ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH
 Being
Ethical means that you know what’s right and
wrong
 Social Scientists use research, data and analysis to
make conclusions about what they are trying to
prove or disprove
 We hope they will do this without trickery, that is not
always the case
(e.g Milgram experiment with electric shocks).
ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH
 Forging
and making up data
 Observing people without them knowing it
 Deceiving people to assist
ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH
A
few examples of research that may involve ethical
problems:
 Market research used to encourage consumers to
buy inappropriate products
 Jury research used to disallow jurors likely to have
certain values or beliefs
 Polling research used to create candidate
platforms and marketing approaches
 Research conducted by "house" researchers to
demonstrate that something is not really a problem
(wide-spread gun availability is not really a
problem or legalizing gambling is a social good)
SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONS
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Business
Education
Journalism
Law
Public health
Social work
Government work
International organizations
Policing
Fire and Rescue