Download Introduction to Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology

Introduction to
Anthropology, Psychology
and Sociology
The Social Sciences
What are the Social Sciences?
The systematic studies of people, their activities and
customs in relationships with others
Use research and analysis to examine human
behaviour in order to understand why people act the
way that they do
Subjects include history, geography, anthropology,
psychology and sociology
How was the field created?
18th century – Age of Enlightenment
Leaders wanted to shine a “light” of reason on the
world and eliminate the darkness of the Dark Age
Isaac Newton discovered law of gravity
This discovery led to the belief that reason and
science could also be used to discover laws
about humans and their behaviour
Philosophers such as John Locke & Thomas
Hobbes concentrated on abstract moral
criticisms of ignorance, intolerance, superstition
and political oppression
•
Reason & observation became scientific cornerstone
of 18th century – observation of social and individual
behaviour became the job of social scientists
Example: Stress
Scientists, doctors will show the medical
consequences of stress such as high blood pressure,
heart attacks and death
Social scientists will analyze factors that lead to stress
such as absenteeism, substance abuse
3 Types of Social Sciences
Anthropology
The study of human beings as a species and as
members of different cultures
Interested in:
Ways humans are similar to and different from
other species
Biological development of humans over time
How culture shaped the way people lived in the
past and how they live today
How certain factors in a culture that influence
behaviour
Problems studied deal with the comparison of
different cultures and societies
Psychology
The study of human behaviour and mental processes
such as thinking, feeling, remembering & learning
Draws conclusions about how the individual behaves
in social settings
Assumes an individual’s personality is shaped by a
combination of biological factors & life experiences
Problems studied explore people’s actions in certain
situations and as well as their emotions
Interested in :
•
•
The individual and why he/she behaves in a certain
way
Nature vs. nurture
Sociology
The study of human social life, groups, origins and
relationships in society
Examine:
•
-How membership in a group shapes our experiences
of the world
•
-Actions and responses of individuals within a group
in order to detect general patterns of human
behaviour
•
-How categories (i.e. teens, male, female) we belong
to shape our experiences of the world
•
Relationships between people and social structures
Examples
Anthro
-How chimps find
food and make tools
-How families differ
from culture to
culture
Psych
Socs
- Personal problems
-How a person’s
- How a person
group spends their
relates to his/her
spare time
friends
-Education system