SOCIAL SCIENCE

SOCIOLOGY
is a scientific study of human society and its origins, development, organizations, and
institutions. It is social science which uses various methods of empirical investigation and
critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity, structures,
and functions.
SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES
Macro-level theories- approaches to sociology that focus primarily on society and/or other
large social units.

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISTS- usually more optimistic and view society as a system of

differentiated, interrelated elements that tend to move towards stability.
CONFLICT THEORISTS- more pessimistic and view society as full of confliting elements
that can play a role in social change and even upheaval.

Micro-level theories- deal with individual interactions within smaller social units.
ACCULTURATION/ ENCULTURATION
- is a process in which members of one cultural group adopt the beliefs and behaviors of
another group.
EXAMPLES:
Picking up a southern American accent within a day or two
Sushi becoming popular in the West
The granddaughter of a Chinese immigrant has gone to American schools and will now
attend an American college. She spends time primarily with her American friends, dresses
as they do and shares their values and interests. She has become highly acculturated into
American culture.
CULTURE
-is the sum total of ideas, beliefs, values, material cultural equipments and non-material
aspects which man makes a member of society. (E.B. Taylor 1860s)
-Culture can be conceived as a continuous, cumulative reservoir containing both material
and non-material elements that are socially transmitted from generation to generation.
COMPONENTS OF CULTURE
Material Culture- consists of all the physical objects people have borrowed, discovered, or
invented and to which they have attached meaning. (natural resources, trees, plants)

Non-material culture- consists of intangible creations or things that we cannot identify

directly through the senses. (e.g. beliefs, values, norms, folkways, and mores)
COMPONENTS OF NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
Beliefs- first component of nonmaterial culture is beliefs, conceptions that people accept
as true, concerning how the world operates and where the individual fits in relationship
with others. Can be rooted in blind faith, experience, tradition or the scientific method.
Values- represent societys stipulations about what is acceptable in life.
Norms- standards of behaviour governing social situations that are established by a
societys values.
TYPES OF NORMS
1.Folkways- customary patterns of everyday life that specify what is socially correct and
proper in everyday life.
2.Mores- Norms that are tied to a societys core values and to which people must adhere.
Unlike folkways, they are seen as forms of truth that all people should understand and
follow.
3.Taboos- is a norm that society holds so strongly that violating it results in extreme
disgust. Often times the violator of the taboo is considered unfit to live in that society.
INCEST- sex between close relatives
4. Laws- norms that are enforced formally by a special organization.
-SANCTION - a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.
5. Language- system of symbols that have specific and arbitrary meaning in a given
society.
CHARACTERISTICS
OF CULTURE
1. ordered, systematic, and integrated
2.shared
3.Weakly Bounded
4.Learned
5.Symbolic and is Found in Our behaviour
6.Fluid and is Changing
7.Varied
8.Political
9.Corporate
SUB-CULTURE
- refers to attitude of certain group
from the habitual practices of the majority.
(e.g. new styles of dressing, language and other
practices of a group of people
which are different from other majority)
STEREOTYPE
is any commonly known public belief
about a certain social group or a type of individual.
GENDER STEREOTYPES
SEXUAL ORIENTATION STEREOTYPES
Stereotypes are regarded as the most cognitive component, prejudice as the affective and
discrimination as the behaviora
l
SOCIAL CHANGE
is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon.
There are both endogenous (internal to the society
concerned) and exogenous (external to the society)
factors influencing social change.
Many people interact initially with the stereotype rather than with the true person.
SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
-is the socioeconomic layering of society's
members according to property, power, and prestige.
SOCIALIZATION
is the lifelong process of learning how to become functioning, contributing members of
society.
It is through this mechanism that the heritage and culture of a society can be passed on
from generation to generation. This allows society to survive and even proliferate beyond
the lifespan of individual members.
OPEN CLASS SYSTEM
is an economic system that has upward and downward mobility,
is achievement-based, and allows social relations between the classes.
Industrialized nations tend to have open class systems
.
CLOSED CLASS SYSTEM
have been confined to their ancestral occupations, and
their social status has mostly been prescribed by birth.

Most closed class systems are found in less industrialized countries.

An example of a closed class system with limited social mobility is French society before
the French Revolution.
Under the Ancien Rgime, French society was
divided between the first estate (clergy), second estate (nobility), and third estate
(commoners).

Members of each estate were likely to socialize only with others in the same group
.
ASCRIBED STATUS
The social status of a person that is given
from birth or assumed involuntarily later in life.
It is the social position one is born into and personal characteristics beyond one's control,
such as race and gender.
A social status of a person that is acquired, such as being an Olympic athlete, being a
criminal, or being a college professor. It is one's social standing that depends on personal
accomplishments.
ACHIEVED STATUS
In an open class system, people are ranked by
achieved status
,
whereas in a closed class system, people are ranked by
ascribed status.
STRUCTURAL MOBILITY
-Opportunity for movement in social class that
is attributable to changes in the social
structure of a society, rather than to
changes in an individual.
PRIMARY FUNCTION OF
RELIGION IN HUMAN SOCIETY
is to establish an orderly relationship between man and his surroundings.
CASTE SYSTEM
- is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a
style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary
social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution.
CONFORMITY
is an individuals adopting of attitude and behaviours of others because of pressure (real or
imagined) to do so.
Example, a cheerleader who wants to do an original routine but goes along with the
majority of the squad in voting to do a stolen routine exhibits conformity.
Conformity can be positive or negative.
ROLE STRAIN
happens when contradicting roles
for the same status are both tried to be attained. A teacher very friendly with her students
but must grade them objectively can succumb to
role strain; although it is possible to maintain both role prescriptions, it can also lead to
psychological stress
TWO ORDERS OF SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
PRIMARY GROUP
SECONDARY GROUP
SECONDARY GROUP
Relationships among members:
There is emphasis on the efficiency by which people accomplish their jobs.
It is unlikely that every member is aware of every other member.
The goal is to provide for the personal needs of the members.
TYPES OF INTERGROUP
INTERACTION
1. ASSIMILATION
2. PLURALISM
3. SEGREGATION
4. DOMINATION
5. POPULATION TRANSFER / EXPULSION
6. ANNIHILATION
MARXISTS MODEL OF SOCIETY

is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method

of socioeconomic inquiry based upon a
materialist interpretation of historical
development, a dialectical
view of social change, and an analysis of
class-relations within society and their application
in the analysis and critique of the development
of capitalism.
The most valid criticism of Marxists model of society
is the overemphasis on the importance of economic
class to explain historical trends.
BUREAUCRACY
- By Max Weber; A bureaucracy is a system of organization noted for its size and
complexity. Everything within a bureaucracy responsibilities, jobs, and assignments
exists to achieve some goal.
SIX CHARACTERISTICS OF
BUREAUCRACY
Hierarchy
Rules
Function
Focus
Impersonal
Qualification
THREE DIMENSIONS OF WEBERS NOTION OF SOCIAL CLASS:
economic resources;
political power,
social prestige
FASCISM
is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism.
Fascists seek to unify their nation through a totalitarian state
that seeks the mass mobilization of the national community,
relying on a vanguard party to initiate a revolution to organize
the nation on fascist principles.
It promotes regulated private enterprise and private property contingent whenever
beneficial to the nation and state enterprise and state property where private enterprise
and private property is unable to meet the nation's needs.
COMMUNISM
- An equal society, without social classes or class conflict, in which the means of
production are the common property of all.
CAPITALISTS
The social class of owners of the means of production in industrial societies, whose
primary purpose is to make profits.
SOCIALISM
is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and
co-operative management of the economy. "Social ownership" may refer to cooperative
enterprises,
common ownership, state ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.
NEUROTRANSMITTER
are endogenous chemicals that transmit signals from a neuron to a target cell across a
synapse
acetylcholine
dopamine
serotonin
gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)
glutamate
epinephrine and norepinephrine
endorphins
enkephalins
EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION (ESP)
involves reception of information not gained through the recognized
physical senses but sensed with the mind.
The term was adopted by Duke University psychologist J. B. Rhine.
ESP is also sometimes casually referred to as a sixth sense, gut instinct or hunch, intuition.
The term implies acquisition of information by means external to the basic limiting
assumptions of science, such as that organisms can only receive information from the past
to the present.
TYPES OF EXTRASENSORY PERCEPTION
1. CLAIRVOYANCE- is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object,
person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a
form of extra-sensory perception.
2. TELEPATHY- is the transmission of information from one person to another without
using any of our known sensory channels or physical interaction.
3. Psychokinesis/telekinesis- "distant-movement" with respect to strictly describing mental
movement or motion of solid matter, is a term coined by publisher Henry Holt to refer to
the direct influence of mind on a physical system that cannot be entirely accounted for by
the mediation of any known physical energy.
4. PRECOGNITION- precognition (from the Latin pr-, before, + cognitio, acquiring
knowledge), also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception
that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information.
EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS
1.Conversion: the expression of an intrapsychic conflict as a physical symptom; some
examples include blindness, deafness, paralysis, or numbness.
2. Denial: Refusal to accept external reality
3. Displacement: Defense mechanism that shifts sexual or aggressive impulses to a more
acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet
4. Hypochondriasis: An excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness.
5. Isolation: Separation of feelings from ideas and events, for example, describing a murder
with graphic details with no emotional response
6. Reaction formation: Converting unconscious wishes or impulses that are perceived to be
dangerous into their opposites
7. Regression: Temporary reversion of the ego to an earlier stage of development rather
than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way.
8.Repression: The process of attempting to repel desires towards pleasurable instincts,
caused by a threat of suffering if the desire is satisfied; the desire is moved to the
unconscious in the attempt to prevent it from entering consciousness
9. Undoing: A person tries to 'undo' an unhealthy, destructive or otherwise threatening
thought by acting out the reverse of unacceptable.
10. Withdrawal: Withdrawal is a more severe form of defence. It entails removing oneself
from events, stimuli, interactions, etc. under the fear of being reminded of painful thoughts
and feelings.
11. Identification: The unconscious modelling of one's self upon another person's character
and behaviour.
12. Introjection: Identifying with some idea or object so deeply that it becomes a part of
that person.
13. Sublimation: Transformation of negative emotions or instincts into positive actions,
behaviour, or emotion.
14.Thought suppression: The conscious process of pushing thoughts into the preconscious;
the conscious decision to delay paying attention to an emotion or need in order to cope
with the present reality
15.Somatization: The transformation of negative feelings towards others into negative
feelings toward self, pain, illness, and anxiety.
EGO DEFENSE MECHANISMS
PRACTICE TESTS:
1. Which of the following defines sociology?
A. a study that is concerned with discovering and organizing
facts, principles, and methods
B. a study of human groups, their customs and institutions,
and places
C. a study that deals with the production, distribution, and consumption
of wealth by human groups.
D. a study of human behavior, mental processes,
and personality
2. People can best show enculturation when they learn to

a. be refined
b. act as people
c. love one another
d. talk act, and think in acceptable ways
3. Proverbs often provide useful insights into a people's
a. value system
b. political processes
c. legal processes
d. value origins
4. Which of the following situations indicate an open-class society?
I. A member of the minority group becomes the president of a big business enterprise.
II. An outcast was put to death for trying to approach a member of the ruling class.
IV. A boy from the elite group marries the girl he loves from the working class.
A. I and III only
B. I and IV only
C. I, II and III only
D. II, III and IV only
5. Which of the following examples of social norms are folkways?
I. Going to the cemetery to visit the dead on All Saints' Day
II. Performing one's duties as head of the family
III. Showing compassion for unfortunates in society
IV. Santacruzan in May

A. I and IV only
B. I, II, and III only
C. II, III, and IV only
D. I, II, III and IV
6. Which of the following refer to patterns of beliefs that serve to guide, control, and
regulate conduct?
A. values
B. norms
C. mores
D. folkways
7. Any human action which is considered sufficiently out of the ordinary so as to be
regarded as unique or unprecedented is?
A. a deviant act
B. a diffusion
C. an innovation
D. an invention
8. The authority fostering belief in the competence of the individuals discharging statutory
obligation is?
A. charismatic authority
B. traditional authority
C. legal authority
D. functional authority
9. Change in culture are said to be endogenous when they?
A. come from within the culture
B. come from outside of one's culture
C. do not affect the culture
D. drastically destabilize culture
10. Which of the following is considered the most valid criticism of Marxist's model of
society?
A. polarization of society into two conflicting groups
B. emphasis on class dictatorship
C. overemphasis on the importance of economic class to explain historical trends
D. the forces that reduce the polarization of classes
11. All of the following are examples of a sanction EXCEPT:
A. slapping the palms of a bad boy
B. sentencing a murdered to death
C. confessing a crime to authorities
D. getting a failing mark for cheating in exams
13. Which of the following can be said of both comic books and da Vinci's art?
A. They both illustrate some facets of man's culture.
B. They show the contrast "cultured vs. uncultured."
C. They emphasize the absence of culture.
D. They are concerned with each one's quality.
14. When faced with a tragic situation, women are allowed to express their grief freely
while men are expected to be quiet and stoic. This illustrates a:
A. norm
B. values
C. more
D. folkway
15. Ethnic minorities, adolescent gangs, religious groups, and exclusive clubs for the elite
are examples of groups usually present in complex societies. They exhibit their own
behavior which is tolerated by the greater society as long as they do not endanger societal
values. these groups fall under a category called?
A. institution
B. kinship
C. subculture
D. community
16. According to Pepinsky, which of the following is the most effective form of social
control among Chinese communists?
A. group manipulation of guilt and shame
B. surveillance system
C. party directives
D. written laws
17. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of bureaucracy?
A. specialization
B. chain of command
C. informality and autonomy
D. merit appointment and job tenure
18. The primary function of religion in human societies is to
A. establish an orderly relationship between man and his surroundings
B. help people understand the existence of both good and evil
C. allay man's fears and anxieties over unexplainable phenomena
D. provide a way for man to be able to communicate with God
19. Which of the following is NOT true of the relationship among members of large
secondary group?
A. Primary relations tend to persist in the form of intimate cliques
B. There is emphasis on the efficiency by which people accomplish their jobs.
C. It is unlikely that every members is aware of every other member.
D.The goal is to provide for the personal needs of the members.
20. Which of the following conditions is true under the fascist system?
A. Labor unions are independent and not under state influence.
B. Private ownership of business by individuals is permitted.
C. Business is owned by the government but leased to private individuals.
D. The government owns and runs all businesses.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT BASED ON PIAGETS THEORY
1.SENSORIMOTOR STAGE (birth to 2 years)- an infant's knowledge of the world is limited
to his or her sensory perceptions and motor activities.
2.PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE (2 - 7 years) Language development is one of the hallmarks of
this period. Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic,
cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other
people, which he termed egocentrism.
3.CONCRETE OPERATIONS (7 11 years old)
-elementary school years
- children gain a better understanding of mental operations
-Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding
abstract or hypothetical concepts.
4.FORMAL OPERATIONS (11 to 16 years old)
-develops logical reasoning skills
-decreases egocentricity
PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT THEORY (PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY)
According to Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), personality is mostly established by the age of
five.
Stages of Development Based on the Psychoanalytic Theory
1.Oral Stage
Age Range: Birth to 1 Year
Erogenous Zone: Mouth
2.Anal Stage
Age Range: 1 to 3 years
Erogenous Zone: Bowel and Bladder Control
3.Phallic Stage
Age Range: 3 to 6 Years
Erogenous Zone: Genitals
4.Latency Stage
Age Range: 6 to Puberty (12 years old)
Erogenous Zone: Sexual Feelings Are Inactive
5.Genital Stage
Age Range: Puberty to Death (12 yrs and above)
Erogenous Zone: Maturing Sexual Interests
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY introduced by Freud tends to be the most pessimistic about
human nature.

Freud believed two basic drives guide and shape HUMAN BEHAVIOR-EROS AND
THANATOS. Eros reflects the sexual drive and thanatos reflects the aggressive survival
instinct. Basically, this is a reflection of the pleasure principle, which drives people towards
seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.
Trait theory and behavioural theory

tend to be
neutral about human nature.
Humanistic theory and cognitive social learning theory
tend to be more
optimistic about the nature of people.
GESTALT PSYCHOLOGYS PRINCIPLES
OF PERCEPTUAL ORGANIZATION
-the process whereby people categorize and organize stimulus information into
meaningful units to make sense of the stimuli.
-The underlying idea is that stimuli are perceived as an organized whole, not as unrelated
or disjointed piecesthe whole is greater than the sum of the parts.-For instance, people
recognize a familiar tune but do not ordinarily hear each distinct note or even every
musical instrument playing the song. They identify a persons face but do not usually pay
attention to each eye, eyebrow, nostrils, etc.
Principles of Grouping
Grouping is a process whereby individuals are inclined to perceive stimuli as groups or
chunks of information rather than as discrete bits of data.
similarity
proximity continuity closure simplicity
SIMILARITY
things that are physically similar are perceived as belonging together or as forming a
whole figure (gestalt). Therefore, XXOO is seen as two groups, with the XX as one group
and the OO as another group.
Proximity/ contiguity
group like with like,suggests that things that are in close proximity to one another are
perceived as belonging together or as forming a gestalt. In your clothing drawers you
probably put things together that logically go together; undergarments in one drawer,
shirts or blouses in another, and so on. You would not expect to find canned peas in
someones medicine cabinet but rather in the kitchen pantry.
CONTINUITY (LAW OF GOOD CONTINUATION)
holds that people categorize stimuli into smooth, uninterrupted, continuous forms, rather
than into discontinuous patterns.
Simplicity- (pragnnz)
suggests that individuals opt for relatively simple perceptions even when more complex
perceptions can be derived. That is, every stimulus pattern is seen in such a way that the
resulting structure is as simple as possible.
CLOSURE (MENTAL COMPLETION) PRINCIPLE
states that people tend to perceive incomplete patterns as being complete. We tend to fill
in the blanks based on prior experiences. A triangle with a small part of its edge missing
will still be seen as a triangle. Consider the annoyance that arises from having a missing
element or two from a collection, such as stamps, magazines, or CDs by a particular
musical group. And, soap operas keep viewers hanging on with cliffhanger endings.
DEPTH PERCEPTION
The images we see appear on our retinas in 2-D form, but we tend to perceive a 3-D world.
We see depth by using monocular and binocular cues.
Monocular cues
are depth cues based on each eye working independently.
Binocular cues
rely on both eyes working together.
Examples of monocular cues are
linear perspective, texture gradient, relative size, and interposition.
Convergence, wherein the eyes turn inward as an object comes closer, is actually an
example of a binocular cue, not a monocular cue.
Answer: B
Answer: D
Answer: A
Answer: B
Answer: A
Answer: B
Answer: C
Answer C:
Answer: A
Answer: C
Answer: C
Answer: B
Answer: A
Answer: A
Answer: C
Answer: A
Answer: C
Answer: A
Answer: D
Answer: B