MODULE4

Lesson 4.1 Social Science as a Scientific Study of Human Society

In the early stages of the development of human civilization, the people’s primary concern was to
work for their own survival. The common desire to survive and provide for each other’s subsistence was
the basis for the establishment of society. As time progressed, people’s knowledge became more refined
and development. Individuals, learned to ask questions in the process. The beginning of the tradition of
social sciences has been developments of the 19th century. Social Sciences such as economics, political
sciences, and history, though have along story of their own, could get the recognition as “Social Sciences”
only in 19th century.

Thinkers and writers of social sciences include Herodotus known as the “father of history” ;
Aristotle often known as the “Father of Political Science”; Manu, the great law giver; Kauyilya, an
authority of social science more than 2000 years ago.

In the development and progress of human knowledge, the social sciences were the last to develop
after the natural sciences. And while the origin of the social sciences can be traced back to the Ancient
Greek Philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, their development as separate fields of knowledge only
begun in the modern period. The development and progress of human knowledge Social Sciences can be
traced back to before the birth of modern social sciences in the west, the study of society, culture and
politics were based on social and political philosophy (Scott 2006). this was largely due to the dominance
of religious scheme of the church.

Philosophy is district from Science. Science would have not development if it remained under the
wings of philosophy and theology. Philosophy is based on a analytic understanding of the nature of truth
asserted about specific topics of issues.

What is Social Science?

Social science is the systematic study of various aspects of the human society. Social sciences is a
major category of academic disciplines concerned with society and the relationships among individuals
within a society. This term is sometimes used to refer to the field of Society.

Social sciences constitute a field of knowledge which studies woman’s/ man’s relationship with her/ his
sociocultural environment. Social sciences have become the part of school curriculum across most of the
countries of the Globe including India. Now you recall, when you were studying at school, you also
studied social sciences (or social studies) as the part of your school subjects. In this unit, we will be
acquainted with the nature of social sciences with special reference to evolution and conception of social
sciences; social sciences in different ages; current status of society; components of social sciences; and
interdisciplinary and integration perspectives in social sciences. In this unit, we explain to you the nature
of social sciences through theoretical discussions and argumentation, realistic examples and experiences,
and simulated project based activities and practices.

Nature of Social Science

The real nature of the discipline can be well understood by analyzing the above definitions:

1. A unique combination of various

disciplines. 2. A study of human relationships,
3. A study of man’s development through ages,
4. A realistic course of study,
5. It forms an important part of the core-curriculum,
6. It includes commitment to action.
7. Aims at preparing the learner for wholesome social living.
Scope of Social Science

The scope of social studies is very vast and wide as wide as the world itself and as lengthy as the
history of man. According to Michaelis”the breadth of social studies programmed should provide for a
variety of experiences so that the child’s learning will be well rounded and well balanced”.

The main points are as follows:

1. Vast and wide as the world. It is as wide as the world and as long as the world. It is the study of human
relationships in areas as:

a. Peopleof one’s own nationality and people across the world.

b. People and various kinds of institutions.
c. People and Earth
d. People and Time
e. People and Resources

2. A finctional study of Natural and Physical sciences and Fine arts.

3. A study of current affairs
4. A study leading to international understanding
5. Practical studies of various resources

Social Sciences; Evolution and Conception

Social sciences comprise a branch/field of knowledge which basically studies human society or
human relationship. Social sciences study the social behavior of human life. The different core-
components of social behavior of human life are- economic behavior, political behavior, cultural behavior
and tradition, customs and social institutions, religious faiths and ethics, value pattern followed in society,
etc. Social sciences occupy significant component of both university/ higher education as well as school
curriculum. At the university/ higher education/ high school level, different social science subjects like
history, political science, economics, anthropology, etc. are taught to the learners as independent/ optional
subjects. At the school or junior school level, different social science subjects are taught to the learners
under a single and composite instructional area/ subject i.e. social studies (or social sciences). Now we
will discuss the evolution and conception of social sciences.

While ‘social sciences’ evolved during the eighteenth century as a formal field of study and became
a part of university/higher education curriculum, ‘social studies’ (which draws its contents from different
social sciences) evolved during the twentieth century in order to be included in the school or junior school
curriculum. The evolution and growth of social sciences are the byproduct of modernization,
industrialization, renaissance, urbanization, growth of science and many more related developments.
There were many changes in human lives and living, which were hardly seen before during the eighteenth
century and afterwards. The whole world took a radical turn since the eighteenth century. Renaissance in
Italy and other European countries, French revolution 1789, industrial revolutions starting from 1767,
American war of independence 1776, development of new forms of capitalism, immense development in
natural sciences, etc. brought both happiness and difficulties for human society in the world.

Difference between Social Sciences and Natural Sciences

Social Sciences is a major category of academic disciplines, concerned with society and relationship
among individuals within a society. It in turn has many branches each of which is considered a “social
science”. On the other hand, Natural Science is a branch of science concerned with the description,
prediction and understanding of natural phenomena, based on observational evidence.

In general, natural science is the study of the universe and how it works, while social sciences are
building a bridge between the two, but we still are a long way from truly understanding why people
behave the way they do, let alone being able to predict behavior like Isaac Asimov’s psycho historian.

Difference between Humanities and Social Science

There are areas of study that deal with human aspects and lives that are often referred to as
humanities. There are also fields of study that deal with human societies and relationships that are very
similar to humanities subjects.
 ➢ Humanities are branch of science that deals with the heritage and question of what makes us
human humanities deal with law, history, ancient languages, modern languages, philosophy,
history, religion, and visual performing arts. Humanities are considered to be more
philosophical than social sciences.

Lesson 4.2 Various Disciplines of Social Sciences

1. Anthropology is the study of all human aspects of human life and cultures. It examines such
topics as how people live, what they think, what they produce, and how they interact with their
environment.

2. Economics is a science which study the human behavior as the relationship between ends and
sears, which means have alternative.

3. Geography is the science that studies the lands, feature, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.
As “the bridge between the human and physical sciences”.

4. History is the study of the past events. It is a social science in the sense that it is a systematic
attempt to learn about and verify past events and to relate them to one another and to be present.
The subject matter of history is everything that has already happened. The study of history
involves identifying, arranging, and patterning.

5. Political Science is the study of government, its structure and the activity associated with it. It
is a body of knowledge about the state in its various manifestations; politics refers to the actual
operations of a political system.

6. Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and the mind. It is social science because humans
are social cratures. Social psychology is the study of the individuals behavior as it influences
and is influenced by the behavior of others.

7. Sociology the origin of the word sociology is from the latin word “socius” and the greek
“ology”, indicate its nature as a hybrid discipline that can never aspire to the status of a social
science or a current body of knowledge. It is the systematic study of relationship among people.

8. Demography is the interdisciplinary study of human populations, it deals with the social
characteristics of the population and their development through time.

9. Linguistics the scientific study of language and its structure, including the study of
morphology, syntax, phonetics, and semantics.
 MODULE5
SUBJECT MATTER CONTENT Lesson 5.1

Importance of Culture

What is Culture?

➢ Culture can basically characterized as the people’s way of life which is shared by other people living
in a certain cultural region. However, it would be erroneous to assume that everyone in a given
society shares the same culture or people who are far from each other can no longer share the same
way of life.

➢ It refers to an organization of phenomena that is dependent upon symbols and includes acts (patterns
of behavior), objects (material things), ideas (belief and knowledge), and sentiments (attitude and
values)

➢ Culture is one of the most important concepts in social sciences.

➢ In sociological usage, culture specifically refers to social structure while socity refers to social
structure apart from underlying values and ideas.

➢ They are inseparable. It is important to distinguish between the related concepts of culture and

➢ Sometimes the concepts are used synonymous to mean all learned habits the total ways of life of a
social group, or a group social heritage.

Aspects of Culture

➢ Culture being a complex set of patterned social interactions is learned and transmitted through
socialization or enculturation

➢ Enculturation

➢ It is the process a person adopts the cultural pattern he or she lives in

➢ It also teaches the person what is accepted within that society and lifestyle.

➢ Cultural elements are learned rather than acquired through inheritance or through any biological
processes

➢ Dual inheritance theory

➢ Stated that human behavior (culture) is a product of two different and interacting evolutionary
processes

➢ Culture “dynamic property of individuals”

➢ Most people adopt the complexities of culture from the environment they are in because cultural
behavior and actions can only be learned through observation, experience, and education.

➢ Culture also requires language and other forms of communications.

➢ Culture is also dynamic, flexible, and adaptive. It is constantly changing through time.

Elements of Culture

Culture may vary from different social environments. However, culture has elements or components
that are non material in nature which are the same for all cultures. These are the following elements:

1. Norms it is a society’s standard of acceptable behavior. It is essential in a society because majority of

the people pattern their way of living after them.
  Folkways - norms that are known to be the proper way of dealing with their everyday
living and social interaction.
 Mores - these are customs or folways that needs to be followed by society strictly.
 Laws - formalized mores that are legislated, approved and implemented in a society.

2. Symbols
These are representations or illustrations to represent a particular belief or meaning of something.
People who share or practice the same belief or culture attach a specific meaning to an object, gesture
and image.

3. Language it is the system of symbols that individuals utilize to communicate, interact, and share their
views or beliefs, thus making an understanding among individuals.

4,. Values
Values are present in all culture and consider what is desirable in a particular culture. It is a sum of
all ideas and concepts that is considered by a particular culture to be good, desirable and correct
conduct in day to day lives. It should not be seen as a mandate for what is wrong and what is right
but values are considered to be the basis for evaluating the rightness or wrongness of an action.

Characteristics of Culture

Culture has characteristics which can be generally seen in all cultures of the world. The following
discussions will center on the different characteristics of culture.

1. Culture is learned

Culture can be learned by anyone who will be under the influence of such culture. This process of
learning culture happens in early life and continues until a person dies. Cultural learning is an unending
process. No matter how delicate a culture could be learned by any individual being influenced by the said
culture in a particular social environment.

2. Cultured is Shared

An individual who learns a particular culture can share his knowledge of that particular culture to
other individuals who in turn can learn it and share to others as well. In this fashion, culture can be shared
by everyone in a given social setting.

3. Culture is Cumulative

Human experiences and the knowledge and understanding gained from such experiences shape how
people will think and act in a social environment. In effect, experiences which accumulated from the past
up to the present is the base for cultural behavior.

4. Culture is Dynamic

Culture is always on the move. It is never stagnant. It constantly changes as new social experiences
accumulate and shape how people will respond to a social life. Because of the cumulative characteristic
of culture.
Example: before courtships always take place inside the house od a lady with her parents around but
today courtship takes many forms through the use of cellphones and social media.

5. Culture is Diverse

The world is composed of many different cultures. It is apparently observable that a particular
culture has many differences compared to other cultures. The reason for such is the fact that culture was
shaped by the experiences of people that accumulated through time.

6. Culture is Integrated

There could be many different cultures, despite this countless variations, a particular culture could
be integrated to another culture; in effect harmonization of culture is always a possibility. One culture
could be fused to another culture creating a hybrid culture.
 Example: many cultural traditions in the Philippines such as the Ilocano, Tagalog, Visayan,
Etc. These different cultures could be somehow harmonized into one Filipino culture.

7. Culture and Individual Freedom

Culture affects the entirely of the human person. A man’s way of thinking and behavior can be pretty
much said to be culturally based. A person acts in accordance to his cultural upbringing. His choices and
preference in life also based from his cultural biases. The dimensions of cultural effects on the individual
and the society itself are so immense that it is impossible to assess all the cultural influences a person has.

Lesson 5.2 Cultural Diversity

According to the sociologist Joan Farrante in her book “Seeing Sociology, an Introduction”,
“sociologists use the term cultural diversity to capture the cultural variety that exists among people who
share some physical or virtual space. That space may be as large as the planet or as small as
household”(2014). In short, cultural diversity exists even inside the same the social setting.

It will be helpful to us to consider the concept of cultural capital in order to fully appreciate the idea
of cultural diversity. Cultural capital generally includes all the material and non material culture that a
person has access to which could be useful or not in a certain social environment,

It has basically three types:

1. Objectified Cultural Capital - this refers to all material and non material culture that a person has or
has a direct access to. Objectified cultural capital also has a pecuniary value and as well as symbolic
meaning that people impute to them.

2. Embodied Cultural Capital - refer to all inds of material and non-material objects that have been
internalized by the people in a conscious or unconscious manner. Emboodied cultural capital is learned
by man through the process of socialization.

3. Institutionalized Culturla Capital - this cultural capital consists of all naterial and non-material culture
that everyone considers as desirable in a given social setting. Institutionalized cultural cultural capital
is very important to success in a certain social environment. Example: career, academic qualifications
and profession.

Each individual has different cultural experiences even if they belong to the same social
environment. This is the reason why even in the same social setting individuals have different reaction to
cultural stimulus. This is the reason why cultural diversity exists.

Lesson 5.3 Elements of Social Structure

⚫ Status
⚫ Social Roles
⚫ Groups

What is Social Structure?

The society has a structure that envelopes everyone living in it. Just look at the marketplace, even if
you don’t know the people there such as the vendors, one will still talk to them and even ardently bargain
with them. This because there is an underlying structure that let the people interact with each other in the
society. This structure also let the people in the society coexist even if most of them don’t know one
another or are not related to each other. Social structure can be defined as an invisible arrangement or
prearrangement that outlines how people should interact with each other and live together within the
society. According to Sociologist Farrante (2014), social structures shape how people connect to each
other and construct relationship bonds.

Social Structure has Elements such as:

a. Social Status is a manner by which someone can be defined by the society. It is broadly anything
created by human that imply a position, ranking or heir in the society. It includes many terms such as but
not limited to the various professions, marital status, homosexuality, employer, and employee. An
example of which is the high esteem given by the society to lawyers, doctors and University professors.
It is the society that ascribes the meaning of every status in the society. Some status can be ascribed and
status must be achieved.

➢ Ascribed Status is a status that is imputed to an individual purely by chance and no effort is
needed to obtain them. An ascribed status is anything acquired through natural processes such
as gender and race.
➢ Achieved Status is a kind of status that is achieved through effort combined with other
deliberate means.

b. Social Roles is somewhat different to a status but they are very much interrelated. Sociologists
use the word role to describe the behavior or character befitting of one’s status in relation to other status.
Example: the role of the teacher towards his students or the role of a parent towards his/her child. These
roles are attached with certain social responsibilities that they need to perform. A person could have more
than one status or role. People carry out their roles everyday but often times people cannot carry their
responsibilities properly and as a result role performances happens. A role performance happens when
the behavior of a person conflicts with his status.

c. Groups also play a vital role in the social structure of the society. A group consists of a number
of persons who interact in such predictable ways who share the expectations about who they are and what
is their purpose.a group acts according to the status and roles of its members which they relate to the
general purpose of the entire group. Group influence the way social structure is diffused to the general
public and also helps shape the social structure. This is so because groups are composed of several to
many individuals united for a certain purpose.

d. Division of labor

Division of labor can be defined as the dissection of work or job into several stages and each stage
corresponds to a part of a series of jobs directed towards the completion of a particular task. Each stage
has a set of specialized workers who are different from the other specialized workers performing a job on
a different stage.

The modern society is outlined by strict rules on division of labor. What we see today is a product
of a living of long series coordinated towards a certain desired goal. That is how the society works today.
Example a can of sardines, it will start from a group of people who will set to sea and fish for sardines.
After the fishermen have caught enough, they will will return and start the packaging process. In the
factory, the sardines will be cooked and preserved. Then it will pass through a series of processing then
it will be canned ready for disposal in the market. Each stage needs a series of expert who performs a task
that is directed towards the completion of a series of tasks kn order to come up with just one product. This
is basically how division of labor works in the society. Individuals need not perform all the takes needed
for the completion of a job, a worker only needs to focus on his part off the job and let the others do their
respected tasks too. in that way there is specialization among different workers.

e. Institutions
Groups are composed of roles and statuses, institution, on the other hand is composed of roles,
statuses, and groups. Institutions are relatively stable and predictable social arrangement created with
purpose of coordinating behavior and interactions to meet some need. (Ferrante 2014). Institution are vast
arrangements that influence the social structure of the society.

Characteristics of Institutions

1. Institutions have a historical background: an institution can be traced from its history. It
accumulates its vast collection of social experiences through its history.

2. Institutions continually change: institutions change all the time: This is so because statuses, roles,
and groups also change from time to time depending upon the social movements happening in the society.

3. Institutions allocate scarce and valued resources in unequal ways: production of goods and
allocation of wee desired assets are equally distributed among social institutions and even inside social
institutions.
4. Institutions allocate privilege and disadvantaged status: it is the institution that allocates
privileges and status to the people.

5. Institutions promote ideologies that legitimate their existence: institutions have great roles in the
dissemination of ideologies that fuel not only people’s actions but also social movements.
 MODULE 6

Lesson 6.1 The Family

❖ Definitions
❖ Concepts
Family

An individual will not start on his own inside the society. An individual will always need the
family. People simply did not sprout like mushrooms in this world. They first conceived, nurtured
inside the womb and when the time comes that they are ready to take their first breath of the outside
atmosphere, they were born into this world.

What is Family?

➢ A family can be defined as the basic unit of the society which is found in all societies that has
the duty of introducing the individual in his social world.

➢ The family is often times started with a man and a woman who lives together as husband and
wife forming marriage, usually, since it involves a legal status is defined as a legal tie or bond
between husband and wife which involves the duty to live together and cooperate with each
other for the rearing children and advancement of family life.

Sociological definition:

Group of persons united by ties of marriage, blood or adoption, constituting a single household,
interacting and communicating with each other in their respective social roles of husband and wife,
mother and father, son and daughter, brother and sister, creating and maintaining culture. (Burgess
and Locke, 1963).

Basic Elements in the definition of Family

⚫ Group
⚫ Parents
⚫ Children

Lesson 6.2 Family Patterns

❖ Marriage Patterns

Marriage could have many patterns. This is so because marriage is also affected by the
cultural orientation of the society. The most basic marriage patterns found in many cultures are:

1. Endogamy - this is a kind of marriage that is limited to members of the same social group.
Endogamy relationship most of the time is used in conservative society where the family wants
to preserve their wealth.

2. Exogamy - is a kind of marriage between two people of different category. This is the
opposite of exogamy.

3. Monogamy - a monogamous marriage permits only one marital union for each individual.
This means that when marriage is consummated, the married couple can no longer marry
another individual except when they are divorce or annulled already.

4. Polygamy - it is a kind of marriage that unites a person with two or more partners. This is
the exact opposite of monogamy.
 5. Polygyny - this is a kind of polygamy. It is basically the union of one man to two or more
women.

6. Polyandry - this is also another kind of polygamous marriage. It is defined as the union of
one woman to two or more men.

❖ Residential Patterns

A newly wedded couple must now choose their conjugal residence. However jut like the several
patterns of marriage, culture also influences how couples will choose their residence. The residential
patterns are:

1. Patrilocality - this is a kind of residential pattern in which the newly married couple will
live at or near the residence of the husband’s family.

2. Matrilocality - this is a kind of residential pattern whereby the newly married couple will
live at or near the residence of the wife’s family.

3. Neolocality - this is an ideal type of residential pattern for industrialized societies. In this
residence pattern, newly married couples will live in a house of their own choosing apart from their
respective families.

❖ Patterns of Descent

Descent generally refers to the system by which the members of the family trace thier ancestry
over generations. The common patterns of tracing kinship are:

1. Patrilineal - it is a kind of tracing one’s kinship through men.

2. Matrilineal - it is a kind of tracing one’s kinship through women.

3. Bilateral - it is a kind of tracing one’s descent through both men and women

Stages of Family Life

Families are dynamic units of the society which open to change through the life course of the
family life. The following are the stages od fa,ily life:

1. Courtship and Romantic Love - it is the start of the family life because it is this point
where two people get to know each other in preparation of a more serious commitment. The
courtship stage is often attended with romantic love is also expressed through affection, care
and sexual passion towards another person.

2. Ideal and Real Marriage - marriage most of the time is construed by a fairy tale love affair
which is characterized by romance and passion. Since we were children, the “fairy tale”
syndrome has already been introduced to us through movies and love stories found in novels.

3. Child Rearing - another important stage in a family life is child rearing. As a matter of fact,
child rearing is one of the goals of marriage.

4, The family in later in life - when all the children of a couple have grown already and are
starting to form their own families, the husband and the wife are again on their own but this
time with fewer responsibilities.

Marriage and the family in the Philippines

In the family setting where the dominant religion is Catholicism, marriage and the family life
is evaluated dignity and sanctity. Family Code of the Philippines provide for the legal definition of
marriage.
Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in
accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the
family and an inviolable social constitution whose nature, consequences,and incidents are governed
by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlement, may fix the properly relations
during the marriage within the limits provided by the Code (Art 1, Family code of the Philippine.

Essential Requirements of Marriage

1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
2. Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (Art. 2 Family Code)

Lesson 6.3 Filipino family in the changing world

Families around the globe look, feel, and even live differently today. Families can be “make or
break” for women and girls when it comes to achieving their rights. Now a days, increasing mothers
in the work force, more and more children requiring extra familial care, There are challenges
confronting the Filipino family of today that leads to changes and these are the following:

➢ The composition of a Filipino family is changing,

➢ Emergence of the “not-so-usual” families is evident
➢ There are other factors that contribute to these changing view of the composition of the
Filipino family such as:

◆ Concepts of Marriage;
◆ Divorce;
◆ Sex Education etc.

Overview

◆ It is from the family that the individual was first taught how to become a sociable
human being. Without the family, an individual is impossible to survive. Not
only that his survival depends on the family, an individual who has no family to
live will suffer the dreadful effects of social isolation.
◆ A family can be defined as the basic unit of the society which is found in all
societies that has the duty of introducing the individual to his social world.
◆ Marriage in the Philippines is not only culturally oriented but it also has special
legal consequences which cannot be simply overlooked by families.
◆ Population has been a prominent problem of many countries around the world.
This is the reason why Family planning has been a major influence in the
shaping of the today’s family life.
◆ Family planning has been defined as the rational, voluntary, and moral
management of the family life which centers on human reproduction.