Name: Princess Jhejaidie M.

Salipyasin
Year and Section : BSAC4-A

1. How is power defined? What characteristics of power deserve to be discussed in any

definition of power?

Power is the ability to exercise one’s will over others, it is the ability to utilize
rewards and punishments to influence people's behavior. Power shapes wider dynamics
such as social groups, professional associations, and governments, in addition to
personal connections. Similarly, a government's power is not restricted to the control of
its own citizenry. For example, a powerful nation will frequently use its authority to
influence or assist other governments or acquire control of other nation-states. One can
use their power over others by rewarding them or threatening to punish them - that is,
by giving or taking something away from them. As a result, in order to exercise power,
one must have control over these things in order to give or take them away from
others.

The following are some of the aspects of power that should be covered in any definition
of power:

 Power is not a physical possession; it can be regarded as a relationship. It's a

relationship in which one person is more powerful than the other.
 Being powerful implies being influential. If a person does not have influence
over other people, they may not be regarded as powerful. It is necessary to
influence other people's conduct in order to influence their behavior.
 Power is never distributed evenly. It is an uneven relationship simply because
one party has control over the resources.
 Possessing power entails command of resources. These things will be used to
either provide for or deny others.

2. What are the disciplines within the social sciences? How can we understand power
from the perspective of each of these fields of study?

The social science disciplines include Anthropology, Economics, Geography,

History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology. Anthropology for the study of
man's development physically and culturally, Economic for the study of man's
production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services, Geography as the
study of man's interaction with his environment, History, the study of man's past and
past events, Political science for the study of man's politics and government systems,
Physcology as the study of man's behavior individually and lastly, Sociology as the study
of man's behavior in groups.

3. What is meant by the interdisciplinary study of social problems?

An interdisciplinary approach to social problems "assists students in

comprehending why disputes usually emerge; the origins and effects of an issue; and,
the optimum manner for policy to handle the issue of concern," according to the
authors (Salter & Hearn, 2007). Individuals attempting to address social problems who
do not take an interdisciplinary approach to learning often find that their outlook-
capacity is limited. In the study of social problems, a single-disciplinary approach is
limited in terms of analytical frameworks, and it is also loaded with assumptions that
cannot be proven. It is feasible to progress the lack of agreement on social issues by
using an interdisciplinary approach (Gallagher, 2013). An interdisciplinary approach well
accommodates the notion that "it's okay to agree to disagree."