Welcome to

Basics in Social Science: A brief

introduction

SHAIRA MATIN
Chapter-1
 What is Social Science?
• Social Science is not a discipline to itself but is
composed of numerous sub-disciplines.
• Social science is commonly used as an umbrella term to
refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural
sciences. These fields include: Anthropology, Economics,
History, Political science, Sociology and Psychology. The
term may be used, however, in the specific context of
referring to the original science of society established in
19th century sociology.
• A running definition is the scientific study of the social
world. We study all things social.
 Background
• The idea that human society could be studied
"scientifically" gained prominence throughout the
Western world during the nineteenth century largely
as a result of the triumphs of the sciences of nature,
especially physics and biology.
 Why are the Social Sciences Science?

• Organized and systematic study

• Methodology
• Tested with evidence
• Generalization
• Prediction
 SCIENCE

NATURAL SCIENCES SOCIAL SCIENCES

BIOLOGICAL PHYSICAL
 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE
a study of human and non-human living
organism
Under this area are:
1. Biology
2. Botany
3. Zoology
4. Bacteriology
 PHYSICAL SCIENCES
PHY
- examine the non living
physical character of the world
• Under this area are:
1. Astronomy
2. Geology
3. Chemistry
4. Physics
 SOCIAL SCIENCES
- deals with human relationship, social systems and societies but differ from each
other in their focus
Under this area are:
1. Economics
2. Political Science
3. Anthropology
4. History
5. Psychology
 Natural Science/Social Science
or
Limitations of Social Science

• Difficult to control
• Biasness
• Difficult to generalize
• Difficult to predict
What are the major branches of Social Science?

• Psychology
• Economics
• Anthropology
• Political Science
• History
• Sociology
 Economics
• Economics is a social science that seeks to
analyze and describe the production,
distribution, and consumption of wealth.
• The word "economics" is from the Greek
οἶκος [oikos], "family, household, estate," and
νόμος [nomos], "custom, law," and hence
means "household management" or
"management of the state.
 Branches of Economics
• Economics has two broad branches:
• Microeconomics, where the unit of analysis is the individual agent, such as a
household, firm and
• Macroeconomics, where the unit of analysis is an economy as a whole.
• In our daily lives, we face innumerable economic decisions, such as
choosing what to buy with available money or what to do during our
free time. These topics, which are related to the decisions
of individual agents (individuals, families, businesses), are the object
of study in an area of economics called Microeconomics.
• Another area of economics is Macroeconomics, which studies the relationship
between economic aggregates. Economic aggregates are elements that are made
up of the sum of other variables. For instance, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
is the sum of everything that is produced by each individual and organization
within a country. The consumer price index is made up of the average price of
numerous products. The aggregate investment is the sum of the expenditures in
investment of all businesses and families of a country, etc.
• Source: https://economicpoint.com/branches-economics
 What is Anthropology?
• Anthropology is the systematic study of
humankind.
• More specifically, it is the study of human
differences, cultural and biological, in the context
of human nature. Anthropologists identify and
compare behavior of a particular group against the
full range of human behavior.
• Two major goals:
– Understand uniqueness and diversity
– Discover fundamental similarities
 Four-field Approach
• Four subdisciplines bridge science
and humanities:
– Physical Anthropology
– Archaeology
– Linguistics
– Cultural Anthropology
 Anthropology
• Archaeology is the study of men and civilizations
that are not alive but have left some remains.
• Physical anthropology deals with origin of races
and human beings.
• Cultural anthropology deals with cultural
development of human beings and behavior of
man in social situation.
• Anthropology has strong ties with the natural
sciences, especially biology.
 Political Science

• Political scientists focus on politics of the State,

that is, of the government. But even government
policies affect our personal lives..
• Political science studies power, government and
politics. The study of order, rulers, and ruling has
a long tradition with students as diverse as
Aristotle and Machiavelli. For most of the history
of human kind, political events were seen as
unique.
 Political actors
• Individuals, neighborhoods, interest groups,
political parties, news media, business interests,
professional associations, international
organizations, etc.

• What type of political actions do they

engage in?
 Types of political activities

• Elections and campaigns, law making, lobbying,

court rulings, letters to the editor,
demonstrations outside of city hall, war, in some
circumstances even bombing a building.
• Politics includes activities that are legal and
illegal, local and global, ordinary and dramatic.
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https://studfile.net/preview/1907472/page:2/
 What is Psychology?
• The word psychology comes from the Ancient
Greek psyche ("soul", "mind") and logy, study).
• Psychology is the science of brain processes and
behavior
• Psychology is the scientific study of behavior
and mental processes.
 Psychology?
• Psychology differs from Anthropology,
Economics, Political Science, and Sociology in
seeking to capture explanatory generalizations
about the mental function and overt
behaviour of individuals, while the other
disciplines rely more heavily on group, field
studies and historical methods for extracting
descriptive generalizations
 Different Perspectives in
Psychology
Biological Psychology

Behavioral/Clinical Psychology

Cognitive Psychology

Social-Cultural Psychology
 Branches of psychology
Cognitive psychology involves the study of internal mental processes—all of the things that go
on inside your brain, including perception, thinking, memory, attention, language, problem-
solving, and learning.

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are
influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others in society.

Biological psychology can be concisely defined as the scientific study of the biological
processes underlying or influencing mind and behavior and the ensuing observation of its
effects on behavior. it focuses on the nervous system, hormones and genetics.

Clinical psychology is the psychological specialty that provides continuing and comprehensive
mental and behavioral health care for individuals and families; consultation to agencies and
communities; training, education and supervision; and research-based practice.

Industrial psychology refers to the practice of applying psychological theories and principles to
workplace environments. Industrial psychologists observe and evaluate human behavior and
interactions in the workplace and provide guidance and recommendations to improve human
and organizational efficiency.
 History
• A discipline which studies all the events of the past with
explanation.
• Although commonly used to refer to events which
happened earlier in time, 'history' in academic study is
either the study of the past or the product of our attempts
to understand the past, rather than the past itself.
• A usually chronological record of events, as of the life or
development of a people or institution, often including an
explanation of or commentary on those events: a history of
the Vikings.
• The branch of knowledge that records and analyzes past
events: "History has a long-range perspective" (Elizabeth
Gurley Flynn).
 Sociology
• No concrete definition of Sociology because each & every sociologist view society,
people, events & changes from different perspective.
•
• “Sociology is the scientific study of society”-(Parato).

• According to Morris Ginsberg, “In the broadest sense, sociology is the study of
human interaction and interrelations, their conditions and consequences.”
• James W. vander Zanden, “Scientific study of social interaction and
organization.”
 Specialized branches/areas of Sociology:

❖ Economic sociology
❖ Sociology of family
❖ Environmental sociology
❖ Industrial sociology
❖ Medical sociology
❖ Political sociology
❖ Urban sociology
❖ Rural sociology
❖ Historical sociology
❖ Sociology of religion
❖ Sociology of education
 Relations of Sociology with other Social
Sciences
• Sociology shares deep ties with a wide array of
other disciplines that also deal with the study of
society.
• Sociology is the mother of all social sciences.
• Because briefly sociology covers the whole aspects
of human social life, while the rest of social
sciences confined only to a single aspect of human
life. E.g. Economics is a social science which
focuses only on economic life of human being but
it is one of the aspects of society student by
sociology, similarly political science, history etc.
 Sociology and Economics.
• Economics is concerned with the production and distribution of
goods and services. It deals with the relationship of prices to supply
and demand. Economics has a relationship with sociology as
economic changes affect social life, for example the employment of
women has changed the structure and functions of the family in
modern life.
• Few economists pay much attention to an individual’s actual behavior
or attitude towards his or her job or towards money.
• They leave such matters to the sociologists, who often study topics
that are related to economics, for example, the social backgrounds of
businessmen, the contribution of education to productivity etc.
Economist also study social problems such as poverty,
unemployment, or environmental degradation.
 Sociology and Anthropology
• Anthropology has a close relationship with sociology.
Culture, by which we mean the system of symbols,
including language and beliefs that is shared by a
particular group, is the subject matter of anthropology
• Anthropologists tend to study primarily primitive, non-
industrial, or non-literate humanity, whereas sociologists
study more advanced civilizations. The result of this
difference is that anthropologists tend to study societies
as wholes but usually in a particular culture area.
Sociologists, by contrast usually parts of a society, they
generally specialize in some institution, such as the family
etc.
 Sociology and Psychology.
• Psychology deals with mental processes such as thinking,
learning, remembering and decision-making.
• Sociology and psychology are closely inter-linked with each
other. It is in the area of social psychology, that psychology
comes closest to sociology.
• Some of the social psychologists are interested in how
personality and behavior are influenced by people’s social
backgrounds or by the social settings in which they find
themselves.
• Other social psychologists are especially interested in how
people’s personalities influence their behavior. It shall thus be
observed that both sociology and psychology deal with human
beings. McIver has rightly said that “sociology is special aid to
psychology, just as psychology give special aid to sociology.
 Sociology and Psychology.

• In spite of the similarity and relationship, there is

difference between them as well. The object of study
of a psychologist is individual whereas that of a
sociologist is society. As both have different
objectives. Sociology studies society from the
viewpoint of community elements, whereas
psychology from the viewpoint of psychological
factors involved.
 Sociology and Political science.
• Political Science is the study of state.
• Sociology and political science are also related in the sense
that they both concern the welfare of people in a society.
• Many years ago political science was concerned largely
with how to make government more efficient. It left to
political sociologists the study of political behavior, for
example, the social backgrounds of politicians etc. The
political system does affect the group life, for example
communism, democracy and dictatorship affect group life
differently.
• Sociology studies all aspects of society. Political science
deals mainly with the government, which is under the
jurisdiction of sociology.
 Sociology and History.
• Sociologists are usually more interested in the present or
the recent past. History also gives us information about
the development and growth of social institutions. It is
due to this that historical method of study is considered
one of the important methods for the study of sociology.
• The historians also take the help of sociologists while
arriving at their conclusions. It is one of the major duties
of a historian that he should study social conditions of the
people. “History is past sociology and sociology is present
History.”
• In-spite of the similarity both have differences as well. All
that is contained in history is not the concern of sociology.
A sociologist needs social history and institutions, which is
just a part of the whole history.