Intro to the Social Sciences

Social Science
Definition: area of study dealing with human society
* there are 7 main disciplines
 History
Definition: The study of past events in human
societies
* Involves identifying, classifying, arranging, patterning,
and connecting past events to present
 Geography
Definition: the study of all the physical
features of the Earth's surface, including
its climate and the distribution of plant,
animal, and human life

• Topics: maps, trade patterns,

population distribution, industrial
/agricultural decisions
Definition: the study of the * Topics: production,
production, distribution, and distribution, consumption,
monetary policy, costs, benefit,
consumption of goods and
supply, & demand
services
Economics
Political Science
Definition: the study of
political organizations
and institutions,
especially
governments
* Topics: politics, law,
philosophy, theory,
international relations,
and public
administration
Psychology

Definition: the scientific

study of the human mind
and mental states, and of
human and animal
behavior
* Topics: the brain,
personality, development,
memory, perception,
maturation, & intelligence
 Definition: the study of the origin,
Sociology development, and structure of human
societies and the behavior of
individual people and groups in society

* Topics: Culture, Social

Structure, Groups,
Organizations, Social
Class, Education,
Sports, Population, and
Urbanization
 Anthropology

Definition: the study of humankind in

all its aspects, especially human
culture or human development.
* Topics: evolutionary process, change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMFsgPy1H5M
over time, physical and cultural
 The “New” Social Sciences
• Ethnic Studies
• Criminology
• Labor/Industrial Relations
• Urban Studies
• International Studies
• Religious Studies
• Women’s Studies
•Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction,
and understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from
observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and
repeatability of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances.
Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science
 and physical science. Life science is alternatively known as biology,
and physical science is subdivided into branches: physics, chemistry, 
earth science, and astronomy. These branches of natural science
may be further divided into more specialized branches (also known as
fields). As empirical sciences, natural sciences use tools from the 
formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting
information about nature into measurements which can be explained
as clear statements of the "laws of nature".[2
 Evaluation

Compare and
Contrast
Social
Sciences and
Natural
Science