OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

 
Define Social Sciences as the study of society
Distinguished Social and Natural Sciences and
Humanities
Compare and contrast the various Social Science
disciplines and their fields, main areas of inquiry and
methods
Trace the historical foundations and social contexts
that led to the development of each discipline
 
The Social Science
 
Social Science is one of most engrossing fields to
learn and explore because it offers a systematic study of
man in relation to his society. In a sense, the subject
will give us a better understanding of what it means to be
human and human behavior is quite fascinating.
And when we better understand ourselves, we can
have a clearer picture how our own society works. Once
you understand that, you can be able to identify root
causes of society's problems and find more effective
solutions which will help you plan and make career
decisions that are right for you.
How can I distinguish Social Science from other
disciplines like Natural Science and Humanities?

Here’s how they differ….

Social Science is the field of human knowledge that

deals with all aspects of the group life of human beings.
So it is subject to change with the changes in human
behavior. It deals with subject or human beings. It is
spontaneous , unpredictable, uncontrollable as it deals
with human emotions and behavior.
This includes Sociology, Economics, Political
Science among others.
Natural Science is a branch of science that seeks to
elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by
using the Empirical and Scientific method. It deals
with the description, prediction and understanding of
natural phenomenon. It deals with object and
characterized by exactness, controlled variables and
predictability.
Its subject areas include: Physics, Chemistry,
Earth Science and Astronomy.

While Humanities are academic disciplines that

study the human condition, using methods that are
primarily analytical, critical or speculative, ancient
and modern languages , Visuals and Performing Arts
such as music, Theater Arts, literature, history,
philosophy and religion.
The Discipline Within Social Science
Anthropology – is the holistic “science of man” – a science of the totality of
human existence. It includes :

Physical Anthropology –its primary interest is human evolution - on how

our ancestors changed through time to become what we are today.
Cultural Anthropology – focuses on the cultural aspects of human societies
all over the world. It also involves study on social and political organizations,
marriage patterns and even religious beliefs of various societies.
Archaeology – seeks to study the prehistory and early history of societies
and their cultures.
Demography is the interdisciplinary study of the size, growth,
and distribution of human populations. It examines statistics
such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease,
which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.

Static Demography – it means the study of anatomy or

structure o community and their environment in the given
population.
Dynamic Demography – it deals with the functions of
communities as regards to the changing patter of mortality,
fertility and migration.
Economics – is the social science that analyzes the production,
distribution and consumption of goods and services.

Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment – this

is the economics of farming, fishery, forests and natural
resources with a focus on prices, markets and changing
technology.
Business Economics – It is the study of how firms and
companies make decisions, for instance on what prices they
should set and how much should they produce to maximize
profit.
Geography – is the science that studies the lands, features,
inhabitants and phenomena of Earth. It is considered as the
“bridge between the human and physical sciences.

Cartography – is the study of maps , in moderntimes this field

uses global positioning systems (GPS), satellite images and radar
distance measurements.
Hydrology – focuses on the study of earth’s water which
includes its motions and properties.
Meteorology – is the study of the atmosphere, atmospheric
phenomena, and atmospheric effects on our weather.
History – is the study of the past of human in he world
Political History - deals with kings and his nobles during the
earliest times. They were considered the architects of the society and
their actions received the prior treatment at the hands of the
historians.
Social History – isprimarily devotes to the social life of the people,
which includes religion, natioal economy, morals, manners, foods,
dress, art and culture.
Linguistics – is the study of languages – how it is put
together and how it functions.
Psycholinguistics –it investigates how we acquire
language, how we produce language and how we acquire
language.
Semantics – pertains to the study of meaning.
Phonetics - the study and classification of speech
sounds.
.
 
Political Science – is the study of social arrangement
to maintain peace and order within a society. State,
politics, power and ideology are components of Political
science.
Comparative Politics – it compares the systems of
government of different countries.
International Relations–it  examine the ways in
which nations interact. it focuses on how
states relate to one another, such as why and how
states trade, cooperate, and fight.
Political Economy - is the study of how economics
and politics affect each other. It studies the impact of
economic power on international relations or how
different economies develop within similar political
systems.
Political Theory- considered as the oldest field in
political science. Finding its roots in the ancient
theories of Aristotle and Plato, this field integrates the
timeless with timely questions about political ideology,
fairness, justice, and equity.
Psychology – is the study of the human soul, mind, behavior,
personality and how these are affected by individual’s environment.
Abnormal psychology is the area that looks at psychopathology
 and abnormal behavior. It helps assess, diagnose, and treat a wide
variety of psychological disorders including anxiety and depression.

Cognitive Psychology – studies the human

thought process and how people obtain, process,
and store information in the brain. These
psychologists conduct experiments and research
to study memory, perception, and learning. 
Developmental Psychology - helped us better
understand how people mature over the course of
their lives, both emotionally and physically,
studying human development from birth until old
age.
Experimental Psychology–conducts
investigations into basic psychological processes,
such as attention, perception, memory, and
reasoning.
Sociology – is the study of human social relationships or social
systems or human grouped behavior. It is the systematic study of
society and human social action.

Sociology of Knowledge –this field of sociology

indicates that our knowledge is the product of
social phenomena. That our knowledge is
always influenced by society.
Sociology of Religion–it studies the structure
of the religion in the social system as no society
is free from the influence of it.
Rural Sociology–focuses on the way of life of
rural population. The patterns of life such as
behavior, belief, culture, tradition norms,
values, etc. are totally different than of urban
people
Urban Sociology - studies the way of life of
urban people.