INTRODUCING THE

DISCIPLINES WITHIN
THE SOCIAL
SCIENCES
 Etymologies of Social Science
Disciplines and Definitions

SOCIAL SCIENCE ETYMOLOGIES DEFINITIONS

DISCIPLINES

Anthropology “anthopos” (human), Scientific study of man or human being and their societies in
“logos” (study of) the past and present

Demography “demos” (people), Study of human population and dynamics

“graphein” (description)

Economics “oikanomia” (household Study of what constitutes rational human behavior in the
management) endeavor to fulfill needs and want

Geography “geo” (Earth), Deals with the study of the relationship between the earth and
“graphein”(description) people
 Etymologies of Social Science
Disciplines and Definitions
SOCIAL SCIENCE ETYMOLOGIES DEFINITIONS
DISCIPLINES
Linguistics “lingua” (tongue, language) Study of languages and focuses on the three aspects of language

History “histoire” (recorded and The study of the past and its records about events.
documented events)

Political Science “politika,” “polis” (affairs of Deals with the system of governance
the cities)

Psychology psyche” (mind), “logos” Scientific study of the mind and behavior
(study of)

Sociology “socius” (people together, Study of groups - how they are formed, how they change, and
associate), “logos” (study of) how the group impacts individual behavior
 ANTHROPOLOGY

• Essentially to understand as many aspects of human life as can possibly be studied, to record its findings, and
contribute to both historical understanding as well as to ascertain current states of the human condition in an attempt
to better understand and/or act upon those findings. (Fethe, 2017)
 DEMOGRAPHY

• To know the population of a particular area;

• To ascertain as to which factors are influencing the population of that particular area;
• To explain the factors relating to changes in population; and
• To study the population trends on the basis of the above three factors
 GEOGRAPHY

• To understand basic physical systems that affect everyday life (e.g. earth-sun
relationships, water cycles, wind and ocean currents).
• To learn the location of places and the physical and cultural characteristics of those
places in order to function more effectively in our increasingly interdependent world.
(Bonnett, 2008)
 ECONOMICS

• The three most important functions of economics are as follows: Just as feeding,
digestion and growth are the vital processes of living beings; similarly production,
consumption and growth are the essentials of economies. (Leaňo, 2012)
 LINGUISTICS

• Refer to the general social uses of language, such as requesting objects and activities,
initiating social interactions, expressing personal feelings, describing aspects of the
world, requesting information, and pretending. (Bernardez, 2013)
 HISTORY

• A useful for work. Its study helps create good business people, professionals, and
political leaders. The number of explicit professional jobs for historians is considerable,
but most people who study history do not become professional historians. (Evans,
2001)
 Methods of Creating History

Methods Description

Positivism • Embraces human agency in history.

• Uses sources to provide and accurate and complete vision of the
past.
• Also embraces and empathetic approach towards people in the past
Narrative - • The creation of narratives of the past - analysis plays less role as
Chronology the role of accidents is most important.

Biography - • The “Great Men” method which creates chronological narratives.

Hagiography Often look at the agency of one individual in history.
 Methods of Creating History

Methods Description
Dialectics - Analysis • These are created which become orthodoxies. New theses then arrive to
challenge these - revisionism - and a synthesis is produced from the old and
the new.
• The synthesis becomes the new thesis or paradigm and the process of clashes
(dialectics) repeats.

Meta - Narrative/ Total • Works of the Annales school are characterized by a multi - layered approach
History which seek to integrate long term, midterm and short term factors in a “total
history”.
• There is an effort to explain large amounts of human history through the
application of theory and social sciences.

Negativism • Rejects human agency in historical affairs.

• Rejects all sources.
• Rejects the possibility of empathetic understanding of the past.
 PSYCHOLOGY

• According to earlier psychologists, the function of psychology was to study the nature,
origin and destiny of the human soul. But soul is something metaphysical.
• It cannot be seen, observed and touched and we cannot make scientific experiments in
soul. (Kendra, 2020
 School of Psychology
School of Psychology Proponent Description

• Considered to be the first school of thought in

Structuralism Wilhelm Wundt Psychology.
and • This outlook focused on breaking down mental
Edward Titchener processes into the most basic components.
• The structuralists used techniques such as
introspection to analyze the inner processes of the
human mind.

John Dewey, • A general psychological philosophy that considers

Functionalism James Rowland Angell, mental life and behavior in terms of active
and Harvey Carr. adaptation to the person’s environment.
Founder: • A theory of the mind in contemporary philosophy,
William James developed largely as an alternative to both the
identity theory of mind and behaviorism.
 School of Psychology
School of Psychology Proponent Description

• Studies the unconscious mind.

Psychoanalytic Sigmund Freud • This school of thought emphasized the influence
of the unconscious mind on behavior.
• Freud believed that the human mind was
composed of three elements: the id, ego, and
superego.

John Watson • Focuses on observable behavior. Suggests that all

Behaviorism and B.F. Skinner behavior can be explained by environmental
causes rather than by internal forces
 School of Psychology
School of Psychology Proponent Description

• The school of psychology that studies mental

Cognitivism processes including how people think, perceive,
remember and learn.
• As part of the larger field of cognitive science,
this branch of psychology is related to other
disciplines including neuroscience, philosophy,
and linguistics.

Max Wertheimer, • Studies the mind and behavior as a whole

Gestalt Psychology Wolfgang Kohler, and • A school of psychology based upon the idea that
Kurt Koffka we experience things as unified wholes.
• Means “form” or “configuration”
• The whole is other than the sum of its parts
 POLITICAL SCIENCE

• A social study concerning the allocation and transfer of power in decision

making, the roles and systems of governance including governments and
international organizations, political behavior and public policies. (Mortel et al.
2003)
 SOCIOLOGY
• Can study society with a wide variety of focuses. From studying the power elite,
to the interaction of the economy, society and the environment, to the examination
of various rights movements, Sociology examines the way different aspects of
society behave and function. (San Juan, 2011)
 ACTIVITY
Creating an Imaginary Nation!

Directions: Create a physical map of an imaginary nation. Write the name of the
country on the top of the map. You should include at least five different land or water forms
in the map and give each of them a unique name (e.g. The Shadow Mountain). You should
also include at least five major cities including a capital these must be named. Neatly color
the maps with colored pencils or crayons. Explain how your imaginary nation is
conducive to be a productive and developed society. Use separate bond paper in answering
this question.
Founder of Different Disciplines