the social science disciplines

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES

DENNY ROHMAWAN

ANTHROPOLOGY

The Overview of AnthropologyAntrhopolgy study human cultures, They study cultures at all levels of

technological development. From the way they gathering and hunting through agricultural to fully industrialized. Anthropologists may divided into several specialties :

• Social/Cultural anthropogists• Ethnographer• Phsycal/Biological anthropologists• Primatologists

The Outline of the structure of AnthropologyA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• What is the nature of culture?• How do the parts of a culture fit together to make a functional whole?• How do cultures affect the personalities of the individual members?• How do cultures that come into contact influence one another?• How do cultures evolve and change?• Are there any ways in which all human cultures are alike (that is, are there “any

cultural universals”)?• How do cultures influence the relationship between human beings and the

natural environment?• How does the natural environment influence culture?

A. Mode of Inquiry2. Research Methods (and Tools)

• Observation of behavior while “living among the people” (frequently referred to as fieldwork and/or participant observation)

• Interviewing• Description of physical aspects of culture (tools, dwellings, clothing, art, etc.)• Analysis of written documents (e.g., official government documents, journals

written by missionaries or early explorers, carvings in stone)• Cross – cultural comparisons using ethnographies researched by various

anthropologists• Linguistic analysis• Excavations (“digs”)• Physical analysis of fossils and other remains of early cultures (carbon dating,

etc.)

The Outline of the structure of AnthropologyB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts• Culture• Culture traits• Nuclear families• Artifacts• Levels of Technological

Development• Child-rearing practices• Diffusion• Traditions• Dwelling• Clothing• Values• Language• Customs• Ceremonies

• Culture area• Patterns of residence• Subsistance activities• Borrowed traits• Nomadic societies• Agricultural societies• Horticultural societies• Extended families• Basic human needs• Religious beliefs• Industrialized societies• Marriage customs• Culture changes• Races• Tools

• Foods• Body ornaments• Kinship patterns• Inheritance rules• Division of labor• Taboos• Enculturation• Art forms• Acculturation• Rites of passage• Sex roles


2. Generalizations (with key concept italicized)

• Culture (a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, and behavior) makes it possible for members of a society to interact with each other and with the physical environment to meet basic human needs.

• Every culture is made up of an interconnected series of culture traits, and thus culture change in one or more culture traits will result in changes in other culture traits.

• If human did not have the ability to develop complex language, then they could not develop a culture.

• If a culture is to be preserved, then it must be passed from generation to generation by child rearing practices.

• The Development and evolution of a culture is affected by the physical environment.

• The nature of a culture is effected by the level of technological development of the people.

• If condition change rapidlly, then cultures can adapt to the changes by incorporating borrowed traits from other cultures.

• If a society uses a division of labor (as virtually all do), then the custom of division of labor by sex is likely to exist.



• If a culture change involving a movement from dependence on hunting and gathering to a dependence on agriculture takes place, then the people will change their pattern of residence (begin to settle in permanent communities, etc.) and to accumulate a larger store af artifacts.

• Sex roles vary from culture to culture and are passed on to the next generation by child rearing practices.

ECONOMICS

The Overview of EconomicsEconomics is the study of how scarce resources are used to satisfy

unlimited human wants. The part concerned with economic analysis is divided into two main areas: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Two additional areas of specialization are economic history and comparative economics.

The Outline of the Structure of EconomicsA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• How do humans allocate scarce resources to meet unlimited human wants?• How do producers decide on what and how much to produce?• How do consumers decide on what and how much to consume?• How do the goods and service that are produced get distributed to the people

who want them?• How can productivity be increased?• How does a market operate to enable buyers and sellers to exchange goods

and service?• How are quantity supplied, quantity demanded, and price related?• How does competition affect price and the quantity of goods and services that

are produced?• How is the income of various members of a society determined, and what is the

pattern of overall income distribution?• What causes markets to fail?• How are unemployment and inflation related?


• Mathematical and statistical analysis of data from government or other documents (e.g., GNP, unemployment rate, prime interest rate, census)

• Surveys (of public opinion, etc.)• Case studies• Theoritical model building and testing• Cross-national comparison• Construction of tables, charts, and graphs• Computation of ratios and percentages• Computation of index numbers (price index, etc.)• Computation of averages and distribution about to average (including medians

and arithmetic means)

The Outline of the structure of EconomicsB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Scarcity• Producers Quantity

demanded• Quantity supplied• Economic wants• Consumption• Wages• Specialization• Buyers and Sellers• Production• Public goods• Savings• Markets• Rents• Opportunity costs

• Taxes• Unemployment• Economic systems• Poverty• Barter• Human capital• Exchange• Productivity• Interdependence• Goods and Services• Competition• Consumers• Division of labor• Medium of exchange

• Banks• Money• Circular flow of income• Benefits• Costs, prices, profits• Monopoly, oligopoly• Property rights• Transfer payments• Sunk cost• Income• Enterpreneurs• Growth (economic)• Productive resources• Human resources


1. Concepts

• Natural Resources• Capital goods• Income distribution• Gross national product (GNP)• Inflation, recession, depression• Trade-offs• Economic institutions• Externalities• Government regulations



• Technological change often results in increased productivity and a change in the type of goods produced.

• A medium of exchange (money) is needed in an economic system that is based on specialization and exchange

• The price of a good or service has an effect on the willingness of a seller to enter into production and the willingness of a buyer to become a consumer of the good or service.

• Producers bring productive resources (human resources, natural resources, and capital goods) together to produce a goods and services.

• The level of productivity is increased when investments in human capital and/or capital goods are increased.

• Division of labor and specialization increases productivity and interdependence.• Trad-offs (choices) must be made among alternative uses of productive

resources.• In a market economy, consumer economic wants exert a major influence on

production (what, how much, etc. ).



• Workers sell their services to employers in return for wages (or salaries) that they can spend for goods and services.

• If both the buyer and the seller think that they will receive a benefit from an exchange, then the exchange will take place.

• In a market economy, the price of a good or service is determined by the quantity demanded and the quantity produced.

• Unregulated monopolies tend to sell goods and services at higher prices than competitive markets.

GEOGRAPHY

The Overview of GeographyGeography is a study of earth’s surface and how humans affect and are

affected by their physical environment. It also divieded into two main specialties: physical geography and cultural/human geography.

An additional subdivision of geography is cartography or mapmaking. It interested in accurately recording the location of people and places on the earth’s surface.

The Outline of the Structure of GeographyA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• Why do people live where they do?• Why do people in different locations on the globe live differently?• Why is the human population distributed unevenly over the earth’s surface?• To what extent does the earth shape humans?• To what extent do human shape the earth?• What is the relationship between variations in land (climate, soil, etc.) and

differences in level of economic deelopment, political organization, and other aspects of culture?

• What makes a city a city?• What are the characteristics of the various climate region?• How are people in different geographic areas interdependent?• How do region from and change?• How can a large, spherical earth be represented on a small, flat piece of paper?


• Surveying• Fieldwork (observing in natural settings)• Mapmaking (charting, etc.)• Tables and graphs• Regional descriptions• Analysis of cencus data• Case studies• Physical measurements (temperature, altitude, etc.)• Aerial photographs

The Outline of the structure of GeographyB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Landforms• Maps symbols• Directions• Time zones• Occupations• Location• Soils• Population• Mountains• Deserts• Forest lands• Temperature• Latitude and Longitude

• Animal domestication• Cultivated crops• Settlement pattern• Land use• Hemispheres• Continents• Irrigation• Civilization centers• Ocean resources• Surface feature• Regions• Communication systems• Natural resources

• Water resources• Scale of miles• Map grid systems• Megalopolises• Races• Graphs and Tables• Climates• Transportation system• Oceans• Rivers• Lakes• Weather• Altitude


1. Concepts

• Vegetation• Trade routes• Tools• Migration• Regional specialization• Division of labor• Urban centers• Agriculture• Natural energy resources• Humidity• Seasons• Population density



• With advances in level of economic development humans increasingly modify the earth’s surface feature (by clearing land, building dams, polluting the air and water etc. ).

• The development of agriculture (and therefore food surpluses) by some societies contributed to the development of the custom of division of labor and the emergence of urban centers.

• The development of animal domestication resulted in changes in subsistence activities and settlement patterns.

• A society’s level of economic development helps to determine its capacity to support a particular population density.

• Humans use the natural resources found in their physical environment to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter.

• The human processes of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption vary in part with geographic influences (climate, landforms, soil, water resources, etc. ).

• The natural resources (soil, water, plants, animals, minerals, etc. ) of a particular area determine in part the nature and extent of human achievements within geographic area.



• Advances in transportation and communication system lead to interdependence between regions in meeting basic human needs.

• Human occupations in a region are determined in part by climate, natural resources, and level of economic development.

• Avaibility of natural resources may lead to regional specialization.• Populations will tend to settle in areas that have sufficient natural reasources to

meet their basic human needs.• The earth’s surface features vary as function of geologic events, weather, and

human culture.

HISTORY

The Overview of HistoryHistory is the study of the human past. Historian are interested in all aspect

of past human activity. A particular historian may choose to specialize in one or more of these aspects of human activity (social, military, art); in the history of a particular country or geaographic region (United States, Africa, Southeast Asia); in a particular time period (the Middle Ages, the Golden Age of Greece, the Nuclear Age); in a major event.

The Outline of the Structure of HistoryA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• What actually happened in the past?• Do the events of the past form pattern that can be used to predict future

events?• How can a knowledge of past events contribute to our understanding of current

events?• To what extent can cause and effect for events of the past be established?• Do “great people” make “great times,” or is it the other way around?


• Analysis of public documents (e.g., newspapers, magazines, government reports political documents, literature, earlier histories)

• Analysis of private documents (e.g., letters, diaries, journals, wills, household inventories)

• Analysis of physical remains (e.g., roads, bridges, buildings, fortifications, tools, pottery, weapons)

• Analysis of nonprint materials (e.g., photographs, paintings, wall carvings, sound recordings, video recordings)

• Interviewing• Observation of current events

The Outline of the structure of HistoryB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Change• Past (times)• Values• Historical events• Beliefs• Historical records• Battles, wars• Government• Power• Military leaders• Past events• Current events• Industrial leaders• Tools and Machines

• Works of literature• Explorers• Progress• Civilization• Settlers• Exploration• Time• Personal bias• Cultural bias• Century• Cause and effect• Civil wars• Economic systems• Political leaders

• Treaty• Social roles• Society• Inventions• Religious leaders• Works of art• Artists (in general)• Social leaders• Historical periods• Conflict• Colonists• Innovations

The Outline of the structure of HistoryB. Body of knowledge


• Continuous change has been a universal condition of human society troughout all time.

• Complex historical events cannot be explained in terms of simple, one – to – one cause and effect.

• Past events influence current events.• Historical bias results if each generation re – creates and rewrites history in

terms of its own values and needs.• To understand current events adequately, one must be aware of past events.• A revolution may occur if a significant number of the members of society feel

that they are being exploited by the political leaders.• In the past, exploration led to culture change.• New inventions may lead to significant culture change.

POLITICAL SCIENCE

The Overview of political SciencePolitical Scientist study public policy. They are interested in the

development and use of human power in society, especially as reflected in government. More recently, political scientist have extended their concern to include the relationship between public policy and the society in which it operates.

The Outline of the Structure of Political ScienceA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• How do government and other political organizations originate?• How do leaders and/or political organizations gain power?• What purposes do political organizations serve?• How are political decisions made?• What are the agents in a society that contribute to political organization?• How do ethnic, race, sex, religious, or linguistic divisons in a political system

affect its processes and problems?• How does the international environment shape national political life?• How can citizen participation levels be modified or their composition atered?• How do political system extract resources with which to implement policies?• What different areas of life are regulated in different kinds of political systems?


• Analysis of official documents• Analysis of laws and court decisions• Content analysis of mass communications• System analysis• Analysis of voting behavior• Comparison of different political systems• Interviews• Opinion polls• Surveys• Case studies

The Outline of the structure of Political ScienceB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Power• Society• Nation• Political freedom• Majority rule• Decision making

processes• Laws• Legislators• Political units• Elections• Taxes• Civil liberties• Discrimination• Autocracy

• Monarchy• Dictatorship• Ideology• Communism• Capitalism• Social class• Institution• Liberty• Values• Branches of government• Minority groups• Governments• Organization• States

• Responsibilities• Policy decisions• Human rights• Political parties• Rules• Political leaders• Religious groups• Democracy• Oligarchy• Constitutions• Nationalism• Socialism• Propaganda• Public policy


1. Concepts

• Justice• Equality• Military powers• Citizens• Authority• Mass communication



• If a government is to endure, then it must deal with the problem of the allocation of scarce resources, establish rules and controls, and provide for a division of labor.

• Political freedom is a workable idea only if it is balanced by corresponding political responsibilities.

• Policy decisions are necessarily value judgments.• Government is necessary for the production of public goods and services (e.g.,

roads, police force).• Law is an effective mechanism for social change.• If a government is to survive over time, then it must constantly adapt to social

change.• Laws may serve to prepetuate discrimination.

SOCIOLOGY

The Overview of SociologySociologists study the behaviour of humans in groups. Their primary

interest is in human social relationships – human behavior as it manifests itself in the development and functioning of groups and institutions.

The Outline of the structure of SociologyA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• How do human groups socialize new or young members?• How do technological innovations affect social institutions?• How do groups make desicions?• How do groups solve problems?• How do changes in institution occur?• How are changes in one institution relateed to changes in other institutions?


• Interviews• Questionnaires• Participant observation• Case studies• Content analysis of written and spoken communications• Analysis of demographic data (cencus, etc.)• Longitudinal studies• Naturalistic observation• Laboratory experimentation

The Outline of the structure of SociologyB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Groups• Socialization• Family• Society• Values• Ethnic groups• Social status• Social organization• Population• Power• Roles• Social interaction• Rituals• Segregation

• Immitation• Regulation• Innovations• Social classes• Role expectations• Collective behavior• Traditions• Functions• Technology• Social order• Social deviation• Institutions• Social roles• Races

• Violent behavior• Norms• Sex roles• Group conflicts• Stratification• Decision making• Authority• Social changes• Division of labor• Community• Discrimination• Birth and death rates• Laws• Status


1. Concepts

• Social mobility• Social relationship• Social movements• Attitudes• Structures• Group values• Group pressure



• The family (as a reproductive, economic, and socializing unit) will change its functions in response to changes in technology and social movements.

• Differences in group values (or ideologies) may result in group conflict or violent behavior

• A society must maintain social order by a combination of group pressure, socialization, and force, if it is to function smoothly.

• Division of labor (and specialization) is a characteristic of all social organizations.

• In a social organization, violent behavior may erupt if differences in values are not resolved.

• A social organization will not survive unless new members are socialized to accept group norms and group pressure is used to maintain the norms.

• Social deviation arises when a person fails to conform to the norms of the society.

• Every group of people is characterized by a complex network of social relationships.

• Group membership helps to define social status.• Differences in social status tend to become associated with different role

expectations.• The social behavior of group members is strongly influenced by group values

and norms.

PSYCHOLOGY

The Overview of Psychologypsychology is a study of the behavior of individuals and small groups of

individuals. The discipline is sometimes defined to include all type of behavior – human and nonhuman, normal and abnormal, individual and group, physical and mental, and instinctive and learned. Traditionally psychologists have studied learning, growth and development, thinking, feeling, perceiving, group behavior, personality development, and abnormal behavior.

The Outline of the structure of PsychologyA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• What makes each person unique?• What factors influence self - concept?• How do heredity, environment, and learning influence behavior?• Are there universal stages in human development?• What is the nature of thinking?• How does learning take place?• What are the relationships between the central nervous system and behavior?• What are the physiological and psychological motivational bases of human

behavior?• What is the relationship between mind and body?


• Naturalistic observation• Laboratory experimentation• Interviewing• Written questionnaires• Case studies• Longitudinal studies• Participant observation• Measurements using psychological instrument (e.g., IQ tests, personality

inventories, rating scales)• Cross – cultural comparisons (e.g., using data collected by a number of

ethnographers in the field)

The Outline of the structure of PsychologyB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Learning• Learned behavior• Classical conditioning• Cognitive skills• Reward (reinforcement)• Perceptions• Sensations• Individual differences• Personality traits• Motivation• Attitudes• Self – esteem• Emotions• Racial or ethnic

stereotypes

• Development stages• Modeling• Sex differences• IQ• Communication

behavior• Traits• Anxiety• Adjustment• Abnormal behavior• Environment• Behavior• Responses• Sereotypic traits• Assessment

• Achievement• Feelings• Drives, needs• Self• Social skills• Motor skills• Thought• Race differences• Social groups• Heredity• Gender roles• Development• Maturation• Adaptation


1. Concepts

• Sex – role stereotypes• Altruism



• A behavior is more likely to be learned and repeated if the individual receives a reward.

• All individuals exhibit behavior.• Individual behavior is a function of the interaction between heredity and the

environment.• If learning take place, then there is a relatively permanent change in behavior

potential.• All problem solving is based to some extent on past learning and memory.• Gender role is influenced by genetic factors, hormones, and learning.• Differences in the personalities of individuals confronting the same situation.• Self – concept is learned and affects behavior.• Human development (in language, motor skills, cognitive skills, and social

skills) follows an orderly sequence of developmental stages that is universal.• For humans, language is the primary means for communicating thoughts,

feelings, and emotions.• Learning is the primary means for making adaptations to rapid changes in the

environment.• Reward is more effective than punishment in permanently changing behavior.



• In general, there is a sex difference in the onset of physical maturation (with girls likely to be slighty ahead of boys at any given point in childhood).

• A sense of disequilibrium (e.g., curiosity, need or want) leads to adaptation by the process of learning.

PHILOSOPHY

The Overview of PhilosophyPhilosophy is the study of knowledge and wisdom. The term derives from

the Greek word philosophia, “love of knowledge and wisdom.”Philosophy is sometimes called the “science of sciences” because philosophers have provided the foundation for all of the science disciplines, both social and natural.

Philosophy may be divided into three main areas of specialization:• Metaphysics• Axiology• Epistemology

The Outline of the structure of PhilosophyA. Mode of Inquiry

1. Question asked

• What fundamentally is?• What should (ought to) be?• What is the nature of knowledge?• What is the source of knowledge?• Is there really such a thing as objective truth?• What is the test for truth?• What is the nature of scientific inquiry?• What are values?• How can rational decisions be made on questions that cannot be answered by

the method of science (i.e., social or personal problems)?• What is beauty?• What is time and space?• What is equality? Justice? Liberty? Goodness?


• Philosophical analysis• Logical anlysis• Inference

The Outline of the structure of PhilosophyB. Body of knowledge

1. Concepts

• Knowledge• Values• Inquiry• Concept• Ethics• Aesthetics• Morals• Art• Worth• Logic• Traditions• Liberty• Justice• Equality

• Value questions• Introspection• Self – knowledge

questions• Reality• Opinions• Facts• Generalizations• World views• Truth• Religions• Beauty• Definitions• Theories• Method of science

• Attitude of science• Beliefs• Goodness• Scientific (knowledge)

questions



• The truth of a judgement lies in its correspondence with reality.• The method of science alone cannot be used to answer a value (or moral)

question.• If one is to arrive at a rational answer for a value question, then one must first

answer both scientific knowledge questions and self – knowledge questions.• If one seeks the truth (i.e., the answer to a knowledge question), then the

method of science (among the four ways of knowing) is the most reliable process to follow.

• If one employs the attitude of science and the method of science, then the end product is knowledge

the social science disciplines

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