INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Social Sciences Is

INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Social Sciences -Is the general term to describe the study of people in many differing situations -There are 3 major sections or disciplines -Think of Social Science as the umbrella and the three disciplines of Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology as the spokes holding up the umbrella

Types of Social Sciences • Anthropology • Psychology • Sociology • Geography • Political Science • Economics • Family Studies

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES ANTHROPOLOGY Studies the behaviour of human culture from the past and present -It looks at who we are and how we are shaped by our past E. g. How did people survive before we knew how to grow food?

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Example of an anthropological question is: Why is death celebrated in some cultures? Eg. Days of the Dead in Mexico or Nine Nights in Jamaica

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES PSYCHOLOGY Studies how the mind influences behaviour Are we born a certain way? Are serial killers made or influenced?

THE SOCIAL SCIENCES SOCIOLOGY Studies humans and how they act and change their behaviour according to the groups that they belong to. E. g. Your school self vs. your home self

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH Being Ethical means that you know what’s right and wrong Social Scientists use research, data and analysis to make conclusions about what they are trying to prove or disprove We hope they will do this without trickery, that is not always the case (e. g Milgram experiment with electric shocks).

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH Forging and making up data Observing people without them knowing it Deceiving people to assist

ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH A few examples of research that may involve ethical problems: Market research used to encourage consumers to buy inappropriate products Jury research used to disallow jurors likely to have certain values or beliefs Polling research used to create candidate platforms and marketing approaches Research conducted by "house" researchers to demonstrate that something is not really a problem (wide-spread gun availability is not really a problem or legalizing gambling is a social good)

SOCIAL SCIENCE PROFESSIONS Business Education Journalism Law Public health Social work Government work International organizations Policing Fire and Rescue