Summary of U1A1 Concepts

What is Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology ?

Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of culture

It is the science of people, which includes the study of human beings in relation to origin, classification,

distribution, and relationship of races, physical character, and culture.

Sociology

Sociology is the study of the actions of members within a specific society.

It examines the way in which people organize themselves within groups, institutions, and associations. Social research

can be used to inform policy, or to facilitate in the engineering of social change.

Psychology

Psychology is the study of human behaviour.

It seeks to answer the question “why?” it examines the specific actions, responses, and the factors that dictate how

an individual reacts under a specific set of conditions, provides insight to how an individual can affect society.

Social Science Theorists The three aspects of the social sciences have within them different theories that :

1. Try to explain that people the way people live and act can change their world

2. Try to explain how the world changes the way people live and act

3. Pose important questions about these interactions4. Try to interpret the world from different perspectives

Anthropology Functionalism (Robert K. Merton)

An important part of his theory is the relationship of shared values between society and its institutions. Merton explains how expected consequences, manifest functions, unintended consequences, and latent functions, impact the functioning of society

Anthropology Structuralism (Claude Levi-Strauss, Mary Douglas)

As social beings we like the idea of predictability and familiarity. We foster a social idea, and reinforce it in a

society to make it a norm? Reinforcement of a norm or a value increases the acceptance of the practice within a given

society.

Anthropology Cultural Materialism (Carlo Ember, Stephen Sanderson,

Marvin Harris)Cultural materialism is an anthropological school of thought (or "research strategy") that says that the best way to understand human culture is to examine material conditions - climate, food supply, geography, etc.

SociologyKarl Marx (Marxism)

Marx, production is essential for the advancement of society. Associated with the creation of goods there will be, eventually, a few individuals that will control the majority of the resources and their means of production.

Sociology Talcott Parsons (Structural Functionalism)

A structural functionalist, believed that society will create structures within itself that will assist with its fundamental

functioning requirements. It deals with the maintenance of a society.

Sociology Feminist Theory

Feminist theory explores both inequality in gender relations and the constitution of gender. It looks to understand the structure in society that marginalizes and discriminates against all genders (female, males, transgender etc.)

Psychology

Psychoanalysis: Sigmund Freud He believed that human behaviour is driven by desires and the suppression of these same desires. Freud views human development as progressing through stages of development where the main conflict deals with an erogenous zone of the body.

Psychology

Human Motivation: Burrhus Frederick SkinnerHumans develop their behaviours due to a set of rewards that promote activities being repeated and reinforced. Skinner believes that Operant Conditioning was an effective tool to promote this change. This type of conditioning is used in behaviour modification programs as well as computer-assisted instruction.

PsychologyHuman Development: Erik Erikson

Erikson believes that at certain stages in an individual’s life there are tasks (milestones) that must be met in order to have a healthy development. Decisions made later in life may be affected by a person’s ability to successfully navigate psychological dilemmas during the development stages in a person’s life.

The End