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How and why our society changes and how we can address these topics.
Social Sciences
Identify a problem or research question
Develop a hypothesis
Gather data
Analyze the data
Drawing conclusions
5 stages of the social inquiry model
Must offer a convincing explanation of reality and withstand vigorous questioning.
Must inform practice.
Must have practical applications.
Characteristics of a theory
It must be concise
It must be precise
It must be testable
It must be productive
What makes a good theory
Study of humanity focused on understanding our origins, uniqueness as a species and diversity in our social existence
Anthropology
The beliefs, attitudes, values and ideals of a society. Composed of material objects, acceptable attitudes, and behaviours that are considered proper.
Culture
The effort of an investigator to gain entrance into and social acceptance by a foreign culture to better understand the internal structure of their society.
Participant observation
Establishing one’s own culture as the norm, putting one's own culture at the center.
Ethnocentrism
Studying and comparing the past with contemporary cultures.
Ethnology
In-depth study of two or more cultures through extensive fieldwork. E.g. Marriage
Ethnography
Studying other cultures with respect.
Cultural Relativism
How different parts of person, society, or technology reflect and contribute to the entity’s main purpose or function.
Functionalism
Analyzes something such as a person, society, etc. by breaking it down to its most basic parts and examining how these elements relate to each other and the whole.
Structuralism
Technological and economic aspects play the primary role in shaping a society. Cultural materialism aims to understand the effects of technological, economic, and demographic factors on social structure.
Cultural Materialism
Exchange of ideas between different cultures resulting in changes to both groups
Acculturation
Spread of a cultural trait from one society to another.
Diffusion
Everyday study of behaviour and mental processes which are directly or indirectly observable. Psychologists try to describe, explain, predict and control behaviour.
Psychology
Former is hereditary factors whom influence who we are, latter is environmental factors which influence who we are
Nature vs. Nurture
Former sets up experiments to examine how individuals behave in particular situations, latter develops programs for treating individuals suffering from mental illnesses
Experimental vs. Clinical Psychology
Former employs rewards and punishments, forms association with behaviour and consequences for that. Latter is learning which is drawn from associations between environment and naturally occurring stimulus.
Operant vs. Classical conditioning
Values
One’s principles or standards of behaviour
Norms
A pattern of behaviour expected of a group
Roles
a socially expected behavior
Deviant Behaviour
different from the social norm
Status
term used to describe our position in an institution
Hierarchy
ranking of authority and power
Former is smaller groups (family, friends) members are hard to replace, frequently meet, share private stuff together. Latter are larger, impersonal groups (rugby team)
Primary vs. Secondary Groups
Societies need certain things to function
Structural-Functionalism - Emile Durkheim
Economic power is equal to political power.
Conflict theory - Karl Marx
We should look at the individual mind.
Symbolic Interactionism - George Mead
The key to understanding society is studying gender inequality.
Feminist Theory
You cannot study society through the eyes of the majority.
Inclusionism
Social trends operate similarly to that of a virus, once it reaches its tipping point it only goes downhill from that
Social Epidemic
Hypocrisy, inconsistent thoughts, beliefs and attitudes
Cognitive Dissonance
A new set of values becoming strong enough to change the way individuals see reality
Paradigm shift
Stickiness factor, law of the few, and power of context
Malcolm Gladwell
Psychologist who studied conformity - Stick experiment
Solomon Asch
Psychologist who studied cognitive development
Jean Piaget
Socialist who studied the class divide - marxism
Karl Marx
Primotologist who studied chimps in their natural environment
Jane Goodall
Psychologist who studied the reasons for crimes - societal pressure (strain theory)
Psychologist who studied the reasons for crimes - societal pressure (strain theory)
Kenneth Clark
Studied race theory
Note 
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