APS test

1. Inquiry Method

The inquiry method is a five-step process social scientists use to investigate questions and problems.

1. Identify the problem: Choose a question or issue to investigate.

2. Develop a hypothesis: Make an educated guess based on known facts.

3. Gather data: Collect information through surveys, interviews, or research.

4. Analyze data: Organize information and check if the hypothesis is supported.

5. Draw conclusions: Explain the results and what was learned.

Memorize: Problem → Hypothesis → Data → Analyze → Conclusion.

2. ANTHROPOLOGYDefinition of Anthropology

Anthropology is the study of humans, including their origins, evolution, cultures, behaviours, and how societies developed over time.

• Anthropologists study how humans live, communicate, behave, and adapt.

• They examine cultures, traditions, beliefs, languages, and social relationships.

• They use observations, fieldwork, fossils, and research to understand humans.

Culture in Anthropology

Culture is the learned behaviours, beliefs, traditions, and ways of life shared by a group of people.

• Language: How people communicate.

• Beliefs: Values, religions, and ideas.

• Social structures: Families, communities, and groups.

• Institutions: Schools, governments, and healthcare.

• Material goods: Tools, clothing, buildings, and technology.

Four Major Disciplines of Anthropology

What Makes Us Human According to Anthropology?

According to anthropology, humans are unique because we can walk upright, use complex language, think critically, solve problems, and create advanced tools. We also develop cultures, cooperate with others, and pass knowledge through generations. These abilities help humans adapt, evolve, and build complex societies.

How Did Humans Become the Dominant Species?

Humans became dominant through evolution and adaptation. Over millions of years, humans developed larger brains, walked upright, created tools, and learned to survive in different environments. Our ability to cooperate and develop technology helped us spread around the world.

Humans and Great Apes

• Dr. Sue Savage-Rumbaugh: Studied bonobo communication and intelligence.

• Kanzi: A bonobo who learned 348 graphic symbols to communicate.

• Kanzi could respond to requests and communicate using simple sentences.

• Main idea: Great apes can learn and communicate in ways once thought to be only human.

Evolution

Evolution is the change in inherited characteristics of living things over many generations.

• Humans evolved from earlier ancestors over millions of years.

• Evolution explains how species change and adapt to their environments.

Evidence of evolution:

• Fossils: Show ancient living things.

• Stone tools: Show early human skills.

• Skeletal remains: Show changes in bones and brain size.

• DNA: Shows genetic similarities between species.

Important Scientists

• Charles Darwin: Studied evolution and natural selection. Observed finches with different beaks on the Galápagos Islands.

• Gregor Mendel: Studied heredity using pea plants.

• Alfred Russel Wallace: Also developed ideas about natural selection.

Genetics: Study of inherited traits.

Heredity: Passing traits from parents to offspring.

Natural Selection vs. Survival of the Fittest

• Natural selection: Organisms with helpful inherited traits are more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on those traits.

• Survival of the fittest: Organisms best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce.

Remember: Natural selection is the process; survival of the fittest describes reproductive success.

Unique Characteristics of Humanity

• Bipedalism: Walking upright on two legs.

• Complex language: Sharing detailed ideas and emotions.

• Advanced thinking: Reasoning, planning, and solving problems.

• Tool-making: Creating tools and technology.

• Culture: Passing traditions and knowledge through generations.

• Cooperation: Working together and forming societies.

• Creativity: Expressing ideas through art, music, and inventions.

Some animals share these abilities, but humans combine them in especially complex ways.

3. PSYCHOLOGYDefinition of Psychology

Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and behaviour.

• Psychologists study why people think, feel, and act the way they do.

• They examine thoughts, emotions, personalities, and decisions.

• They use research, observations, and experiments to understand human behaviour.

What Makes Us Human According to Psychology?

According to psychology, our highly developed cerebral cortex, ability to think, and personality help make us human. Our brains allow us to learn, remember, reason, communicate, and solve complex problems. Our personalities, including our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, make each person unique.

Cognitive Process

The cognitive process is how the brain takes in, processes, stores, and uses information.

• Helps us think, learn, remember, reason, and solve problems.

• Allows us to use knowledge to make decisions.

• Cognitive psychologists study memory, attention, language, perception, thinking, and consciousness.

Cognitive Behavioural Model

The cognitive behavioural model explains how our thoughts, emotions, and behaviours are connected.

• Our thoughts affect our feelings.

• Our thoughts and feelings influence our actions.

• Changing our thinking can change how we feel and behave.

Example: Thinking you will fail a test can make you nervous and affect your performance.

Steps of the Cognitive Process

1. Encounter: Face a problem.

2. Encode: Take in and store information.

3. Infer: Find connections.

4. Map: Organize information.

5. Apply: Try a solution.

6. Check: See if it works.

7. Respond: Take action.

Memorize: Encounter → Encode → Infer → Map → Apply → Check → Respond.

Cerebral Cortex

The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of the brain responsible for complex thinking.

• Helps with memory, language, learning, reasoning, and decisions.

• Its large, folded structure supports advanced thinking.

• Helps humans plan ahead and understand consequences.

• The brain has left and right hemispheres.

Inductive vs. Deductive Reasoning

Memory trick: Inductive = observations to a general idea. Deductive = rule to a specific answer.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Left Brain — Logical and Analytical

• Language and verbal skills

• Logic and reasoning

• Mathematics and numbers

• Step-by-step thinking

Right Brain — Creative and Visual

• Creativity and imagination

• Music and art

• Visual and spatial thinking

• Emotional and non-verbal information

Important: Both sides work together through the corpus callosum. The idea that people are completely left-brained or right-brained is a myth.

Big Five Personality Traits — OCEAN

The Big Five are five personality traits that help psychologists understand differences between people.

Remember: Everyone has these five traits at different levels, making each person's personality unique.

Reasoning Experiments and Riddles

• Reasoning: Using logic and knowledge to solve problems.

• Problem-solving: Using critical thinking and creativity to find solutions.

• Bandura's Bobo Doll Experiment: Showed that children learn behaviours by watching and copying others (observational learning).

• Nine Dot Problem: Tests creative thinking and thinking outside the box.

• River Crossing Riddle: Tests logic, planning, and decision-making.

• Seven Planets Riddle: Tests deductive reasoning and problem-solving.

Main idea: These activities show how humans use reasoning, creativity, and critical thinking to solve problems.

4. SOCIOLOGYDefinition of Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of human social relationships and group life.

• Sociologists study how people interact, behave, and influence each other.

• They examine families, communities, social class, institutions, and power.

• They study social problems such as crime, inequality, and abuse.

• Their goal is to understand how society influences people's lives and behaviour.

Social Groups

A social group is two or more people who interact and share common interests or a sense of belonging.

• Provide support, security, and knowledge.

• Help us develop our identity and meet our needs.

• Influence how we think, act, and behave.

• Examples: Families, friends, classmates, and sports teams.

Social roles: Behaviours expected of people in a group.

Role conflict: When different roles are difficult to balance, such as being a student and an employee.

What Makes Us Human According to Sociology?

According to sociology, our social relationships, interactions, and culture help make us human. Through socialization, we learn society's values, norms, beliefs, and behaviours. Our relationships with family, friends, and social groups shape our identity, personality, and sense of belonging.

Sociological Culture

Culture is the shared beliefs, values, norms, traditions, and behaviours of a society.

• Culture is learned through socialization.

• It is passed down through generations.

• Includes language, religion, customs, symbols, and social roles.

• Shapes our identity, behaviour, and relationships.

Remember: Culture is a society's shared way of life.

Values, Norms, Symbols, and Roles