Chapter 1: What is social science?

Question 1

What is sociology?

Answer 1

Sociology is the scientific study of how people interact and influence each other socially (human social behavior) from individual, small groups up to entire societies.

Question 2

What is culture?

Answer 2

A system of ideas, values, behaviors, and attitudes commonly shared by most members of a society which distinguishes one group from another. Culture is made up of what people do, what people make, and what people believe.

Question 3

What is subculture?

Answer 3

Subculture is a small group within a larger group who shares a common system of beliefs, values, attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles distinct from those of the larger group.

Question 4

What is anthropology?

Answer 4

Anthropology is the scientific study of humans, including their origins; behavior; and also as members of different cultures.

Question 5

What is physical anthropology?

Answer 5

Explores how humans evolved and how individuals develop physically over time.

Question 6

What is cultural anthropology?

Answer 6

The study of how culture influences human interaction.

Question 7

What is psychology?

Answer 7

The scientific study of the human mind and mental states to explain human behavior; focuses on people’s thought processes and behavior.

Question 8

What is theoretical psychology?

Answer 8

Explores general rules that influence human thought and behavior. They observe actions and theorize the mental processes that led to them.

Question 9

What is clinical psychology

Answer 9

The study of behaviour and emotion to help treat psychological suffering.

Question 10

What are the social science research methods?

Answer 10

The social science research methods is case studies, unstructured observations, structured observations, participant observations, questionnaires/surveys, field experiments, and experiments.

Question 11

What is a case study?

Answer 11

An intense, in-depth investigation of one participant. A good starting point for generating research questions.

Question 12

What is an unstructured observation?

Answer 12

Involves studying people without a predetermined idea of what to look for.

Question 13

What is a structured observation?

Answer 13

Involves planning beforehand what will be observed and noted, and keeping a list of things to look for.

Question 14

What is participant observation?

Answer 14

A researcher who not only observes the group but also participates in the group’s activities.

Question 15

What is the problem with participant observation?

Answer 15

It is highly subjective, which means that a researcher’s point of view and cultural background can shape his or her conclusions. Can cause the researcher to lose objectivity and may lead to bias.

Question 16

What is a questionnare/survey?

Answer 16

A set of questions given to a sample/large group of people.

Question 17

What is a field experiment?

Answer 17

An experiment conducted in a setting more natural than a lab.

Question 18

What is an experiment?

Answer 18

The only method which is able to demonstrate/uncover a cause and effect relationship between two variables (the independent and dependent variables).

Question 19

What are the general ethical guidelines in research?

Answer 19

Protection, informed consent, privacy, debriefing, and approval.

Question 20

What is the ethical guideline: Protection?

Answer 20

Participants are to be protected from pain (physical and psychological).

Question 21

What is the ethical guideline: Informed Consent?

Answer 21

Participants are to be made aware of the purpose of the research including the procedures and risks associated with participation. Participants must be informed that withdrawal from participation, at any time, for any reason, is permissible without consequence.

Question 22

What is the ethical guideline: Privacy?

Answer 22

individual privacy is to be protected.

Question 23

What is the ethical guideline: Debriefing?

Answer 23

If the use of deception is necessary, participants must be informed of the real nature of the research immediately following their participation.

Question 24

What is the ethical guideline: Approval?

Answer 24

All experiments involving humans must be reviewed by an independent panel to ensure the potential benefits of the experiment outweigh the risks.

Question 25

What does the Stanford Prison Experiment show?

Answer 25

It shows us that people are capable of acting in ways that vary from their usual behavior based on their role in an artificially created situation.

Question 26

What is Paleoanthropology?

Answer 26

The study of bone and stone remains of our ancestors from millions of years ago.

Question 27

What is Primatology?

Answer 27

The study of primates

Question 28

What is human variation?

Answer 28

The study of the physical differences and similarities of existing human populations.

Question 29

What is ethnology?

Answer 29

The study of the origins and cultures of different races and people. Ethnologists immerse themselves in a culture, learning their language, and participating in their society.

Question 30

What is linguistics?

Answer 30

The study of the history and structure of language, and the ways humans use language.

Question 31

What is historical linguistics?

Answer 31

To compare the similarities and differences of language structures so they can understand how languages are related and how people migrated in the past.

Question 32

What is structural linguistics?

Answer 32

The study of how sounds are put together to make meaning.

Question 33

What is Sociolinguistics?

Answer 33

The study of how people use language (body and words) within their culture to express status and context.

Question 34

What is archeology?

Answer 34

The study of the physical remains of a past culture through excavation and reconstruction.

Question 35

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 35

An anthropologist cannot compare two cultures because each culture has its own internal rules that must be accepted. To understand cultures on their own terms and avoid snap judgments about other practices.

Question 36

What is functional theory?

Answer 36

Every belief, action, or relationship in a culture functions to meet the needs of individuals.

Question 37

What is cultural materialism?

Answer 37

Materials or conditions within the environment influence how a culture develops, creating the ideas and ideology of a culture. Believed that society develops on a trial-and-error basis. If something is not of value to a society’s ability to produce or reproduce, then it will disappear from society altogether.

Question 38

What is feminist anthropology?

Answer 38

Women’s voices should be brought to the forefront of study. Issues of gender are culturally constructed (created by a culture) and determined within a culture; gender relationships. Women have lost their voice because of male domination of the past.

Question 39

What is postmodernism?

Answer 39

the belief that it is impossible to have any “true” knowledge about the world. Postmodernism rejects the idea of objective truth. What we “know” about the world is our own construction, created by society.