SSBC001

Valera, Jan Rey G.

GROUP 7
BPA-2B
Discipline and Ideas in Social Sciences

Sociology - Sociology is the detailed study of varied human cultures, traditions, social status
and beliefs in various social institutions or organizations. It deals with every aspect of human
society.
Auguste Comte

The French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857)—often called the “father of sociology”—

first used the term “sociology” in 1838 to refer to the scientific study of society. He believed that
all societies develop and progress through the following stages: religious, metaphysical, and
scientific. Comte argued that society needs scientific knowledge based on facts and evidence to
solve its problems—not speculation and superstition, which characterize the religious and
metaphysical stages of social development. Comte viewed the science of sociology as
consisting of two branches: dynamics, or the study of the processes by which societies change;
and statics, or the study of the processes by which societies endure. He also envisioned
sociologists as eventually developing a base of scientific social knowledge that would guide
society into positive directions.

Herbert Spencer

The 19th‐century Englishman Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) compared society to a living organism

with interdependent parts. Change in one part of society causes change in the other parts, so that every
part contributes to the stability and survival of society as a whole. If one part of society malfunctions,
the other parts must adjust to the crisis and contribute even more to preserve society. Family,
education, government, industry, and religion comprise just a few of the parts of the “organism” of
society.

Spencer suggested that society will correct its own defects through the natural process
of “survival of the fittest.” The societal “organism” naturally leans toward homeostasis, or
balance and stability. Social problems work themselves out when the government
leaves society alone. The “fittest”—the rich, powerful, and successful—enjoy their status
because nature has “selected” them to do so. In contrast, nature has doomed the
“unfit”—the poor, weak, and unsuccessful—to failure. They must fend for themselves
without social assistance if society is to remain healthy and even progress to higher
levels. Governmental interference in the “natural” order of society weakens society by
wasting the efforts of its leadership in trying to defy the laws of nature.
SSBC001

Karl Marx

Not everyone has shared Spencer's vision of societal harmony and stability. Chief among those who
disagreed was the German political philosopher and economist Karl Marx (1818–1883), who observed
society's exploitation of the poor by the rich and powerful. Marx argued that Spencer's healthy societal
“organism” was a falsehood. Rather than interdependence and stability, Marx claimed that social
conflict, especially class conflict, and competition mark all societies.

The class of capitalists that Marx called the bourgeoisie particularly enraged him.

Members of the bourgeoisie own the means of production and exploit the class of
laborers, called the proletariat, who do not own the means of production. Marx believed
that the very natures of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat inescapably lock the two
classes in conflict. But he then took his ideas of class conflict one step further: He
predicted that the laborers are not selectively “unfit,” but are destined to overthrow the
capitalists. Such a class revolution would establish a “class‐free” society in which all
people work according to their abilities and receive according to their needs.

Unlike Spencer, Marx believed that economics, not natural selection, determines the
differences between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He further claimed that a
society's economic system decides peoples' norms, values, mores, and religious
beliefs, as well as the nature of the society's political, governmental, and educational
systems. Also unlike Spencer, Marx urged people to take an active role in changing
society rather than simply trusting it to evolve positively on its own.

Emile Durkheim

Despite their differences, Marx, Spencer, and Comte all acknowledged the importance of using science
to study society, although none actually used scientific methods. Not until Emile Durkheim (1858–
1917) did a person systematically apply scientific methods to sociology as a discipline. A French
philosopher and sociologist, Durkheim stressed the importance of studying social facts, or patterns of
behavior characteristic of a particular group. The phenomenon of suicide especially interested
Durkheim. But he did not limit his ideas on the topic to mere speculation. Durkheim formulated his
conclusions about the causes of suicide based on the analysis of large amounts of statistical data
collected from various European countries.

Durkheim certainly advocated the use of systematic observation to study sociological

events, but he also recommended that sociologists avoid considering people's attitudes
when explaining society. Sociologists should only consider as objective “evidence” what
they themselves can directly observe. In other words, they must not concern
themselves with people's subjective experiences.

Max Weber

The German sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) disagreed with the “objective evidence only” position
of Durkheim. He argued that sociologists must also consider people's interpretations of events—not just
SSBC001

the events themselves. Weber believed that individuals' behaviors cannot exist apart from their
interpretations of the meaning of their own behaviors, and that people tend to act according to these
interpretations. Because of the ties between objective behavior and subjective interpretation, Weber
believed that sociologists must inquire into people's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions regarding their
own behaviors. Weber recommended that sociologists adopt his method of Verstehen (vûrst e hen), or
empathetic understanding. Verstehen allows sociologists to mentally put themselves into “the other
person's shoes” and thus obtain an “interpretive understanding” of the meanings of individuals'
behaviors

Psychology - This is perhaps the most scientific branch of Social Science. Psychology deals with
various abstract entities which constitute the overall mind and the thought process of human
beings, i.e., the way they behave, think, believe, perceive or internalize things and reflect that
on the society.
B. F. Skinner
B.F. Skinner in 1948
B.F. Skinner's staunch behaviorism made him a dominating force in psychology and therapy
techniques based on his theories are still used extensively today, including behavior
modification and token economies. Skinner is remembered for his concepts of operant
conditioning and schedules of reinforcement.
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development had a profound influence on psychology,
especially the understanding of children's intellectual growth. His research contributed to the
growth of developmental psychology, cognitive psychology, genetic epistemology, and
education reform.
Albert Einstein once described Piaget's observations on children's intellectual growth and
thought processes as a discovery "so simple only a genius could have thought of it."
Sigmund Freud
When people think of psychology, many tend to think of Sigmund Freud. His work supported
the belief that not all mental illnesses have physiological causes. He also offered evidence that
cultural differences have an impact on psychology and behavior. His work contributed to our
understanding of human development, personality, clinical psychology, and abnormal
psychology.
Albert Bandura
SSBC001

Albert Bandura's work is considered part of the cognitive revolution in psychology that began in
the late 1960s. Bandura's social learning theory stresses the importance of observational
learning, imitation, and modeling.
"Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely
solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do," Bandura explained in his
1977 book "Social Learning Theory."
Leon Festinger
Leon Festinger developed the theories of cognitive dissonance and social comparison to explain
the ways in which social conditions influence human behavior. Cognitive dissonance is the state
of discomfort you feel when you hold two conflicting beliefs. You may smoke even though you
know it is bad for your health.
His social comparison theory says that you evaluate your ideas by comparing them with what
other people believe. You are also more likely to seek out other people who share your beliefs
and values.
William James
Psychologist and philosopher William James is often referred to as the father of American
psychology. His teachings and writings helped establish psychology as a science. Among his
many accomplishments was the publication of the 1,200-page text, "The Principles of
Psychology," which quickly became a classic in the field.
In addition, James contributed to functionalism, pragmatism, and influenced many students of
psychology during his 35-year teaching career.
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist whose research on conditioned reflexes and classical
conditioning influenced the rise of behaviorism in psychology. Pavlov's experimental methods
helped move psychology away from introspection and subjective assessments to the objective
measurement of behavior.
Carl Rogers
Carl Rogers placed emphasis on human potential, which had an enormous influence on both
psychology and education. He became one of the major humanist thinkers and an eponymous
influence in therapy with his client-centered therapy.
His daughter, Natalie Rogers, described him as "a model for compassion and democratic ideals
in his own life, and in his work as an educator, writer, and therapist."
Erik Erikson
SSBC001

Erik Erikson's stage theory of psychosocial development helped create interest and research on
human development through the lifespan. An ego psychologist who studied with Anna Freud,
Erikson expanded psychoanalytic theory by exploring development throughout life, including
events of childhood, adulthood, and old age.
Lev Vygotsky
Lev Vygotsky was a contemporary of some better-known psychologists including Piaget, Freud,
Skinner, and Pavlov, yet his work never achieved the same eminence during his lifetime. This is
largely because many of his writing remained inaccessible to the Western world until quite
recently.
Starting in the 1960s and through the 1990s that many of his writings were translated from
Russian, but his work has become enormously influential in recent decades, particularly in the
fields of educational psychology and child development.
While his premature death at age 38 put a halt to his work, he went on to become one of the
most frequently cited psychologists of the 20th-century.

Social Work - Compared to Sociology, Social Work is more defined and based on practical
knowledge and practice of certain activities which deal with the observation, analyzation,
improvement, and changes within an individual, group or a community. Social Work
professionally helps society to get rid of problematic issues.
Jane Addams
Jane Addams (1860–1935) was a founder of the U.S. Settlement House movement and is
considered one of the early influences on professional social work in the United States.