Discipline and Ideas in
the Applied Social
Sciences
TOPIC: DEFINING THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
AND THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES
Introduction to Social Sciences
The social sciences are
vast fields of scientific
studies that investigate
human societies and the
different forces that
work within them.
These diverse fields
examine how people
interact and develop
culture.
Meaning of Social Science
1. Social Science- is the field of human knowledge that deals with all
aspects of the group life of human beings. So, it subject to change with the
changes of human behavior.
Social Science is different from Natural Science and Humanities because its
primarily interest lies in predicting and explaining human behavior.
Branches of the Social Sciences
1.Economics
Economics studies the allocation of scarce
resources and the production and exchange of
goods and services in society.
As a discipline of the social sciences, economics
analyzes the supply and demand principles,
economic fluctuations, savings, and investments
and costs and prices.
WHAT CAUSES
POVERTY?
Economics has different subfields:
Environmental economics – studies the allocation of
natural resources.
Labor economics – focuses on the study of the decision –
making and behaviors of employees and the relationships
between employers and their employees.
Business economics – examines the behavior of companies
and firms by studying the factors that result in profit
maximization, price setting, production goals, and the role
of incentives.
Monetary economics – studies nation’s production,
inflation, income, interest rates, and monetary policies.
Anthropology
Anthropology is the scientific study of humans and their cultures in
the past and present time.
Cultural anthropology studies the development of human cultures
based on ethnologic, linguistic, social, and psychological data of
analysis (Repko,2008,p.67) It explains how people in other societies
live and the effects of their environments to their respective lives.
Physical anthropology studies human biological nature, particularly
its beginning, evolution, and variation in prehistory.
Archeology studies human life in the past through the examination of
things left behind by the people.
Anthropological linguistics studies language and their relationship to
the cultures In which they are used.
History
History is a systematic study of human past events in order to understand the meaning, dynamics, and relationship of the
causes and effects of events in the development of societies. It is derived from the Greek word historia, which means
“inquiry” or “investigation”. History has several subfields. It includes political history, economic history, social history,
environmental history, history of medicine, business history and biographies.
Political Science
Political science primarily studies human behavior in relation to
political systems, governments, laws, and international relations.
Political science has several fields of study. It includes:
Domestic politics studies public opinion, elections, national and local
governments.
Comparative politics studies politics within countries and analyzes
the similarities and differences between and among counties.
International relations focuses on the study of political relationship
and interaction between and among countries.
Political theory studies classical political philosophy and
contemporary theories.
Public administration studies national and local governance and the
bureaucracy.
Public law examines legal systems, civil rights, and criminal justice.
Psychology
Psychology studies how the human mind works in consonance with
the body to produce thoughts that lead to individual actions. These
disciplines of psychology include:
Experimental psychology studies behavior of humans and
animals and examines how and why learning takes place.
Developmental psychology studies the ways people change and
behave as they go through their life.
Personality psychology studies human nature and differences
among people.
Social psychology looks into the behavior of people in groups.
Environmental psychology studies the effects of surroundings on
person’s attitude and behavior.
Sociology is a systematic study of people’s behavior
in groups. There are numerous subfields that one can
pursue and specialize as a sociology major. Major
subfields are: Applied sociology, Urban sociology,
Cultural sociology, Rural sociology, Medical
sociology, Sociology of education, Political
sociology, and Military sociology.
Geography is the study of human interaction
between people and their environments. Geography
subfields are: Physical and Human geography.
Demography is the scientific study of human
populations across time. Major subfield: Population
studies or social demography.
LESSON 1.2: DEFINING APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES
The applied social sciences focus on the use and
application of the different concepts, theoretical,
models, and theories of the social science
disciplines to help understand society and the
different problems and issues it faces. The applied
social sciences is utilized to provide alternative
solutions to the diverse problems of society
(Gouldner, 1989)
There are three main career tracks for applied
social scientists. This include (1) Counseling; (2)
Social work; and (3) Communications.
Counseling
Counseling is one of the fields of the
applied social sciences. As an application of
the social sciences, counseling provides
guidance, help, and support to individuals
who are distraught by a diverse set of
problems in their lives. Through counseling,
professional guidance is given to an
individual and this is done by applying
psychological methods like collection of case
history data, personal interviews, and
aptitudes tests. Counseling can be done by
guidance counselors, like coaches, career
counselors, and personal growth counselors.
Social work
Social work is another professional activity of
the applied social sciences. Having been
trained in the social sciences to interact and
understand social realities, an applied social
science practitioner has a good theoretical
and conceptual foundation for social work
practice. In social work, practitioners help
individuals, families, groups, and communities
to improve their individual and collective
well-being. Social work does not only deal
with individual and personal problems, but it
also addresses social issues such as poverty,
unemployment, and domestic violence.
Communication Studies
The applied social sciences provide
adequate training for careers in the
communication industry. One example of
careers in the communication industry is in
the field of mass media. In the news and
current affairs department of major
television and radio networks, for
example, practitioners stress the
importance of balance, objective, truthful
and creative rendering of the news and
other important events as they actually
happened.
Differences:
Social sciences are disciplines concerned with the systematic study of
social phenomena in a broader sense it is a branch of science that
deals with the
(a) Institution, (b) human society and (c) inter-personal while applied
social science is the application of social science, theories, concepts,
methods and findings to problems identified to the wiser society.
NOTRE DAME
DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS IN THE APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES
ACTIVITY SHEETS FOR 1St Quarter
WEEK 1:
ACTIVITY:
Data Retrieval Chart Completion
Direction: Complete the data retrieval chart.
Classify the following disciplines and categorize
them if they belong to the Pure Social Sciences or
to the Applied Social Sciences.
Compare and Contrast with Bubble Map
Disciplines to be categorized:
Economics Political Science
Counseling History
Geography Social Work Pure Social
Psychology Anthropology Science
Sociology Demography
Communication
Applied Social
Sciences
ASSESSMENT:
Instruction: Identify the following. Write your answers on the blank space before the
number.
__________1. Is the field of human knowledge that deals with all aspects of the group
life of human beings.
__________2. It deals with the study of human interaction between people and their
environments.
__________3. Is one of the fields of the applied social sciences. It is considered as the
application of the social sciences, that provides guidance, help, and support to
individuals who are distraught by a diverse set of problems in their lives.
__________4. The ________ focus on the use and application of the different concepts,
theoretical, models, and theories of the social science disciplines to help understand
society and the different problems and issues it faces.
__________5. Discipline of social science which deals with the study of the past.
II. Create a Venn diagram that shows the differences and similarities between social
sciences and applied social sciences.
