WELCOME TO

DISCIPLINE AND
IDEAS IN THE
APPLIED SOCIAL
SCIENCES
(DIASS)
 HOUSE RULES

● RESPECT
● TIME MANAGEMENT

● PARTICIPATION

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 WHAT IS SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE APPLIED
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Social Sciences are disciplines concerned with the systematic study
of social phenomena. Basically, the term ‘social sciences’ is defined as
the study of human society; that particular area of study that relates to
human behavior and society. In a broader sense, it is a branch of science
that deals with the institutions, the functioning of human society, and
with the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of society.
There are distinct disciplines or branches dealing with a particular phase
or aspect of human society such as socio-cultural aspects of human
behavior.

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Discipline of Social Sciences
The disciplines of social sciences generally include: anthropology, economics, sociology,
political science, history, criminology, psychology, geography, and communication studies. The goal
of this disciplines is to explain human behavior in its many cultural forms including the past and the
present, individually or in groups, national or international geopolitical contexts, and to empower
them as democratic participants in a rapidly changing world.
The discipline of social science taken together provide a substantive insight to the
understanding of society and of the relationship of individual members and groups within the
society. The disciplines also study all areas related to human behavior and society, the institutions
and functioning of human society, and the interpersonal relationships of individuals as members of
society. To put this in context, the enumerated disciplines above give the sense of complexity and
specificity to the discipline involved.
 “
● BRANCHES OF THE
SOCIAL SCIENCES

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 Economics

● Economics studies the allocation of scarce resources and the

production and exchange of goods and services within society.
The two primary divisions of the economics are microeconomics,
which focuses on the actions of individual consumers and
producers, and macro-economics, which explores the actions and
output of the aggregate economy.

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 Anthropology

● Anthropology is a scientific study of human beings and their

cultures in the past and present. Anthropology’s systematic
approach to human research, the importance of fieldwork and
participant observation, and its focus on cross-cultural
comparison, make it special in the social sciences.

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 History

● History is a systematic study of past human events in order to understand the

meaning, dynamics and relationship of the causes and effects of events in the
development of societies. This is derived from the Greek word past, which means
"investigation" or "investigation." In a social science, history focuses on the
interpretation and analysis of historical events, as they have historically occurred
with the use of primary and secondary sources. Primary sources refer to
eyewitness reports or historical accounts of the incident. They often use secondary
sources or facts that are not eye-witness accounts and are based on primary
sources.

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 Political Science

● Political science focuses on human actions in relation to political

processes, states, rules and international affairs. This explores the
relationship between citizens and politics at all levels, from the
citizen to the national and international levels.

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 Psychology

● Psychology is researching how the human mind functions in

consonance with the body to generate thoughts that contribute to
individual actions. Psychology analyzes how individuals and
communities view the world through various feelings, thoughts
and states of consciousness.

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 Sociology

● Sociology is a systematic study of people’s behavior in groups. It is

derived from the Latin word socio which means “people together” and
Greek word logos which means “the study of.” As a discipline of the
social science, it attempts to understand why and how people interact
with each other and how the function as a society or social subgroups.
Applied sociology focus on the use and proper application of
sociological theories, methods and skills to examine data.

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 Geography

● Geography is a study of the relationship between people and their

environment. Geography was derived from Greek words: geography
means "world" and “graphos” means "charting or drawing." Geography
examines both the physical features of the Earth's surface and its
interaction with human societies. This also explores how human society
communicates with the natural world and the effect of environments and
places on people.

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 Demography

● Demography is a statistical study of human populations over time, according to

the Max Planck Center for Demographic Science (2016). This explores trends in
population growth through the study of birth, human activity, and morbidity, aging
and mortality statistics. Population studies or social demography are an important
sub-field of sociology. Social demographers analyze demographic data to identify,
describe and forecast social phenomena. This also studies the composition of
social class and population distribution.

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DEFINING THE APPLIED
SOCIAL SCIENCES
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● Applied social science is an integrated science cutting across and transcending
various social science disciplines in addressing a wide range of issues in a
contemporary, innovative, and dynamic way. It aims at presenting a well-developed
understanding of social systems, social theory, and social policy. It integrates
theory, social research, skills and professional experience, and critical thinking
skills necessary to fully address social phenomena. Applied social science,
therefore, is a broad field that draws on different social theories and perspectives
and combines theory and practice drawn from different social disciplines that
highlight the complexity of social issues.

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● Historically, social science knowledge has been compartmentalized into
different disciplines, which until the 1990’s and 2000’s became apparent
to many social critics as fragmenting rather than promoting the holistic
view and complexity of social reality. This view has advanced the position
that it is best that these different social science disciplines work together
to produce a more effective and coherent insights on social issues under
one umbrella of applied science. In this sense, applied social science
essentially reflects an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary view and
approach to social issues, policy, and response.
● .

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● The focus of applied social science is less fixed and allows for specialisms
in other areas to provide perspectives. It is very important to understand
that applied social science is not an aggregation of various specialized
social science disciplines. It transcends individual specialized social
science and finds its true essence active engagement with the larger
society in action. It is praxis. Three of the applied social sciences are
emphasized to demonstrate how theories and concepts drawn from other
disciplines can be brought together to bear upon discipline in applied
sense: counseling, social work, and communication.

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 Counseling

● Counseling is one of the areas of social sciences applied to it. As an application

of the social sciences, counseling provides guidance, assistance and support to
individuals who are distracted by a range of problems in their lives.
Professional guidance is provided to the individual through counseling, and
this is done through the application of psychological methods such as the
collection of case history data, personal interviews and skills tests. Counseling
may be provided by psychologists, life coaches, job psychologists and personal
development counselors.

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 Social Work

● Social research is another technical practice in the social sciences related to it.
Having been trained in social sciences to interact and understand social
realities, an applied social sciences practitioner has a good theoretical and
conceptual foundation for social work practice. Through social work,
professionals are supporting people, families, associations and neighborhoods
to strengthen their individual and mutual well-being.

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 Communication Studies
● Applied social sciences provide appropriate instruction for employment in the
communications field. One example of a career in the advertising industry is in the field
of mass media. For example, in the news and current affairs department of major
television and radio networks, practitioners stress the importance of balance, objective,
truthful and creative reporting of news and other important events as they have happened.
Practitioners in applied social sciences have ample experience in this field as they are
equipped with communication theories and principles that allow them to understand and
educate the public about the social, political, cultural, and economic realities.
Communication professionals have the skills to write, create and deliver news accurately
and creatively to the public.

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THE DISCIPLINE OF
COUNSELING

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 DEFINITION OF COUNSELING
The Collins Dictionary of Sociology defines counseling as “the process of
guiding a person during a stage of life when reassessments or decisions have to be
made about himself or herself and his or her life course”. Counselors are
professionally trained and certified to perform counseling. Their job is to provide
advice or guidance in decision-making in emotionally significant situations by helping
clients explore and understand their worlds and discover better ways and well-
informed choices in resolving an emotional or interpersonal problem.
As a discipline, it is allied to psychology and deals with normal responses to
normal life events, which may sometimes create stress for some people who, in turn,
choose to ask for help and support. Counseling is generally a non-clinical
intervention. Traditionally in many societies, counseling is provided by family, become
the choice. Counselors exist in a wide range of areas of expertise: marriage, family,
youth, student and other life transitions dealing with managing of issues of loss and
death, retirement, divorce, parenting, and bankruptcy.

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 DEFINITION OF COUNSELING

Counseling also utilizes appraisal and assessment to aid counseling by

gathering information about clients through the use of psychological tests and non-
psychometric devices. Psychometrics is a branch of psychology that deals with the
design, administration and interpretation of quantitative tests for the measurement of
psychological variables such as intelligence, aptitude, interests and personality
traits. The underlying assumption is that the variable being measured is a fixed and
unchanging attribute of a person. The intent of psychometric testing is to use a
number of carefully calibrated short or multiple choice questions to accurately
measure an individual’s aptitude or potential in a particular area, for example,
reading or arithmetic, Tests employed are strictly standardized and administered by
a professionally trained psychometrician.

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 DEFINITION OF COUNSELING

Counseling is widely considered the heart of the guidance services in school.

In the school context, counseling is usually done as individual or group intervention
designed to facilitate positive change in student behavior, feelings, and attitudes. As
a process, it involves two sides: an individual or group who needs help and a mature
professionally trained counselor. Through methods adapted to the needs of the
client(s), the trained counselor helps in defining a problem and acquires initiative,
determination, courage, and efficiency to solve that problem. It helps clients
understand and clarify their views of their life space and to learn to reach their self-
determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices and through resolution
or problems of an emotional interpersonal nature (Burks & Steffire 1979).

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 DEFINITION OF COUNSELING

Counseling is not to be confused with psychiatry, which is a

branch of general medicine that deals with the treatment of the
mentally ill by medically-trained professionals using clinical
interventions including drugs, surgical procedures, and non-
physical approaches.
 

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 CONTEXT and the BASIC CONCEPTS OF
COUNSELING

Counseling is affected by the context and the surrounding

factors. They are explored here as part of the basic concepts of
counseling that are very important to consider.

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 CONTEXT and the BASIC CONCEPTS OF
COUNSELING
Peers as Context. Friends’ attitudes, norms, and behaviors have a strong
influence on adolescents. Many personal issues are often introduced to the
individual by their peers.
Neighborhood as Context. The interactions between the family and it’s
neighborhood as immediate context are also important to consider. The
behavioral problems in this particular neighborhood require that families work
against crime and social isolation that may impact them.
Culture as Context. Culture provided meaning and coherence of life to any
orderly life such as community or organization. Various sectors of community
families, peers, and neighborhoods are all bound together by cultural context
that influences them all as individual members.
Counseling as Context. Regardless of a therapeutic approach in use, the
counseling situation in itself is a context. There is a deliberate specific focus, a set
of procedures, rules, expectations, experiences, and a way of monitoring
progress and determining results in any therapeutic approach (Corey 1991).
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Student’s Activity:

Write an essay (based on personal

experience) on how you handle your anxiety,
depression, or other related situations. And if
someone helps you to overcome that situation.
And what do you think counseling can do to
help you in this situation?

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