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2. Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences
Chapter 18
Critical Thinking in the Social Sciences
THINK CRITICALLY, FACIONE & GITTENS
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Learning Outcomes
Identify the kinds of questions social scientists ask
Illustrate how social scientists consider participants, situations, actions, and motivation
Describe the investigative methods used in the social sciences
Learning Outcomes
The chapter first identifies the kinds of questions social scientists ask.
It further illustrates how social scientists consider participants, situations, actions, and motivation.
Then it describes the investigative methods used in the social sciences.
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Learning Outcomes
Explain the standards used to evaluate social science research
Describe social science applications in fields such as business or education
Learning Outcomes
The chapter proceeds to explain the standards used to evaluate social science research.
Finally, it describes social science applications in fields such as business or education.
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Chapter Opening Video
Chapter Opening Video
The video explains social scientists’ thinking process, methods and evaluation of research.
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6. Critical Thinking Questions of Social Scientists
Thinking like a social scientist
Critical Thinking Questions of Social Scientists
Social science: Systematic empirical inquiry into the patterns, structures, and functions of human behavior, individually or in groups, within society.
Social science research is the scientific study of human society and interpersonal relationships.
Thinking like a social scientist.
Social scientists share the understanding of terminology, appropriate methods of inquiry, standards of proof, and application of generated knowledge.
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7. Thinking Like a Social Scientist
Social scientists:
Ask questions about people and human social institutions
Investigate empirically
Form a large, varied, and complex international language community
Thinking Like a Social Scientist
Social scientists:
Ask questions about people and human social institutions.
Analyze, interpret, explain, and apply an understanding of human behavior and human society.
Investigate empirically.
Ask questions as below.
What makes schools, hospitals, businesses, and governments run well or not well?
What behaviors can help us live longer?
Form a large, varied, and complex international language community.
Share the understanding of terminology, appropriate methods of inquiry, standards of proof , and application of generated knowledge.
Drawing inferences from empirical evidence, evaluating competing hypotheses and explanatory theories, and monitoring their own thinking and self-correcting mistakes are keys to success as a social scientist.
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8. Thinking Process of Social Scientists
Think participants
Think situation
Think actions
Think motivation
Thinking Process of Social Scientists
Social scientists:
Are curious about the unfamiliar and intriguing environment around them.
Have inherent interest in the participants, actions, situation, and human motivation underlying the behavior observed in a social context.
Questions interrelated to influences on human behavior and social decision making.
Who are the people?
What are they doing?
What’s going on in this situation?
What are the motives behind the behaviors we are observing?
Think participants
Participants are individual who performs, shares, or engages in something.
Think situation
Scientists analyze situations to identify patterns between the human behavior and the observed circumstances.
Think actions
People’s action and reaction offers information that can be used to analyze, interpret, and explain human behavior.
Think motivation
Motives can be value-driven, admirable and self-gratifying.
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Think Participants
Participant: Individual who performs, shares, or engages in something
Scientists are interested in identifying characteristics or factors about the participants
Used to:
Group individuals
Make generalizations about how groups behave or predict what someone will do in a given situation
Think Participants
Participant: Individual who performs, shares, or engages in something.
Referred to as subjects, informants, or actors in social science research.
Scientists are interested in identifying characteristics or factors about the participants.
Useful for analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and predicting behaviors being observed or measured.
Used to:
Group individuals.
Make generalizations about how groups behave or predict what someone will do in a given situation.
Characteristics might include demographics or a person’s culture, attitudes, values, beliefs, skills, experiences, emotions, perceptions, or expectations.
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Think Situation
Situation: Physical, social, and cultural circumstances that define the phenomenon of interest
Helps identify patterns between human behavior and observed circumstances
Useful to identify factors controlled by participants in a situation and which of those can be altered if necessary
Provides situational cues to participants
Think Situation
Situation: Physical, social, and cultural circumstances that define the phenomenon of interest.
Asking questions about situation allows scientists to understand the conditions better under which an event is occurring.
Helps identify patterns between the human behavior and the observed circumstances.
Testing a hypothesis about human behavior requires:
Noticing if participants in a similar situation act in the same way.
Altering the situation to see what the participants will do.
Useful to identify factors controlled by participants in a situation and which of those can be altered if necessary.
Helps achieve the goal of social scientific inquiry which is to evaluate the situation to replicate or change it in the hopes of changing behaviors.
Provides situational cues to participants.
Enable people to determine a behavior that would most likely lead to success.
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Think Actions
Actions: Processes or conditions whereby something is done or accomplished
Social scientists ask questions about actions as they link the participants and the situation
Include behaviors that people choose not to perform
Think Actions
Actions: Processes or conditions whereby something is done or accomplished.
Social scientists ask questions about actions as they link the participants and the situation.
Can be physical, verbal or emotional.
Include behaviors that people choose not to perform.
Certain social scientists ask questions about the impact of missed opportunities.
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Discussion Questions
People who are targeted by angry taunts and epithets experience strong reactions
Has this happened to you?
Thinking like a social scientist, what questions might you ask yourself about your reactions in those situations?
Discussion Questions
People who are targeted by angry taunts and epithets experience strong reactions.
Has this happened to you?
What reactions did you experience?
Thinking like a social scientist, what questions might you ask yourself about your reactions in those situations?
The discussion questions aim to help students understand how social scientists ask questions regarding reactions to actions.
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Think Motivation
Motivation
Represents internal and external forces that stimulate, maintain, and regulate human behavior
Research on motivation has produced a broad and complex set of theories
Scientists ask questions about motivation to identify incentives to promote or decrease certain behaviors
Think Motivation
Motivation
Represents the internal and external forces that stimulate, maintain, and regulate human behavior.
Influences decision of individuals for action or reaction in social situations.
Research on motivation has produced a broad and complex set of theories.
The research involves social, emotional, and cognitive factors that increase or hinder human behavior.
Scientists ask questions about motivation to identify incentives to promote or decrease certain behaviors.
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14. Social Scientists’ Investigation
Let the question drive the investigatory technique
Social Scientists’ Investigation
Scientists investigate questions by seeking good evidence to:
Describe human behavior and social institutions.
Explain and predict how people will behave under certain circumstances or in certain situations.
Verify the accuracy of the explanations by reference to methodically gathered and analyzed evidence.
Let the question drive the investigatory technique
Investigators use critical thinking skills to decide on relevant evidence to answer social science questions in a fair-minded, systematic, and accurate way.
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15. Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Investigators use critical thinking skills to decide on relevant evidence to answer social science questions
Scientists require evidence to ensure that the preconceptions are true
Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Investigators use critical thinking skills to decide on relevant evidence to answer social science questions.
Should answer questions in a fair-minded, systematic, and accurate way.
Scenario - What did the people who lived in the State of Georgia in 1865 think about the Civil War?
Investigators would require artifacts and documents which would help develop descriptive summaries, interpretations, and retrospective explanations to answer the question.
Scientists require evidence to ensure that the preconceptions are true.
Even commonly held beliefs turn out to be false when the actual evidence is reviewed.
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16. Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Data gathering techniques
Interviewing participants
Focus groups
Decision mapping enables to analyze people’s narratives about their decisions
Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Data gathering techniques
Interviewing participants
Involves examining the experiences shared by the participants.
Focus groups
A small number of people are invited to talk about a common experience.
Decision mapping enables to analyze people’s narratives about their decisions.
Decision maps helps compare the decisions of interviewed individuals.
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17. Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Practical and logistical challenges
Scientists encounter the problem of feasibility while gathering data
Motivations and temptations
Political, economic, and professional practice concerns motivate the questions scientists are asked to investigate
Scientists must rigorously adhere to the empirical investigatory process
Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
Practical and logistical challenges
Scientists encounter the problem of feasibility while gathering data.
Example - To interview older men about prostate cancer, how can one get permission to conduct interviews regarding something so personal?
Evidence to describe, explain, and predict behavior involves considering the method and feasibility of data gathering.
Motivations and temptations
Political, economic, and professional practice concerns motivate the questions scientists are asked to investigate.
Social scientists as people, shareholders, or citizens have the right to make decisions or to give advice on certain matters.
Scientists must rigorously adhere to the empirical investigatory process.
Excluding relevant data or exaggerating the final report breaches scientific integrity.
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18. Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
I’m on Camera effect
Social science questions provide answers about what happens to most humans
Behavior changes when the conditions are altered
Hawthorne Effect
Observable tendency of people to exert more effort or perform better if they know they are participating in a research
Blind study - Overcomes the risk of the validity of research
Let the Question Drive the Investigatory Technique
I’m on Camera effect.
Social science questions provide answers about what happens to most humans.
Behavior changes when the conditions are altered.
Hawthorne Effect
Observable tendency of people to exert more effort or perform better if they know they are participating in a research.
Investigators need to anticipate the possibility that the people may alter their behavior or their verbal responses.
Blind study - Overcomes the risk of the validity of research.
Participants are not aware of the questions that the research team is aiming to answer.
Challenges
Bounds of ethical inquiry involving human subjects should be respected.
Social scientists must find ways to mitigate the threats to the accuracy of the data.
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19. How do Social Scientists Think About Standards?
No simple explanations of complex phenomena
Proceeding with warranted confidence
Risks inherent in all human judgments
How do Social Scientists Think About Standards?
Realizations of social sciences questions
No simple explanations of complex phenomena.
Human behavior is the product of complex personal, situational, cultural, and biological factors.
Proceeding with warranted confidence.
Wise social scientists are duly cautious about making broad and expansive knowledge claims.
Risks inherent in all human judgments.
Social scientists are vulnerable to biased thinking, dominance structuring, erroneous snap judgments, and misapplication of cognitive heuristics.
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20. No Simple Explanations of Complex Phenomena
Human behavior is the product of complex personal, situational, cultural, and biological factors
Scientists do not attempt to produce a final answer about human social phenomena
Empirical reasoning used in social scientific research is probabilistic
No Simple Explanations of Complex Phenomena
Human behavior is the product of complex personal, situational, cultural, and biological factors.
Not static in nature.
Scientists do not attempt to produce a final answer about human social phenomena.
Investigators are aware that there are always new situations, different participants, alternative actions, or motivations to consider.
Reasons for interest in social phenomena
Increases one’s understanding of self as a human being.
Helps professionals who use this knowledge in their practice.
Empirical reasoning used in social scientific research is probabilistic.
Social scientists need to have warranted confidence that their conclusions are probably true and not merely random occurrences.
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21. Proceeding with Warranted Confidence
Immeasurable and uncontrollable influences affect behavior inevitably under investigation
Statistical analyses
Used to:
Answer questions about possible relationships
Describe a set of data
Compare relationships between two or more factors
Proceeding with Warranted Confidence
Immeasurable and uncontrollable influences affect behavior inevitably under investigation.
Wise social scientists are duly cautious about making broad and expansive knowledge claims.
Statistical analyses
Used to:
Answer questions about possible relationships.
Describe a set of data.
Compare relationships between two or more factors.
Determine correlations and cause-and-effect relationships by analyzing numerical data.
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22. Proceeding with Warranted Confidence
Statistically significant: Probability that an obtained result has not occurred by chance
Narrative analyses
Researchers use other techniques to achieve the standard of warranted confidence in findings
Describe findings as practically significant
Proceeding with Warranted Confidence
Statistically significant: Probability that an obtained result has not occurred by chance.
Specific incidences as counter-examples are acceptable in the social sciences as the discipline works with complex phenomena.
Narrative analyses
Researchers use other techniques to achieve the standard of warranted confidence in findings.
Example - Employing colleagues to independently interpret the evidence to determine if they are arriving at similar conclusions.
Describe findings as practically significant.
Use what they know from other statistical studies and enrich with narrative analyses.
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23. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Social scientists are vulnerable to:
Biased thinking
Dominance structuring
Snap judgments
Misapplication of cognitive heuristics
Critical thinking self-regulation
Maintaining an open mind and engaging in a constant process of self-checking and self-regulating is essential
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Social scientists are vulnerable to:
Biased thinking.
Dominance structuring.
Snap judgments.
Misapplication of cognitive heuristics.
Strong critical thinking and the habits of being systematic, open-minded, and truth-seeking can mitigate the risk.
Critical thinking self-regulation
Maintaining an open mind and engaging in a constant process of self-checking and self-regulating is essential.
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24. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
We are what we study
Social scientists must carry out their analyses carefully to draw warranted inferences
Scientists are vulnerable to errors by misunderstandings and misinterpretations about human behavior
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
We are what we study
Social scientists must carry out their analyses carefully to draw warranted inferences.
Ensure that the proposed explanations are adequately supported by research findings.
Scientists are vulnerable to errors by misunderstandings and misinterpretations about human behavior.
Critical thinking skill of self-regulation is vital to avoid and correct the mistakes we are prone to make.
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25. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
We affect what we study
People influence human behavior through research
Critical thinking skills and maintaining great distance from the data collection process enables one to draw warranted conclusions
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
We affect what we study.
People influence human behavior through research.
Social scientists take necessary steps to mitigate the risk to the scientific quality of research.
Critical thinking skills and maintaining great distance from the data collection process enables one to draw warranted conclusions.
Involves interpretation and analysis, anonymous surveys or hiring research assistants to collect data.
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26. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Finding what isn’t there and not finding what is there
Wrong to conclude that reliance on numerical data will eliminate human vulnerabilities
Type I errors - False positives
Type II errors - False negatives
Judicious social scientists scrutinize their methods and applications of appropriate standards to self-correct as necessary
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Finding what isn’t there and not finding what is there
Wrong to conclude that reliance on numerical data will eliminate human vulnerabilities.
Setting the level of tolerable error at 5 percent is too high a risk in some circumstances and too stringent in other circumstances.
Type I errors - False positives
Type II errors - False negatives
Risk of coming to false positive conclusions is inversely related to the risk of coming to false negative conclusions.
Judicious social scientists scrutinize their methods and applications of appropriate standards to self-correct as necessary.
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27. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Integrating findings
Social scientific research is iterative and builds over time
Theories of human behavior become revised, richer, and deeper with every investigation
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Integrating findings
Social scientific research is iterative and builds over time.
Scientists strive for larger theories that can integrate and explain more social phenomena.
Theories of human behavior become revised, richer, and deeper with every investigation.
Social scientists are seeking explanations that fulfill the standards that all scientific theories strive to meet.
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28. Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Explanatory scientific theories strive to be:
Consistent
Testable
Comprehensive
Productive
Parsimonious
Risks Inherent in all Human Judgments
Explanatory scientific theories strive to be:
Consistent
Integrate information and new research findings without producing mutually contradictory statements.
Testable
Open to being independently replicated by other investigators in an array of investigative conditions.
Comprehensive
Integrate all of the accepted facts and findings about human behavior from different scientific disciplines.
Productive
Suggest new directions and new hypotheses for research that goes beyond a restatement of initial findings.
Potentially enable investigators to strengthen explanations and make well-founded predictions about human behavior.
Parsimonious
Provide the simplest, concise representation of the complex phenomena under investigation.
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29. Social Science Applications in the Real World
Business administration
Elementary education
Social Science Applications in the Real World
Business administration
Provides a case on how social science research can be applied to a business setting.
Elementary education
Contains an example of how social science investigation can be applied in education.
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30. Business Administration
Goal - To gather accurate and useful evidence
Determine the methods of data collection and evaluation
Summarize the numerical and narrative responses in reports
Business Administration
Goal - To gather accurate and useful evidence.
Allows the management to make informed decisions about where to direct improvement efforts.
Determine the methods of data collection and evaluation.
Summarize the numerical and narrative responses in reports.
Delivered to the senior management, promotes further actionable results.
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Elementary Education
Used in classroom management
Assists conflict resolution
Elementary Education
Used in classroom management
Example - Helps in the introduction of activities to promote a better learning environment.
Assists conflict resolution
Example - Helps resolve interpersonal conflicts between students.
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Sketchnote Video
Sketchnote Video
The video summarizes:
How social scientists’ think.
The challenges faced in social science research.
Tests used to evaluate the theories of human behavior and its real world applications.
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