1. Anthropology, Psychology & Sociology
An Introduction
Anthropology, Psychology & Sociology

2. Social Science
A multi-disciplinary field of study that focuses on explaining human behaviour using research and analysis
Concerned with what people think & how they act
includes the disciplines (areas of study) of:
anthropology* economics
family studies history
human geography political science
psychology* religion
sociology*

3. When investigating an issue, Social Scientists ask 4 fundamental questions:
1. What happened?
2. How did it happen?
3. Why did it happen?
4. How can people change what happened?

4. How are they the same? Anthropology, Psychology & Sociology
all study human behaviours

5. Social Sciences

6. How are they different?

7. Anthropology
The study of the human species & its origins, & the development of its language & culture throughout the world
Human cultures consist of the ways of living of a group of people (community, society or nation), including their traditions, arts, inventions, and conventions (habits, behaviours)
There are different types of anthropology, for example: - physical, cultural, forensic

8. Anthropology
Fundamental Belief – Understanding our origins will help to explain how we live, communicate, & interact with our environment

9. Anthropological Questions
How was human culture developed?
What symbols do cultures share?
How did humans learn to manipulate their environment?
How was language established?

10. What are examples of Canadian culture?

11. Examples of Canadian culture
Maple leaf
Beavers, loons
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Hockey, lacrosse
Inukshooks
‘Loonie’, ‘Toonie’
‘Eh?’
Politeness
Totem poles
Igloos
Tim Horton’s
Stompin’ Tom Connors
Justin Beiber (singer)
Shania Twain (singer)
Avril Leveigne (singer)
William Shatner (actor)

12. Joey Votto (Red’s baseball)
Wayne Gretzky (hockey)
Mario Lemieux (hockey)
Mike Weir (golf)
Hailey Wickenheiser (hockey)
Steve Nash (Laker’s basketball)
Tristen Thompson (Cavalier’s basketball)
Dan Aykroid (actor)
Alex Trebec (tv personality)
Martin Short (actor)
Pamela Anderson (actress)

13. What are examples of Canadian culture?
Molson I am Canadian – YouTube
Does this truly reflect Canadian culture?

14. Typically, anthropologists use participant observation for research
What groups can be studied from an anthropological perspective?
Amish, Mennonite communities
Polygamous communities
Motorcycle gangs

15. Ethnocentrism - the tendency to evaluate other cultures in terms of your own, typically judging others as inferior
Examples:
In England, they ‘drive on the wrong side of the road’
In Japan children are taught to show respect by looking down instead of looking into the eyes of the person with whom they are speaking

16. Psychology
The study of the human mind, behaviours, emotions, cognitive processes, & personality
Different types of psychology include experimental & clinical (and variations of these)

17. Psychology
Fundamental Beliefs – Behaviour is both learned & innate. Both factors influence & shape how individuals will behave, feel, act, or respond to external stimuli

18. Psychological Questions
Why do humans behave as they do?
How does personality develop?
What is intelligence?
How can we control our emotions?

19. Psychology
Typically, psychology uses experiments in laboratories for research (animal & human)

20. Sociology
Looks at the development & structure of human society, & how society works (behaviours)
Examines how people act in group situations

21. Sociology
Fundamental Belief – The groups to which an individual belongs will determine the roles & expectations that he/she will learn & emulate in his/her private life

22. Sociological Questions
What function does society serve in the lives of individuals?
What role do social institutions have in society?
How do individuals learn to adapt to the specific rules & modes of behaviour that govern groups?

23. Sociology
Typically, sociology uses statistical analysis for research to understand rates/frequency of behaviours

24. Discipline 1: _________________________
Practitioners of this social science would ask how accurately this poem reflects what we know about the development and functioning of human society. They might conduct a statistical analysis to find out whether children do in fact tend to develop into the kind of adults that the poem suggests they do. Alternatively, they might track a sample of people from childhood to adulthood to find out what links, if any, connect childhood experiences with adult personality.

25. Discipline 2: _________________________
These social scientists would ask how accurately this poem reflects what we know about human culture. They might participate as observers in a number of cultures in different countries to see how children are treated and to try to establish a possible link in each culture between childhood experiences and the resulting adult behaviour.

26. Discipline 3: _________________________
Social scientists from this discipline would consider people’s feelings about how they were treated as children. They would examine how these feelings affect the development of the individual’s adult personalities. These social scientists might focus on a manageable number of individual subjects, recording in detail their experiences as children and as adults. In this way, they would try to understand how the minds of their subjects work.

27. Children Learn What They Live
If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

28. If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

29. If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn that the world is a nice place in which to live.
By Dorothy Law Nolte (1998)

30. What Do You Think?
1. As you reflect on your own experiences, which lines in this poem are meaningful to you? Why?
2. Summarize the main ideas contained in this poem.
3. What is your opinion of the main message of this poem? Explain your reasoning.
4. Can we know from our own experiences whether are not the main ideas are valid? Would we be better to suspend our judgement until we have researched the findings of social scientists who have investigated the subject? Explain your reasoning.

31. Jazz for Cows - YouTube