The Social Sciences and Social Change: - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Social Sciences and Social Change:An Introduction

Ms. DahlSlide2

Social Change

Social change can be defined as transformations in the beliefs, social interactions, practices, organization, and structure of society.

We will be using the three social sciences of

Anthropology

,

Sociology

and

Psychology

to understand what causes social change, and the impact that it has on individuals and societies.

Hmk

: Read P. 10 – 19 in

Challenge and

Change

and complete the organizer

The Social Sciences and Social Change.

Slide3

The Social Science Inquiry Model

Used to explore an issue or change in a disciplined way.

Develop a Research Question

Explore Alternative Perspectives

Formulate a Hypothesis

Collect Data

Assess the Hypothesis

Arrive at a Conclusion

Evaluate the Research

*

See page 4 in

The Challenge of ChangeSlide4

Flash Mobs and Robs

Read pages 6 – 7 in

The Challenge of Change

Using the S.S.I.M., develop a strategy for learning more about the phenomenon of Flash Mobs and/or Flash Robs.

In your table groups, write your research steps on chart paper. Be prepared to share your work with the class.Slide5

The Three Social Sciences

Anthropology

Psychology

SociologySlide6

Anthropology (p.11 – 13)

Definition/Areas of interest:

The scientific study of humans, including their origins;

behaviour

;

and physical, social and cultural development.

Assumes that to understand human

behaviour

and social organization, we must look at our origins as a species.

Broken into two broad categories:

Physical Anthropology

and

Cultural AnthropologySlide7

Research Methods

Ethnology (the detailed, long term study of a culture)

Field Research

Participant Observation

Statistical Analysis

Analysis of ancient bones/artifactsSlide8

Key Terms

Culture

Ethnology

Participant observation

Qualitative and Quantitative data

Acculturation

Diffusion

Marvin Harris

Bronislaw

Malinowski

Question:

What are some examples of social change in Canada that has been influenced by acculturation? Diffusion?Slide9

Schools of Thought - Anthro

Cultural Materialism

Infrastructure: the technological, economic, and demographic factors of a culture.

Structure: how the culture is organized, such as political systems, laws and families.

Superstructure: the ideology of a culture, its beliefs and values, such as religion or gender roles.

Question: How can we describe the impact of the car on Canadian society using C.M.?

(Hint: describe the car at each of the three levels)Slide10

Schools of Thought - Anthro

Functionalism

The function of beliefs and institutions in a society is to meet the needs of the majority of its members

Each part of society has a specific role that helps meet needs and maintain equilibrium (

eg

. Family brings in new members, Legal system makes and enforces rules, School prepares you for the workplace, etc.)

Shared values and norms are passed on through generations maintaining some continuity in society

Question: What is the role of

poverty

to a Functionalist? Slide11

Read pages #12 -13 on

Rites of Passage, Tattoos and Culture

.

Answer questions #1 – 3 in your notes.

Discuss your answers with a partner.Slide12

Psychology (p. 14)

Definition/Areas of Interest:

The study of the human mind,

behaviours

, emotions, cognitive processes and personality.

Understands

behaviour

as both learned and innate. To understand why humans behave the way we do, we must understand the impacts of both the environment we grow up in (nurture), as well as our instincts, personality and mental processes (nature).

Broken into two broad categories:

Clinical

and

ExperimentalSlide13

Methods of Research

Interviews

Case Studies

Experiments

Secondary ResearchSlide14

Key terms

Nature vs. Nurture

Personality

Behaviour

Cognition

Learning

John Watson

BF Skinner

Sigmund FreudSlide15

Schools of Thought: Psych

Learning Theory

Learning can alter the way an individual interprets the world around them and can lead to

behavioural

changes.

Important to understand childhood as this is the time when most

behaviour

is learned

If you understand what motivates

behaviour

, you can predict and control it

Question: How has modern technology like the TV or internet impacted learning and

behaviour

?Slide16

Bandura’s BoBo Doll Experiment

The 

Bobo

doll experiment

 was the collective name of the experiments conducted

by Albert Bandura

  in 1961 and

1963. The goal was to study

children's

behaviour

after watching an adult model act aggressively towards a

Bobo

doll. There are different variations of the experiment. The most notable experiment measured the children's behaviour after seeing the model get rewarded, punished or experience no consequence for beating up the

bobo

doll

.

http://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRjp8Slide17

This experiment is the empirical demonstration of

Bandura's social learning theory

.

It shows that people not only learn by being rewarded or punished itself

(behaviourism) they

can learn from watching somebody being rewarded or punished, too

(observational learning).

These

experiments are important because they sparked many more studies on the effects of observational learning and they have practical implication, e.g. how children can be influenced watching violent media.Slide18

Schools of Thought - Psych

Psychoanalysis

Believes that there are 2 parts of the mind – the conscious and unconscious.

The unconscious mind has a large impact on our

behaviour

, motivations and mental state.

Human

behaviour

is determined by events in early childhood

Question: Give an example of things (motivations, drives, experiences) that may reside in someone’s unconscious mind. How

c

ould it impact their

behaviour

?Slide19

Sociology (p. 15 – 19)

The study of society and social

behaviour

.

Studies the interactions and conflicts within groups to determine how society functions.

Norms, Values, Rules and Sanctions helps to organize society and maintain stability.

Assumes that the group(s) that a person belongs to will determine the roles and expectations that they will value and emulate in their private lives.

Question: How has social media changed the way that we relate in groups, and altered our roles, norms and values?Slide20

Methods of Research

Surveys

Questionnaires

Interviews

Participant Observation

Secondary ResearchSlide21

Key Terms

Roles

Norms

Values

Sanctions

Institutions

Social organization

Cognitive consistency/dissonance

Microsociology

Macrosociology

Paradigm Shifts

Confirmation Bias

Dorothy Smith

Karl Marx

Emile Durkheim

Talcott Parsons

Max WeberSlide22

Cognitive Dissonance

Most people strive for

cognitive consistency

(avoiding attitudes that conflict with each other)

When two attitudes conflict, we feel discomfort, which makes us want to change our attitudes to regain cognitive consistency

This theory is called

cognitive dissonance theorySlide23

Example of C.D.

Ex. Person X smokes, but also believes smoking causes cancer – these attitudes conflict and may lead them to avoid reading articles that discuss smoking and health.

Person X has friends and relatives that nag them about quitting smoking

all the time. After all the pestering, X feels guilty that they smoke and wants to fit in with their non-smoking friends. They start to thing about it, but haven’t decided whether or not to give quitting a try. There is some conflict and dissonance, but not enough to change.

X

has a relative that dies from cancer caused by smoking, this leads to increased conflict and dissonance, which may lead them to quit – a change in

behaviour

!Slide24

Paradigm Shifts

When a new set of ideals, beliefs and values become strong enough to affect and change the way individuals see and perceive reality.

Question: What paradigm shifts have occurred in your lifetime? What caused them?Slide25

Schools of Thought

Structural

Functionalism

According

to structural-functionalism, each society should provide its members with the fundamental requirements for functioning

A system must have a way of fulfilling material needs, a system for socializing and educating the young, a way of regulating human reproduction (usually marriage)

Structural-Functionalists believe their role is to try to explain the role of society’s systems in enabling human society to function

Structural-Functionalists do not concern themselves with change but instead with how society works to meet their needsSlide26

Schools of Thought

Marxism

Marx

believed that economic power led to political power. This is the key to understanding societies

The struggle for economic power means that society is not static but ever-changing – social change is the result of a change made to the economic system

Therefore, if we want to understand society, we must understand the economic system in

place and which groups have access to power

Marxists

believe the economic system creates a rich class of owners and a poor class of workers

They also believe that social institutions (churches, schools, prisons etc.) have been created to perpetuate the division between the powerful and the powerlessSlide27

Schools of Thought

Feminism

Patterns of social inequality are based on gender.

Feminist Theorists focus on sex and gender issues, believing that women have traditionally been disadvantaged in society because men have discriminated against them

They believe that men have made the decisions in society and that they tend to

favour

men

.

Closely related to MarxismSlide28

Schools of Thought

Symbolic

Interactionism

B

elieve

humans have complex brains and little instinctive

behaviour

This means they can interpret for themselves the stimuli they receive in their daily life and attach their own meanings to them

Eg

. One person might pursue fame and fortune while a sibling might dedicate his or her life to charitable work in a developing country

It is essentially how we as individuals process and interpret what we observe in society, not society’s institutions, that form the core of our value system

For this reason, Symbolic

Interactionists

focus their research on the human mind rather than on structures in societySlide29

Activity

Re-read

the article on Flash Mobs and Flash Robs on page 6-7.

How would each of the social sciences explain flash mobs and flash robs?

Use the following headings to help you organize your notes:

Key Assumptions (if

an anthropologist/

psychologist/

sociologist

were to look at this situation, they would assume…)

Possible Research Methods (if they wanted to find out more about the issue they would…)

Explanation

(they would

likely say that flash mobs/robs are a result of…)Slide30

Understanding Social Change

Read the section about Malcolm

Gladwell’s

“The Tipping Point” on pages 8 – 9.

In your notes, answer questions 2 – 3 from page 9.

Share your answers with a partner/the class.

Read p. 22 “Change in Action: Arab Spring” and watch the following video about the Egyptian Revolution.

http://

www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html

Use

Gladwell’s

theory to explain how the revolution in Egypt took place. Use

the graphic

organizer provided.