Comparison of the Social Sciences - Research Paper Example

? Sociology Comparison of the Social Sciences Number} Introduction The onslaught of the modern age brought along a number of key benefits as well as problems that were intertwined in such a manner that they became inseparable. The rise of transport and communication has become one such mixed blessing. Through rise in transport people from all across the globe were able to move large distances and reach far off places that had previously been inaccessible. The movement of people from various cultures to new destinations meant that interaction kept increasing. This in turn provided ripe conditions for social biases and cleavages to emerge. Managing diverse cultures within the same environment is a hard yet not impossible task. People need to understand that other people’s cultures, beliefs, values, norms and the like are distinct for a number of reasons and these reasons should be well respected. Only appropriate understanding of the underlying causes can ensure that interaction between human beings will remain as free of biases and cleavages as humanly possible. Moreover this will breed respect for other cultures and a chance for human beings to survive along each other in relative peace and prosperity. The evolution of scientific traditions has provided us with a number of tools with which human cultures and preferences can be easily understood better. Various kinds of investigation methodologies and systems have evolved over the decades that can be used reliably to investigate human behavior in terms of the overlying cultures and human interaction in large groups with diverse backgrounds. Some of the most prominent scientific fields that can be used to deal with human diversity include anthropology, psychology and sociology. This text will concentrate on how these different systems could be used to understand human cultures better and to promote understanding and respect for each other’s culture. 2. Anthropology Anthropology refers to the overall study of humanity in terms of their cultural diversity. The field of anthropology traces its origins from studies in humanities, natural and social sciences at the same time (Wolf, 1994). The most basic concerns of anthropology include: defining human life and its origins; organization of social relations amongst human beings; tracking the ancestors of the modern human being; physical traits of human beings; human behavior and its causes; variations in behavior amongst various human groups; influences of the Homo Sapien culture on modern social organization and culture. This list can be extended to far more but the concerns listed above are the most major. In terms of understanding other people’s cultures anthropology tries to find out how human beings behavior vary by distinctions amongst them (such as race, ethnicity, and geographical origin). These variations in human behavior and the origins of such behavior can provide invaluable clues to understanding human cultures better. These learning’s results can in turn be used to educate people about each other’s cultures and their diversity. In the longer run such steps could ensure that people understand and tolerate the variations in each other’s behavior better to promote cultural pluralism. Contemporary anthropology can be broadly classified into four major sub divisions which are cultural anthropology (also known as socio-cultural anthropology), archaeology, linguistic anthropology and physical (biological) anthropology (Layton, 1998). Biological anthropology attempts to explain how human population has evolved using an evolutionary framework. The spreading of population from one part of the globe to the other is being theorized using biological anthropology with mechanisms such as “Out of Africa” and the “multi-regional evolution” debates. Researchers in the field are trying to explain the causes of variations in human race and hence culture due to geographical variations as well as other factors. In contrast cultural anthropology is based on the study of cultures and is focused largely on ethnography. Ethnography refers both to the methodology as well as the product of research that may be in the form of a monograph or a book. This methodology of investigation is positioned such that it has to rely in large part on participant observation. The results derived from these observations are then tabulated and compared which is better known as ethnology. Participant observation is critical to understanding other people’s cultures especially form an emic point of view which cannot be derived from going through books, journal articles, websites or other such research material. Exploration of kinship as well as the methods of social organization is also focused areas in cultural anthropology. In addition, cultural anthropology is also concerned with the study of economic and political aspects, laws, customs, conflict resolution, material culture, infrastructure, consumption patterns and exchange, religion, myths, legends, popular culture, values, norms and the like. The basic contention is to include as many cultural aspects of human behavior as possible so that these can be used to logically differentiate between variations in human behavior. A greater understanding of these differences can be used to elucidate variations in behavior which can in turn be used for education to alleviate cultural misunderstandings. Lingual anthropology attempts to understand human communication better both within the verbal and non verbal domains of interaction. Moreover the variations in language across geographical regions, the social uses of language as well as the relationships between culture and language are explored in order to delineate the variations in human behavior when stimulated by language (Bloch, 1991). For example the hand gesture used in Italy to express displeasure is used in India to indicate that one is hungry. Similarly multiple other differences can be found but if these differences are understood across the board in all cultural groups then cultural pluralism can be promoted (Salzmann, 1993). 3. Psychology Psychology refers to the structured study of human mind and human behavior (Fernald, 2008). The immediate goal behind psychology is to understand the behavior of individuals and groups through the establishment of general principles and through the research of specific cases (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2010). On the other hand one of the biggest goals behind psychology is to benefit society at large. The practitioners of psychology are better known as psychologists and are often considered social scientists. The psychologists who research psychology as a whole try to discern the role of mental functions within the behavior patterns displayed by individuals and social groups. These kinds of investigations are carried out while also investigation the underlying physiological and neurobiological processes that are taking place. The wider areas of research in psychology involve the exploration of conceptions such as perception, attention, phenomenology, brain functions, human behavior, cognition, emotion, motivation, personality traits as well as interpersonal relationships. Some strands of psychologists who are better known as depth psychologists attempt to deal with the unconscious mind. A number of empirical methods are employed by psychologists in order to discern the various causal and co-relational relationships that exist between different kinds of psychosocial variables. In contrast to these methods are the inductive methods as well as symbolic interpretation techniques that are used by some psychologists in order to discern patterns of human behavior for individuals and for groups alike. Generally it is considered that psychological knowledge is limited to the solution of human mental health problems but psychological knowledge has been applied time and again to a number of other spheres such as developing social understanding. For example, it is common place knowledge that most people are wary of people from other cultures even if they have not had a bad experience. Psychology can help to explain such aberrations in human behavior with the exploration of concepts such as xenophobic behavior. Through the appropriate use of psychological techniques of investigation and cure these conceptions and other such conceptions can be treated with success (Leichsenring & Leibing, 2003). This is not to imply that the world at large is suffering from mental health problems but is merely bringing attention to the fact that psychological knowledge can be used to promote inter cultural understanding and harmony if the reasons behind discord can be better understood. In this sense social psychology tries to explain how human beings tend to think about each other and how they attempt to relate to each other socially. The influence of human beings on each other’s behavior is also studied in detail to see how groups can affect each other’s behaviors in both the short term and the long term. This is particularly helpful for the study of human interaction especially in more diverse cultures. These kinds of techniques can be used with success to discern the creation of human beliefs, norms, attitudes, values as well as stereotypes that are diverted towards other human beings. Psychology is also particularly helpful in providing fitting solutions to the problems that it identifies. Social cognition is studied in psychology in an attempt to correlate the elements of social and cognitive psychology. This helps to understand how human beings tend to process information, or to remember information and consequently distort information. Moreover the study of social groups allows psychologists to discern group dynamics such as the nature and potential for leadership, micro social communication and the relative influence of human beings on each other. When aberrations are found in such behaviors they can be attended using psychological techniques (Gelder & Gelder, 2005). In terms of the larger picture this means that human cultural problems can be addressed using psychological techniques for solutions to cultural misunderstandings. 4. Sociology In the simplest terms sociology refers to studying society (Comte, 2005). Overall the discipline is connected to social sciences and a number of empirical methods are used for investigating social phenomenon (Ashley & Orenstein, 2005). The results from these studies are critically analyzed in order to develop a body of human understanding and knowledge that is concerned purely with human activity. The primary goal of most sociologists is to conduct research that can be applied directly to society and its problems in order to seek fitting solutions. On the other hand the goal of other sociologist is to garner a greater understanding of social processes on the theoretical scale. The topics being investigated under the umbrella of sociology tend to vary widely with issues that stretch from the macro to the micro social structures. Traditionally the major focus of sociology has been the investigation of social divides that have been produced in various forms. Sociologists have taken to research in social stratification, social mobility, secular beliefs and values, deviance in social behavior, social classes and strata, religion, law and the like. It has been recognized as a fact that the sphere of human activities is affected as a whole due to the actions of an individual agency. This in turn has expanded the role of sociology to new and yet more diverse applications such as health and medicine, the military, the Internet, reform and penal institutions and the like. Perhaps the greatest power of sociology is the use of qualitative and quantitative methods such that they superimpose each other’s functions. Sociology has been used to investigate the causes behind various kinds of social behavior such as juvenile delinquency and to suggest solutions that fit the situation seamlessly. In this respect it can be argued that sociology is perhaps the best equipped to deal with the problem of cultural intolerance that is pervasively found around the globe. Sociological studies have indicated the presence of large divides in human thinking and system of beliefs that in turn lead to human behavior which is socially repugnant on the scale of cultural intolerance and hate. In addition to the above sociology has been successfully employed in order to provide solutions on a massive scale for such social problems. Though most of these studies are prescribed to a few thousand participants in controlled environments but positive changes in these studies indicate that these findings could be implemented in society at large. The scalability offered by social experiments can provide firm ground for promoting cultural tolerance and peace. Perhaps the best method to inculcate cultural pluralism in people with diverse backgrounds is to use the element of respect for other people’s cultural values and norms. Therefore sociology can provide a platform that is suitable for both identifying and providing solutions to common social dilemmas such as cultural intolerance. The promotion of pluralistic values in society through sociological means can be extremely helpful in finding solutions to the widening gap of misunderstandings between cultures and other such classifications of groups of people. 5. Conclusion A number of potent tools and methodologies are available to find solutions to today’s emerging problem of cultural intolerance before it assumes biblical proportions. While anthropology can help us discern how people and populations developed it can also provide invaluable insight into the origins and development of human culture in its various forms. Lingual anthropology can also help to bridge the communication gaps between groups of human beings. On the other hand psychology can be used as a tool to identify the basic and advanced causes that do not allow people from differentiated backgrounds to mix up. Again psychology can be used to deliver solutions to these problems. However both anthropology and psychology are limited to small groups. In contrast sociology can be used to investigate the causes behind cultural intolerance and to find fitting solutions to these problems. 6. Bibliography Ashley, D., & Orenstein, D. M. (2005). Sociological theory: Classical statements (6th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Pearson Education. Bloch, M. (1991). Language, Anthropology and Cognitive Science. Man (London School of Economics and Political Science) 26 (2) , 183–198. Comte, A. (2005). A Dictionary of Sociology: (3rd Ed), John Scott & Gordon Marshall (eds). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Fernald, L. D. (2008). Psychology: Six perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Gelder, M., & Gelder, G. (2005). Psychiatry. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Inc. Hockenbury, K., & Hockenbury, C. (2010). Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers. Layton, R. (1998). An Introduction to Theory in Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Leichsenring, F., & Leibing, E. (2003). The effectiveness of psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behavior therapy in the treatment of personality disorders: A meta-analysis. The American Journal of Psychiatry 160 (7) , 1223–1233. Salzmann, Z. (1993). Language, culture, and society: an introduction to linguistic anthropology. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Wolf, E. (1994). Perilous Ideas: Race, Culture, People. 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