Introduction to

Anthropology,Sociology &
Psychology

What is anthropology?
Anthropology is the systematic
study of humankind.
man
study

Emergence of the discipline

Two major goals:
Understand uniqueness and diversity
Discover fundamental similarities

Four-field Approach
Four subdisciplines bridge science
and humanities:
Physical Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistics
Cultural Anthropology

Physical Anthropology
Primarily concerned with humans as a
biological species
Most closely related to natural sciences
Major research areas:
Human evolution
Modern human variation

Subdisciplines:
Palaeoanthropology, primatology, forensics,
genetics

Archaeology
Archaeologists seek out and
examine the artifacts (material
products) of past societies.
Archaeology is not treasurehunting.
Sub disciplines of archaeology:
Prehistoric, historic, Classical, Biblical,
underwater
Modern trash

Linguistic Anthropology
Subfield of anthropology, philosophy,
and English
Main research areas:
How language is used
Relationship between language and
culture
How humans acquire language

Fields of linguistics:
Structural, historical, sociolinguistics

Cultural Anthropology
Sometimes known as ethnology,
cultural anthropology examines
contemporary societies and cultures
throughout the world.
Participant observation.

Holism and Applied Anthropology

Training in all four fields required
Links to other social sciences
Sociology, psychology, economics,
political science, history

Applied Anthropology
Sometimes called the 5th field
Offers practical solutions to cultural
problems

Cultural Relativism
The values of one culture should not be used
as standards to evaluate the behavior of
persons from outside that culture; a societys
custom and beliefs should be described
objectively.
Modern approach: We should strive for
objectivity and not be too quick to judge;
however, there are some moral absolutes that
are removed from culture.

Introduction to Sociology

Sociology defined and explained

Question: What is Sociology?
Answer: The Scientific study of
human societies and social behavior.

A
Systematic
Approach
Q: Is it a science?
A: Yes, sociologists begin their work by proposing questions of
importance to them and then designing a research project
that will enable them to ascertain the answers to their
major research questions.
Q: Is it organized?
A: Yes, sociological investigations proceed systematically. As
a social science , sociology is a discipline that is organized
and methodical and its endeavors are undertaken for the
purpose of enhancing knowledge.

Defining the Sociological

Perspective
Sociology is the scientific study of
human society and social interactions.
What makes sociology scientific?
Levels of Understanding Drug Use
Personal experience
with drug use

Awareness of friends
and associates patterns
of drug use

Systematic study
of a random
sample of drug
users

Sociology and Common Sense

Common sense assumptions are usually based on very
limited observation.
Moreover, the premises on which common sense
assumptions are seldom examined.
Sociology seeks to:

use a broad range of carefully selected observations; and

theoretically understand and explain those observations.

While sociological research might confirm common

sense observation, its broader base and theoretical
rational provide a stronger basis for conclusions.

Sociologists examine groups of

humans in an effort to understand
the nature, meaning and significance
of human group relationships.
NOTE: Sociologists are not interested
in
animal species.

Social behavior
Sociologists examine the following:
1. What people do that affect others
around them.
2. things that people do after they
have given thought to how others
might respond to their acts,
especially when the people are
aggregated into groups.

The least we need to know

Sociology seeks to understand how
groups work, how groups influence
one another, and how groups
influence the things that individuals
do.

Sociology vs. Anthropology

One branch of anthropology (cultural)
shares an interest with sociology in
its focus on cultural issues. The other
branches, archaeology and physical
anthropology are different in their
study of relics and skeletal remains to
understand peoples of the past.

Sociology vs. Psychology

Psychology attempts to explain why
individuals act, or how individuals
influence others behavior.
Remember, sociology attempts to
explain how and why groups act or
how groups influence individuals
behaviors.