Why does social science matter?

August 23, 2020

Social sciences are the modern ways that we study an individual within society. Social Science, especially Psychology, has been influenced by many developments from over a hundred years ago to recently. The five psychology perspectives that have been developed are really effective in breaking down the different aspects of studying an individual and these perspectives have evolved and asked questions that have been built upon over a long period to develop the ways Psychology is practiced today, as is outlined in the History of Psychology Timeline linked below. The developments involving each psychology perspective are valuable to the individual and to society in their own ways.

The Psychodynamic perspective was influenced largely by Freud’s studies back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and has scientists asking questions about the way our experiences shape who we are on an individual level. These questions are important in our modern society in understanding individuals enough to be compassionate and can also be used to determine types of therapy that may help an individual overcome difficulties or mental health issues. Any individuals who are able to use psychodynamics to understand the complexities of other people’s personalities will likely be at a social advantage by being able to be more understanding and compassionate towards other members of society such as peers or family members. Understanding basically “why someone is the way they are” can be so helpful in building long lasting, meaningful, and forgiving relationships; whether someone is a social scientist or not.

While the advancement of technology of the Neuroscience perspective has been mostly recent, the idea of connecting the brain’s activity to an individual's behavior has existed since before the invention of the Electroencephalogram in 1929. The famous case of Phineas P. Gage also played an important role in the development of Neuroscience when he suffered a brain injury in 1848 and his personality completely changed. This event opened up a long array of questions about the parts of the brain that influence certain behaviors, personality, and actions. The knowledge of Neuroscience has improved the way neuroscientists and psychologists are able to cure or treat disorders such as epilepsy, depression, bipolar disorder, and many others. Brain disorders affect a lot of people within the population, not just social scientists. Any improvements in neuroscience can improve the efficacy of medications or even brain surgery, which is a positive thing for the large percentage of members of society who are affected or know someone who is affected by a neurological disorder.

The perspective of Humanistic Psychology focuses on the free will of people and on the opportunity for growth and improvement in an individual. Humanistic scientists apply more compassion and optimism to their studies. The idea of exercising compassion towards all individuals, even those with poor mental health, has developed over the years with the “mental hygiene movement” back in the early 1900’s; the opening of the Menninger Clinic (which prioritized applying compassion to the practice of psychology) in 1925; and even the development of antidepressant drugs starting in 1951; before Humanistic Psychology became an official practice in 1954. The benefit of learning or implementing Humanistic Psychology is in the name. Humanistic Psychology focuses on the way individuals are human; the way they are unique, capable of self actualization, exercise free will, and are capable of self improvement. Applying the principle of humanistic psychology often gives people the benefit of the doubt, and recognizes individuals as more than a statistic. Sometimes giving someone the benefit of the doubt is all they need to make drastic changes and improvements to their life.

Behavioral Psychology takes a more objective approach to understanding an individual and how we interact with our environment. The study of psychology in the mid to late 1800’s seemed to be largely objective, with psychology being an academic discipline rather than a therapeutic practice, but the idea of Behaviorism as a study was proposed in 1913 by John B. Watson. Behavioral Psychology is still relevant today and now used in schools and with therapists to sometimes identify things in an environment that can be causing a child to act out or to exhibit abnormal or unfavorable behavior. They can often identify triggers in autistic children and patterns of responses from adults and change these environmental factors to help improve the quality of school for both children and teachers. I could also see this type of Psychology being used in work environments to help employees be happier and more productive vs environmental problems causing lapses in productivity or just poor attitude, which makes a work environment difficult, to say the least.

Social scientists who study Cognitive Psychology answer questions about the processes by which an individual thinks and the way their brain works. The practice of studying the brain’s processes has been going on since at least 1896, when functionalism became a practice. Sixty years later, evidence of scientists applying Cognitive Psychology is apparent from when George A. Miller published the article, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two.” Nowadays, Cognitive Psychology is important because, like behavioral psychology, the findings and application of this perspective can be used to improve the quality of life for certain individuals, especially those who would be considered neurodivergent. By learning the different ways a person’s brain processes everything from language to our own perspectives, therapies can be applied as well as changes that can be made to help people process things better.

One major societal change that social science as a whole has directly impacted is the way that Europeans have treated Indigenous and non-European people. The way that humans of different cultures viewed and treated each other has developed over the last 400 years and is still developing today, and social scientists are at the center of the development. Sadly, back in the 1620’s-1780’s, European colonialists classified cultures that were not European as “primitive,” and surely treated and regarded them as such. The treatment of non-europeans did not improve in the 1790’s-1860’s with such things like “human zoos” containing non europeans, and the classifying of different human races as different species. Eventually, social science began debunking racial myths in the 1870’s- 1950’s and social scientists began addressing the issues of treating some humans as less than others. Today, research is used as a type of “social activism” and many social scientists help to liberate the oppressed with facts and research and the spreading of information. This is an important set of developments through history and the evidence of evolution and improvement is going to lead to improvement. In the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, slavery was no longer legal in the US, the myths of racial differences had been proven wrong by scientists, but black people weren’t even allowed to use the same bathrooms as white people. Through the work of many activists and social science findings, there is no longer blatant white/black segregation in the public. We continue to try and improve life for and fight for groups who are more oppressed in things like the Black Lives Matter movement, which advocates to fight against racially motivated violence towards black people.

In conclusion, Social Sciences have shown to be a valuable human endeaver by largely seeking to improve on a variety of levels. Many humans are affected by neurodivergence or mental health issues. People who aren’t personally affected by mental health are probably close to someone who is. Through studying humans as individuals, and developments that help scientists to better understand the complex dynamics of humans; social scientists are able to add value to the world and to improve the quality of life, learning, and well being for those individuals, the ones around them, and humans in the future. Social Science has also conducted research and provided information to fight against prejudice, racism, and oppression, and movements that are currently taking place today are aiming to improve life and provide a more educated, efficient, and equal future for our society.

Reference:

HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY TIMELINE

(2000, January 11). History of Psychology: Timeline. Annenberg Learner. Retrieved October 12, 2023, from https://www.learner.org/series/discovering-psychology/explorations/history-of-psychology-contemporary-foundations/