Area of Study
Phenomena
Epistemology
Sub-Field within the Discipline
Research Method
Key Concepts
Leading Theory
Key Book/Seminal Text
Key Thinker and a Key Practitioner
Professional/Academic Journal
Professional/Academic Association
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Behavioral and Social Sciences is interested in any phenomena that relates to the thought processes and behaviors of humans and other animals and their interactions with the environment. The field also looks at internal and external factors that affect these processes and behaviors.
The epistemology of Behavioral and Social Sciences consists of two parts. One half is that psychological constructs and their interrelationships can be inferred through discussion and observation and applied to treatment or a series of experiments with slight variations. The other aspect of the field is the assumption that knowledge is socially constructed and that knowledge exists in history that can change the course of history if properly applied.
Sociology
Individuals in the Behavioral and Social Sciences study different aspects of humans. The research methods they use to expand this knowledge and understanding include, but are not limited to, mathematical models, statistical analysis, controlled experiments, surveys, interviews, ethnography, case studies, unobtrusive observations, content analysis, meta-analysis, correlational research, quasi-experiments, naturalistic observations, structured observation, neuroimaging, and secondary data analysis. The field also implements inductive and deductive approaches to the above mentioned methods.
Three terms in Behavioral and Social Sciences are psychosis, exposure therapy, and Positron Emission Tomography.
Psychosis is an abnormal mental state and is used to describe a loss of connection with reality. An individual suffering from psychosis has serious impairments or disruptions in their most fundamental higher brain functions and can experience things like delusions or hallucinations.
Exposure therapy is a type of therapy in which an individual is slowly exposed to triggers that cause them great stress or anxiety, with the outcome being to build up a tolerance and resilience to the previously mentioned triggers.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a method of studying the brain by injecting a radioactive substance called a tracer into the vein through an IV.The tracer then collects in active brain areas and can show how the brain and its tissues are working.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development: Piaget’s theory is about the development of human intelligence and how this development occurs in stages. This theory states that as children’s thinking develops from one stage to the next, their behavior will also change and reflect that stage’s cognitive developments. The four stages follow a specific order and can only occur in sequence. These stages are the Sensorimotor stage (0–2 years old), the Preoperational stage (2–7 years old), the Concrete Operational stage (7–11 years old), and the Formal Operational stage (11 years old and onward).
The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud is a key book because it shed new light on the workings of the unconscious mind and its powerful role in human life, and it laid the foundational building blocks for the study of dreams, which are an important piece of Behavioral and Social Sciences.
Sigmund Freud
The American Journal of Psychology (AJP)
American Psychological Association (APA)