what is social science
Can Social Science help us to understand society? In this assignment I will look at how the social sciences can contribute to the understanding of society today. I will concentrate on psychology which is one of the disciplines contained within the social sciences. I will base this assignment on how psychology is used within society and how the discipline can assist in considering society. As the social sciences cover a wide range of subjects and address many issues I will look at one particular area and will concentrate on underachievement and poor school performance. To begin with I will provide general definitions of social science and the discipline of psychology. Social science in short is the title given to the study of society and humans in their social relationships. The various academic disciplines used to study human beings and society include psychology, economics, sociology, psychology, political economy, social policy and anthropology. However due to the size and diversity of the subject other disciplines such as human geography and social history are often included within the social sciences. (Billington, 1998: 257) Due to the level of change that society encounters and the sheer size of the subject, the disciplines can often overlap therefore their boundaries can be unclear. As well as the disciplines overlapping, a certain issue, group
