Social Science Concepts Quiz

Social Science Terms/Concepts

• Social science - the attempt to study people, their activity, behavior, and customs
• Humanities - Study aspects of human society and culture
• Anthropology - the study of human lives and cultures, both living and dead
• Psychology - the study of behavior and mental processes
• Sociology - the study of human social life, groups, and societies
• Positivism - the idea that scientific evidence is the most reliable resource for understanding society
• Class conflict - struggles between different social classes
• Conscious mind - memories that can be recalled
• Unconscious mind - memories that cannot be recalled (a powerful tool to study the human mind)
• Free association - a method where patients speak whatever comes to mind, typically used in relaxation or hypnosis, can reveal hidden thoughts in the unconscious mind
• Id - pleasure principle, seeks to satisfy desires without considering rules, present at birth
• Ego - reality principle, judges right from wrong and emerges in early life, acts as the mediator between the id and superego
• Superego - moral center of the mind, represents society's values and norms
• Archetypes - universal symbols or patterns present in the collective unconscious of all humans (Carl Jung)
• Individual psychology - focus on individual personal goals and values
• Analytical psychology - Founded by Carl Jung, focusing on the unique personal unconscious and the collective unconscious, shared by all
• Unconditional stimulus - a stimulus that automatically triggers a response (e.g., smell of food = feeling of hunger)
• Conditioned stimulus - a stimulus that, through association with an unconditioned stimulus, eventually triggers a conditioned response (e.g., a bell associated with food eventually triggers salivation)
• Unconditioned response - automatic reaction to an unconditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating to the smell of food)
• Conditioned response - automatic response to a conditioned stimulus (e.g., salivating to the bell after association)
• Hierarchy of Needs - basic needs must be met before higher needs (Maslow's theory)
• Classical Conditioning - describes the relationship between stimulus and response and show that responses can be learned and conditioned, humans act in ways they know will reward them
• Operant Conditioning - learning through consequences, behavior is encouraged or discouraged based on reinforcement
• Ethnography - method of observing a community or organization to understand behavior
• Ethnocentrism - Belief that one's own culture is superior to others' cultures
• Culturally constructed - elements of culture, such as gender, shaped by the culture
• Reflexivity - awareness of one's own biases and perspectives
• Subculture - small groups within a larger group sharing common values, lifestyles and attitudes

Research Methods

• Case studies - Observation over time, used in all social sciences
• Experiments - Determines relations between several factors, often used in sociology
• Surveys - Obtain information from large groups of people, used in sociology
• Interviews - Detailed conversations to gather information, used in all social sciences
• Unstructured observation - Studying without a prior hypothesis, used in sociology and anthropology
• Structured observation - Planning beforehand what to look for, used in all social sciences
• Participant observation - Observing participants in a culture or society for an extended duration, often used in sociology
• Correlation study - Examining relationships between variables, used in sociology
• Historical analysis - Studying historical events and documents to understand the past
• Content analysis - Examining texts and documents to identify themes and patterns

Test your knowledge on essential social science concepts, including psychology, sociology, and anthropology. This quiz covers various terms and theories that explain human behavior and social dynamics. Challenge yourself to see how well you understand the intricacies of human society and culture.