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Human Sciences

Human Sciences. An Introduction. Human Sciences. Psychology. Economics. Human Sciences. Sociology. Anthropology. The Scientific Method (recap). Prediction Refuted. Observation. Hypothesis. Prediction. Experiment. Prediction Confirmed. Observation: Human Judgement.

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Human Sciences

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  1. Human Sciences An Introduction

  2. Human Sciences

  3. Psychology Economics Human Sciences Sociology Anthropology

  4. The Scientific Method (recap) Prediction Refuted Observation Hypothesis Prediction Experiment Prediction Confirmed

  5. Observation: Human Judgement • The 5 point scale: • 1 – Significantly below average • 2 – Slightly below average • 3 – Average • 4 – Slightly above average • 5 – Significantly above average • Try to answer the following questions on a 5-point scale • How good is your dress sense? • How much do you worry about what others think of you? • How good are you at judging people’s character? • How open-minded are you? • How understanding and compassionate are you? • Enter your results in the spreadsheet – the cell will change colour once you put your answer in but you WILL NOT be able to see it • While you wait, try to identify any other potential problems with observation in the Human Sciences

  6. Observation: Loaded Questions • It is hard (perhaps impossible) to phrase questions an unbiased manner. • Consider the following questions: • Do you believe that women are entitled to full control over their bodies, including the right to terminate pregnancies? • Do you believe that women have the right to kill developing foetuses through abortion? • Do you believe women have the right to abort unwanted pregnancies? TASK: • Which of the above questions is most/least loaded? • Is any of them unloaded? • Can you think of an unloaded question that would ascertain people’s opinions about capital punishment?

  7. Observation: Observer Effect • Chemicals don’t care who’s watching (not strictly true but that’s another story) • People do! • Consider the following: • In the romantic comedy ‘Lord of the Rings’, the main protagonist possesses a ring which when worn makes the wearer completely invisible. • How does the presence of other people change your behaviour? • The solutions: • Habituation • Hidden cameras (yes really!)

  8. Hypothesis • Typically there is a much wider range of variables to consider and so the range of plausible hypotheses is likely to be much greater. TASK: • Develop a hypothesis to explain the enduring popularity of Justin Bieber?

  9. Predictions: The expectancy effect • In the ’60s, Rosenthal and Jacobson tested groups of school children with an IQ test. • They told their teachers which kids in their class had scored in the top 20% in the test. • These kids subsequently did better at school. • What Rosenthal and Jacobson didn’t tell the teachers was that this top 20% was actually completely random and not the top 20% TASKS: • Why do you think this happened? • How might this have effected your own education? • How does this relate to any of the subjects you are currently studying?

  10. Experiments: Problems of Measurement • Measurement is important in science: • Mass – measured with a balance • Length – measured with a rule • How do you measure: • Human happiness • The effectiveness of a national economy • The effectiveness of a law • The strength of a support network • The importance of honesty in a German culture

  11. Experiments: Problems of Scope • Design and write down a controlled experiment that could be performed to address the following problems: • What is the best system for running a national economy? • What are the psychological effects of bringing boys up as girls? • What is the most effective punishment for drug dealers? • What problems are there with these? • This is not just a theoretical problem…

  12. Experiments: The Milgram Experiments • 1960’s Yale: Stanley Milgram investigating the extent to which people are willing to obey orders. • The experiment • Volunteers in the role of ‘teacher’ were to administer electric shocks to a ‘learner’ in punishment for failure. • Shocks increased in strength from 15 to 450 volts • After 120V the learner started to complain, after 150V they demanded an end to it, after 270 there was screaming, after 330V just an ominous silence • If the ‘teacher’ hesitated, a lab-suited scientist would tell them how important it was to continue • Almost 2/3 of ‘teachers’ continued with shocks up to 450V (if working in 3s, this dropped to 10%) • Only 1/3 thought to refuse to comply • ‘Learner’ was an actor, and there was no electricity but ‘teacher’ did not know this. TASK: No one was actually hurt so this is perfectly fine right? Discuss.

  13. Experiments: Problems with Modelling • Poor modelling can, in a significant part, explain the global financial crisis. How: • Models inevitably require simplifications • The world is not simple • The devil is in the detail • Reductionism – the whole is the sum of it’s parts • Understand the individual elements one at a time • Holism – the whole is greater than the sum of its parts • Requires immersion in society/culture to understand from the inside • Verstehn Position – meaning and purposevscause and effect • How it works is less important than what it means. Discuss: Which model do you think is best for understanding the society in which you live?

  14. Conclusions: Problems of Universality • An experimentally verified physical law applies always and in all places • Is this the same for the results of studies in the human sciences? TASK: Can you think of anything that a human scientist may find true in your culture, that may not apply across all cultures?

  15. Summary • Draw a Venn diagram summarising your understanding of the differences between the natural and human sciences • Is knowledge in the human sciences more or less certain than that in the natural sciences? Justify your answer. • If you answered less: Does this matter? Are there any alternatives? • If you answered more: A quote by Noam Chomsky* says it is probable that we will always learn more about human life and personality from novels than we ever will from scientific psychology. What do you think and why? * One of the founders of modern linguistics and well known critic of American foreign policy. Loved and loathed.

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