For Senior High School Disciplines and Ideas in the Social Sciences Prepared by: Dr. Samuel Sumaoang

1. Dominant
Approaches
and Ideas in the
SCIENTIFIC
STUDY of
SOCIETY

2. VARIOUS WAYS OF
LOOKING AT SOCIETY &
VARIOUS WAYS OF
EXPLAINING THE THINGS
THAT ARE HAPPENING IN
IT.

3. LIST DOWN QUESTIONS WHICH YOU
WANT TO BE ANSWERED ABOUT…
A. THE PRESENT SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY
B. THE PRESENT SITUATION IN YOU OWN FAMILY
C. THE PRESENT SITUATION IN YOUR OWN LIFE

7. THESE APPROACHES
OFFER
DIFFERENT WAYS OF
LOOKING AT
SOCIETY

10. A U G U S T E C O M T E
F A T H E R O F P O S I T I V I S M

11. Understanding Positivism
Derived from the French word:
POSITIVISME
“IMPOSED ON THE MIND BY EXPERIENCE”

14. based on the assumption that it is
possible to observe social life and
establish reliable, valid knowledge
about how it works. This knowledge
can then be used to affect the course
of social change and improve the
human condition.

15. The eventual aim of research is scientific explanat
SOCIAL PHENOMENA AND INDIVIDUAL BEHAV

16. Social Phenomena are individual,
external, social constructions that influence
our lives and development,
and are constantly evolving as we age.
Future events can be affected by a small chang
made at a certain point in time,
which may change the course of the future.

17. Employees change the way they behave to their
seniors according to the standards they know thei
seniors are measuring them with.
(Example: teachers’ observation)

18. The Pygmalion Effect, also known as the Rosenthal Effe
refers to the phenomenon of people improving their
performance when others have high expectations of the
For students, when teaches expect a lot,
students often perform better.
This is the Pygmalion Effect and is named after the play
Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw.

19. People in the control group are able to
work harder in
overcoming a perceived challenge
than those in an
Experimental group.
Ex: Packaging workers in a company are able to work
harder to overcome the fact that they are humans
compared to an automated packaging machine

20. Repercussion of an act or event under
which every
associated or connected
entity is affected to a more or
less the same degree.
Named after the circular
arrangement of dominos in which if any
one domino falls, all fall.

21. ARE YOU A POSITIVIST?

22. Positivism also argues that sociology
should concern itself only with what can
be observed with the senses and that
theories of social life should be built in a
rigid, linear, and methodical way on a
base of verifiable fact.

23. LATERAL THINKING VS LINEAR THINKING
Lateral Thinking is solving problems through an
indirect ad creative approach, using reasoning that is
not immediately obvious and involving ideas that
may not be obtainable by using traditional
step-by-step logic.
Linear Thinking is a process of thought following
known cycles or step-by-step progression where a
response to a step must be elicited before another
step is taken.

24. ARE YOU A
LATERAL THINKER?
OR A
LINEAR THINKER?

25. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
A dominant approach in the social sciences under
Positivism that sees society as a complex system
whose parts work together to promote solidarity and
stability.
It is more concerned with the place of individuals in the
social order itself than with individual actions.
Everyone is functional
Your importance in the society depends on your function /
social role

26. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Society is viewed as a multifaceted scheme whose
parts work mutually for the promotion of harmony
and constancy.
Our lives are governed by social structures
(patterned social relations) –
family, community, church, government, school,
media

27. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Social Functions
refer to results or effects for the operations of the
society in general
Examples: School – significant purposes include
socialization and learning
Family – provided sexual reproductive,
economic, and educational
needs for its members

28. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Social Functions
refer to results or effects for the operations of the
society in general
Examples: Media – provides the social function
of mirroring the concerns of
the audience
Religion – contributes to the well being
of the society by teaching

29. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Classification of Social Functions According to its
Consequences in the Society

30. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Manifest Functions
those that are intentional or known, referring to
functions which people suppose and anticipate to be
fulfilled by the social institutions.
Latent Functions
unexpected effects of social institutions

31. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Give examples of Manifest & Latent Functions
of the following social institutions:
1.Religion
2.Education
3.Media
4.Government
5.Families
6.Hospitals

32. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Social Dysfunctions
Manifest Dysfunctions
expected disruptions of social life .
Latent Dysfunctions
unexpected disruptions of social life.
Example: Marawi Siege

33. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Social Equilibrium
Herbert Spencer believed that there is an
inclination in society towards
equilibrium
when conditions of the society are modified,
the consequential change to social structure
will
maintain equilibrium, returning society to
stability.

34. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
Ex: Attack of the
Martilyo Gang
in the mall
What did the government implement to restore the
peace and order in the community from
the bad elements of the society,
restoring equilibrium after an unfortunate event?

36. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM

37. The existence of a general agreement on the values
and norms of the society by majority.
(Ex: sharing is good, stealing is bad)
Makes the people accept their roles in society.
Belief that society is made up of integrated parts
that are bound together, and that if something is
wrong with one part it will affect the other parts.
Seeks stability and avoids conflict, thus supporting the
status quo and in effect, maintaining social order.
S
T
R
E
N
G
T
H
S
S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
A
L
F
U
N
C
T
I
O
N
A
L
I
S

38. The tendency to ignore inequality in terms of race,
gender and class.
It sees individuals as puppets playing out their
respective
roles in society
The tendency to support status quo, propagating and
strengthening social hierarchy.
W
E
A
K
N
E
S
S
E
S
S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
A
L
F
U
N
C
T
I
O
N
A
L
I
S
M

39. RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
A dominant approach under Positivism
which assumes that society is made up
of individuals who always make
logical decisions that provide them
the greatest benefit at the lowest cost.

40. RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
The idea that when a person is confronted with a
set of choices, that person will choose the option
that will serve his or her objectives.
Individuals act on the basis of the information that they
have about the conditions they were acting
People will perform an action depending on their insight
the likelihood of success,

41. WHAT COULD BE THE STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES OF
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY
AS AN APPROACH TO THE
SCIENTIFIC
STUDY OF THE
SOCIETY?

42. INSTITUTIONALISM
A dominant approach in the
scientific study
of the society which views society
as made up of individuals who are
influenced by institutions,
which are also humanly created constraints
that shape or structures political, economic,

43. INSTITUTIONS
are "stable, valued,
recurring patterns of behavior".
As structures or mechanisms of social order,
they govern the behaviour of a set of individuals
within a given community.

44. INSTITUTIONS
Humanly
devised
constraints
that affect
human behavior

46. KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS
Formal Institutions
Legally introduced and enforced by the state
Informal Institutions
Rules outside the official channels

47. KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS
Formal Institutions
Legally introduced and enforced by the state
Money Passport & Visa
Traffic Rules Curfew Hours
Holidays Smoking Ban
Labor Unions Tax
K-12 on Basic Education

48. KINDS OF INSTITUTIONS
Informal Institutions
Rules outside the official channels
Dowry Tithes
Arranged Marriage Tipping Food
Servers

49. STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONALISM
RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY &
INSTITUTIONALISM
are considered as the oldest and
most-widely used approaches in the
scientific study of the society.
Its strength emanates
from its reliance on empirical evidence and
its quest for objectivity.