The term behavioural sciences (or behavioral sciences) encompasses all the disciplines that explore the activities of and interactions among organisms In biology, an organism is any living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homeostasis as a stable whole. An organism may either be unicellular (single-celled) or be composed of, as in humans, many billions of cells grouped into specialized in the natural world. It involves the systematic analysis and investigation of human Humans are bipedal primates belonging to the species Homo sapiens in Hominidae, the great ape family. They are the only surviving member of the genus Homo. Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection, and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the and animal Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. All animals are also behaviour through controlled and naturalistic experimental In scientific research, an experiment is a method of investigating causal relationships among variables, or to test a hypothesis. An experiment is a cornerstone of the empirical approach to acquiring data about the world and is used in both natural sciences and social sciences. An experiment can be used to help solve practical problems and to observations and rigorous formulations. (E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger, and A. D. Kline, (ed) (1980))
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Difference between behavioural sciences and social sciences
The term behavioural sciences is often confused with the term social sciences. Though these two broad areas are interrelated and study systematic processes of behaviour, they differ on their level of scientific analysis of various dimensions of behaviour.
Behavioural sciences abstract empirical data to investigate the decision processes and communication strategies within and between organisms in a social system. This involves fields like psychology Psychology is an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human or animal mental functions and behaviors. In addition or opposition to employing scientific methods, psychologists often rely upon symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, albeit less frequently than other social sciences such as sociology and social neuroscience Humans are fundamentally a social species, rather than individualists. As a social species, Homo sapiens create emergent organizations beyond the individual - structures that range from dyads, families, and groups to cities, civilizations, and cultures. These emergent structures evolved hand in hand with neural and hormonal mechanisms to support (psychiatry Psychiatry is a medical specialty officially devoted to the treatment and study of mental disorders. The term was first coined by the German physician Johann Christian Reil in 1808), and genetics Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding. However, the modern science of genetics, which seeks to understand the process of among others.
In contrast, social sciences The social sciences are the fields of academic scholarship which explore aspects of human society. Social sciences may draw upon empirical methods and attempt to emulate the standards of conventional scientific practice. By contrast, other social scientists employ critical analysis or hermeneutic methods to study objects of enquiry they regard as provide a perceptive framework to study the processes of a social system through impacts of social organization on structural adjustment of the individual and of groups. They typically include fields like sociology Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a social science (with which it is informally synonymous) that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge on human social activity, often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Subject matter, economics Economics is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek οἰκονομία from οἶκος (oikos, "house") + νόμος (nomos, "custom" or "law"), hence "rules of the house(hold)". Current economic, history History is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine events, counselling, public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals." It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The, anthropology Anthropology is the holistic, global, comparative study of humans. It is the comprehensive study of human beings and of their interactions with each other and the environment. The term "anthropology" is pronounced /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/, from the Greek ἄνθρωπος, anthrōpos, "human", and -λογία, -logia, ", and political science Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior. It is often described as the pragmatic application of the art and science of politics defined as "who gets what, when and how", leaving out of the picture most of the " (E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger and A. D. Kline, eds., 1988).
Categories of behavioural sciences
Behavioural sciences includes two broad categories: neural-decision sciences and social-communication sciences. Decision sciences involves those disciplines primarily dealing with the decision processes and individual functioning used in the survival of organism in a social environment. These include psychology Psychology is an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human or animal mental functions and behaviors. In addition or opposition to employing scientific methods, psychologists often rely upon symbolic interpretation and critical analysis, albeit less frequently than other social sciences such as sociology, cognitive science Cognitive science is the study of mind or the study of thought. It embraces multiple research disciplines, including psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, anthropology, sociology and biology. It relies on varying scientific methodology , and spans many levels of analysis of the mind (from low-level learning, organization theory Organizational Behaviour studies encompasses the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. For instance, one textbook divides these multiple viewpoints into three perspectives: modern, symbolic, and postmodern. Another traditional distinction, present especially in American academia, is between the study of &, psychobiology Behavioral neuroscience, also known as biological psychology, biopsychology, or psychobiology is the application of the principles of biology, in particular neurobiology, to the study of mental processes and behavior in human and non-human animals. A psychobiologist, for instance, may compare the unfamiliar imprinting behavior in goslings to the, management science Management science , is an interdisciplinary branch of applied mathematics devoted to optimal decision planning, with strong links with economics, business, engineering, and other sciences. It uses various scientific research-based principles, strategies, and analytical methods including mathematical modeling, statistics and numerical algorithms, operations research The terms operations research and management science are often used synonymously.[citation needed] When a distinction is drawn, management science generally implies a closer relationship to the problems of business management.[citation needed] The field of operations research is closely related to Industrial engineering.[citation needed] (not to be confused with business administration) and social neuroscience Humans are fundamentally a social species, rather than individualists. As a social species, Homo sapiens create emergent organizations beyond the individual - structures that range from dyads, families, and groups to cities, civilizations, and cultures. These emergent structures evolved hand in hand with neural and hormonal mechanisms to support.
On the other hand, communication sciences include those fields which study the communication strategies used by organisms and its dynamics between organisms in an environment. These include fields like anthropology Anthropology is the holistic, global, comparative study of humans. It is the comprehensive study of human beings and of their interactions with each other and the environment. The term "anthropology" is pronounced /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/, from the Greek ἄνθρωπος, anthrōpos, "human", and -λογία, -logia, ", organizational behaviour Organizational Behaviour studies encompasses the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. For instance, one textbook divides these multiple viewpoints into three perspectives: modern, symbolic, and postmodern. Another traditional distinction, present especially in American academia, is between the study of &, organization studies Organizational Behaviour studies encompasses the study of organizations from multiple viewpoints, methods, and levels of analysis. For instance, one textbook divides these multiple viewpoints into three perspectives: modern, symbolic, and postmodern. Another traditional distinction, present especially in American academia, is between the study of &, sociology Sociology is the study of human societies. It is a social science (with which it is informally synonymous) that uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop and refine a body of knowledge on human social activity, often with the goal of applying such knowledge to the pursuit of social welfare. Subject matter and social networks A social network is a social structure made of individuals called "nodes," which are tied (connected) by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.
See also
- Behaviour Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary
- Corrections In the theory of criminal law, correctional system refers to a network of governmental agencies that administer a jurisdiction's prisons and parole system Black's Law Dictionary. The components of the criminal justice system that serve to punish criminal offenders involve the deprivation of life, liberty or property after due process of law
- Human behaviour Human behavior is the collection of behaviors exhibited by human beings and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics
- List of academic disciplines An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge which is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined, and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to which their practitioners belong
- Religion A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth. Religion is commonly identified by the practitioner's prayer, ritual, meditation, music and art,
- Science Science is, in its broadest sense, any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice
- Fields of science Fields of science are widely-recognized categories of specialized expertise within science, and typically embody their own terminology and nomenclature. Each field will commonly be represented by one or more scientific journal, where peer reviewed research will be published
- Natural sciences In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the universe, which is understood as obeying rules or laws of natural origin. Overall, natural science is the core of all sciences
- Social sciences The social sciences are the fields of academic scholarship which explore aspects of human society. Social sciences may draw upon empirical methods and attempt to emulate the standards of conventional scientific practice. By contrast, other social scientists employ critical analysis or hermeneutic methods to study objects of enquiry they regard as
- History of science Science is a body of empirical, theoretical, and practical knowledge about the natural world, produced by a global community of researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, explanation, and prediction of real world phenomena by experiment. Given the dual status of science as objective knowledge and as a human
- History of technology The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques. Background knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversely, many scientific endeavors have become possible through technologies which assist humans to travel to places we could not otherwise go, and probe the nature of the universe in more detail
- Fields of science Fields of science are widely-recognized categories of specialized expertise within science, and typically embody their own terminology and nomenclature. Each field will commonly be represented by one or more scientific journal, where peer reviewed research will be published
Selected bibliography
- George Devereux George Devereux was an American - French ethnologist and psychoanalyst, born in a Jewish family from Banat. He was one of the pioneers of ethnopsychoanalysis and ethnopsychiatry: From anxiety to method in the behaviorial sciences, The Hague, Paris. Mouton & Co, 1967
- Neil J. Smelser Neil J. Smelser is a University of California, Berkeley sociologist who studied collective behavior. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 1952. From 1952 to 1954, he was a Rhodes scholar at Oxford University where he studied philosophy, politics and economics. He earned his Ph.D in sociology from Harvard in 1958, and was and Paul B. Baltes Paul B. Baltes was a German psychologist credited with developing the selective optimization with compensation theory, theories about lifespan and wisdom, and theories about successful aging and developing. He coined the term "successful aging." It later lost favor to "optimal aging." Much of his career was spent at the Max, ed. (2001). International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences , edited by Neil J. Smelser and Paul B. Baltes, is a 26-volume work. It has some 4,000 signed articles, commissioned by around 50 subject editors, and includes 150 biographical entries, 122,400 entries, and an extensive hierarchical subject index. It is also available in online, 26 v. Oxford: Elsevier.
- E. D. Klemke, R. Hollinger, and A. D. Kline, (ed) (1980). Introductory Readings in the Philosophy of Science. Prometheus Books, New York.
Categories: Behavioural sciences | Cognitive science Categories: Cognition | Neuroscience | Interdisciplinary fields | Studies of the nature | Studies of the intelligence | Studies of the nature of the intelligence | Natures of the intelligence | Social sciences English: The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups and individuals including anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, social studies, and sociology. The social sciences comprise the scientific study of the human aspects of the world. They are | Public health Categories: Health fields | Health economics | Health policy
