Online Social Sciences Schools ✔️ From £25

What is the definition of Social Sciences?

Social sciences are a group of academic disciplines dedicated to examining society. This branch of science studies is about how people interact with each other, behave, develop as a culture, and influence the world.

Social sciences help to explain how society works, exploring everything from the triggers of economic growth and causes of unemployment to what makes people happy. This information is vital and can be used for many purposes. Among other things, it helps to shape corporate strategies and government policies.

Social science as a field of study is separate from the natural sciences, which cover topics such as physics, biology, and chemistry. Social science examines the relationships between individuals and societies, as well as the development and operation of societies, rather than studying the physical world. These academic disciplines rely more heavily on interpretation and qualitative research methodologies.

The social sciences include:

Anthropology

Economics

Political science

Sociology

Social psychology

What is the history of Social Sciences?

The origins of social sciences can be traced back to the ancient Greeks. The lives they led, and their early studies into human nature, the state, and mortality, helped to shape Western civilisation.

Social science as an academic field of study developed out of the Age of Enlightenment (or the Age of Reason), which flourished through much of the 18th century in Europe. Adam Smith, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot, Immanuel Kant, and David Hume were among the big intellectuals at the time who laid the foundations for the study of social sciences in the Western World.

What is the connection of Social Sciences and business

The subject matter of the social sciences — human behaviour, relationships, attitudes, and how these things have changed over time — is of course useful information for any successful business to possess. Naturally, the social studies field of economics is key to the business sector. In particular, behavioural economists, who use psychology to analyse and predict the economic decision-making processes of individuals and institutions are increasingly sought after by some of the world's largest brands.

However, even the concepts of social sciences such as demography, political science, and sociology are frequently applied in many different business contexts. The fields of advertising and marketing, for example, often use theories of human behaviour from these fields to more efficiently market their products to consumers.