Social Scientists Contributions

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Contributions to the Social Sciences

One cannot think of the social sciences without thinking of the contributions of Sigmund Freud , Karl Marx and Erik Erikson . All three of these men made major contributions to the way social science is today

Sigmund Freud developed the idea of the conscious and unconscious mind . The conscious mind is everything we are aware of . The unconscious mind is a pool of feelings , thoughts , urges and memories that are outside of our conscious awareness

The conscious and unconscious mind can be broken down

into the id ego and super ego . According to Freud , the id is the only component of the personality present from birth . It is the unconscious mind and includes our instinctive and primitive behaviours

The ego is that component of the personality that is responsible for dealing with reality . It develops from the id and ensures that the impulses of the id are manifested in a way that is acceptable in society

The super ego holds our internalized moral standards and those ideals that we gain from society and our parents . The super ego has two parts : the ego ideal , which contains our rules and regulations for good behavior and the conscience , which tells us right from wrong

Karl Marx was the forefather of communism , according to many . This was based on his belief that social context makes a person who they are more than innate behaviour . Where and when a person exists makes them who they become and how they deal with things "Karl Marx was convinced that the private ownership of capital goods was a social and moral evil (Peterson , 1994 Marx believed that work is a social activity and that the means of production changes more rapidly than the relations of production . For example , the internet develops at a much faster pace than the laws that govern it . This leads to social conflicts . Another of Marx theories is that different social classes have different interests and criterion Marx believed that to truly make all men equal , society had to break down the various levels and become one

Erik Erikson developed the stages of psychosocial development According to Erikson , each stage is marked by a conflict , which when successfully resolved , will have a favorable outcome

Stage One Oral-Sensory : from birth to one , trust vs . mistrust , feeding

Stage Two Muscular-Anal : 1-3 years , autonomy vs . doubt , toilet training Stage Three Locomotor : 3-6 years , initiative vs . inadequacy independence

Stage Four Latency : 6-12 years , industry vs . inferiority , school

Stage Five Adolescence : 12-18 years , identity vs . confusion , peer relationships

Stage Six Young Adulthood : 18-40 years , intimacy vs . isolation , love relationships

Stage Seven Middle Adulthood : 40-65 years , generativity vs . stagnation parenting

Stage Eight Maturity : 65 years until death , integrity vs . despair acceptance of one 's life (Erikson , 1991

Each of these men conrtibuted greatly to the methodologies and ideals that are used in the social sciences today . Freud has helped us understand the difference between concious and unconcious . Erikson has expanded those ideals...