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Sociology Optional Paper 1 by Smriti Rao

  • Category
    Optional
  • Test Date
    09-08-2022 07:00 AM
  • Evaluated
    Yes

To participate in answer writing program, Register yourself for the test. Copies will be evaluated only for the registered students. Registration will be closed after the scheduled date.

48 Hrs. Answer Writing, Copy Evaluation and Marks Improvement Cycle

  • Step 1 (Answer Writing): Questions will be uploaded on the portal on the scheduled date at 7:00 AM.  You have to write your answers on an A4 size sheet leaving margins on both sides based on the UPSC pattern. Mention your name on the 1st page and page number on each page. After writing the answer, Click pictures of each page of your answer sheet, merge them all in a single PDF and upload in the comment section of the same question. Answers should be uploaded before 7:00 PM on the same day.
  • Step 2 In Next 48 Hrs (Copy Evaluation & Discussion): After evaluation, the first 50 copies will be uploaded on the same comment box and will be sent to you. In the evening 8:00 PM marks improvement sessions for the test with respective faculty in a group will be conducted online. So that students can get a wider perspective of the topics. Here you can discuss your evaluated copies also with the faculty.

Instruction:

  • Attempt both questions
  • The test carries 30 marks.
  • Write Each answer in 150 words.
  • Any page left blank in the answer-book must be crossed out clearly.
  • Evaluated Copy will be re-uploaded on the same thread after 2 days of uploading the copy.
  • Discussion of the question and one to one answer improvement session of evaluated copies will be conducted through Google Meet with concerned faculty. You will be informed via mail or SMS for the discussion.

Question #1. Trace the evolution of the interdisciplinary relationship of Psychology and Sociology.

Question #2. Write a short note on Non Positivist Methodologies

(Examiner will pay special attention to the candidate's grasp of his/her material, its relevance to the subject chosen, and to his/ her ability to think constructively and to present his/her ideas concisely, logically and effectively).

Model Answer

Question #1. Trace the evolution of the interdisciplinary relationship of Psychology and Sociology.

Psychology and Sociology are two broad disciplines which are related to the study of humans, wherein ‘psychology’ refers to the study of the human mind, i.e. it is concerned with what’s going on inside the brain of a person, to understand the reasons of his/her behaviour in different circumstances. On the contrary, ‘sociology’ implies studying human behaviour in a group or society and reasons thereof.

There are two extreme viewpoints regarding the relationship between the two fields of study:

  1. J. S. Mill tried to establish psychology's primacy above all other social sciences and thought that all laws are derived from the laws of the mind. Contrarily, Durkheim radically distinguished between the phenomena investigated by psychology and sociology, respectively. His research on "Suicide" even had a tendency to underestimate psychological disposition when considering societal phenomena.

However, the majority of sociologists have taken a number of middle ground stances. Ginsberg contends that by connecting sociological generalisations to universal psychological principles, they can be more solidly established. German academics like Weber came to feel that attempts to comprehend social behaviour in terms of underlying meanings can further deepen sociological explanations.

Difference between the two:-

Psychology

Sociology

It is the study of personality.

It is the study of ‘individual and society’

It is the science of man’s experience and behavior and its subject matter includes – basic instincts, sympathy, suggestions, imitations, passions and so on

It is the science of study of social institutions and their inter-relationships and its subject matters include – family, individual, religions, power, social change and so on

It is more scientific and has more scope of experimentation and there are even psychological laboratories which are used.

It has multiple perspectives and its claim of scientific discipline is contested within the discipline itself.

Nevertheless, there are number of propositions which correlate the two:

  • Gerth and Mills define 'role' as a meeting point between social structure and individual character and thus meeting point of social psychology and sociology.
  • Sociological imagination (by CW Mills) equips social psychologists with the vision essential to think about all the possible social factors and conditions that may influence an individual's thought process, feelings, and behaviour.   
  • There are topics of common interest to both, like crime, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, alcoholism. Gun violence in the USA has been a subject of both psychological and social discourses in recent times. Indoctrination of vulnerable youths is another area of convergence.

Social psychology serves as a bridge between psychology and sociology, maintaining a primary interest in the individual but concerns itself with how the individual behaves in social groups, collectively with other individuals.

 

Question #2. Write a short note on Non Positivist Methodologies

As the 19th century got underway, social scientists like Wilhelm Dilthey and Heinrich questioned the positivist and naturalist approaches to studying social life, arguing that human society's distinctive meanings, symbols, laws, norms, and values set the social world apart from the natural world. This rationale led to the emergence of non-positivist methodology.

Positivists believed that society was predetermined and that man was merely a component subject to its laws whereas Non-positivists believed that man was a free-thinking creature with the capacity to shape society.

Max Weber was one of the pioneers of the Non-Positivist approach. Other early doyens were Mead, Herbert Blumer and Schutz. As more researchers became aware that social problems could not be solved by relying solely on set laws, non-positivism became more popular.

Emerging non-positivist methodologies include: -

  •   Symbolic Interactionism: (proposed by Mead)

The idea of symbolic interactionism postulates that humans react to aspects of their surroundings in accordance with the arbitrary meanings they ascribe to them, such as meanings that are generated and altered through social interaction through symbolic communication with other people.

For example, studies show that even while teenagers are aware of the risks associated with tobacco use, many continue to smoke because they believe it to be cool and that it helps them stand out among their peers. Therefore, the facts about smoking's risks are superseded by its symbolic meaning.

  •   Phenomenology: (Alfred Schutz)

Phenomenology is the study of the formal structures of concrete social existence as made available in and through the analytical description of acts of intentional consciousness.

An example is Atkinson's study of suicide where he concluded that suicide is not a social fact that can be objectively revealed in death statistics, but rather it is a conclusion reached by a coroner, who collates various pieces of evidence relating to the mode of death in order to reach that conclusion.

  •   Ethnomethodology: (Harold Garfinkel)

It is defined as – ‘the study of the body of common-sense knowledge and the range of procedures and considerations by means of which the ordinary members of society make sense of, find their way about in, and act on the circumstances in which they find themselves.

However, non-positivists methodologies also attract criticism such as:

  • Depends on the ability of the researchers
  • Vague methods like Verstehen
  • Time-consuming and costly
  • Contradictory explanations in few cases
  • Reliability and validity is difficult to achieve

Hence, both the approaches have pluses and minuses, as Alan Bryman says, the choice of methodology depends upon the type of research. Furthermore, triangulation of different methods is undoubtedly a better approach to go forward. 

Procedure of Answer Writing:

To participate in the answer writing program, Register yourself for the test. Copies will be evaluated only for the registered students. Registration will be closed after the scheduled date.

Answer Writing, Copy Evaluation, and Marks Improvement Cycle:

Step 1 (Theme, Details & Its Topics):

  1. Every round of Answer writing initiative will be around a theme related to the Subject/Topic.
  2. Please read the theme and its description, and try to cover the topics given within the theme before writing the answer along with the sources.

Step 2 (Answer Writing):

  1. Questions will be uploaded on the portal on the scheduled date at 7:00 AM.
  2. You have to write your answers on an A4 size sheet leaving margins on both sides based on the UPSC pattern.
  3. Mention your name, email id, location, and phone number on the 1st page in the top right corner and the page number on each page.
  4. After writing the answers, Click pictures of each page of your answer sheet, merge them all in a single PDF and upload them in the upload section of the same question.
  5. Kindly submit your written answers before 7:00 PM. Only the first 100 copies will be considered for evaluation. No request for late submission or evaluation will be entertained once the 100 mark is reached.

Note: Answer sheets without the proper guidelines given above will not be accepted for evaluation.

Step 3 (Copy Evaluation): Copies will be evaluated in the next 72 hours of the test date. After evaluation, copies will be uploaded into your account. During the copy evaluation period, doubt clearing and discussion about the theme or topic of the test with respective mentors of the test will be done in the telegram group

Step 4 (Mentorship): Evaluated copies will be sent to you via mail and also uploaded into your account on the website. After that a mentorship session for the marks improvement with respective faculty will be conducted on the Google Meet, so that students can get a wider perspective of the topics. Here you can discuss your evaluated copies also with the faculty. Top 5 copies of every test will be shared in the telegram group for reference.

Note: Aspirants who have not written the test can also participate in the mentorship session.

For Updates and Mentorship of the session, you will be notified through SMS or Telegram Group.

For Notification And Update About the Program Join Telegram Group at: https://t.me/gsscoreopendailyanswerwriting

Note: You have to write your answers on an A4 size sheet leaving margins on both sides based on UPSC pattern. Mention Your Name on 1st page and Page Number on each page. After writing the answer, Click pictures of each page of your answer sheet, merge them all in a single PDF and upload in the Your Answer Copy section of the same question.

Copy submission is closed now for this test.

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