soft science
Studies of human behavior
Soft science refers to fields like psychology, sociology, and anthropology—disciplines that study human behavior and social phenomena but can't achieve the experimental precision of physics or chemistry.
The term implies these fields are less rigorous than "hard" sciences, relying more on observation, interpretation, and statistical correlation than controlled experiments.
The distinction is contested: Is economics a soft science or not a science at all?
Study of human communities
- psychologyStudy of mind, behavior
- anthropologyStudy of human cultures
- economicsScience of resource allocation
- linguisticsScience of language structure
geography · education · archaeology · gender studies · media studies · international relations · criminology · demography
Manner of conducting oneself
- cognitionMental knowledge acquisition
- cultureCollective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
- normsExpected behavioral standards
socialization · institutions · social structure · motivation · perception · personality · inequality · stratification
Systematic study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- surveysSystematic information gathering
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
- case studiesDetailed analyses of instances
statistical analysis · focus groups · sampling · correlation · variables · replication · peer review · hypothesis testing
Collective social practices
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- kinshipState of being related
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
cultural relativism · folklore · mythology · tribe · artifacts · social structure · customs · subsistence
Personal viewpoint coloring perception
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- unfalsifiableImpossible to prove wrong
- impreciseLacking exactness or accuracy
rigor · validity · measurability · empiricism · objectivity · quantification · predictability · methodology
Manner of conducting oneself
- cognitionMental knowledge acquisition
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- emotionComplex psychological state
- motivationImpetus toward a goal
perception · personality · mental health · intelligence · developmental psychology · cognitive psychology · clinical psychology · psychoanalysis
sociology
Study of human communities
- psychologyStudy of mind, behavior
- anthropologyStudy of human cultures
- economicsScience of resource allocation
linguistics · geography · education · archaeology · gender studies · media studies · international relations · criminology · demography · social work
behavior
Manner of conducting oneself
- cognitionMental knowledge acquisition
- cultureCollective social practices
- societyOrganized communal human existence
norms · socialization · institutions · social structure · motivation · perception · personality · inequality · stratification · identity
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- surveysSystematic information gathering
- interviewsFormal evaluative conversations
case studies · statistical analysis · focus groups · sampling · correlation · variables · replication · peer review · hypothesis testing · operationalization
culture
Collective social practices
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
- kinshipState of being related
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
fieldwork · cultural relativism · folklore · mythology · tribe · artifacts · social structure · customs · subsistence · ethnology
subjectivity
Personal viewpoint coloring perception
- interpretationAssigned meaning
- biasUnfair inclination or prejudice
- unfalsifiableImpossible to prove wrong
imprecise · rigor · validity · measurability · empiricism · objectivity · quantification · predictability · methodology · reproducibility
behavior
Manner of conducting oneself
- cognitionMental knowledge acquisition
- therapyCurative mental treatment
- emotionComplex psychological state
motivation · perception · personality · mental health · intelligence · developmental psychology · cognitive psychology · clinical psychology · psychoanalysis · psychotherapy
- oxymoronsbittersweet, deafening silence, pretty ugly, living dead, act naturally
soft sciencehard science
Empirically rigorous research field
exact science · physical science · natural science · physics · chemistry
soft sciencehard science
Empirically rigorous research field
physical science · natural science · physics · chemistry · materials science
soft, soften, softly, softness, softer, softest, softened, softening, science