General Education, Social/Behavioral Sciences Goals

The goal of the Social/Behavioral Sciences requirement is (a) to develop in the student an understanding of self and the world by examining the content and processes used by social and behavioral sciences to discover, describe, explain, and predict human behavior and social systems; (b) to enhance knowledge of social and cultural institutions and the values of this society and other societies and cultures in the world; (c) to understand the interdependent nature of the individual, family, and society in shaping hum behavior and determining quality of life. To achieve this outcome, students will demonstrate the ability to do the following.
I.	Recognize, describe, and explain social institutions, structures, and processes and the complexities of a global culture and diverse society.
II.	Think critically about how individuals are influenced by political, geographic, economic, cultural, and family institutions in their own and other diverse cultures and explain how one’s own belief system may differ from others.
III.	Explore the relationship between the individual and society as it affects the personal behavior, social development and quality of life of the individual, the family and the community.
IV.	Examine the impact of behavioral and social scientific research on major contemporary issues and their disciplines’ effects on individuals and society.
V.	Using the most appropriate principles, methods, and technologies, perceptively and objectively gather, analyze, and present social and behavioral science research data, draw logical conclusions, and apply those conclusions to one’s life and society.
VI.	Take ethical stands based on appropriate research in the social and behavioral sciences.
VII.	Analyze and communicate the values and processes that are used to formulate theories regarding the social context of individual human behavior in the social and behavioral sciences.