Study sheet: Introduction to the Social Sciences

📋 Course Outline

1. Economic Study of Scarce Resources
2. Managing Resources and Collective Choices
3. Comparing Quantitative Data
4. Sociological Study of Behaviors
5. Political Power and International Events

📅 Key Dates

1. 1920the Antwerp Olympic Games did not invite the countries defeated in the First World War
2. 1936the Berlin Olympic Games were used for Nazi propaganda
3. 1980the Moscow and Los Angeles Olympic Games were affected by a boycott between the Western and Eastern blocs
4. 2024Russia and its ally Belarus were not invited to the Paris Olympic Games

📖 1. Economic Study of Scarce Resources

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Economics : the science that studies how scarce resources are produced, exchanged, and distributed
• Scarce resources : useful resources available in limited quantities

📝 Essential Points

📌 Some resources are renewable within the scale of a human lifetime, whereas others are not, even though resources may be available in large quantities while remaining limited.

💡 Memory Hook

Limited resources → choices about production, exchange, and distribution

📖 2. Managing Resources and Collective Choices

★ Must-know

• A society can respond to scarcity by:
  • specializing in collection or production
  • pooling resources
  • sharing resources equally
  • exchanging resources
  • allowing each person to act independently

Further detail

• Resource management can involve:
  • cultivating resources
  • restricting consumption
  • consuming more renewable resources
  • limiting waste

💡 Memory Hook

Sharing and exchange oppose individual self-interest

📖 3. Comparing Quantitative Data

📝 Essential Points

• The difference between two values is calculated as $\text{arrival value} - \text{starting value}$.

📐 Formula — The multiplicative coefficient is calculated as $\frac{\text{arrival value}}{\text{starting value}}$.

• When a final budget is 11 billion euros and the initial budget is 6.2 billion euros, the difference is 4.8 billion euros and the final budget is approximately 1.8 times the initial budget.

💡 Memory Hook

Arrival value − starting value; arrival value ÷ starting value

📖 4. Sociological Study of Behaviors

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Sociology : the science that studies the influence of characteristics such as age and sex on individuals' behaviors and the meaning individuals give to their behavior

★ Must-know

• According to INJEP, in France in 2021, 71% of women held a sports license and 62% of people aged 50 or over held a sports license.

• The share of 16- to 24-year-olds with a sports license was 25 percentage points higher than the share of people aged 50 or over.

• A rigorous reading identifies:

  • the author
  • the date
  • the geographical area
  • the figure and its unit
  • the population studied

Further detail

• Differences can be associated with:

  • language
  • culture
  • reactions
  • traditions
  • customs
  • beliefs
  • religion
  • mentality

• Behaviors can be influenced by:

  • the environment
  • education
  • comfort
  • technology
  • traditions
  • history
  • available resources

💡 Memory Hook

Characteristics influence behavior, whereas sociology also studies the meaning individuals give it

📖 5. Political Power and International Events

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Political science : the science that studies the mechanisms for conquering and exercising political power in a society

★ Must-know

• Political power can be conquered or organized through:
  • voting
  • electing a leader
  • drawing lots
  • distributing decisions by sector
  • inheriting power
  • using belief or religion as a source of power

Further detail

• Political decision-making can involve:

  • respecting everyone's speaking time
  • respecting one another
  • not hiding problems
  • treating everyone as equal
  • sharing goods

• Conflicts can be managed through:

  • punishment
  • separating the people in conflict
  • discussion with a mediator
  • a tribunal and judge

• Political change can be pursued by:

  • organizing several votes
  • discussing and changing decisions
  • carrying out a revolution
  • changing the political system
  • changing the leader through a coup

💡 Memory Hook

Conquering or exercising political power → decisions, sanctions, alliances, and boycotts

📊 Synthesis Tables

Three Social Science Perspectives

Discipline	Object of study	Central question
Economics	Scarce resources	How are resources produced, exchanged, and distributed?
Sociology	Behaviors and their meanings	How do characteristics influence behavior, and what meaning do individuals give it?
Political science	Political power	How is political power conquered and exercised?