Human Ecology

(noun)

Human ecology described the city as analogous to an ecosystem, with natural processes of adaptation and assimilation.

Related Terms

  • Robert Park
  • Race Relation Cycle
  • central business district
  • urban open space

(noun)

Urban sociologist Robert Park's model of urban life, which borrowed concepts from symbiosis, invasion, succession, and dominance from the science of natural ecology.

Related Terms

  • Robert Park
  • Race Relation Cycle
  • central business district
  • urban open space

Examples of Human Ecology in the following topics:

  • Theoretical Perspectives on Childhood Socialization

    • Freud believed that sexual drive, or libido, was the driving force of all human behavior and, accordingly, developed a psychosexual theory of human development.
    • In 1979, psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner published The Ecology of Human Development, setting forth his theory known as ecological systems theory.
    • Also called development in context theory or human ecology theory, the ecology systems theory specifies five different types of nested environmental systems: the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem.
  • Sociological Perspectives on Urban Life

    • Urban sociology is the sociological study of life and human interaction in metropolitan areas.
    • The Chicago School sought to provide subjective meaning to how humans interact under structural, cultural and social conditions.
  • Sociology and the Social Sciences

    • As a generalization, psychology is the study of the human mind and micro-level (or individual) behavior; sociology examines human society; psychology focuses on mental and thought processes (internal), whereas sociology focuses on human behavior (external).
    • The use of scientific methods differentiates the social sciences from the humanities.
    • In ancient philosophy, there was no difference between science and humanities.
    • In the attempt to study human behavior using scientific and empirical principles, sociologists always encounter dilemmas, as humans do not always operate predictably according to natural laws.
    • Isaac Newton was a key figure in the process which split the natural sciences from the humanities.
  • Lenski's Sociological Evolution Approach

    • He distinguishes four stages of human development, based on advances in the history of communication.
    • In the third, humans begin to use signs and develop logic.
    • Human reproductive capacity exceeds the available resources in the environment.
    • Thus, Lenski concludes, human populations are limited by their capability of food production.
    • According to Lenski, human capacity for population growth has been a "profoundly destabilizing force throughout human history and may well be the ultimate source of most social and cultural change."
  • Feral Children

    • A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age.
    • A feral child is a human child who has lived isolated from human contact from a very young age, and has no (or little) experience of human care, loving or social behavior, and, crucially, of human language.
    • Their integration into human society is also made to seem relatively easy.
    • They often seem mentally impaired and have almost insurmountable trouble learning human language.
    • The fact that feral children lack these abilities pinpoints the role of socialization in human development.
  • The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

    • Humans, however, can.
    • Human society, therefore, is a social product.
    • Neurological evidence, based on EEGs, supports the idea that humans have a "social brain," meaning, there are components of the human brain that govern social interaction.
    • The term was first used in his work, Human Nature and the Social Order.
    • Because they see meaning as the fundamental component of the interaction of human and society, studying human and social interaction requires an understanding of that meaning.
  • Animals and Culture

    • Animal culture refers to cultural learning in non-human animals through socially transmitted behaviors.
    • Animal culture refers to cultural learning in non-human animals through socially transmitted behaviors.
    • One of the first signs of culture in early humans was the use of tools.
    • Much cultural anthropological research has been done on non-human primates, due to their close evolutionary proximity to humans.
    • Formulate a thesis which defends the idea that non-human animals have culture
  • The Origins of Culture

    • Culture is a central concept in anthropology, encompassing the range of human phenomena that cannot be attributed to genetic inheritance.
    • Culture allows humans to more quickly adapt.
    • For example, humans face dangers from food-born illnesses, such as trichinosis from pork.
    • In the mid-19th century, some scientists used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity.
    • Humans use language as a way of signalling identity with one cultural group and difference from others.
  • Language

    • Language may refer either to the human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such.
    • Yet another definition sees language as a system of communication that enables humans to cooperate.
    • Humans use language as a way of signalling identity with one cultural group and difference from others.
    • Human languages are usually referred to as natural languages, and the science of studying them falls under the purview of linguistics.
    • Human language is unique in comparison to other forms of communication, such as those used by animals, because it allows humans to produce an infinite set of utterances from a finite set of elements.
  • Dimensions of Human Development

    • The dimensions of human development are divided into separate, consecutive stages of life from birth to old age.
    • The dimensions of human development are divided into separate but consecutive stages in human life.
    • Prenatal development is the process during which a human embryo gestates during pregnancy, from fertilization until birth.
    • The embryonic period in humans begins at fertilization and from birth until the first year, the child is referred to as an infant.
    • The first few weeks of embryogenesis in humans begin with the fertilizing of the egg and end with the closing of the neural tube.
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