After a three-year survey of the social and behavioral sciences, a committee of the NRC ha
s concluded that these sciences are losing out in the race for federal science funds. Between 1972 and 1978, federal support for the social and behavioral sciences fell 25 percent, while support for other areas of science rose 36 percent.
"Psychological, social and cultural studies pertaining to virtually everything that people treat as a problem in our civilization," the committee writes, "play a large role. "Paradoxically, one would think these would be times when social science research would be riding high. Yet even though governments are more than alarmed about a variety of social problems, they are inclined to deal with them by trial and (often) error. The abuse of drugs is a widely-spread concern, but governments seem to concern themselves with the qualifications of teachers and their salaries.
If we lack an adequate understanding of drug abuse and educational processes, are we flying blind attempting to deal with these behaviors.? What domains of your life could benefit from social and behavioral science research? For instance, are we concerned about crime? Consider that recent sociological research reveals that nearly half of all urban dwelling American males can expect to be arrested for some non-traffic offense during their lives. However, a very small group of career predators are responsible for a grossly disproportionate share of all crimes committed. What does this in sight suggest to you about American criminal justice and prison policies? Sociological work also shows that most criminals halt their careers by age 25 to 30. Does this finding have policy implication? If a 29-year-old burglar whose criminal career is nearly over is imprisoned for ten years, may many years of that imprisonment be wasted on expensive and unnecessary confinement?
According to the author, social and behavioral sciences are losing federal financial support chiefly because some people ______.
A.don't see the seriousness of the present situation
B.don't quite see the use for these sciences
C.only consider natural sciences as true sciences
D.are unable to solve social problems with them