Some reflections about the interactions between the behavioural sciences

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This paper considers the interactions between the various behavioural sciences. Because of the complexity of real social systems, in which human behaviour of many types plays a determining role, interdisciplinary collaboration is essential in order to see the whole story, so as not ‘to miss the forest for the trees’. This interdisciplinary perspective is particularly important for analysis, prediction, and the evaluation of policy. Nevertheless, despite some fruitful interactions, there has been a persistent tendency toward disciplinary fragmentation. Thus, while a specialist in any one of the behavioural sciences may be aware of some overlap of his or her own discipline with neighbouring disciplines, he or she may not be aware of the wider range of interactions among many of the behavioural sciences. This paper sketches a framework to describe how the behavioural sciences interact. By the behauioural sciences is meant all fields and disciplines that attempt to describe, to explain, and to predict human behaviour broadly construed. These include all of the social sciences, in particular, economics, political science, sociology, anthropology, and psychology, as well as certain parts of biology, engineering, history, law, linguistics, management, operations research, philosophy, public policy, and system science. While the study of human behaviour is usually compartmentalized into these fields and disciplines, all are aspects of a single entity. This paper identifies two different patterns for the growth of disciplinary versus interdisciplinary approaches in the behavioural sciences. Then, it focuses on some specific interdependencies among the behavioural sciences by illustrating the historical transmission of ideas and concepts from one science to another using an input-output approach. It concludes with some general observations about the interactions among the behavioural sciences.