The document discusses the discipline of sociology and its relevance to quantity surveying. It defines sociology as the study of human interactions and groups, from small to large. Sociology examines how individuals participate, cooperate, and sometimes conflict as they interact in various settings and over time. It also draws from other disciplines like history and economics to understand human behavior. The document outlines several key approaches in sociology, like historical analysis of how professions and institutions develop over time. It discusses how sociology is important for quantity surveyors to better understand social factors influencing their work.

1. Psychology of Quantity Surveying
S.P Zuka
Department of Land Economy and
Quantity Surveying

2. The Discipline of Sociology
The definition of Sociology: It is the study of groups ranging from the smallest
group to the largest. The smallest begins with two people, largest group being
society
Sociology can also be defined as a sequence of roles, which an individual plays
in relation to others at different places and times. E.g. a Quantity Surveyor
Sociology can also be seen as the study of associations and dissociations
because it examines human tendencies for participation, cohesion and conflict
as individuals interact with each other e.g. interaction at a building site.
Sociology studies interaction in the society, established groups and
corporations.
Corporation: group of persons authorized to act as an individual in order to
attain a specific objectives.
Society: possible groupings of people, not sub-group

3. Sociology and Other Disciplines
•From our discussion above, Sociology deals with human
interactions in various places, groups, organisations and
times.
•As you may be aware, human interaction is influenced
by a number of factors including: economic conditions,
historical, political and even psychological. E.g.
•Other people are friendly when they have money and are
aggressive if they do not have money
•Because of what happened in the past, one person is
unfriendly to other people or does not trust them
•Thus, sociology draws from other disciplines information
to explain and predict human phenomena e.g. from
Quantity Surveying it draws professional expectations

4. Continued
•From history, it draws information to explain factors that led to
the growth of Quantity Surveying as a profession and the
institutions that rise to regulates the profession.
•You will notice that there is a relationship between Quantity
Surveying and Sociology.
•Sociology makes use of knowledge with the Built Environment
to understand the effect of the work of professionals within the
Built Environment and Society and between the professionals
themselves.
•You have to note that Sociology is a science as it arrives at its
generalizations scientifically.

5. Methods of Generating Sociological Knowledge
• Sociologists carefully and systematically collect information
through observation and intelligent reasoning
• They then summarize the information to develop a particular
theory about the society and interactions
• There are three main methods Sociologists use in their
research namely:
» Historical Approach
» Correlation Approach
» Functionalist Approach
• You will now move on to look at each of these in summary

6. Historical Approach
• The method examines the origin of a given phenomenon, social institution
or organisation
• The aim is to understand what lead to the rise and acceptance of a
particluar issue
• This method has been widely used by sociologists such as Karl Marx, Max
Weber and Emile Durkheim
• The approach is also known as genetic approach. It examines the initial
conditions that led to the rise of a particular issue.
• The early sociologists were concerned with understanding how societies
and different institutions began

7. Historical Approach
• Karl Mark was interested in understanding the
rising of capitalisms in the 19th
century
• He came up with five stages in explaining social
change:
• Primitive society
• Feudal society
• Capitalistic society
• Socialist society
• Communist society
• In primitive society, society depend on themselves
and self contained, there is no specialisation
• There is total harmony. Everyone has enough

8. • In feudalism, there are a group of people who control the land
i.e. The land lords and the serfs
• Landlords own vast areas of land while the serfs wok on the
land
• The landlord exploit the serfs, which is the basis for the change
• The serfs rise against the landlords after feeling that they are
being exploited
• The serfs find a new thing to do and set in motion the process
of industrilization
• In capitalism there are two groups of people namely: the
bourgeousie and the proletariate
• The borgeousie who are the owners of the industries exploit
the proletariate by paying them less money
Continued

9. • Capitalsims was digging its own grave by paying less meoney
to the workers
• The labouers then rise against the capitalsits and seize the
means of production and set in socialism
• In sociolism, the means of production are collectively owned
by the labouers
• The laboures share the output on the basis of need and not
capability
• Mark argues that socialism gives way to communism
• Comminism is a refined socialism and the ultimate stage in
heman development.
• The state withers away and harmony comes back
Continued

10. Correlational Approach
• The approach derives its name from correlation
• It makes uses of two concepts namely correlation and variable
correlation refers to the relationship betwn variables that
occur regularly
• Variable is a characteristics that can change or differ from time
to time; place to place; from one ondividual to another.
• Variables can be indeendent in that they cause change or
dependent in that they change e.g. The project coordinator
can shout at site operatives until they get angry. The shouting
is independent while the behavour of the workers is the
dependent
• The correlation approach expalins te exisitence of a social
issue by focussing on factors asssociated with that issue.
• Socilogists also uses this approach in explaining the casusal
effect relationship

11. Functionalists Approach
• This approach explains the existence of social issues in terms
of their contribution to the overall maintenance of the society
• The functionalist method classifies activities and
institutionalized patterns of behavior as functional or
dysfunctional
• Functional activities are behaviors that contribute positively to
society while dysfunctional are behaviors that have negative
consequences o the society
• For instance, the use of qualified Quantity Surveyors and
institutions ensures that clients are protected from abuse
• The certification of Quantity Surveyors is functional
• This gives some one advantage in terms of employment and
economic standing in society
• However, other people may forge certification and pretend
that they are qualified. This is not the intended aim of
certification and so it is dysfunctional

12. Sociology of Quantity Surveyors
• Sociology of Quantity Surveyors is within the broad study of
sociology of the Built Environment
• It is concerned with understanding the interaction between
professionals and clients and those in the Built Environment
• It is aimed at understanding the contribution of the work of
professions to the society
• It aims at understanding the impact of the built environment
on society interaction; and the relationship and relevancy of
the created environment to the functionality of the society

13. Importance of Studying Sociology
• There are several importances of studying sociology to Quantity
Surveyors including:
• Work better amongst themselves
• Help to protect the Qunatity Surveyors from social harm
• Help them come up with socially accepted developments
• Helps them participate fully in projetcs
• These are in line with major conditions that promote interaction
and these are:
• Participation = participate in a particular society and profession
• Cohension = it is as a result of allegaince, coordination and intersection
• Conformity = adherence to societal norms, which are the standards of behaviour shards
by members in a group or society, members are supposed to comply with rules and
regukations e.g. Professional Ethics in Qauntity Surveying
• Cooperation = cooperarion makes people achieve their goal e.g. if the goal in property
development is to achieve quality, then there is need for cooperation to make sure that
buildings regulations are followed.

14. Rural and urab Society
• A QS works in both rural and urban siocieties
• However, most of his services are required in the
urban area
• There are times however that a QS wil work in
the rural society e.g. When constrcuting schools,
Rural Growth Centres, hospitals, etc
• The urban society is defferent from the rural
society and QS need to know the difference for
them to work properly

15. Difference between Urban and Rural Areas
• Population size –urban area are densely populated and most people are in
their economically active ages, rural are sparsely populated
• Economic- in most rural areas workforce are farmers or engaged in primary
activities while in urban areas most are employed in secondary and tertiary
sectors. Many rural areas have become commuter/dormitory settlement
for people working in adjacent areas
• Services - Schools, hospitals ,banks ,public transport are either absent in
rural areas or scanty,
• .Land use - Rural areas are spaced with open land between adjacent
villagers for farming and small scale industry. In urban settlement often
parked together and within town there is a greater mixture of land use
with residential, industrial services and open space provision
• Social - rural settlements especially those in more remote areas tend to
have more inhabitants in the over 65 age group, whereas the highest
proportion in the urban areas lies within the economically active age group
or those under secondary school age
• It is becoming more difficult to differentiate villages from towns since urban
areas are spreading to rural fringes. Therefore transitional zone is created
from strongly rural or strongly urban

16. Rural-Urban Migration: Cause and Effects
• Rural-Urban migration has push and pull factors
• Push factors are reasons that will make people
leave their area such as unfavorable conditions,
crop failure, natural disasters, mechanization, lack
of services
• Pull factors are factors that make people get
attracted into the urban area and include better
education and health services, employment
opportunity, better housing
• Rural-urban migration impact on both rural and
urban areas. What do you think are the effects

17. Continued
• Think about the effects in terms of
• social (overcrowding, living conditions, sanitation, crime rate,
area such as unfavorable conditions, crop failure, natural
disasters, mechanization, lack of services
• Economic (unemployment, labour shifting, underdevelopment,
business development
• Political (urban demands, political upheaval as a result of
shortage of jobs, slum development and increase in crime)

18. Changing Socio-cultural Environment and
the QS
• Urban and rural areas are different
• However the two areas are in constant change
• Main causes of change are
• Technological development especially transport system, which
has enhanced convergence of space. This has facilitated trade
resulting in increased interaction. Thus, culture change has
been promoted.
• Government policy- generally govt has facilitated change
through a number of policy such as the Modernization
Concept, which has undergone the following stages:

19. Continued
• Rural values as traditional that need to totally changed
• Rural areas as a combination of bad and good values
that need to be changed as well as conserved
• One of the strategies used by government to change
rural areas is the Rural Growth Centre
• The other government policy towards cultural change
is the Decentralization project , which aims at including
rural institution into formal government processes. It is
one way of promoting local participation as well as
modernising the local structures into formal structural
framework. However the two areas are not static but in
constant change

20. Continued
• Urban areas are also changing due to the influence of globalisation
from international world
• There is increased adoption of distant culture and value systems in
developing countries
• This is even reflected in the construction industry i.e. the type of
buildings do reflect the global pattern
• There is also adoption of global values such as human rights
approach to labour relations
• There is introduction of new value systems
• A professional quantity surveyor has to serve people of different
values
• He also have to make groups of people of different values work
together e.g. at construction site
• The challenge is therefore for him/her to adjust to the needs of
the varying groups and provide an environment where different
people can work together i.e. he/she has to make sure that the
environment is functional

21. Changing Lifestyles and social effects
• Life styles changes as time and economic and political
environment changes
• Lifestyles can change due to planned intervention or
unplanned interventions
• Government of Malawi guided by modernization
reasoning introduced a number of policies to promote
changes e.g. building regulations, farming techniques,
dressing
• Currently, lifestyles also change due to globalization
drive
• A change in the economic, political and physical
environment brings changes in lifestyle e.g. capitalistic
economy, multiparty democracy, level of economy.
How can these changes affect the work of a QS.

22. Technology and its social effects
• Technology have its social effects
• Think about the role of cellphones, TV, houses,
cooking technology, building technology. Etc
• Note that when there is technology change, lifestyle
change, and a QS has to respond to the changes
• Introduction of new technology can either be
accepted by the society or it can be rejected
• Thus, adoption of any technology is affected by the
norms and institutions within a society
• Remember that people act so as to function in a
specified society

23. HIV and AIDS and Society
• Technology have its social effects
• Think about the role of cellphones, TV, houses,
cooking technology, building technology. Etc
• Note that when there is technology change, lifestyle
change, and a QS has to respond to the changes
• Introduction of new technology can either be
accepted by the society or it can be rejected
• Thus, adoption of any technology is affected by the
norms and institutions within a society
• Remember that people act so as to function in a
specified society

24. Gender and Built Environment
• Sex = the biological aspect of being male or female
• The characteristics are permanent and universal
• Gender: refers to socially-constructed characteristics and entitlements of men and women.
They are ascribed by the society based on perceived capabilities and roles of women and
men. These characteristics and entitlements are different from society to society because of
differences on society. For instance, in some societies such as the developed countries
women equally own real property, whereas in developing countries, women rarely own real
property and businesses. Look at the statement below
• So and so and Sons (where are the daughters)
• So and So brothers (where are the daughters)
• The ascription of certain types of characteristics and roles to women or men is called gender
stereotypes. Gender stereotypes is defined as the society’s perceptions and value systems
that instill an image of women as weak, dependent, subordinate, indecisive, emotional and
submissive; while men are perceived as strong, independent, powerful, decisive and logical.
E.g. construction work is for men
• Usually women need the consent of men to make decision about investment, work
• These roles are however not static but change over time. For instance, nursing as a career
was formerly associated with women; but with the rise in the demand for nurses, men have
joined this career . Built environment professional were male dominated but with gender
messages, females also take this course
• Gender stereotype leads to discrimination and a professional QS should aim at
understanding the prevailing stereotype and aim at addressing them. These should be
understood as any distinction, exclusion and restriction aimed at restriction their enjoyment
and participation in the activity
• Whether the basis for the discrimination is legal, policy administrative or cultural, it is wrong

25. HIV and AIDS and Society
HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It weakens the
body defenses, the immune system making a
person more susceptible to infections.
AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
HIV and AIDS has a lot of impact on business:
• Declining productivity: high absenteeism, high staff turnover,
loss of skills and knowledge, frequent training and
organisational
• Increased costs: insurance cover, early retirement, medical
expenses, funeral costs
• Declining profits: less reinvestment declining market

26. Social Implication of Planning
• Planning: Refers to organised, cautious and
continual attempt to select the best available
alternative to achieve specific goals
• Development Planning: Process of national
economic and social effort for the promotion or
achievement of a clearly defined national goals
• Planning need to be in line with the society needs
• Historically, planning was centralized