Ideology refers to the ideas, values, and beliefs that shape a society and guide social and educational policies. While ideas may seem like common sense, they actually evolve over time. An ideology functions to influence people's behaviors and exclude opposing beliefs. Social science differs from physical science in that it deals with the complexities of human nature, behavior, and environments, which are always changing. Social scientists study all aspects of social phenomena and human life across different times and levels of development by identifying problems, creating research questions, gathering and analyzing data, and drawing conclusions.