Sociology and Psychology

Sociology and psychology appear to be similar in many aspects. These two subjects or fields are interrelated but differ in multiple ways. These fields involve a deeper understanding of human behaviours and teach necessary skills to enter a broad range of career paths. 

Understanding Sociology & Society

Society refers to a group of people that share a common culture, occupy similar territorial areas, and are also bound to each other by common ancestral history. In sociology, societies can be both complicated and straightforward but forming groups  is very natural to human beings. Humans cannot live or thrive without society. They cannot attain goals alone, so there is always the necessity of a community. It provides humans with relationships, security, identities, and a sense of belongingness. Therefore, for mere survival and a good life, one needs to be included in a society.It is a continual process. It isn’t always imposed on the people but is gradually internalised. Social relationships form the foundation of this social structure that can be understood in its concrete and abstract form. 

Characteristics Of Society

The main attributes of the society are:

• Interdependence
• Conflict and cooperation
• Mutual awareness
• Similarities and differences 

Individuals and societies are complementary and thereby form a connection. Individuals indulge in collective activities by necessity. Human beings and their specific societies are inseparable, although you can find multiple layers of contradictions and functions here. What influences human beings? Several ecological, biological, psychological, and social factors affect all of us. As a result of these influences,there are a lot of variations in individuals, which ultimately give rise to diverse physical and psychological attributes.

What Is Sociology?

Sociology is the scientific and comprehensive study of societies in which human beings reside together. The word ‘Sociology’ comes from the Latin word ‘Socius,’ which means companion, and the Greek word “Ology,” which means “study of.” So, all-in-all, it indicates nature as being a hybrid discipline. Auguste Comte, a famous French philosopher, is responsible for coining the term Sociology in 1838. He referred to this subject as the science of human associations. He is known as the ‘Father of Sociology’. It is also interesting to see how Durkheim Spencer and Max Weber significantly developed sociology as a discrete discipline.

Here are the three general conceptions that govern the objects of sociological interest:

• The first one is the social “structure,” which comes with an independent existence in patterns of relationships. It positions itself over and above the groups and individuals that occupy different positions within these structures at any given time
• The second one is the collective representations. It refers to cognitive ways of shaping the world that have a continued existence over and above the groups or individuals who are socialised within them
• Lastly comes the meaningful social action that propagates that there is no such thing as a society. Instead, it is all about the groups or individuals who enter into social relationships

Sociology is a scientific discipline. It might not be a natural science, but it is a social science that studies social groups and the relationships that reside within them. It is a categorical science but not a normative science.

Understanding The Relationship Between Sociology And Psychology 

Despite a long list of differences between sociology and psychology, there are also some commonalities. Psychology examines the individual’s behaviour and his experiences with the surrounding environment. Psychology examines the attributes of the individual thoroughly through attention to the characteristics and processes that make him a human being. The subject also focuses on deriving how a person functions in their  daily life. On the other hand, sociology is more  about the experiences and social behaviours that evolve through one’s work, social participation, things that they do, and how it affects the psychological state.If you look closely, there is a direct relation between these two and the culture and society in which the individual lives. It helps determine how the person thinks, behaves, and even expresses himself. For example, people residing in diverse cities are all different. They are also different from people living in the countryside.

Conclusion

Although both sociology and psychology concentrate on understanding human behaviour, they adopt different approaches. Psychology always focuses on understanding the person, while sociology is all about social groups, cultures, and communities in which the person resides.