What is the Difference Between Sociology and Psychology?

Psychology and sociology are closely related fields that can be very confusing, especially to students who are trying to choose their future career paths. Even though these fields deal with the study of people’s culture, behavior, and thought, they have very different perspectives.

The overall objective of these fields is helping the community understand the complex dynamics of social relationships, behaviors, emotions, and mental processes. Psychology and sociology are popular fields for individuals interested in understanding human behavior. According to the National-Center-for-Educational-Statistics, psychology was the fourth most popular degree in the United States in 2013-2014.

What is Psychology?

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior of a small group or an individual instead of society. It focuses on studying an individual at a time and crafting the general principle that can be used in understanding human behavior, mental-health trend, and societal problem. The professional researchers and practitioners in this field are known as psychologists and can be classified as cognitive or social-behavioral scientists. All psychologists research various cognitive processes, including love, intelligence, depression, anger, grief, and stress.

A considerable percentage of the studies in this field involves evaluating an individual’s brain function without considering its impacts on the community. Psychology explores mental and behavioral processes, including personality, motivation, intelligence, emotion, cognition, perception, and subjective experiences.Psychology seeks to understand the reason behind every emotional reaction an individual has so that he can piece together the psychological puzzle for boosting a person’s well-being. A degree in psychology leads to careers in various sectors, including social service, criminal justice, and public administration.

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of social relationship patterns, the society, culture, and the social interaction of human beings in their day-to-day life. Sociology is a social science that uses numerous critical analysis techniques and empirical investigations to create a body of knowledge on social evolution and social order. Generally, it is defined as the science of society.

Instead of focusing on an individual, sociologists study the societal behaviors by trying to understand how appearance, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnicity, and gender affect the culture of a society. Sociologists try to bring numerous social issues like healthcare disparity, environmental racism, obesity, alcohol addiction, marriage inequalities, and economic injustice to the public eye. Sociology deals with how individuals relate with each other and how they behave towards society. Sociologists study current issues and evaluate how it will affect the community. Sociologists can explore jobs in various fields, including social analysis and research, social services, human resources, and social-justice related sectors.

Skills Required for Sociology and Psychology Careers

Sociologists and psychologists must have excellent communication and listening skills since they will have to interact with other people and also explain their findings. Skilled listeners always finish listening to their audiences before drawing a conclusion. These fields will force you to learn private things about other people; therefore, you must be trustworthy. Empathy is mandatory in these fields since the professionals will have to deal with people in difficult situations. Sociologists and psychologists must be creative and flexible, especially when dealing with different people.