Relationship OF Sociology WITH Psychology PDF

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Humans are the only living entities that can think and interact with their surroundings in order to make sense of them. Humans are sociable creatures that live in groups. Scholars have attempted to comprehend and chronicle human social and cultural activities in many situations throughout time and g...

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RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY WITH PSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCTION Humans are the only living entities that can think and interact with their surroundings in order to make sense of them. Humans are sociable creatures that live in groups. Scholars have attempted to comprehend and chronicle human social and cultural activities in many situations throughout time and geography as human civilization has progressed. This pursuit for a better understanding of human nature and connections gave rise to academic disciplines like sociology, psychology, and history, which are at the heart of social sciences. Sociology, for example, is primarily concerned with the study of human society and its interactions. Psychology, like sociology, is concerned with human behaviour. The issue arises as to whether sociology and psychology have any interrelationships, and whether the theoretical premises of both disciplines may be combined to obtain a better understanding of socio-psychological phenomena. We will be able to comprehend the nature of sociology and psychology, as well as the subject of social psychology, by studying this unit. DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY Auguste Comte, known as the "Father of Sociology," invented the word. The study of human connections and society is the subject of sociology. Relationships are said to form when people come into close proximity and interact. As a result of this ongoing connection, social groupings are formed, and intricate interactions evolve among these groups. As a result, the social and individual selves might be considered one and the same. As a result, academics have endeavoured to define and explain sociology as a topic. Auguste Comte, one of the founding fathers of sociology, split the study of social static and social dynamic into two categories. The static was concerned with the study of how different portions of society interacted, whereas the dynamic was concerned with looking at whole societies as a unit of analysis and demonstrating how they developed and changed through time (Inkeles, 1964). The study of social facts, according to Emile Durkheim, is sociology. Sociology is the scientific study of human existence, social relationships, social groupings, and all aspects of society. The field of sociology encompasses a wide range of topics, from the study of ordinary interactions between strangers on the street to the study and comparison of cultures throughout the world.

Definition of Psychology

Psyche means "soul or breath" in Greek, while Logos means "knowledge or study" in English (study or investigation of something). In 1879, a German professor called Wilhelm Wundt founded the first psychology laboratory at the University of Leipzig in Germany, establishing psychology as an autonomous academic study. Psychology was originally referred to as the "science of consciousness." Psychology may be defined as the systematic study of human behaviour and experience in basic terms. The science of behaviour and cognitive processes, according to Baron (1990), is psychology. Psychology focuses on internal mental processes such as perception, cognition, and emotion, as well as the impact these processes have on the social environment. SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY: THE POSSIBLE INTERLINK The heart of the social sciences is sociology and psychology together. Sociology and psychology have been studying diverse elements of human existence since their origin as independent academic fields. For their survival, the majority of other species rely on instincts in their physical surroundings. Human life, on the other hand, is contingent on acquired behavioural patterns. An instinct is a genetically encoded command that guides behaviour in a certain direction. It also comprises explicit instructions on how to carry out a given task (Haralambos and Holborn, 2008). Birds, for example, have nest-building tendencies, and individuals of specific species are trained to build nests in a specific style and pattern. In contrast, social culture, practises, norms, and values all have an impact on the human mind. Humans develop unique behaviour patterns that best suit them in their physical surroundings through socialising. To make sense of their living circumstances, humans interpret the information offered by the social context. The social system (family, social groupings, cultures, etc.) is the basic unit of analysis in sociology. The study of the human mind to analyse attitude, behaviour, emotions, perceptions, and values that lead to the construction of an individual personality in a social context is the core subject matter of psychology. While sociology is concerned with the social environment, psychology is concerned with the person. This includes family, community, and other social institutions. When investigating group dynamics, for example, sociologists and psychologists initially have shared interests in diverse sorts of groups and their structures, which are influenced by factors such as collaboration, cohesiveness, conflict, information flow, decision-making authority, and status hierarchies. This initial shared interest shifts to a different emphasis, as both disciplines employ different theoretical viewpoints to explain group phenomena. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT With the birth and foundation of natural sciences in the nineteenth century, the desire to investigate human behaviour using scientific principles began. The scientific methods of natural sciences, according to Comte, may be used to study society. Comte claimed that careful study of entities that are immediately known via experience might be utilised to explain the link between

observable occurrences. It is possible to forecast future events by comprehending the causal link between distinct events. He also believed that once the social laws are recognised, social scientists may endeavour to improve society. The search for knowledge about society and one's role within it based on facts and observation is at the heart of social psychology's beginnings. Early and subsequent sociologists' views contributed to the development of sociological social psychology. Mead looked at how our sense of self is affected by social circumstances. Georg Simmel (1858-1918), Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929), and Ervin Goffman were other influential contributors to the creation of sociological social psychology. From the eighteenth century forward, contemporary social psychology arose. James Mark Baldwin released Social and Ethical Interpretation in Mental Development, one of the first comprehensive manuals of social psychology, in New York in 1987. However, the work of two writers, William McDougall and Edward A. Ross, in 1908, was essential in establishing social psychology as a separate scientific study. Two books on social psychology have been published this year. The books' titles are William McDougall's An Introduction to Social Psychology and sociologist Edward A. Ross's Social Psychology. Inter-disciplinary Approach to Social Psychology According to the definition given by Allport, the roots of sociology as well as psychology can be found in the field of "social psychology." Some people think that social psychology is a mix of sociology and psychology, like Cook, Fine, and House (1995) and Delamater (2006). This is because it looks at and synthesises the most important work in both fields. In social psychology, the main thing is to look at how people interact with each other in a social setting. Social psychology focuses on the mind, the self, and the world around us, which is why it's called that. There are a lot of different sociological and psychological perspectives used in social psychology to explain and understand how humans and society always have an effect on each other. Depending on how the study is done, social psychology can be broken down into sociological and psychological social psychology. This term was first used by House (1977) and Stryker (1977). Social psychology tends to draw from both sociology and psychology, so it's hard to make clear distinctions between the two fields of work. People who study cognitive social psychology, or social cognition, look at how people process and store information. The way we process information, according to Thoits (1995:1232), is by paying attention to clues, retrieving from memory, and making judgment-like judgments, inferences, and predictions about our own and other people. To think about cognition in this way, you have to think about the way you interact with other people and how that affects your thinking. If you want to learn more about what sociological social psychology is about, read this: A lot of the time, it talks about how small groups work together. Scope of Social Psychology

As stated previously, social psychology is the study of human behaviour in a social setting. Social psychology makes an attempt to comprehend the link between an individual's mind and cognitive processes while they are in a group as well as when they are alone. The objective of social psychology is to acquire information about the sources of human behaviour. This branch of research encompasses both the study of individuals and big groups of humans. Additionally, it According to Delamater (1995:11), social psychology's primary focus is the following: • the effect of a person on another • the effect of a group on its individual members • the effect that people have on the group in which they are a member; and • the effect that one group has on another.

Between the person and the social environment exists a reciprocal relationship. Thus, social psychology aspires to give a unified picture of the social and psychological. For instance, the dominant culture shapes how society's members think and feel. There is a broad degree of resemblance in the cognitive processes of all members of a community. The research focuses on life cycle analysis, socialisation, social networks, group dynamics, stereotyping and stigma, and social stratification. Individuals travel through a number of phases during their lives, including childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Each stage of life is shaped by societal norms, values, religion, and rituals. For example, child raising procedures vary throughout civilizations, which has a varying influence on an individual's personality. More precisely, the family and family ties have an effect on the formation of an individual's personality. Given the social diversity that exists today, social psychologists are increasingly adopting a multicultural perspective, which acknowledges the potential significance of class, gender, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, disability, and religious beliefs, among other social and cultural dimensions. YOUR SOCIOLOGICAL TOOL KIT On your trip to study social psychology, you can bring a few key tools with you. Sociologists use a variety of ideas and terminology to construct and explain their research and theories. The Sociological Imagination Our daily lives are moulded by a multitude of elements, including family values and other social conventions, which are shaped by wider social forces. Sociological imagination is a critical tool for observing forces at action in our daily lives. According to C. Wright Mills (1959), sociological imagination refers to how individuals view their own and others' pasts in connection to history and social structure. Mills contended that sociologists must first comprehend the broader cultural, structural, and historical forces that impact individuals before reaching any

conclusions. Sociologists can explore what impacts attitudes, behaviour, and culture by examining individuals and societies and their interactions through this lens. Sociological imagination provides social psychologists with the necessary vision to consider all conceivable social circumstances and conditions that might impact an individual's mental process, feelings, and behaviour. Social Norms and Values

Social norms are behavioural standards that govern our actions. It is related with the standards of behaviour that persons should adhere to. Values are a term that refers to a set of sincerely held principles and beliefs. Values exemplify an ideal, a norm that society aspires to accept and uphold. Culture

The term "culture" refers to the distinctive patterns of behaviour and ideas that are characteristic of a given civilization. Each society has its own culture. Symbols, language, values, beliefs, conventions, and tangible objects are all components of culture. Culture is communal. Roles and Status Roles are recognised patterns of behaviour in others that are indicative of a person's social rank. For example, when reading this literature, you take on the position of the pupils; also, you take on several other roles such as'son/daughter,' 'brother/sister,' and 'neighbour,' to mention a few. The phrase "status" refers to the obligations, rewards, and prestige that an individual receives as a result of his or her rank and function in society. Socialization Socialisation is a process that begins at birth and continues until the new born infant acquires the social norms, behaviour patterns, beliefs, standards, and values that his social group deems relevant and suitable. Socialisation performs a variety of purposes for society, the most critical of which is to sustain social order. CONCEPTS AND METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY USED IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Social psychology makes extensive use of sociological concepts and methodologies to investigate the reciprocal link between the individual and the social environment. Max Weber highlighted the need of taking into consideration the effect of culture on human behaviour in sociology. He coined the term verstehen, a German phrase that translates as "to comprehend

deeply." In verstehen, the researcher makes an attempt to gain an insider's perspective on the social process or cultural activities of the small social group. This perspective resulted in the creation of methodologies through which sociologists attempt to capture the subjectivity inherent in social processes, cultural norms, and societal values. The researcher's objective, rather than making broad generalisations, is to obtain a systematic knowledge of the social environments he observes. This is regarded as the fundamental distinction in sociology between qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. As a result, social psychology research methodologies may be qualitative or quantitative. Quantitative social psychology study use large-scale surveys (with a high number of participants), experiments (with two distinct groups), and statistical approaches to analyse the data and anticipate broad patterns of human behaviour. Qualitative research aims to comprehend human behaviour through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and content analysis. With the growth of social psychology, it has included approaches such as ethnography and qualitative analysis, which are foundational in the field of sociology. Middle Range Theory In sociology, middle range theory is primarily used to direct empirical study. American sociologist Robert K. Merton coined the term "middle range theory" (1949). Middle range theory is a bridge between broad theories of social systems that are too far from specific classes of social behaviour, structure, and change to account for what is observed and precise orderly descriptions of particulars that are not generalizable at all. Middle range theories focus on discrete dimensions of social processes. Merton's 'functional unity of society' assumption (this assumption implies that any portion of the social system is functional for the overall system. The assumption that all segments of society work cooperatively to maintain and integrate the society as a whole) is dubious in the case of complex and highly varied civilizations. He demonstrates his point using the example of religious plurality. In a community with a diverse range of religious beliefs, religion may serve to separate rather than to unite. As a result, he proposes middle range theories to account for certain social processes and characteristics of social behaviour that do not attempt to cover the social in its whole. Social psychologists employ middle range theories to explain a variety of events. Kurt Lewin's field theory is an example of middle range theory. Middle range theories encompass social psychology ideas such as those of frustration, hostility, attitude modification, collaboration, and competitiveness. PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGICAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY As previously discussed, there are several approaches to explore the role and influence of society on an individual's daily life. Depending on your interests, you may concentrate on your local surroundings or attempt to comprehend the consequences of bigger societal phenomena, such as globalization's effect on people's lives. Sociological social psychologists approach behaviour from a broad viewpoint, attempting to give both broad and detailed explanations for behaviour across civilizations, time, and place.

Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic interactionism considers the joint impacts of society and self on a wide variety of social phenomena. George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) was a seminal role in the development of the symbolic interactionist paradigm in sociology. Mead (1934) claimed in Mind, Self, and Society from the Perspective of a Social Behaviorist that meaning is formed via connection with other people. Symbolic interactionism is motivated by an interest in language and meaning formation. It is concerned with the specifics of interpersonal contact and how those particulars are utilised to make meaning of what others say and do. We negotiate the meanings we ascribe to ourselves, other people, and objects across time. Everything in the world has significance because of language and symbols. According to Ervin Goffman (1956:1), "when an individual comes into contact with another, they frequently seek information about him or bring previously possessed information about him into play." Thus, the interaction may be characterised as "individuals exerting reciprocal influence on one another's actions while in each other's immediate physical presence." According to symbolic interactionism, society is a network of communication or interaction in which individuals make meaning of their daily lives by taking their mutual viewpoints into account. Humans are not passive recipients of external cues from the world; rather, they are active and creative thinking creatures who act and engage within that environment in order to make meaning of it. Social psychology is based on a symbolic interactionist approach that emphasises "structural relationships, organisational characteristics of social environments, and generalised expectations or norms that shape behaviour." Social Structure and Personality The perspective of social structure and personality is concerned with the linkages between wider societal events, situations, and their impact on people. More precisely, it refers to the social structure's impact on people. The social structure and personality perspectives suggest that our place within the social structure is partially determined by wider social processes, as we are expected to think, feel, and behave in ways that conform to established social standards. Karl Marx, for example, argued that the economic system in which we live had an effect on both our social relationships and our individual thought processes (Rohall, Milke and Lucas, 2011). Group Processes This sociological social psychology approach emphasises the role of fundamental social dynamics in group settings (Rohall, Milke and Lucas, 2011). The group is a key component of social life, and both sociology and psychology devote considerable

time and effort to studying and comprehending group behaviour. A group must consist of at least two persons, and humans spend the majority of their lives among various social groupings such as family, friends, and coworkers. Cooley (1909) defined primary and secondary groupings theoretically. Primary groups are ones in which members have direct contact and intimate ties, such as family and friends. The secondary group is huge, and the group member...