Introduction to Sociology and Psychology

1. What is Sociology and
Psychology?
The Disciplines; Their Research Methods; Schools of
Thought, and Applications in Our World

2. What is Sociology and Psychology?
- Sociology and psychology are social sciences.
- A social science: “the scientific study of human society and
social relationships.”
- Sociology is the study of society and psychology is the
study of human behaviour.
- They help us understand the world around us.

3. What is Sociology?
- Sociology is the study of society and its effects on an
individual.
- It studies issues on a micro and macro level.
- Sociology studies a large range of topics, such as:
Family, gender, race, religion, institutions, class struggle
etc

4. Micro and Macro Sociology
- Micro Sociology: interaction between individuals (eg.
conversations, behaviour patterns and individual’s
experiences)
- Macro Sociology: interaction between social groups (eg.
interactions between different classes or populations.)

5. Research Methodology for Sociology
- Sociology commonly uses positivism to research society.
- Positivism: uses empirical evidence to gather information.
- Sociologists collect information through surveys,
participant observation, ethnography, case studies etc.
- They also use secondary data analysis.

6. Applications for Sociology
- Sociology is used in social work
- Social workers use principles such as deviance and
equality to serve people.

7. What is Psychology?
- Psychology is the study of human behaviour and psyche.
- Psychology studies a broad range of topics.
- It is a discipline that relates our psychological state
and development with the way we interact with society.

8. Psychological Schools of Thought
- The four major schools of thought are structuralism,
functionalism, behaviourism and psychoanalysis.
- Structuralism: a method of interpretation that involved
making a “structure of consciousness” through evaluating
human experience
- Functionalism: focused on how the mind works, taking a
specific interest in the role of evolution.
- Behaviourism: only studies behaviour and observable
factors.
- Psychoanalysis: studies the link between the conscious
and unconscious mind.

9. Research Methodology for Psychology
- The research methodology for psychology is using the
scientific method and different data collection methods
to collect information.
- The scientific method requires for you to have a
hypothesis, a way to test the hypothesis, and a way of
replicating the test.
- Different methods of data collection include case
studies, surveys and naturalistic observation.

10. Applications for Psychology
- Psychology has a lot of applications, the most common
being in clinical treatment of psychological disorders
and illnesses.
- There are also people who study development, social
interactions, educational resources and techniques.

11. Bibliography
Brief History of Psychology. Personal.psu.edu. Retrieved 17 February 2022, from
http://personal.psu.edu/faculty/a/c/acp103/PSYCH105/brief_history.htm.