Definition of Sociology

Sociology is the systematic and scientific study of human social life. Sociologists study people as they form groups

and interact with one another. The groups they study may be small, such as married couples, or large, such as a

subculture of suburban teenagers. Sociology places special emphasis on studying societies, both as individual

entities and as elements of a global perspective.

The sociological imagination is the practice of being able to “think ourselves away” from the familiar routines of
our daily lives in order to look at them with fresh, critical eyes. C. Wright Mills, who created the concept and wrote
a book about it, defined the sociological imagination as “the vivid awareness of the relationship between
experience and the wider society."

The sociological imagination is the ability to see things socially and how they interact and influence each other.

To have a sociological imagination, a person must be able to pull away from the situation and think from an
alternative point of view. This ability is central to one's development of a sociological perspective on the world.

Origin of Sociology

Sociological reasoning pre-dates the foundation of the discipline. Social analysis has origins in the common stock
of Western knowledge and philosophy, and has been carried out from as far back as the time of ancient Greek
philosopher Plato, if not before. The origin of the survey, i.e., the collection of information from a sample of
individuals, can be traced back to at least the Domes day Book in 1086, while ancient philosophers such
as Confucius wrote on the importance of social roles. There is evidence of early sociology in medieval Arab
writings. Some Muslim sources consider Ibn Khaldun, a 14th-century Arab Islamic scholar from North Africa
(Tunisia), to have been the first sociologist and father of sociology (see Branches of the early Islamic philosophy);
his Muqaddimah was perhaps the first work to advance social-scientific reasoning on social cohesion and social
conflict.

The word sociology (or "sociologie") is derived from both Latin and Greek origins. The Latin word: socius,
"companion"; the suffix -logy, "the study of" from Greek -λογία from λόγος,lógos, "word", "knowledge". It was
first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès (1748–1836) in an
unpublished manuscript.[22] Sociology was later defined independently by the French philosopher of
science, Auguste Comte (1798–1857), in 1838. Comte used this term to describe a new way of looking at society.
Comte had earlier used the term "social physics", but that had subsequently been appropriated by others, most
notably the Belgian statistician Adolphe Quetelet. Comte endeavored to unify history, psychology and economics
through the scientific understanding of the social realm. Writing shortly after the malaise of the French Revolution,
he proposed that social ills could be remedied through sociological positivism, an epistemological approach
outlined in The Course in Positive Philosophy (1830–1842) and A General View of Positivism (1848). Comte
believed a positivist stage would mark the final era, after conjectural theological and metaphysical phases, in the
progression of human understanding.[25] In observing the circular dependence of theory and observation in
science, and having classified the sciences, Comte may be regarded as the first philosopher of science in the
modern sense of the term

Approaches in Sociology

Symbolic Interaction Theory

The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of sociological
theory. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social
interaction. Although symbolic interactionism traces its origins to Max Weber's assertion that individuals act
according to their interpretation of the meaning of their world, the American philosopher George Herbert
Mead introduced this perspective to American sociology in the 1920s.

Conflict Theory

Conflict theory emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order. This perspective is derived
from the works of Karl Marx, who saw society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic
resources. Social order is maintained by domination, with power in the hands of those with the greatest political,
economic, and social resources.

Functionalist Theory
The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It
has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible and
how society remains relatively stable.

Demography

The statistical science dealing with the distribution, density, vital statistics, etc. of human populations

Origin of demography
French démographie Greek dēmos people; see dā- in Indo-European roots. French -graphie writing (from Greek -
graphiā -graphy)
Psychology is the science of behavior and mind, embracing all aspects of conscious and unconscious experience as
well as thought. It is an academic discipline and a social science which seeks to understand individuals and groups
by establishing general principles and researching specific cases.

In this field, a professional practitioner or researcher is called a psychologist and can be classified as
a social, behavioral, or cognitive scientist. Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in
individual and social behavior, while also exploring the physiological and biological processes that underlie
cognitive functions and behaviors.

Psychologists explore behavior and mental processes,

including perception,cognition, attention, emotion (affect), intelligence, phenomenology, motivation(conation), br
ain functioning, and personality. This extends to interaction between people, such as interpersonal relationships,
including psychological resilience, family resilience, and other areas. Psychologists of diverse orientations also
consider the unconscious mind.[3] Psychologists employ empirical methods to
infer causal and correlational relationships between psychosocial variables. In addition, or in opposition, to
employing empirical and deductive methods, some—especially clinical and counseling psychologists—at times rely
upon symbolic interpretation and other inductive techniques. Psychology has been described as a "hub
science",[4] with psychological findings linking to research and perspectives from the social sciences, natural
sciences, medicine, humanities, and philosophy.

While psychological knowledge is often applied to the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, it is
also directed towards understanding and solving problems in several spheres of human activity. By many accounts
psychology ultimately aims to benefit society.[5][6] The majority of psychologists are involved in some kind of
therapeutic role, practicing in clinical, counseling, or school settings. Many do scientific research on a wide range
of topics related to mental processes and behavior, and typically work in university psychology departments or
teach in other academic settings (e.g., medical schools, hospitals). Some are employed in industrial and
organizational settings, or in other areas[7] such as human development and aging, sports, health, and the media,
as well as in forensic investigation and other aspects of law.

The word psychology derives from Greek roots meaning study of the psyche, or soul (ψυχή psukhē, "breath, spirit,
soul" and -λογία -logia, "study of" or "research").[8] The Latin word psychologia was first used by
the Croatian humanist and Latinist Marko Marulić in his book, Psichiologia de ratione animae humanae in the late
15th century or early 16th century.[9] The earliest known reference to the word psychology in English was
by Steven Blankaart in 1694 in The Physical Dictionary which refers to "Anatomy, which treats the Body, and
Psychology, which treats of the Soul."[10]

In 1890, William James defined psychology as "the science of mental life, both of its phenomena and their
conditions". This definition enjoyed widespread currency for decades. However, this meaning was contested,
notably by radical behaviorists such as John B. Watson, who in his 1913 manifesto defined the discipline of
psychology as the acquisition of information useful to the control of behavior. Also since James defined it, the term
more strongly connotes techniques of scientific experimentation. Folk psychology refers to the understanding of
ordinary people, as contrasted with that of psychology professionals. [

Perspective in Psychology

Biological Approach
Bio psychologists look at how your nervous system, hormones and genetic makeup affect your behavior.
Biological psychologists explore the connection between your mental states and your brain, nerves and
hormones to explore how your thoughts, moods and actions are shaped.

So what does that mean? It means that for the biological approach, you are the sum of your parts. You think the
way you do because of the way your brain is built and because of your body's needs. All of your choices are based
on your physical body. The biological approach attempts to understand the healthy brain, but it also examines the
mind and body to figure out how disorders like schizophrenia develops from genetic roots.

Psychodynamic Approach
The psychodynamic approach was promoted by Sigmund Freud, who believed that many of our impulses are
driven by sex. Psychologists in this school of thought believe that unconscious drives and experiences from early
childhood are at the root of your behaviors and that conflict arises when societal restrictions are placed on these
urges.

There are a lot of jokes about Freud and his now mostly outdated theories. But have you ever thought that
something about who you are today comes from your experiences as a child? Say, you blame your smoking habit
on an oral fixation that stems from being weaned from breastfeeding too early as a baby. Well, that also comes
from Freud's theories, and it was an idea that revolutionized how we see ourselves.

Behavioral Approach
Behavioral psychologists believe that external environmental stimuli influence your behavior and that you can be
trained to act a certain way. Behaviorists like B.F. Skinner don't believe in free will. They believe that you learn
through a system of reinforcements and punishment.

The behavioral approach is really effective when you don't care what someone thinks, as long as you get the
desired behavior. The influence of these theories affects us every day and throughout our lives, impacting
everything from why we follow the rules of the road when driving to how advertising companies build campaigns
to get us to buy their products.

Cognitive Approach
In contrast to behaviorists, cognitive psychologists believe that your behavior is determined by your expectations
and emotions. Cognitive psychologist Jean Piaget would argue that you remember things based on what you
already know. You also solve problems based on your memory of past experiences.

So, with this approach, we turn away from people as machines without free will and delve back into thoughts and
feelings. How you act is based upon internal processes, and there is much more stress upon individuals. From a
cognitive perspective, your expectations of an upcoming party will affect how you feel and act while you're there
and will color your memory of the night after you return home.

Humanistic Approach
Humanistic psychologists believe that you're essentially good and that you're motivated to realize your full
potential. Psychologists from this camp focus on how you can feel good about yourself by fulfilling your needs and
goals. The prominent humanistic psychologist Carl Rogers called his patients 'clients' and offered a supportive
environment in which clients could gain insight into their own feelings.

In contrast to the behavioral approach, the humanistic approach works on individual empowerment. Whether you
are right or not, in a larger sense, you are motivated to be the best person you can be. All your choices come from
trying to improve your life. So, if you're trying to cut back on your nightly wine consumption, a humanistic
therapist would be encouraging and supportive but won't directly advise you to quit or try to analyze why you
drink in the first place.