The two courses, sociology and psychology, are ones that have left quite many people confused. Maybe due to the similarities in the names or the fact that they are both courses in the same field of social sciences. As such, it is frequently a significant surprise to a lot of people who find out they are entirely different undergraduate courses of study.
Major questions arising from confusion with these courses include issues such as; what exactly is the difference between these courses? Which is the easier one to study? Which is the more lucrative of the two? Answers to these questions and more will be provided below in this article.
What is sociology?
The term sociology stands for the study of social spheres. With sociology, the question of why there is so much variation in societies is answered. Sociology studies the way organization acts on different aspects of human lives. Phenomenons such as social interactions, social circles, social relationships, and how they inter-relate are studied under sociology.
Sociology assumes that every behavior that an individual believes is entirely dependent on the surrounding influences around us. As such, it focuses on the study of these large groups of factors as one large unit. Examples of these large units could be race, religion, tribes, etc.
What is psychology?
Psychology is a field of social science that focuses on the study of the individual personally. The human mind is composed of the brain, and other components that are responsible for the traits acted out by that individual.
Every human behavioral pattern of an individual is studied in this discipline; this includes mental states, emotional responses, thought processes, and also decisions. As such, psychology focuses on the study of a more streamlined individual part of that unit, such as the individual himself.
Basic similarities between sociology and psychology
One essential thing to note about sociology and psychology is the fact that they are both major study courses in the field of social sciences, which is the scientific study of society and its components. A degree in either one of these courses is a significant step into an extensive range of great career opportunities.
Both sociology and psychology are known for their extreme emphasis on the use of critical thinking and research skills to achieve their set study aim. These similar skills required by these courses to fulfill their major objectives include;
Communication skills: The role of this skill in this field cannot be overemphasized. In an underlying sense of the way, there can be no knowledge without communication; either in a written form, oral form or even through inter-personal relationships with other people, including body signals and the likes. Necessary communication skills include speaking and listening skills, which are quite very necessary if the knowledge gained will be fully absorbed by the seeker.
Understanding skills: This is the ability to be able to fully associate with the particular information gotten, either about a person or a group. Also considered as empathy, the knowledge seeker should be able to make proper use of the data acquired to aid the focus without bringing about any harm.
Flexibility skills: As expected, no two pieces of information can be a replica, hence, the seeker of the data should be able to expect this and adjust appropriately to whatever is gotten.
Differences between sociology and psychology
Sociology and psychology are quite similar in their roots and some of their characteristics. It should, however, still be noted that they do not classify as the same and cannot stand in place of each other as they are composed of outstanding differences between them.
As much as both of these courses include behavioral studies and patterns, sociology studies them on a group level while psychology studies it on an individual level. As such, a sociology degree will provide you with a platform to understand social interaction and growth on a more global scale, helping to solve societal problems as a whole. A [psychology degree, on the other hand, will help to deal with an individual more personally, finding solutions to an individual’s problems.
With sociology, the global world is studied through the lens of generalized components such as culture, religion, race, and the likes. That is to imply that questions such as ‘why does this part of the world do this, and the other part does not?’ will it be major in its study. With psychology, however, the totality of a human make- up such as emotional, social, mental, physical, and cognitive features and how it affects the relationship with themselves and also people around them is a significant factor to be studied.
Career opportunities that are available for these two courses are also slightly different. A sociology degree will open up job opportunities in the field, such as public services, social services, human resources, social research, and analysis, etc. A psychology degree will, however, open up opportunities in sectors such as criminal justice, social welfare, public administration, etc.
Also significant is the significant difference in the estimated job availability between these two-degree courses. A recent statistical study estimated an average of about 14% growth in the availability of psychologist employment in the next ten years, with there is a markedly no estimated increase in the employment rate for sociologists within that same period.
Many a time, most individuals consider sociology and psychology as birds of a feather and often mistake them for each other. However, it has been shown that in the real sense, they are not the same, although similar. As such, before deciding fully on the more preferred choice, as much information as can be gotten should be gotten.
It is also a given that before embarking on any course of study, the most important factor is personal interest. In that study course, as only then can it be entirely ascertained that the individual will make it through the course while deriving maximum pleasure from it.