Sociology and Psychology
• Psychology
is a science that focuses on various aspects of the behaviour
of individuals and how their minds work. Its goal is to explain
human behaviour and sometimes to influence that
behaviour.
• Sociology
is the scientific study of human society and social behaviour.
• Crime example
TASK: Choose both a
sociological question and
a psychological question
and try to explain why it
fits into that category.
I think the question about the
effects of playing music to a
baby before it is born would
interest a psychologist because a
psychologist would be trying to
find out what things can affect
the development of the brain.
Studying the effect of music on
babies before birth could lead to
greater understanding of brain
development. If the study
showed that music has a positive
effect, it could encourage
parents-to-be to make sure that
music is part of their daily lives.
Interesting question…
Is romantic love part of every society?
What do Psychologists do?
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organisations (e.g. market research companies)
education (e.g. universities, schools)
government departments (e.g. CentreLink employment agency)
health and welfare services (e.g. hospitals)
police force, law courts and prisons (e.g. Victoria Police)
counselling services (e.g. Relationships Australia)
Defence forces (e.g. Royal Australian Army)
Research institutions (e.g. National Health and Medical Research Council)
Private practice (e.g. open a business and work for themselves)
What do Sociologists do?
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youth work
marketing and public relations
social welfare
politics
social research (e.g. census)
government
criminology
journalism
town planning
Common sense?
Does common sense have a place in sociology and psychology?
As our experience gives us an understanding of the way people around
us think and act, we build up our own set of common sense ideas. These
ideas can be described as ‘conventional wisdom’ or ‘hunches’ about
how things are.
Sociology – common sense?
1. Read the statements listed on the sheet,
and circle either true or false, based on your
common sense.
2. Share answers
3. If your answers differed from the research
findings, why do you think this is so?
If all your answers corresponded to the
research, choose one question for further
discussion.
Newspaper Task
• Your task is to try to find one article that
would interest a psychologist AND one
article that would interest a sociologist.
• Once you have found the articles, you
will need to explain how they might
relate to soc/psych.