Essay on Effect of Psychology and Sociology on Human Behavior

Human behavior is one of the most researched upon subjects in the modern scientific world. It is a matter that has become a widespread phenomenon and is used as a reference point for various medical practitioners who deal with human behavior. Both sociology and psychology are specified areas of study that focus on human behavior with some difference in application. Through different researches and studies, it is evident that these two fields of study are interrelated and provide useful information about human behavior.

The two articles to be discussed are both informative and descriptive of the effects of sociology and psychology on human behavior. They describe some aspects of human behavior that are influenced or transformed by how people relate to each other and basically how they think. Both articles delve into their particular topics with practical examples to show just how much influence sociology and psychology have on human beings. They share research results which prove and discuss how sociology and psychology are related to human behavior.

Psychology and sociology are different regarding where they place their focus on the study of human behaviors. Whereas psychology focuses on a small group or an individual, sociology extends to a large society of many people or groups. Nevertheless, both psychology and sociology have significant effects on how human beings behave (Kawakami & Cooper, 2015). Numerous social factors affect how human beings behave. A common element is their desire for survival where humans are always ready to defend themselves and react quickly to situations. The main idea behind their reactions is based on a sociology concept of self-preservation where human beings are perceived to be protective of themselves and avoid things that might negatively affect them emotionally, physically, mentally or otherwise (Aronson, 2017). For example, in various sociology related researche, it is alleged that Americans seem to be an industrious and efficient people who always save time. This is evident in their behavior which is time-saving oriented (Aronson, 2017). Among the Americans, people stereotypically interject a silence in a dialogue after four seconds of quiet before the talk turns awkward. Collective behavior is a phenomenon that is directly influenced by human social interactions where a group people participate in roughly prearranged actions. These activities can encourage or hinder social transformation through radical engagement or activism and can happen in the possibly damaging forms like unrests. Collective behavior can frequently cause peer pressure, which coerces people to conform to group behavior or risk ostracism. Peer pressure influences all kind of people with the youth being most susceptible to such collective behavior (Bergner, 2016). The source of evidence and societal restraints comprise race and ethnicity, gender identity and much more. However, societal realities are not constantly repressive since society is founded on restraint (Aronson, 2017).

Healthy civilizations need an element of sacrifice that can only be given by an imperative ethical limiting since it could affect the welfare of our other people. Unlike sociology, psychology studies specific elements relating to human behavior. These features include the basic human emotions such as anger and sadness among others. These emotional and social responses are the core of psychology (Aronson, 2017). They are the aspects that assist in understanding what triggers reactions and the psychological reasoning behind such responses. Psychology has a direct effect on human behavior regarding their mental state. It helps people suffering from psychological problems to deal with their issues by enabling them to understand why they are affected a certain way or why they behave how they do. For example, a person suffering from anxiety after visiting a psychologist will be able to know what particular things in their life make them anxious. They will gain useful knowledge pertaining their condition that will help them to understand how they can manage their anxiety and reduce or completely mitigate it. This example shows just how much influence psychology has on human behavior because it helps people to comprehend certain factors in their lives that they could change or develop to have a better psychological state. By them changing those aspects of their lives, their behaviors change too. Sometimes, some day to day activities of human beings are influenced by psychology. For example, it is common practice for many organizations in the corporate world to request for medical files from people they hire. These medical records may include a psychological evaluation by a reputable psychologist who will help determine if the person looking for the job is mentally equipped and stable for that particular job. The assessment will then directly affect the behavior of the people who deal with hiring at the organization where they will either reject or accept the new hire.

The articles referred to in the paper both have a focus on sociology, psychology and the relation between the two concepts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology discusses the dynamic existent between sociology and psychology. It has documented all extents of personality and social psychology and highlighted observation reports. It also contains detailed theoretical, practical, and evaluation documents. It is divided into three autonomous segments that deal with attitudes and social reasoning, interactive associations, and cluster procedures, and character progressions and individual variances. The other article called What is behavior? And why is it not reducible to biological states of affairs? is devoted to promoting dialogue about the intrusion of psychology, philosophy, and metatheory. It mainly focuses on moral, and critical subjects in psychological theory and the inferences of social matters.

Personally, I have been exposed and experienced both the effects of sociology and psychology in my life. An example of how I experienced the effect of sociology is during my one of my social interactions where I was easily swayed by other peoples actions. I have once agreed to join a dance at a social gathering because everyone expect me was dancing. I have also been exposed to psychological effects on human behavior whereby an acquaintance of mine has been turned down for a job offer after mentioning that they have been through a bad breakup in their interview. This can be perceived as a reaction by the hiring organization regarding the mental state of the person to be hired.

In conclusion, it is evident that both sociology and psychology have a great deal of influence on the human behavior. Both of these concepts have significant influences on how human beings conduct themselves on a day to day basis and how they live their lives in general. As discussed in the paper, sociology affects large groups of people and their social behaviors while psychology goes deeper to focus more on the particulars of human behavior regarding their mental and emotional responses. Both these concepts are important towards understanding how human beings behave and why they behave the way they do.

References

Kawakami K., Cooper, L. (2015). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. An Integrative model of social identification. 30(1), 3-26.

Bergner, R. M. (2016). What is behavior? And why is it not reducible to biological states of affairs? Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 36(1), 4155.

Aronson, E., Fehr, B., Akert, R. & Wilson, T. (2017). Social Psychology. Toronto: Pearson Canada Inc.