The table below, was adapted from A Guide to Writing Sociology Papers by the Sociology Writing Group, pages 5-6.
| Similarities | Differences | |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | Both concerned with attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, emotions, customs, interpersonal relationships | Psychology more likely to focus on individuals, sociology with individuals in social groups |
| Political Science | Both are concerned with government | Political Science studies different forms of government and the political process, sociology the interrelationship between political structure and behavior and other aspects of society such as economics, religion, attitudes, etc. |
| History | Both examine human activities over time | History focuses on the influence of individuals and cause of events, sociology on the causes and effects of changes in patterns of social life |
| Philosophy | Both study beliefs about the nature of life | Philosophy seeks to understand by using abstract reasoning based on rules of logic; sociology is empirical and gathers data about the behavior of people |
| Anthropology | Both are concerned with aspects of social life: culture, beliefs relationships, etc. |
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Economics |
Both are concerned with the production and distribution of goods and services |
Economics studies the economy in its own right; sociology studies the affects of the economy on other social processes and how they affect the economy in return |
