What Is Sociology? 
                     WHAT IS 
SOCIOLOGY?
WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
• Sociology is the study of human social relationships and institutions. Sociology’s subject matter is 
diverse, ranging from crime to religion, from the family to the state, from the divisions of race and 
social class to the shared beliefs of a common culture, and from social stability to radical change in 
whole societies. 
Source: sociology.unc.edu
STUDY ON SOCIOLOGY
• Sociologists study all aspects and levels of society. Sociologists working from the micro-level study 
small groups and individual interactions, while those using macro-level analysis look at trends among 
and between large groups and societies. 
Source: sociology.unc.edu
HOW SOCIOLOGISTS VIEW 
SOCIETY
• All sociologists are interested in the experiences of individuals and how those experiences are shaped 
by interactions with social groups and society as a whole. To a sociologist, the personal decisions an 
individual makes do not exist in a vacuum. 
Source: sociology.unc.edu
SOCIOLOGY PROVIDES 
DISTINCTIVE PERSPECTIVES 
• Sociology provides many distinctive perspectives on the world, generating new ideas and critiquing the 
old. 
• The field also offers a range of research techniques that can be applied to virtually any aspect of social 
life: street crime and delinquency, corporate downsizing, how people express emotions, welfare or 
education reform, how families differ and flourish, or problems of peace and war.
Source: sociology.unc.edu
SOCIAL LIFE 
• Social life overwhelmingly regulates the behaviour of humans, largely because humans lack the 
instincts that guide most animal behaviour. Humans therefore depend on social institutions and 
organizations to inform their decisions and actions. 
Source: www.britannica.com
BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL 
STRUCTURES
• Among the most basic organizational structures are economic, religious, educational, and political 
institutions, as well as more specialized institutions such as the family, the community, the military, 
peer groups, clubs, and volunteer associations.
Source: www.britannica.com
BROAD NATURE 
• The broad nature of sociological inquiry causes it to overlap with other social sciences such as 
economics, political science, psychology, geography, education, and law. 
Source: www.britannica.com
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
• Sociologists also utilize some aspects of these other fields. Psychology and sociology, for instance, 
share an interest in the subfield of social psychology, although psychologists traditionally focus on 
individuals and their mental mechanisms.
Source: www.britannica.com
COLLECTIVE ASPECTS OF 
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
• Sociology devotes most of its attention to the collective aspects of human behaviour, because 
sociologists place greater emphasis on the ways external groups influence the behaviour of 
individuals.
Source: www.britannica.com
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