The growth of Sociology statistical analyses in their work.
But the
____________________________
Sociology is not the only discipline that studies
human behavior and societies. neighboring
disciplines share an interest in some aspects of
the social world.
Sociology, economics, anthropo-
logy, history, political science, and psychology
are neighboring disciplines. One of the
characteristics they share is that each has a
coherent base of knowledge which is grounded
in theory and research. They also are marked
by one or more distinctive methods of
obtaining knowledge. Law, public
administration, social medicine, social work,
education, and business administration are
closely related professional areas that raw
upon the social sciences to deal with practical
problems. They may also add to our knowledge
of social life when they conduct systematic
studies. Different historical origins and
professional differences of opinion sometimes
interfere with relationships among these fields.
Despite their differences, however, these
specialized subjects all deal with social
behavior, All social sciences, as these disciplines
are called, study human activity and
communication, but ac discipline separates our
certain behaviors as its particular focus of
study.
Economics
The field of economics considers
activity relating to the production, distribution,
and consumption of goods and services, In
studying a factory, an economist tends to see
the work force as a “supply of labor”.
Sociologist consider other aspects of the
workers’ social makeup that may influence the
work situation. They see the work force
compromised of individuals of various races,
sexes ages, and religions. Any or all of these
factors may affect the work process.
Because goods and services ma easily be
counted and measured, economist have been
able to use sophisticated mathematical and
production, distribution, and consumption of
goods and services also occurs within a social
web, leaving additional areas for sociological
inquiry, The surging demand for smaller cars
was possible, for example, because of smaller
family size. Thus, the supply and price of oil
operates within a social world to influence
consumer choices and while valuing the
expertise of economist, sociologists can
provide additional perspectives on economic
life.
Political Science
The study of political science emerged
after the development of economics and
focused on political philosophy and the ideals
of good government. The twentieth century,
political science has turned to the study of
forms of government in the everywhere. In
recent decades political scientists have come to
use more numerical data, such as voting
records or numbers of people holding certain
attitudes. They have also begun to focus on
actual political behaviors more than on
political philosophies. Today the interest and
political sociologist overlap to a large degree -
for example, in the studies of voting behavior
and public opinion formation.
Anthropology
Anthropology seeks to describe human
variations, both physical and social, since
human kind’s earliest beginnings. It has a
highly comparative, or cross cultural,
perspective. Traditionally, anthropologists
have studied remote culture; they have live
with tribal, exotic, and often preliterate
societies that were isolate from the
contemporary world. As such untouched
societies disappear, anthropologist have begun
to study social groups in industrial societies.
Thus we begin to see ethnographies (detailed
anthropological descriptions) of urban street
gangs, peer culture in schools, the transmission
of culture among immigrants, and gender-role
behavior. These studies closely parallel man of
the concerns of sociology.

History
The study of past societies has only
recently attracted the attention of American
sociologist, who previously left this field to
historians. Some historians claim that history
is a series of unique events which can only be
described separately and which never form
patterns or trends. They tend to see history as
part of the humanities (along with literature,
art, and music), rather than as a social science.
Other historians provide comparisons across
time or record disappearing styles; they
resemble who study the past. A few historians
borrow sociological methods for analyzing
numerical data and some sociologist include
historical background in their studies of
communities, class structures, or
organizational change. A sociological study
comparing social leadership in Boston and
Philadelphia, for example traces its historical
roots to the colonial experience and even back
to to Europe (Baltzell, 1979)

Psychology
Psychology explores both the biological
and the social origins of human behavior.
Physiological psychology considers the
physical processes that underline thinking,
feeling, and perceiving. Social psychology
involves the scientific study of how individual
behavior is socially influenced. Social
psychologist focus on what happens inside
individuals, including personality
development, and how they are influenced by
the groups, societies, and cultures to which
they belong. Social psychology is well
established in both psychology and sociology
departments in universities all over the United
States.