What do I choose at university?

[Snow Turtle]

Questions that are running through my head while posting this...

What exactly is sociology?
How different is it compared to social psychology?
What's philosophy actually like as a degree?

 

[katerp]

What exactly is sociology?

Sociology is basically the systematic study of society and social relationships - how they're organized, how they function, etc. Sociologists look for patterns in attitudes and behaviors and try to explains how groups influence these attitudes and behaviors. It covers pretty much any branch of social life you can think of from personal relationships to large scale organizations.

How different is it compared to social psychology?

There are two kinds of social psychology. From the sociological perspective, social psychology focuses much more on the group, specifically how large group variables like social class or nationality contribute to the identities of individuals. From the psychological perspective, social psychology focuses more on the individual and how attitudes and personality affects one's interactions in the social world. A psychological social psychologist is more likely to say that your individual personality is influenced by your social environment to create your personal identity, while a sociological social psychologist is more likely to say that your unique experience with different social groups creates your personal identity. The main difference between psychology and sociology is the focus on the individual vs the group.


BTW, I'm a psychology major considering a double major in sociology, mainly because a lot of the coursework overlaps and there are a lot of interesting sociology courses.

 

[Qre:us]

What is your aim with each? What do you want to accomplish/do at the end of the whole trials & tribulations? Beyond, seek knowledge....

 

[murkrow]

there's nothing you can learn in a philosophy course that you couldn't learn quicker with a book and someone to talk to.

unless you just want moderately interesting classes or to be a prof then skip it.

 

[juggernaut]

there's nothing you can learn in a philosophy course that you couldn't learn quicker with a book and someone to talk to.

unless you just want moderately interesting classes or to be a prof then skip it.

That is simply not true. A philosophy degree will prepare for graduate work in a number of fields, as well as law school and other professional schools. Even if you don't go on, academically, there are jobs available for philosophy grads. You will not be able to do any more with an undergrad degree in psychology than you will with one in philosophy.

"Working Your Degree:" Philosophy - Oct. 13, 2000

 

[Sentura]

pardon for being blunt, but i don't think psychology would befit you. if anything, go for educational studies or some sort of management.

 

[Snow Turtle]

What is your aim with each? What do you want to accomplish/do at the end of the whole trials & tribulations? Beyond, seek knowledge....

Psychology - Natural interest in the theories, not so much the biology. Potentially aiming for educational psychologist.

Philosophy - Secondary interest. More so in ethics, epistemology and metaphysics, there isn't much to do with it apart from gain more knowledge and understanding. Would doing a degree in this subject just be about remembering past theories though?

Sociology - I was just curious about what this involves since I might apply to this as a joint degree. (It lowers entry offers/shoddy reason I know) At the moment I haven't looked much into the theories but I'm uneasy that there's going to be a large element of politics and crime rates. I suppose I'd be more interested in social/cutural sociology/anthropology.

BTW, I'm a psychology major considering a double major in sociology, mainly because a lot of the coursework overlaps and there are a lot of interesting sociology courses.

Once again thank you for your response. The societal thing sounds interesting, but not so much the government/politics. What sort of questions do you work with in sociology? [I need to get a book, but am short on time...]

pardon for being blunt, but i don't think psychology would befit you. if anything, go for educational studies or some sort of management.

Not at all. But I'd want reasoning that backs up this statement. Why wouldn't psychology suit me?

 

[Sentura]

Not at all. But I'd want reasoning that backs up this statement. Why wouldn't psychology suit me?

this is something best discussed over PMs.

 

[murkrow]

That is simply not true. A philosophy degree will prepare for graduate work in a number of fields, as well as law school and other professional schools. Even if you don't go on, academically, there are jobs available for philosophy grads. You will not be able to do any more with an undergrad degree in psychology than you will with one in philosophy.

"Working Your Degree:" Philosophy - Oct. 13, 2000

That's really comforting.

Thanks .

 

[Stanton Moore]

Psychology and philosophy are somewhat inter-related, but I would concentrate on psychology if I were deciding for myself.

I knew a philosophy major who said that the getting that degree was a path to unhappiness!

 

[juggernaut]

Psychology and philosophy are somewhat inter-related, but I would concentrate on psychology if I were deciding for myself.

I knew a philosophy major who said that the getting that degree was a path to unhappiness!

I know one who believes it was the best thing she ever did.

 

[nightning]

It depends on what you're interested in... different people get different sort of experiences so it's hard to judge based on their accounts. But I think it's fair to say you're not likely to find a job that is directly related to what you study in psych, sociology or philosophy unless you go into academia.

 

[katerp]

Sociology - I was just curious about what this involves since I might apply to this as a joint degree. (It lowers entry offers/shoddy reason I know) At the moment I haven't looked much into the theories but I'm uneasy that there's going to be a large element of politics and crime rates. I suppose I'd be more interested in social/cutural sociology/anthropology.

Once again thank you for your response. The societal thing sounds interesting, but not so much the government/politics. What sort of questions do you work with in sociology? [I need to get a book, but am short on time...]

Sociology really covers all aspects of society and social life, not just society as organized by governments. If you're not interested in government/politics, then there are still plenty of other topics you can study within sociology - though it depends on what courses your university offers. Just using my university as an example there are sociology courses focusing on gender, ethnicity, intimate realtionships, family, aging, the media, the arts, religion, the military, education, personality/identity, and many other topics in addition to politics. Sociology is such a broad field that you should definitely be able to find some topics of interest. Or if you think you might be more interested in studying how cultures vary across societies, then cultural anthropology might be a good choice for you.