Man as an individual is the scope of psychology and man as a social being is subject matter of sociology. Sociology aims to understand how behaviour is organised in society, or how various aspects of society influence a person''s personality. Whereas psychology is mostly concerned with the individual ''s memory, nervous system, reflexes, learning capacity, and aspirations and anxieties. Relationships between the two disciplines have evolved over the period. At the arrival of sociology, Positivists made the distinction between the two. In most of his writings, Durkheim explicitly distinguished between sociology and psychology, denying any agency to individual thought processes.
Later social thinkers argued that the individual and its mind is largely shaped by the society and social interactions within the context of culture. Therefore, the essential element for sociology is not individual cognisance but cultural context, whereas psychology remained a specialised field to study the human mind and cognisance.
The differentiation that Freud proposed in the form of the id, ego, and superego shows that there is social behind the instinctual aspect of mind. This was against the claims of psychology to understand the individual mind and perhaps it was the turning point that started to bridge the gap etween the two disciplines.
Gradually, psychology has recognized its own shortcoming in understanding the human mind as an exclusive entity. A branch of psychology, called ‘social psychology’ developed to rectify its shortcomings.
At the same time few sociologists started to criticise sociology for not respecting individual agency in its analysis. They highlighted that individual one does not have a life of its own without the role of collectivity.
Weber said that social action and interaction should be the subject matter of sociology. Mind gives direction out of which social action develops. Therefore, psychology and sociology cannot be isolated from each other.
Phenomenologists such as Shutz further carried the argument and said that while applying their mind, all human beings interpret the same action or situation differently. Therefore, everything present in social life is subjected to the relative judgement of the actor''s mind.
Cooley''s looking glass self is inspired from psychology. Ginsberg and Nadel also favour psychological interpretations. Gerth and Mills define ''role'' as a meeting point between social structure and individual character and thus the meeting point of social psychology and sociology. Hence, sociology and psychology are inseparable today.
The distinction between sociology and psychology doesn’t not hold any meaning because both complement each other and both contribute to the scientific development of each other. Therefore, the statement that sociology as a discipline that stands apart from psychology, doesn''t hold any merit today.
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