Sociology

Sociology, systematic study that seeks to describe and explain collective human behavior—as manifested in cultures, societies, communities, and subgroups—by exploring the institutional relationships that hold between individuals and so sustain this behavior. Sociology shares its subject matter with anthropology, which traditionally focuses on small, relatively isolated societies, and social psychology, where the emphasis is on the study of subgroup behavior. The main emphasis in contemporary sociology is on the study of social structures and institutions and on the causes and effects of social change. Some current areas of inquiry are the family, religion, work, politics, urban life, and science.

Sociologists attempt to model their investigations on those of the physical sciences. Mainly because of the complexity of its subject matter and the political implications of social change, questions as to its proper aims and methods remain far from settled. There is little doubt, however, that sociological concepts such as internalization—the processes by which the values and norms of a particular society are learned by its members—and institutionalization—the processes by which norms are incorporated in a culture as binding rules of behavior—do often illuminate important social problems. The 2 great pioneers of modern sociology were Émile Durkheim and Max Weber. Leading U.S. sociologists include the pioneers William Sumner and George Mead, and Talcott Parsons and Daniel Bell.