sociology

/soʊsiˈɑlədʒi/

/səʊsiˈɒlədʒi/

Sociology is the study of human cultures, communities, and societies. Sociology attempts to explain how a society works, whether that society is a native tribe in the Amazon or an old folks’ home in Nebraska.

Sociology is one of the social — sometimes called soft — sciences. It's the study of human actions and interactions. People who study sociology — sociologists — look at how people interact in groups and what kinds of religions, governments, schools, and other ways of life they create. While psychology looks mostly at individuals, sociology looks at people in groups.

Definitions of sociology

1. noun

   the study and classification of human societies
   types:

   criminology

   the scientific study of crime and criminal behavior and law enforcement

   demography, human ecology

   the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations

   psephology

   the branch of sociology that studies election trends (as by opinion polls)

   sociometry

   the quantitative study of social relationships

   penology, poenology

   the branch of criminology concerned with prison management and prisoner rehabilitation

   type of:

   social science

   the branch of science that studies society and the relationships of individual within a society