Psychology as a Social Science

Psychology is more commonly classified as a social science because it studies human beings as social beings -- shaped by their socio-cultural surroundings even as they, in turn, help create those surroundings. This is easiest to see through a comparison of two very differently placed individuals. Consider two classmates: one grows up on a farming family's land, is an outgoing, athletic long-distance runner who enjoys meeting new people; the other lives with just her mother and younger brother (her father works away and visits on holidays), is artistic, shy, and prefers staying close to home. The two are only mild acquaintances until a severe flood forces the second family to take shelter with the first. Helping the flood-affected family settle in, and later watching the two mothers help each other rebuild, draws the two girls into a close friendship neither had anticipated. …