SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGY - THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN SOCIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

In the area of social psychology, sociologists have drawn more frequen tly from psychologists than the reverse. This is in part because socio logists more often assess the degree to which status characteristics, social relationships, and structural contexts influence individuals' t houghts, feelings, and behaviors, while psychologists more often expli cate the mechanisms through which such social factors affect individua ls. I illustrate these differences by discussing points of parallel th eoretical development between the two disciplines, substantive divisio ns of labor, and selected topics of mutual inquiry. Although sociologi sts benefit substantially from psychologists' work, sociologists could offer their counterparts more pointed demonstrations that sociologica l mechanisms are crucial for explaining key psychological phenomena an d that structural contexts constrain individuals' behaviors in ways of ten overlooked by psychologists.