Final answer:
Sociology and psychology are both social sciences that focus on human behavior, but they differ in their approach. Psychology looks inward at mental processes while sociology looks outward at societal influences on behavior.
Step-by-step explanation:
Sociology and psychology are disciplines under the social sciences. The theorists who developed these fields of study were not from the natural sciences, humanities, or biological sciences, rather, they were from the social sciences. Sociology emerged to explore and theorize societal changes due to the Industrial Revolution, using scientific methodologies akin to the natural sciences. Psychology, accepted as a separate academic discipline in the late 19th century, has origins in philosophy but also shares traits with natural sciences like biology due to its focus on the biological underpinnings of behavior.
While both disciplines aim to understanding human behavior, there is a key difference. Psychologists concentrate on the internal dimensions such as mental health and emotional processes (looking inward), whereas sociologists examine the external factors like social institutions and cultural norms (looking outward), to comprehend how society shapes behavior.