Psychology and anthropology are two areas of knowledge and research that can often be confused. Both place great importance on the study of human beings, but they do it in different ways.
But… Where exactly are these differences between psychology and anthropology? Are they so relevant as to keep these two disciplines in separate categories? Certainly, if both have different names and are represented by different university majors, it is for a reason. Let’s see in what points each of them is characterized.
Main differences between Anthropology and Psychology
These are the basic points on which psychology and anthropology differ. Some of them suggest that These two disciplines overlap in certain cases, and the truth is that in practice it is impossible to completely isolate what each one studies. However, both maintain their identity precisely because this overlap is not total, far from it.
1. Psychology is less socially based
Psychology is a very broad science, and Not everything it covers has to do with the social dimension of the human being For example, basic psychology or biopsychology focuses only on the study of the individual, and if they take into account something other than this, they are a few very limited variables.
Anthropology, on the other hand, always studies the human being as a being who is a product of the society in which he lives. That is, it studies the way in which different cultures (and their relationship with biology, in the case of biological anthropology) are expressed through the variety of behaviors typical of human beings.
Anthropology always starts from a historical perspective. An attempt is made to understand how certain patterns of behavior and certain forms of expression have emerged, taking into account the way in which generations take over from previous ones.
Thus, anthropologists almost always formulate their topics to be investigated and the hypotheses that answer those questions. analyzing long periods of time This allows us to better understand those cultural or ethnic characteristics that resist the passage of time.
Psychology, however, part of analyzing large periods of time much less frequently That means that some of its findings are intended to be timeless. In fact, much of the research on which its progress is based is based on the here and now of the moment of measurement.
3. The claim to universality
As we have seen in the previous point, a good part of psychology seeks timeless findings. This gives us clues about another difference between psychology and anthropology: The first does not always take into account the effect of culture and focuses on the biological and the genetic, while the second, although it may take into account the physical differences between groups, places emphasis on the transmission of habits, symbols and customs constructed collectively and that have been born in the constant interaction with the around.
That is, anthropology studies the human being related to the historical and cultural contingencies in which he lives, while psychology does not have to do this and can also choose to analyze what all human beings have in common in their most basic actions beyond interpretations.
Psychology uses the experimental method a lot, which consists of generating a phenomenon (in this case, psychological) under the careful observation of researchers, taking a meticulous and objective record of the facts and comparing these data with those obtained with other people in the field. that this phenomenon has not been generated.
It also uses correlation studies, in which various data provided by a large number of individuals are collected to analyze these results and see how the variables interact, what behavioral patterns appear, etc. For example, this method would allow us to see whether people with depression tend to think about suicide more than others or not.
These two methodologies are based on the creation of a very defined and “rigid” system of variables that is “filled in” by the information captured They are quantitative forms of study.
Anthropology can also make use of these kinds of quantitative techniques, but It is defined rather by qualitative methods those that do not generate rigid schemes before starting to investigate but rather adapt in real time to what is observed about the object of study.
For example, when an anthropologist goes to live with a tribe in the Amazon rainforest to take notes about what he sees and interview members of the clan without following a clear and highly structured script, he is using qualitative methods.
