Social Sciences of Psychology

A meta-disciplinary field that applies the tools of sociology, anthropology, and political science to study psychology itself as a social institution and knowledge system. It examines how psychological theories are shaped by cultural values, how psychological practices (therapy, testing, diagnosis) function as social control, how the profession is stratified by gender and race, and how psychological knowledge circulates in public discourse. Unlike psychology, which studies individuals, the social sciences of psychology ask: who funds psychological research? Which theories become dominant and why? How do power relations inside the discipline affect what counts as “normal” or “disordered”? It reveals that psychology is not a timeless science of the mind but a historically situated social practice.

Example: “Her research in the social sciences of psychology showed how the rise of cognitive behavioral therapy was driven not just by efficacy data but by insurance reimbursement structures and a cultural shift toward individualizing social problems.”

Social Sciences of Psychology by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal April 16, 2026