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human ecology

Definition of Human Ecology

(noun) The social science that studies the relationship between people and their built or natural environment.

Human Ecology Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: hu·man e·col·o·gy

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /hyOO-muhn i-kAHl-uh-jee/
  • British English – /hyOO-muhn i-kOl-uh-jee/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /ˈhjumən iˈkɑləʤi/
  • British English – /ˈhjuːmən ɪˈkɒləʤi/

Usage Notes

Additional Information

Related Terms


Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.

Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Kornblum, William. 2008. Sociology in a Changing World. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).

Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Thorpe, Christopher, Chris Yuill, Mitchell Hobbs, Sarah Tomley, and Marcus Weeks. 2015. The Sociology Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained. London: Dorling Kindersley.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Cite the Definition of Human Ecology

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “human ecology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/human-ecology/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

human ecology. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/human-ecology/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “human ecology.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/human-ecology/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“human ecology.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/human-ecology/>.