The network topology for a wide area sensor network has to support connectivity and a prolonged lifetime for the many applications used within it. The concepts of structure and group in sociology are similar to the concept of cluster in wireless sensor networks. The clustering method is one of the preferred ways to produce a topology for reduced electrical energy consumption. We herein propose a cluster topology method based on sociological structures and concepts. The proposed sociological clustering topology (SOCT) is a method that forms a network in two phases. The first phase, which from a sociological perspective is similar to forming a state within a nation, involves using nodes with large transmission capacity to set up the global area for the cluster. The second phase, which is similar to forming a city inside the state, involves using nodes with small transmission capacity to create regional clusters inside the global cluster to provide connectivity within the network. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms other methods in terms of energy efficiency and network lifetime.