What is psychology? What are the branches of psychology?
What is psychology? What are the branches of psychology?
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, psychology is "The profession (clinical psychology), scholarly discipline (academic psychology), and science (research psychology) concerned with the behavior of humans and animals, and related mental and physiologic processes." Although psychology may also include the study of the mind and behavior of animals, in this article psychology refers to humans.
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Fast facts on psychology
Here are some key points about psychology. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.
Here are some key points about psychology. More detail and supporting information is in the main article.
- Psychology is the study of behavior and the mind.
- We are unable to physically see mental processes such as thoughts, memories, dreams and perceptions.
- Clinical psychology is an integration science, theory, and practice.
- Cognitive psychology investigates internal mental processes such as how people think, perceive and communicate.
- Developmental psychology is the study of how a person develops psychologically over the course of their life.
- Evolutionary psychology examines how psychological adjustments during evolution have affected human behavior.
- Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the process of criminal investigation and the law.
- Health psychology observes how health can be influenced by behavior, biology and social context.
- Neuropsychology examines the how the brain functions in relation to different behaviors and psychological processes.
- Occupational psychology investigates how people perform at work in order to develop an understanding of how organizations function.
- Social psychology is a study of how the behavior and thoughts of people are influenced by the actual or implied presence of others.
Psychology - studying the mind
The mind is highly complex and enigmatic. Many wonder how psychologists can study such an intricate, seemingly abstract and extremely sophisticated thing. Even if scientists look inside the brain, as in an autopsy or during a surgical operation, all they see is gray matter (the brain). Thoughts, cognition, emotions, memories, dreams, perceptions, etc. cannot be seen physically, like a skin rash or heart defect.
Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior. The word "psychology" comes from the Greek word psyche meaning "breath, spirit, soul", and the Greek word logia meaning the study of something.
For a psychologist, human behavior is used as evidence - or at least an indication - of how the mind functions. We are unable to observe the mind directly; however, virtually all our actions, feelings and thoughts are influenced by the functioning of our minds. That is why human behavior is used as raw data for testing psychological theories on how the mind functions.
Where does psychology lie compared to other sciences?
Many say that psychology lies at the crossroads of other disciplines, such as medicine, linguistics, sociology, biology, artificial intelligence, anthropology, sociology, and even history. For example, neuropsychology - which looks at how different brain areas are involved in memory, language, emotions, etc. - overlaps with biology and medicine.The different branches of psychology
There are many branches of psychology; how you split them up will usually depend on which part of the world you are in, even which university or institution you were trained at.The following are seen as the main branches of psychology:
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in order to understand, predict and relieve maladjustment, disability, and discomfort. Clinical psychology also promotes adaption, adjustment and personal development. A clinical psychologist concentrates on the intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of human performance throughout a person's life, across varying cultures and socioeconomic levels. In other words, clinical psychology is the scientific study and application of psychology in order to understand, prevent, and alleviate psychologically-caused distress or dysfunction (disability) and promote the patient's well-being and personal development.Psychological assessment and psychotherapy ("What is psychotherapy?") are central to the practice of clinical psychology. However, clinical psychologists are often also involved in research, training, forensic testimony, and other areas.
Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology investigates internal mental processes, such as problem solving, memory, learning, and language (how people think, perceive, communicate, remember and learn).
At the center of cognitive psychology is how people acquire, process and store information. Many say that cognitive psychology is the study of intelligence. Practical applications for cognitive research may include how to improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision-making, or how to set up educational programs to boost learning.
Developmental psychology
Developmental psychology is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that a person experiences over the course of his/her life span. Developmental psychology is often referred to as human development. It used to just focus on infants and young children, but also includes teenagers and adults today - the whole human life span. Developmental psychology includes any psychological factor that is studied over the life of a person, including motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language, emotions, personality, self-concept and identity formation.Developmental psychology also looks and compares innate mental structures against learning through experience. For example, babies are thought to be born with an LAD (language acquisition device) - an inbuilt ability to acquire language. A developmental psychologist will be interested in how the LAD works compared to the baby's development through experience, and how the two interplay. A developmental psychologist will be interested in how a person's characteristics interact with environmental factors and how development is impacted. Developmental psychology overlaps with several other branches of psychology, as well as other disciplines, such as linguistics.
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology looks at how human behavior has been affected by psychological adjustments during evolution. Just as biologists talk about natural selection or sexual selection during evolution, this branch of psychology applies psychology to the same way of thinking. An evolutionary psychologist believes, for example, that language or memory perception are functional products of natural selection.Some evolutionary psychologists hypothesize that language learning is a capacity we are born with, making language learning a virtually automatic process - but not reading or writing. In other words, they believe our ability to learn language is inherited while our ability to read and write is not (language learning will happen automatically, while reading and writing has to be taught). A person who is born in a town that speaks French will speak French by the time he is 20. However, if he is not taught to read he will be illiterate - language is acquired automatically if it exists around you, while reading and writing are not.
An evolutionary psychologist believes that our human psychological traits are adaptations for survival in the everyday environment of our ancestors.
Forensic psychology
Forensic psychology involves applying psychology to criminal investigation and the law. A forensic psychologist practices psychology as a science within the criminal justice system and civil courts. Forensic psychology involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to interact with judges, lawyers and other professionals of the legal system. Forensic psychology involves the ability to testify in court, to present psychological findings in legal language to the courtroom, and to provide data to legal professionals in a clear way.A forensic psychologist needs to understand the rules, standards, and philosophy of his/her country's judicial system.
Health psychology
Health psychology is also called behavioral medicine or medical psychology. This branch observes how behavior, biology and social context influence illness and health. While a doctor treats the illness, the health psychologist will focus more on the person who has the illness, by finding out about their socioeconomic status and background, behaviors that may have an impact on the disease (such as medication compliance), plus the biological reasons for the illness. The aim of the health psychologist is to improve the patient's overall health by analyzing disease in the context of biopsychosocial factors. Biopsychosocial refers to the biological, psychological, and social aspects in contrast to the strictly biomedical aspects of disease.Health psychologists generally work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings.
Neuropsychology
Studies the structure and function of the brain in relation to clear behaviors and psychological processes. Neuropsychology is also involved in lesion studies in the brain, as well as recording electrical activity from cells and groups of cells in higher primates, including some human studies.A neuropsychologist will use a Neuropsychological Evaluation - a systematic assessment procedure - to determine the degree of any possible behavioral problems following suspected or diagnosed brain injury in a patient. When diagnosis is made, some patients are treated with an individualized cognitive remediation protocol - a treatment that helps the patient overcome his/her cognitive deficits.
Occupational psychology
Occupational psychology, also known as industrial-organizational psychology, I-O psychology, work psychology, organizational psychology, work and organizational psychology, occupational psychology, personnel psychology or talent assessment - studies the performance of people at work and in training, develops an understanding of how organizations function and how people and groups behave at work. The occupational psychologist aims to increase effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction at work.The British Psychological Society says occupational psychology "is concerned with the performance of people at work in training, how organizations function and how individuals and small groups behave at work. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the organization, and to improve the job satisfaction of the individual."
Social psychology
Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand and explain how feeling, behavior and thoughts of people are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other people. A social psychologist will look at group behavior, social perception, non-verbal behavior, conformity, aggression, prejudice, and leadership. Social perception and social interaction are seen as key to understanding social behavior.Put simply, social psychology studies the impact of social influences on human behavior.
