Branches of psychology
Every time I tell my mom what I’m studying, she tells me that I should be a forensic psychologist. The only other time she tells me this is when I’ve had too much to drink on St. Patrick’s Day and have a green shirt on. Maybe she has confused the two; but after learning about each field of psychology, you’ll understand how apt her comment is. Let’s break it down. Clinical psychologists work with people one-on-one, or in group settings for therapeutic purposes. Cognitive psychologists study how mental processes (e.g., attention, memory, language) influence our behavior and decision making. Developmental psychologists conduct research on how humans change as they grow from birth through youth and into adulthood. Evolutionary psychologists seek to understand how the mind evolved from the environment in which humans developed long ago. Forensic psychologists apply psychological knowledge and skills in solving legal problems like employment disputes, divorce cases, death penalty appeals, and prosecuting criminal cases (yeah…that basically sums up TV). Health psychologists deal with the psychological aspects of physical health problems like eating disorders or chronic pain. Neuropsychologists examine brain mechanisms which affect thoughts and behaviors by performing interviews, conducting examination, and etc
Now let's see them with little bit details...
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in order to understand, predict and relieve problems with adjustment, disability, and discomfort. It 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.
Clinical psychology can help us to understand, prevent, and alleviate psychologically-caused distress or dysfunction, and promote an individual’s well-being and personal development.
Psychological assessment and psychotherapy are central to the practice of clinical psychology, but 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. It looks at how people think, perceive, communicate, remember, and learn. It is closely related to neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics.
Cognitive psychologists look at how people acquire, process, and store information.
Practical applications include how to improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision-making, or how to set up educational programs to boost learning.
Developmental psychology
This is the scientific study o.f systematic psychological changes that a person experiences over the life span, often referred to as human development.
It focuses not only on infants and young children but also teenagers, adults, and older people.
Factors include motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language, emotions, personality, self-concept, and identity formation.
It also looks at innate mental structures against learning through experience, or how a person’s characteristics interact with environmental factors and how this impacts development.
Developmental psychology overlaps with fields such as linguistics.
Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology looks at how human behavior, for example language, has been affected by psychological adjustments during evolution.
An evolutionary psychologist believes that many human psychological traits are adaptive in that they have enabled us to survive over thousands of years.
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.
It involves assessing the psychological factors that might influence a case or behavior and presenting the findings in court.
Health psychology
Health psychology is also called behavioral medicine or medical psychology.
It observes how behavior, biology, and social context influence illness and health.
A physician often looks first at the biological causes of a disease, but a health psychologist will focus on the whole person and what influences their health status. This may include their socioeconomic status, education, and background, and behaviors that may have an impact on the disease, such as compliance with instructions and medication.
Health psychologists usually work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings.
Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology looks at the structure and function of the brain in relation to behaviors and psychological processes. A neuropsychology may be involved if a condition involves lesions in the brain, and assessments that involve recording electrical activity in the brain.
A neuropsychological evaluation is used to determine whether a person is likely to experience behavioral problems following suspected or diagnosed brain injury, such as a stroke.
The results can enable a doctor to provide treatment that may help the individual achieve possible improvements in cognitive damage that has occurred.
Occupational psychology
Occupational or organizational psychologists are involved in assessing and making recommendations about the performance of people at work and in training.
They help companies to find more effective ways to function, and to understand how people and groups behave at work.
This information can help improve effectiveness, efficiency, job satisfaction, and employee retention.
Social psychology
Social psychology uses scientific methods to understand how social influences impact human behavior. It seeks to explain how feelings, behavior, and thoughts are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of other people.
A social psychologist looks 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.
Other branches include military, consumer, educational, cross-cultural, and environmental psychology. The number of branches continues to grow.
At last....
Well, this is your opportunity to expand your horizons on a subject that is of great interest to us. Do remember, however, that there are more than the 8 branches of psychology mentioned here so don't be surprised if you learn about other fields and sub-fields later on.
