Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology that looks at psychopathology and abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-compulsion to sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists, and psychotherapists often work directly in this field.

Behavioral Psychology
Behavioral psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on observable behaviors. Conditioning, reinforcement and punishment are key concepts used by behaviorists. Learn more about classical conditioning and operant conditioning as well as some of the major behaviorist thinkers.

Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders. Learn more about topics and issues in clinical psychology.

Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that explores internal states including attention, thinking, and decision-making. Learn more about some of the major topics within cognitive psychology including intelligence, memory and problem-solving.

Comparative Psychology
Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of animal behavior. The study of animal behavior can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.

Cross-Cultural Psychology
Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how cultural factors influence human behavior. Learn more about what cross-cultural psychology is and who should study it.

Educational Psychology
Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with schools, teaching psychology, educational issues, and student concerns. Find more information about educational psychology.

Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychology is the branch of psychology that deals with the intersection of psychology and the law. Learn more about the applications of forensic psychology and various issues in this growing specialty area.

Health Psychology

Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior and social factors influence health and illness. Learn more about health psychology in this overview of the field.

Social Psychology
Social psychology is a discipline that uses scientific methods to study social influence, social perception and social interaction. Learn more about the history of social psychology and what makes it different from other disciplines.

Experimental psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on experimental design and the study of psychology in research settings. Developmental psychobiology is an interdisciplinary field, encompassing developmental psychology, biological psychology,neuroscience and many other areas of biology. Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and its individual differences. Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of nonhuman animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. 3. Biopsychology The branch of psychology focused on the study of how the brain influences behavior is often known as biopsychology, although it has also been called physiological psychology, behavioral neuroscience and psychobiology.
Counseling Psychology: Counseling psychology focuses on providing therapeutic treatments to clients who experience a wide variety of symptoms. It is also one of the largest specialty areas within psychology. The Society of Counseling Psychology describes the field as " a psychological specialty [that] facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span with a focus on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental and organizational concerns."

Social Psychology: Social psychology looks at a wide range of social topics, including group behavior, social perception, leadership, nonverbal behavior, conformity, aggression and prejudice. It is important to note that social psychology is not just about looking at social influences. Social perception and social interaction are also vital to understanding social behavior.

Physiological Psychology
The area of experimental known as physiological psychology has evolved in the 1990s. Increasingly, the field is being referred to as behavioral neuroscience, replacing physiological psychology and biological psychology. Nonetheless, the goals of psychologists in this field remain the same: to utilize basic research to explain behavior in physiological terms, working on the assumption that for ever

Etiology - The change in theory

Psychological etiology refers to the scientific investigation into the origins of a disorder that cannot be explained biologically. Etiology is complicated by the fact that most disorders have more than one cause. Early etiological theories were the Freudian and post-Freudian psychoanalytic beliefs. Sigmund Freud attributed mental or neurotic disorders to deep-seated or hidden psychic motivations. Psychopathology is a term which refers to either the study of mental illness or mental distress or the manifestation of behaviours and experiences which may be indicative of mental illness or psychological impairment.
Etiology (alternatively aetiology, aitiology /itildi/) is the study of causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek, aitiologia, "giving a reason for" (, aitia, "cause"; and -, logia).[1] The word is most commonly used in medical and philosophical theories, where it is used to refer to the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act, and is used in philosophy, physics, psychology, government, geography, spatial analysis, medicine, theology, and biology in reference to the causes of various phenomena. An etiological myth is a myth intended to explain a name or create a mythic history for a place or family.

Neurosis is a class of functional mental disorders involving distress but neither delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially acceptable norms. [1] It is also known as psychoneurosis or neurotic disorder, and thus those suffering from it are said to be neurotic. The term essentially describes an "invisible injury" and the resulting condition. Psychosis (from the Greek "psyche", for mind/soul, and - "-osis", for abnormal condition or derangement) refers to an abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are described as psychotic. Psychosis is the term given to the more severe forms of psychiatric disorder,

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that generally appears in late adolescence or early adulthood - however, it can emerge at any time in life. It is one of many brain diseases that may include delusions, loss of personality (flat affect), confusion, agitation, social withdrawal, psychosis, and bizarre behavior.
Organic brain syndrome (OBS), also known as organic brain disease (OBD) Organic mental disorders organic brain disorder, is an older and nearly obsolete general term from psychiatry, referring to many physical disorders that cause impaired mental function.[1] It does not include psychiatric disorders. Originally, the term was created to distinguish physical (termed "organic") causes of mental impairment from psychiatric (termed "functional") disorders.

VOCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

: the application of psychological principles to the problems of vocational choice, selection, and training Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychologicalmeasurement, which includes the measurement of knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personalitytraits, and educational measurement. The field is primarily concerned with the construction and validation of measurement instruments such as questionnaires, tests, and personality assessments. Mood disorder is a group of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV TR) classification system where a disturbance in the person's mood is hypothesized to be the main underlying feature.[1] The classification is known as mood (affective) disorders in ICD 10.

What Are Mood Disorders?

Four basic forms of mood disorders are major depression, cyclothymia (a mild form of bipolar disorder), SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and mania (euphoric, hyperactive, over inflated ego, unrealistic optimism.)

How Common Are Mood Disorders?

About 20% of the U.S. population reports at least one depressive symptom in a given month, and 12% report two or more in a year. A survey conducted in 1992 found rates of major depression reaching 5% in the previous 30 days, 17% for a lifetime. Bipolar disorder is less common, occurring at a rate of 1% in the general population, but some believe the diagnosis is often overlooked because manic elation is too rarely reported as an illness.

The Relationship Between Psychiatric Disorders and Mood Disorders

Depression is a common feature of mental illness, whatever its nature and origin. A person with a history of any serious psychiatric disorder has almost as high a chance of developing major depression as someone who has had major depression itself in the past.

Alcohol, Substance Abuse and Depression

Alcoholism and other forms of drug dependence are also related to depression. Dual diagnosis - substance abuse and another psychiatric disorder, usually a mood disorder - is an increasingly serious psychiatric concern. Whether drug abuse causes depression, depression leads to drug abuse, or both have a common cause, a vicious spiral ensues when addicts use the drugs to relieve symptoms the drugs have caused. Cocaine and other stimulants act on neurotransmitters in the brains pleasure center, causing elation that is followed by depression as the effect subsides. Sometimes what appears to be major depression clears up after abstinence from alcohol or drugs. People with serious mood disorders also have

twice the average rate of nicotine addiction, and many become depressed when they try to stop smoking.

Personality and Mood Disorders

People are more easily demoralized by depression and slower to recover if they are withdrawn and unreasonably self-critical or irritable, impulsive, and hypersensitive to loss. Most people with major depression also show some signs of anxiety, and 1530% have panic attacks. As a biological mechanism for coping with danger, anxiety creates a need for help or protection that may give way to despair if it is disappointed. Chronically anxious people may also medicate themselves with alcohol or drugs that can cause depression.

Depression and Physical Illness

Depression is associated with physical illness as well. Some 25% of hospitalized medical patients have noticeable depressive symptoms and about 5% are suffering from major depression. Chronic medical conditions associated with depression include heart disease, cancer, vitamin deficiencies, diabetes, hepatitis, and malaria. Depression also is a common effect of neurological disorders, including Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases, multiple sclerosis, strokes, and brain tumors. Even moderate depressive symptoms are associated with a higher than average rate of arteriosclerosis, heart attacks, and high blood pressure. Depression can mimic medical illness and any illness feels worse to someone suffering from depression.
Biosocial Theory is a theory in behavioral and social science that reduces personality disorders and mental illnesses and disabilitiesto biologically-determined personality traits reacting to environmental stimuli Community psychology studies the individuals' contexts within communities and the wider society, [1] and the relationships of the individual to communities and society. Community psychologists seek to understand the quality of life of individuals, communities, and society. Their aim is to enhance quality of life through collaborative research and action.

cognitive
[kog-ni-tiv] Show IPA adjective

1. of or pertaining to the act or process of knowing, perceiving,remembering, etc.; of or relating to cognition: cognitivedevelopment; cognitive functioning. 2. of or pertaining to the mental processes of perception, memory,judgment, and reas oning, as contrasted with emotional andvolitional processes.

Industrial and organisational psychology (also known as I-O psychology or work psychology) is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance, satisfaction, and well-being of its employees. An I-O psychologist conducts research on employee behaviors and attitudes, and how these can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, feedback, and management systems. [1] I-O psychologists also help organizations transition among periods of change and development. Industrial and organizational psychology is related toorganizational behavior and human capital.

industrial psychology
n. The branch of applied psychology that is concerned with efficient management of an industrial labor force and especially with problems encountered by workers in a mechanized environment.

The field of genetic psychology is the study of the formation and transformation of the psyche. It may apply to the living world as a whole, to the human species, or to the individual human being. When applied to the entire living world, one of the basic problems of genetic psychology is to discover or to define the origins of mental life for to accept the thesis of an initial and continuous coexistence of mental life and life in general is impossible.

Organizational psychology utilizes scientifically-based psychological principles and research methods to study a variety of topics important to understanding human behavior in many different types of organizations. As such, organizational psychology is an applied field relevant to virtually all work settings (and many non-work settings). As you'll see from the list of topics we cover, this stuff is not only interesting, it's crucial to individual and organizational performance . . . and it directly affects the quality of people's lives!

Consumer psychology is a specialty area that studies how our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and perceptions influence how people buy and relate to goods and services. One formal definition of the field describes it as "the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society"."

Business psychology is the application of clinical psychologys traditional knowledge and skill base, to people working in business settings.

Engineering psychology is the science of human behavior and capability, applied to the design and operation of systems and technology.[1] As an applied field of psychology and an interdisciplinary part of ergonomics, it aims to improve the relationships between people and machines by redesigning equipment, interactions, or the environment in which they take place. The work of an engineering psychologist is often described as making the relationship more "user-friendly." Legal psychology involves empirical, psychological research of the law, legal institutions, and people who come into contact with the law. Legal psychologists typically take basic social and cognitive principles and apply them to issues in the legal system such as eyewitness memory, jury decisionmaking, investigations, and interviewing. The term "legal psychology" has only recently come into usage, primarily as a way to differentiate the experimental focus of legal psychology from the clinicallyoriented forensic psychology.[1]