Branches of Psychology

1. General Psychology explains the principles of behavior;

how and why people behave.
2. Comparative Psychology (Animal Psychology) studies the
behavior and mental processes of humans in comparison with
that of animals on the basis of genetic and evolution.
3. Developmental Psychology (Genetic Psychology) studies
the various aspects of growth and development from prenatal to
old age.
4. Child Psychology is a study of behavior from birth to early
adolescence. Patterns of growth and development and
environmental influences on the child are considered.
5. Adolescent Psychology a study of human behavior from
puberty to later life. This involves the physical and mental
maturation of individuals as well as the emotional and social
maturity.
6. Senescent Psychology is the study of human behavior in
old age.
7. Consumer Psychology Studies motivation, perception and
learning in order to understand buying decisions of consumers.
Mass media, advertising, surveys, market research and
salesmanship are the important areas in this field.
8. Abnormal Psychology is concerned with the causes of
personality disorders and deviant behavior.
9. Dynamic Psychology (Personality Psychology) emphasizes
the internal drives and motives of particular behavior.

10. Legal Psychology is the application of psychological

principles in analyzing evidences and examining witnesses in
legal proceedings(Legal psychologists typically take basic social
and cognitive theories and principles and apply them to issues in
the legal system such as eyewitness memory, jury decisionmaking, investigations, and interviewing.)
11. Forensic Psychology involves work within the domain of
legal, judicial, and correctional institutions (example: Forensic
Psychologist work with human problems, determine mental
competence of the accused, prepare psychological reports to help
judges decide on a particular case.)
12. Business Psychology uses techniques of mass
persuasion to gain more customers and improve business
transaction.
13. Social Psychology explains the interaction of groups of
persons with other groups.
14. Counseling Psychology focuses on the problems of
adjustment to challenges that everyone faces in life. Helps the
individual in dealing with personal problems, career choice,
adjustment, interpersonal relations, parent-child relationship and
other concerns.
15. Educational Psychology is the application of learning
principles for effective instruction, diagnosis and treatment of
learning difficulties (workers in this area are researchers and
theorists called educational psychologists.)
16. School Psychology is devoted to the assessment and
remedy of problems encountered in education, including both
learning disabilities and emotional problems. Practitioners in
schools or school-related settings are called school
psychologists.

17. Clinical Psychology involves the diagnosis and

evaluation of events that gave rise to behavior disorders and
other forms of maladjustments.
18. Industrial (organizational) Psychology is the
application of psychological knowledge to the problems of
business and industry (Job Satisfaction and productivity).
19. Human Engineering Psychology is concerned with
creating safer and more efficient equipments so that workers will
be able to perform their jobs with a minimum expenditure of time
and effort.
20. Experimental Psychology is the scientific investigation
of the different aspects of behavior, sensation, perception,
learning, emotion, motivation, and other psychological processes.
21. Differential Psychology studies differences and
similarities among individuals, social groups and races.
22. Physiological Psychology is a subdivision of behavioral
neuroscience or biological psychology that studies the neural
mechanisms of perception and behavior through direct
manipulation of the brains of nonhuman animal subjects in
controlled experiments.[1] Unlike other subdivisions within
biological psychology, the main focus of physiological
psychological research is the development of theories that explain
brain-behavior relationships rather than the development of
research that has translational value.
23. Ecological Psychology studies the effects of
environmental conditions (pollution, overcrowding, natural
calamities, disease) on the behavior of people.
24. Sport Psychology focuses on the social, mental and
emotional problems of athletes.

25. Mental Hygiene is the application of systematic practices

for the preservation of mental health.
26. Biopsychology explores the relationship between
fundamental biological processes and behavior. The study is
focused on the functions of the different internal organs of the
body, especially the nervous system and their bearing on
behavior and mental processes. It is the application of the
principles of biology, in particular neurobiology, to the study of
mental processes and behavior in human and non-human
animals.
27. Cognitive Psychology is a discipline within psychology
that investigates the internal mental processes of thought such as
visual processing, memory, problem solving, and language.
28. Health Psychology explores the relationship between
physical and mental health, and especially, the role of stress in
health.
29. Engineering Psychology deals with the design of the
equipment and the tasks of the individual who operated them.
30. Media Psychology seeks an understanding of how
people perceive, interpret, use, and respond to a media-rich
world. In doing so, media psychologists can identify potential
benefits and problems and promote the development positive
media
31. Computer Psychology (cyberpsychology) is the study
of the human mind and behavior in the context of humantechnology interaction. However, mainstream research studies
seem to focus on the impact of the Internet and cyberspace on
the psychology of individuals and groups. Some hot topics
include: online identity, online relationships, personality types in
cyberspace, transference to computers, addiction to computers
and Internet, regressive behavior in cyberspace, online gender-

switching, etc. Study on individual differences in computer-related

behavior and the psychology of technology-enriched learning.
Concerned with the psychological effects and implications of
computer technologies such as the Internet and virtual reality.
32. Psychometrics The use of psychological tests to
measure intelligence, abilities, attitudes, and personality traits.