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AnOverviewofPsychology

ByKendraCherryReviewedbyaboardcertifiedphysician.
UpdatedAugust23,2016

Psychologyisabroadfieldthatencompassesthestudyofhumanthought,behavior,
development,personality,emotion,motivation,andmore.Gainingaricheranddeeper
understandingofpsychologycanhelppeopleachieveinsightsintotheirownactionsas
wellasabetterunderstandingofothers.

WhatIsPsychology?
Thesimplestdefinitionofpsychologyisthatitisthestudyofthemindandbehavior.
Researchinpsychologyseekstounderstandandexplainhowpeoplethink, act,andfeel.
Psychologistsstrivetolearnmoreaboutthemanyfactorsthatcanimpactthoughtand
behavior,rangingfrombiologicalinfluencestosocialpressures.

Applicationsforpsychologyincludementalhealthtreatment,performanceenhancement,
selfhelp,ergonomics,andmanyotherareasaffectinghealthanddailylife.Itisdifficultto
captureeverythingthatpsychologyencompassesinjustabriefdefinition,buttopicssuch
asdevelopment,personality,thoughts,feelings,emotions,motivations,andsocial
behaviorsrepresentjustaportionofwhatpsychologyseekstounderstand,predict,and
explain.

There'salotofconfusionoutthereaboutpsychology.Unfortunately,suchmisconceptions
aboutpsychologyaboundinpartthankstostereotypedportrayalsofpsychologistsin
popularmediaaswellasthediversecareerpathsofthoseholdingpsychologydegrees.

Accordingtosomepopulartelevisionprogramsandmovies,psychologistsaresuper
sleuthsthatcanusetheirunderstandingofthehumanmindtosolvecrimesandpredicta
criminal'snextmove.Othertraditionaldepictionspresentthepsychologistasgrayand
wise,seatedinastatelyofficelinedwithbooks,andlisteningtoclientsrambleonabout
theirdifficultchildhoods.

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Sowhatispsychologyreallyallabout?Thefactisthatthereisalittlebitoftruthinthese
stereotypicalportrayals,butthereisalotmoretopsychologythanyoumightinitiallythink.
Thereisatremendousdiversityinpsychologycareersanditisperhapsthisenormous
rangeofcareerpathsthatcontributestosomeofthemisconceptionsaboutpsychology
andwhatpsychologistsdo.

Sure,therearepsychologistswhohelpsolvecrimesandthereareplentyofprofessionals
whohelppeopledealwithmentalhealthissues.However,therearealsopsychologists
whocontributetocreatinghealthierworkplaces.Therearepsychologiststhatdesignand
implementpublichealthprograms.Otherpsychologistsinvestigatetopicssuchas
airplanesafety,computerdesign,andmilitarylife.Nomatterwherepsychologistswork,
theirprimarygoalsaretohelpdescribe,explain,predict,andinfluencehumanbehavior.

HowPsychologyCametoBeWhatItIsToday
Earlypsychologyevolvedoutofbothphilosophyandbiology.Discussionsofthesetwo
subjectsdateasfarbackastheearlyGreekthinkers,includingAristotleandSocrates.
Theword"psychology"itselfisderivedfromtheGreekwordpsyche,literallymeaning
"life"or"breath."Derivedmeaningsofthewordinclude"soul"or"self."

Theemergenceofpsychologyasaseparateandindependentfieldofstudytrulycame
aboutwhenWilhelmWundtestablishedthefirstexperimentalpsychologylabinLeipzig,
Germanyin1879.

Wundt'sworkwasfocusedondescribingthestructuresthatcomposethemind.This
perspectivereliedheavilyontheanalysisofsensationsandfeelingsthroughtheuseof
introspection,anextremelysubjectiveprocess.Wundtbelievedthatproperlytrained
individualswouldbeabletoidentifyaccuratelythementalprocessesthataccompanied
feelings,sensations,andthoughts.

Throughoutpsychology'shistory,variousschoolsofthoughthaveformedtoexplainthe
humanmindandbehavior.Insomecases,certainschoolsofthoughtrosetodominate
thefieldofpsychologyforaperiodoftime.Whiletheseschoolsofthoughtaresometimes
perceivedascompetingforces,eachperspectivehascontributedtoourunderstandingof
psychology.

Thefollowingaresomeofthemajorschoolsofthoughtinpsychology.

WundtandTitchener'sstructuralismwastheearliestschoolofthought,butothers
soonbegantoemerge.
TheearlypsychologistandphilosopherWilliamJamesbecameassociatedwitha
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schoolofthoughtknownasfunctionalism,whichfocuseditsattentiononthe
purposeofhumanconsciousnessandbehavior.

Soon,theseinitialschoolsofthoughtgavewaytoseveraldominantandinfluential
approachestopsychology.SigmundFreud'spsychoanalysiscenteredonthehow
theunconsciousmindimpactedhumanbehavior.
Thebehavioralschoolofthoughtturnedawayfromlookingatinternalinfluenceson
behaviorandsoughttomakepsychologythestudyofobservablebehaviors.
Later,thehumanisticapproachcenteredontheimportanceofpersonalgrowthand
selfactualization.
Bythe1960sand1970s,thecognitiverevolutionspurredtheinvestigationof
internalmentalprocessessuchasthinking,decisionmaking,language
development,andmemory.

Top4ThingstoKnowAboutPsychology

1.PsychologyIsBothanAppliedandTheoreticalDiscipline
Psychologyisbothanappliedandacademicfieldthatstudiesthehumanmindand
behavior.Researchinpsychologyseekstounderstandandexplainhowwethink,act,
andfeel.Researchpsychologistscontributetoourunderstandingofwhypeoplebehave
astheydoaswellasdifferentfactorsthatcanimpactthehumanmindandbehavior.

Asmostpeoplealreadyrealize,alargepartofpsychologyisdevotedtothediagnosisand
treatmentofmentalhealthissues,butthat'sjustthetipoftheicebergwhenitcomesto
applicationsforpsychology.Inadditiontomentalhealth,psychologycanbeappliedtoa
varietyofissuesthatimpacthealthanddailylifeincludingwellbeing,ergonomics,
motivation,productivity,andmuchmore.

2.ThereAreManyDifferentSpecialtyAreasinPsychology
Psychologyisabroadanddiversefield.Somedifferentsubfieldsandspecialtyareas
haveemerged.Thefollowingaresomeofthemajorareasofresearchandapplication
withinpsychology:

Abnormalpsychologyisthestudyofabnormalbehaviorandpsychopathology.This
specialtyareaisfocusedonresearchandtreatmentofavarietyofmentaldisorders
andislinkedtopsychotherapyandclinicalpsychology.

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Biologicalpsychology,alsoknownasbiopsychology,studieshowbiological
processesinfluencethemindandbehavior.Thisareaiscloselylinkedto
neuroscienceandutilizestoolssuchasMRIandPETscanstolookatbraininjuryor
brainabnormalities.
Clinicalpsychologyisfocusedontheassessment,diagnosis,andtreatmentof
mentaldisorders.Itisalsoconsideredthesinglelargestareaofemploymentwithin
psychology.
Cognitivepsychologyisthestudyofhumanthoughtprocessesandcognitions.
Cognitivepsychologistsstudytopicssuchasattention,memory,perception,
decisionmaking,problemsolving,andlanguageacquisition.
Comparativepsychologyisthebranchofpsychologyconcernedwiththestudyof
animalbehavior.Thistypeofresearchcanleadtoadeeperandbroader
understandingofhumanpsychology.
Developmentalpsychologyisanareathatlooksathumangrowthanddevelopment
overthelifespan.Theoriesoftenfocusonthedevelopmentofcognitiveabilities,
morality,socialfunctioning,identity,andotherlifeareas.
Forensicpsychologyisanappliedfieldfocusedonusingpsychologicalresearch
andprinciplesinthelegalandcriminaljusticesystem.
Industrialorganizationalpsychologyisafieldthatusespsychologicalresearchto
enhanceworkperformance,andselectemployees.
Personalitypsychologyfocusesonunderstandinghowpersonalitydevelopsaswell
asthepatternsofthoughts,behaviors,andcharacteristicsthatmakeeachindividual
unique.
Socialpsychologyfocusesonunderstandinggroupbehavioraswellashowsocial
influencesshapeindividualbehavior.Topicsstudiedbysocialpsychologistsinclude
attitudes,prejudice,conformity,andaggression.

3.PsychologistsUtilizeScientificMethods
Psychologistsuseobjectivescientificmethodstounderstand,explain,andpredicthuman
behavior.Psychologicalstudiesarehighlystructured,beginningwithahypothesisthatis
thenempiricallytested.Aspsychologymovedawayfromitsphilosophicalroots,
psychologistsbegantoemploymoreandmorescientificmethodstostudyhuman
behavior.Contemporaryresearchersuseavarietyofscientifictechniquesincluding
experiments,correlationalstudies,andlongitudinalresearch.

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4.ThereAreManyDifferentApplicationsforPsychology
Themostobviousapplicationforpsychologyisinthefieldofmentalhealthwhere
psychologistsuseprinciples,research,andclinicalfindingstohelpclientsmanageand
overcomesymptomsofmentaldistressandpsychologicalillness.Therearealsomany
otherswaysthatpsychologyusedtohelppeoplelivebetter,healthierlives.Psychological
researchcanhaveanimpactonpublicpolicy,canbeusedtodesignpublichealth
initiatives,andcanguideapproachestoeducationandchilddevelopmentprograms.

AWordFromVerywell
Asyoucansee,whilepsychologymaybearelativelyyoungscienceitalsohasa
tremendousamountofbothdepthandbreadth.Theassessment,diagnosis,and
treatmentofmentalillnessarecentralinterestsofpsychology,butpsychology
encompassesmuchmorethanmentalhealth.Today,psychologistsseektounderstand
manydifferentaspectsofthehumanmindandbehavior,addingnewknowledgetoour
understandingofhowpeoplethinkaswellasdevelopingpracticalapplicationsthathave
animportantimpactoneverydayhumanlives.

Sources:

AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.Diagnosticandstatisticalmanualofmentaldisorders(5thed.).
Washington,DC:Author2013.

HothersallD.HistoryofPsychology,4thed.NewYork:McgrawHill2003.

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