Understanding Psychology - Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. It includes biological influences, social pressures, and environmental factors that influence the way people think, act, and feel.
Gaining a richer and deeper understanding of psychology can help people achieve insight into their own actions as well as a better understanding of others.
TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is a broad and diverse field that includes the study of human thinking, behavior, development, personality, emotions, motivation, and more. As a result, several different subfields and specialized fields have emerged.
The following are some of the main areas of research and application in psychology:
* Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. This particular area is focused on the research and treatment of various mental disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and clinical psychology.
* Biological psychology (biopsikology) studies how biological processes affect thought and behavior. This area is closely related to neuroscience and uses tools such as MRI and PET scans to look for brain injuries or brain abnormalities.
* Clinical psychology is focused on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders.
* Cognitive psychology is the study of human thought processes including attention, memory, perception, decision making, problem solving, and language acquisition.
* Comparative psychology is a branch of psychology that studies animal behavior.
* Developmental psychology is a field that looks at human growth and development over the life span including cognitive abilities, morality, social functioning, identity, and other areas of life.
* Forensic psychology is an applied field that focuses on the use of psychological research and principles in the legal system and criminal justice.
* Industrial-organizational psychology is a field that uses psychological research to improve job performance and select employees.
* Personality psychology focuses on understanding how personality develops and the patterns of thought, behavior and characteristics that make each individual unique.
* Social psychology focuses on group behavior, social influences on individual behavior, attitudes, prejudice, conformity, aggression and related topics.
PSYCHOLOGY APPLICATIONS
The most obvious application of psychology is in the area of mental health where psychologists use principles, research, and clinical findings to help clients manage and cope with symptoms of mental distress and psychological illness.
Some additional applications for psychology include:
* Develop educational programs
* Ergonomics
* Informing public policy
* Mental health care
* Performance improvements
* Personal health and well-being
*Psychological research
* Help yourself
* Social program design
* Understanding child development
It is difficult to capture all that psychology covers in just a brief definition, but topics such as development, personality, thoughts, feelings, emotions, motivation, and social behavior represent only a part of what psychology seeks to understand, predict and explain.
PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT
Psychology is an applied and academic field that benefits individuals and society as a whole. Much of psychology is devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of mental health problems, but that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to psychological impact.
Some of the ways psychology contributes to individuals and society include:
* Improves our understanding of why people behave the way they do too
* Understand the various factors that can influence human thoughts and behavior
* Understand issues that affect health, daily life and well-being
* Improve ergonomics to improve product design
* Creating a safer and more efficient workspace
* Help motivate people to achieve their goals
* Increase productivity
Psychologists achieve these things by using the objective scientific method to understand, explain, and predict human behavior. Psychological studies are highly structured, starting with hypotheses which are then tested empirically.
POTENTIAL TRAP
There is a lot of confusion out there about psychology. Unfortunately, such misconceptions about psychology abound in part thanks to the stereotypical portrayal of psychologists in popular media as well as the diverse career paths of those holding psychology degrees.
Sure, there are psychologists who help solve crimes, and there are many professionals who help people deal with mental health problems.
However, there are also psychologists who:
* Contribute to creating a healthier workplace
* Design and implement public health programs
* Aircraft safety research
* Assist in designing computer technology and programs
* Learn about military life and the psychological impact of combat
Wherever psychologists work, their primary goal is to help describe, explain, predict, and influence human behavior.
HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Early psychology developed from philosophy and biology. Discussions on these two subjects date back to early Greek thinkers, including Aristotle and Socrates.
The word "psychology" itself comes from the Greek word psyche, which literally means "life" or "breath". The derived meanings of the word include "soul" or "self."
The emergence of psychology as a separate and independent field of study really emerged when Wilhelm Wundt founded the first experimental psychology laboratory in Leipzig, Germany in 1879.
Throughout the history of psychology, various schools of thought have been formed to explain the human mind and behavior. In some cases, certain schools of thought emerged to dominate the field of psychology for a period of time.
The following are some of the main schools of thought in psychology
* Structuralism: Wundt and Titchener's structuralism was the earliest school of thought, but others soon began to emerge.
* Functionalism: The early psychologist and philosopher William James was associated with a school of thought known as functionalism, which focused on the goals of human consciousness and behavior.
* Psychoanalysis: Soon, this early school of thought gave way to some of the dominant and influential approaches to psychology. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis centers on how the subconscious mind influences human behavior.
* Behaviorism: The behavioral school of thought turned away from looking at internal influences on behavior and sought to make psychology the study of observable behavior.
* Humanistic psychology: More recently, the humanistic approach has centered on the importance of personal growth and self-actualization.
* Cognitive psychology: In the 1960s and 1970s, the cognitive revolution prompted the investigation of internal mental processes such as thinking, decision making, language development, and memory.
While these schools of thought are sometimes thought of as competing forces, each perspective has contributed to our understanding of psychology.
Today, psychologists seek to understand many different aspects of the human mind and behavior, add new knowledge to our understanding of how people think and develop practical applications that have an important impact on people's daily lives.