Question

What is psychology? What are the different subfields of psychology all about? What distinguishes psychology from everyday approaches to understanding behavior? What is meant with the scientific approach of psychology?

Answer 1

Psychology is the scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes (cognition) of the human being.

Subfields of psychology-

• Abnormal Psychology- It is the study of abnormal behaviour and abnormal cognition of an individual.

• Counselling Psychology- This field focuses on treating an individuals experiencing mental distress.

• Cross-Cultural Psychology- It is the branch of psychology that studies how cultural factors influence human behaviour.

• Comparative Psychology- It is the branch of psychology which concerned with animal behaviour.

• Cognitive Psychology- It is the field of psychology that concerned with the mental processes of the human being.

• Clinical Psychology- It is the branch of psychology which concerned with the treatment of mental illness, behavioural disorder, and psychiatrist disorder.

• Behavioural Psychology- this field is based on the concept of learning behaviour through conditioning.

• Biopsychology- It is the branch that concerned with influence of brain, nervous system and neurotransmitters on behaviour, feelings and thoughts.

• Developmental Psychology- It concerned with how people change and grow throughout life.

• Industrial-Organizational Psychology- It the branch that applies psychological principles at the workspace to improve productivity and behaviour.

• Health Psychology- This subfield focus on how biology, behaviour and thoughts influence illness and health.

• Forensic Psychology- This area concerned with psychology and law.

• Experimental Psychology- It is the branch that utilizes scientific methods to research the brain and behaviour.

• School Psychology- This field works to help kids in school for academic, behavioural, and emotional issues.

• Personality Psychology- It is study of an individual's thought pattern, behaviour, and feelings that make them unique.

• Educational Psychology- It is the branch of psychology concerned with schools, teaching psychology, educational issues, and student concerns.

• Sports Psychology- It is the study of how psychology influences sports, athletic performance, exercise, and physical activity.

• Social Psychology- It is the field that concerned with the study of social behaviour such as attitude, leadership, social influence, decision making, etc.

Psychology is different from everyday approaches to understanding behaviour because psychology uses the scientific method to understand and study human behaviour in a proper manner.

The scientific approach of psychology means psychology uses a standardized way of observing, collecting data, developing theories, assessing assumptions/hypothesis, and analysing results.