PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGIES
Definition of psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour. The discipline embraces all aspects of human experience – from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development1 to care for the elderly. In every setting, from scientific research centres to mental health care services, the understanding of behaviour is the main task of psychologists.
Contemporary psychology
Contemporary psychology is interested in an enormous range of topics, looking at human behaviour and mental processes from the neural level to the cultural level. Psychologists study human issues that begin before birth and continue until death.
While early philosophers relied on methods such as observation and logic, today’s psychologists use scientific methodologies2 to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behaviour.
WARM UP
• In your opinion, do psychologists only treat people with mental or
relatlonal problems, or do they also work wIth healthy Individuals?
DO
1 What do you think are the main stages in human development?
DO
2 ln your opinion, what does a scientific methodology imply?
Clinical applications of psychology
Psychology is a broad field. These are the main fields with a clinical relevance:
- Clinical psychology focuses on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. It is also considered the largest employment area within psychology.
- Abnormal psychology is the study of the irregular behaviour and psychopathology. This speciality area focuses on research and treatment of a variety of mental disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and clinical psychology.
- Biological psychology, also known as biopsychology, studies how biological processes influence the mind and behaviour. This area is closely linked to neuroscience and studies brain injury and brain abnormalities.
Other related areas of interest
Among other areas of interest, we can mention:
- Developmental psychology which looks at human growth and development over a lifetime. Theories in this area often focus on the development of cognitive abilities, morality, social functioning, identity and other life areas.
- Cognitive psychology which studies human thought processes and cognitions, including topics such as attention, memory, perception, decision-making, problem-solving and language acquisition.3
DO
3 Watch the video. What does belng a psychologlst Involve?
Psychologist Career Video posted by CareerOneStop