15/06/2021 What Is Psychology?

BASICS

What Is Psychology?
By Kendra Cherry Reviewed by David Susman, PhD Updated on June 10, 2020

Verywell / Bailey Mariner

Table of Contents

What Is Psychology?

Types

Uses

Impact

Potential Pitfalls

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15/06/2021 What Is Psychology?

Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It encompasses the biological

in uences, social pressures, and environmental factors that a ect how
people think, act, and feel.

Gaining a richer and deeper understanding of psychology can help people

achieve insights into their own actions as well as a better understanding of
other people.

Types of Psychology
Psychology is a broad and diverse eld that encompasses the study of
human thought, behavior, development, personality, emotion, motivation,
and more. As a result, some di erent sub elds and specialty areas have
emerged. The following are some of the major areas of research and
application within psychology:

Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior and

psychopathology. This specialty area is focused on research and treatment
of a variety of mental disorders and is linked to psychotherapy and clinical
psychology.
Biological psychology (biopsychology) studies how biological processes
in uence the mind and behavior. This area is closely linked to neuroscience
and utilizes tools such as MRI and PET scans to look at brain injury 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 the branch of psychology concerned with the
study of animal behavior.
Developmental psychology is an area that looks at human growth and
development over the lifespan including cognitive abilities, morality, social
functioning, identity, and other life areas.
Forensic psychology is an applied eld focused on using psychological
research and principles in the legal and criminal justice system.
Industrial-organizational psychology is a eld that uses psychological
research to enhance work performance and select employees.
Personality psychology focuses on understanding how personality develops
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15/06/2021 What Is Psychology?
as well as the patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and characteristics that make
each individual unique.

Social psychology focuses on group behavior, social in uences on individual

behavior, attitudes, prejudice, conformity, aggression, and related topics.

Related: What Are the Branches of Psychology?

Uses
The most obvious application for psychology is in the eld of mental health
where psychologists use principles, research, and clinical ndings to help
clients manage and overcome symptoms of mental distress and
psychological illness. Some of the additional applications for psychology
include:

Developing educational programs

Ergonomics
Informing public policy
Mental health treatment
Performance enhancement
Personal health and well-being
Psychological research
Self-help
Social program design
Understanding child development

It is di cult to capture everything that psychology encompasses in just

a brief de nition, but topics such as development, personality,
thoughts, feelings, emotions, motivations, and social behaviors
represent just a portion of what psychology seeks to understand,
predict, and explain.

Related: The Major Goals of Psychology

Impact of Psychology
Psychology is both an applied and academic eld that bene ts both
individuals and society as a whole. A large part of psychology is devoted to
the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues, but that's just the tip
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15/06/2021 What Is Psychology?
of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of psychology.

Some of the ways that psychology contributes to individuals and society

include:

Improving our understanding of why people behave as they do as well

Understanding the di erent factors that can impact the human mind and
behavior
Understanding issues that impact health, daily life, and well-being
Improving ergonomics to improve product design
Creating safer and more e cient workspaces
Helping motivate people to achieve their goals
Improving productivity

Psychologists accomplish these things by using objective scienti c methods

to understand, explain, and predict human behavior. Psychological studies
are highly structured, beginning with a hypothesis that is then empirically
tested.

Potential Pitfalls
There's a lot of confusion out there about psychology. Unfortunately, such
misconceptions about psychology abound in part thanks to stereotyped
portrayals 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 plenty of
professionals who help people deal with mental health issues. However,
there are also psychologists who:

Contribute to creating healthier workplaces

Design and implement public health programs
Research airplane safety
Help design technology and computer programs
Study military life and the psychological impact of combat

No matter where psychologists work, their primary goals are to help

describe, explain, predict, and in uence human behavior.

History of Psychology
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Early psychology evolved out of both philosophy and biology. Discussions of

these two subjects date as far back as the early Greek thinkers, including

Aristotle and Socrates.

The word "psychology" itself is derived from the Greek word psyche,
literally meaning "life" or "breath." Derived meanings of the word
include "soul" or "self."

The emergence of psychology as a separate and independent eld of study

truly came about when Wilhelm Wundt established the rst experimental
psychology lab in Leipzig, Germany in 1879.

Throughout psychology's history, various schools of thought have formed to

explain the human mind and behavior. In some cases, certain schools of
thought rose to dominate the eld of psychology for a period of time.

The following are some of the major 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
became associated with a school of thought known as functionalism, which
focused its attention on the purpose of human consciousness and behavior.
Psychoanalysis: Soon, these initial schools of thought gave way to several
dominant and in uential approaches to psychology. Sigmund Freud's
psychoanalysis centered on how the unconscious mind impacted human
behavior.
Behaviorism: The behavioral school of thought turned away from looking at
internal in uences on behavior and sought to make psychology the study of
observable behaviors.
Humanistic psychology: Later, the humanistic approach centered on the
importance of personal growth and self-actualization.
Cognitive psychology: By the 1960s and 1970s, the cognitive revolution
spurred the investigation of internal mental processes such as thinking,
decision-making, language development, and memory.

While these schools of thought are sometimes perceived as competing

forces, each perspective has contributed to our understanding of
psychology.

Related: The Origins of Psychology: History Through the Years

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A Word From Verywell

As you can see, while psychology may be a relatively young science it also
has a tremendous amount of both depth and breadth. The assessment,
diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness are central interests of
psychology, but psychology encompasses much more than mental health.

Today, psychologists seek to understand many di erent aspects of the

human mind and behavior, adding new knowledge to our understanding of
how people think as well as developing practical applications that have an
important impact on everyday human lives.

Psychology works to help people improve their individual well-being

and thrive in an increasingly complex world.

Related: The 7 Major Perspectives in Psychology

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