Branches and Scope of

Psychology
BY SARIA RAFIQ
 Branches of Psychology

• There are two main categories of Psychology

Pure
Applied
 Pure Psychology

• Pure Psychology provides the theoretical frame work

of the subject dealing with different methods for the
assessment and modification of the behavior.
 Applied Psychology

• It deals with the application of psychology ,

to solve the practical problems of humans
and animals.
 Pure Psychology Branches

• General Psychology
• Physiological Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Child Psychology
• Animal (Comparative Psychology)
• Abnormal Psychology
•Social Psychology
•Environmental Psychology
•Personality Psychology
 Applied Psychology Branches

• Educational psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Industrial Psychology
• Psychometrics
• Legal Psychology
• Military Psychology
• Sports Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Consumer Psychology
 Branches of Pure Psychology Definitions

• General Psychology: It deals with the fundamental

rules, principles and theories of psychology in relation to
the study of behavior of normal adult human beings.
• It explains various psychological processes like
sensations, perceptions, emotions, learning, intelligence,
personality.
• Physiological Psychology: This branch describes
the biological basis of behavior. The
relationship between body and mind; the
functions of each other are mutually
influenced.
• The functioning of the brain, nervous system,
endocrine glands affecting the behavior of a
person.
• Developmental psychology: This type of branch
explains that human life passes through various
stages of development from conception to old age.
This branch explains the growth and development
of various processes in relation to behavior.
• ChildPsychology: It mainly focuses on child’s
development and behavior, from birth to
adolescence
• Animal/Comparative Psychology: This branch
deals with behavior of animals. Many
psychological experiments are conducted to
know the functioning of mind in animals.
Animals like rats, dogs, chimpanzees, pigeons,
cats are some of the animals used for
experimentation.
• Findings of these experiments are many times
generalized to human behavior also.
• Abnormal psychology: deals with various kinds
of mental disorders, their symptoms and causes.

• Social Psychology: Social psychology deals with

how society influence the interrelationships of
people among themselves. It deals with likes and
dislikes of people, attitudes and interests, the
prejudices and social distances people have, group
behaviour, group cohesiveness, group conflicts, etc.
• Environmental Psychology: it is the study of the
interrelationships between people and their physical
surroundings which includes built and natural
environments, the use and abuse of nature and
natural resources, and sustainability-related behavior.
• Personality Psychology: it deals with the certain
characteristics, traits of a person which influences
their environment, cognitions, emotions,
motivations, and behaviors in various situations.
Experimental Psychology: This branch of psychology
deals with the study of emotional and mental activity, as
learning, in humans and other animals by means of
experimental methods.
It utilizes scientific methods to research the brain and
behavior.
Many of these techniques are also used by other areas in
psychology to conduct research on everything from
childhood development to social issues
Definitions of Applied Branch of Psychology
• Educational psychology: is the scientific study of human
learning. The field of educational psychology involves the
study of memory, conceptual processes, and individual
differences learning processes in humans. It helps in making
new strategies in learning.
• Clinical Psychology: It integrates science, theory and practice
to address psychological problems. It is the largest of many
subfields in psychology. The main focus of clinical psychology
is the assessment, diagnosis, clinical formulation and
treatment of mental illness. They also focus on research.
• Industrial or Organizational Psychology: The psychologists
of this field work in industries and companies, work on
employees selection, recruitment, motivation, job stress, job
satisfaction.
• Legal Psychology: Legal psychology involves the research
of the law, legal institutions, and people who come into
contact with the law. Legal psychologists typically take basic
social and cognitive principles and apply them to issues in
the legal system such as eyewitness memory, jury decision-
making, investigations, and interviewing.
• Military Psychology: The study and application of
psychological principles and methods to the military
environment. They are concerned with war stress of
soldiers, their war conditions, psychological assessments
of soldiers for their recruitment and selection.
• Sports Psychology: it deals with the athletic performance,
the psychological care and well-being of athletes, coaches,
and sport organizations, and the connection between
physical and psychological functioning.
• Health Psychology: It is the study of psychological and behavioral processes
in health, illness, and health care. It is concerned with understanding how
psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical
health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly.
• It examines how biological, social and psychological factors influence health
and illness. Health psychologists use psychological science to promote health,
prevent illness and improve health care systems.
• e.g. Health psychologists are interested in how the long- term stress (a
psychological factor) can affect physical health. They are also concerned with
identifying ways of promoting behaviors related to good health (such as
exercise) or discouraging unhealthy behaviors (such as smoking, drinking) etc.
 Consumer Psychology
 A branch of psychology that studies and explains our buying
habits and effects of advertising a buying behavior. Mainly deal
with the likes and dislikes and preferences of people.

 Psychometrics/Psychological Testing
 Concerned with measuring different aspects of human behavior.
E.g. IQ, Personality, Aptitude, Memory etc.
Scope of Psychology in
Pakistan
• A person can join various settings after completing their
degrees.
• The settings are:
• Clinical: Hospitals, rehabilitation centers, clinics
• Educational : Schools/ educational institutions
• Organizational
• Military
• Psychometrics
• NGOs
Karwan-e-Hayat
Clinics / Hospitals (PIMH Pakistan Institute of
Mental Health – Lahore)
Sir Cowasjee Institute (Giddu Bandar)
Hyderabad
 IPP, BUMDC,PNS SHIFA Hospital
(Umeed-Nau-Institute of Professional Psychology)
Institute of Clinical Psychology
 Goals of psychology
• 1. Describe –
The first goal is to observe behavior and describe, often in
minute detail, what was observed as objectively as
possible
• 2. Explain –
While descriptions come from observable data,
psychologists must go beyond what is obvious and explain
their observations. In other words, why did the subject do
what he or she did?
• 3. Predict –
Once we know what happens, and why it happens, we
can begin to speculate what will happen in the future
• 4. Control –
Once we know what happens, why it happens and what
is likely to happen in the future, we can excerpt control
over it.
• 5. Improve –
Not only do psychologists attempt to control behavior,
they want to do so in a positive manner, they want to
improve a person’s life. It should always be the
intention.
 Remember! Science does not deal with the
supernatural
 Psychology does not deal with the supernatural
phenomena like any other science; it deals with only
those behaviors that are overt can be experienced by
our senses, that can be understood in
psychological/scientific terms, and that can be dealt with
through psychological interventions.
 Misconceptions about Psychology and
Psychologists
 Anybody who has studied psychology can read
people’s personality/face/mind
 Psychologists can predict fate or destiny
 Psychologists are doctors
 Psychologists give medicines
  Anybody who has studied Psychology can read people’s
personality/face/mind
 This is the most frequent thought that comes into the mind of people who believe that
psychologists are like magicians who can tell every thing about any person, his
thoughts, feelings emotions, personality and all that other people cannot tell. This
actually is not the case, because psychologists are not magicians or something like
that.
 Psychologists are professionals and their area of interest which is basically the study of
human behavior and mental processes; and this requires good observation as well as
good prediction.
 Another important thing that has to be kept in mind is that not all of those who have a
degree in psychology can understand, explain, and predict the personality or behavior
of a person, because it mainly requires not just good observation but proper training as
well.
 Psychologists can predict fate or destiny
 This is not actually the case. Lay people have these views because they
see that psychologists are capable of accurately telling what type of
people others are, what they are capable of doing, what are their
potentials and capacities etc.
 In reality, the case is different since psychologists can only predict not
the destiny but the direction that one may adopt in future; psychologists
can assess and predict personality and behavior because they get
professional training for studying human behavior and that is why they
can easily tell what type of a person one is, what might be his
potentials, and how much he/ she is capable of performing certain tasks.
 Psychologists are doctors
 Another very common misconception is that
psychologists are doctors. Psychologists are not at all
doctors; they are specially trained people who deal with
the psychological problems and not the medical
problems.
 Psychiatrists, on the other hand, are doctors who have a
professional degree in medicine as well as training in
treating those suffering from psychiatric/ psychological
problems
 Psychologists give medicines
 Not psychologist, but psychiatrists are the ones
who prescribe medicine to the mentally ill
patients, as they have a professional degree in
medicine that authorizes them to prescribe
medication.