Fields in Psychology

• Psychology can be divided into two major areas: research and practice.
• Research seeks to increase the knowledge base of psychology.
• Practice applies psychological knowledge to solving real-world problems.

Fields in Psychology

• Clinical psychology integrates the science of psychology with the treatment of complex human problems.
• Clinical psychology focuses on mental health, assessment and diagnosis, psychotherapy, treatment, planning, intervention, and prevention of mental disorders.
• Counselling psychology focuses on facilitating personal and interpersonal functioning across the lifespan.
• Counselling psychology centers on treating clients in mental distress who may be experiencing a wide variety of psychological symptoms.
• Comparative psychology studies animal behavior.
• Animal behavior studies can lead to a deeper and broader understanding of human psychology.
• Abnormal psychology examines psychopathology and abnormal behavior.
• Abnormal psychology studies people's emotional, thought, and behavior patterns to identify, understand, and potentially resolve issues affecting their lives.
• Cognitive psychology focuses on internal mental states like decision-making, problem-solving, logical thinking, pattern recognition, language, memory, and learning.
• Developmental psychology studies how people change and grow throughout life.
• Developmental psychology seeks to understand and explain how and why people change.
• Developmental psychology covers physical growth, intellectual development, emotional changes, social growth, and perceptual changes throughout the lifespan.
• Educational psychology concerns schools, teaching psychology, educational issues, and student concerns.
• Educational psychologists study how students learn and work with students, parents, teachers, and administrators to improve student outcomes.
• Forensic psychology deals with issues related to psychology and the law.
• Those in forensic psychology apply psychological principles to legal issues.
• Forensic psychology involves studying criminal behavior and treatment or working directly in the court system.
• Industrial-organizational psychology applies psychological principles to workplace issues.
• I/O psychology improves productivity and efficiency while maximizing employee well-being, including areas like human factors.
• Social psychology seeks to understand and explain social behavior.
• Social psychology covers group behavior, social interactions, perceptions, leadership, nonverbal communication, and social influences on decision-making.
• Social psychologists focus on how people perceive and interact with others and the influence of social factors on behavior.
• Experimental psychology uses scientific methods to research the brain and behavior.
• Experimental psychology techniques are used in other psychology areas to study everything from childhood development to social issues.

Goals of Psychology

• Describe behavior
• Explain behavior
• Predict behavior
• Change or control behavior and mental processes.

Key Controversies in Psychology

• Nature vs. Nurture: Considers whether behaviors and personality are influenced by genetics (nature) or environment, family, and social influences (nurture).
• Free Will vs. Determinism: Explores whether people have a choice and control over their behavior (free will) or if behavior is determined by internal or external forces (determinism).
• Free Will suggests control over behaviour and personal responsibility.
• Determinism proposes behaviour is determined and predictable by internal/external forces.
• Reductionism vs. Holism: Refers to competing approaches for understanding phenomena.
• Holism is important to view the mind as a unit, rather than breaking it down into its individual parts.
• Reductionism is a theory reducing complex phenomena to their most basic parts.
• Idiographic vs. Nomothetic Approaches
• Ethical Issues in Psychology
• Informed Consent.
• Data Protection and Confidentiality.
• Deception.
• Debriefing.
• Right to Withdraw.
• Protection of Participants.
• Working with Animals.