I Am a
Psychologist
The Science of the Mind
What is Psychology?
Psychology is the study of the way people think, feel, and behave. Most of this
happens in the brain, which is the most important body part psychologists study!
There are many different types of psychology. People who work in psychology are
usually called therapists or psychologists. Sometimes these scientists work with
people who have some kind of brain-based illness, but many others work with healthy
people, groups, or even in labs. These “brain-training specialists” are needed wherever
brains are found—even right here in a classroom!
Let’s take a look at some of these interesting and important jobs…
Think: Psychology is often
called a type of “human
science.” What could that
mean? What other types
of scientists might be
human scientists?
This is how Ms. Jordan
taught a rat to turn
on different light
switches in exchange
for treats…
Two Types of
Psychology Practice
01
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Research
Psychologists
These psychologists wear white
coats and work inside labs, which
are often inside colleges. These
psychologists study anything related
to the brain.
Research topics include:
neuroscience (looking at the workings of the human brain)
development (how people—especially children—learn and
change over time)
social interaction
personality
perception (how our senses take in and process information)
conditioning and learning (“conditioning” is how the rat
learned to press the levers for treats!)
02
Therapists
These are the psychologists who
diagnose and treat mental
illnesses. They also help people or
groups of people (couples, families,
coworkers) with emotion or
behavior problems.
This type of psychologist
needs to get what is called
a “license” to practice, like
other kinds of doctors.
Think: Where else have you seen the word
“license” used?
What Psychologists Do
Research
Helps us create and discover new
therapies and medicines; also helps
us understand human (and animal)
behavior!
Help People with
Behavior or
Emotion Disorders
Help Families, Couples, and
other Special Populations
Some therapists work only with certain types of people,
which lets them gain extra special knowledge in their area.
A psychologist’s special population may be children,
people in prisons, the elderly, or almost anyone else.
Train Service Animals
Once somebody completes four years of college in
psychology, they are able to get a license to train service dogs
for a living!
These animal scientists can train dogs to turn lights on and off,
get different objects off shelves, close and open doors, and
more! They help patients for physical or mental reasons, and
can even “smell” different medical emergencies (seizures, panic
attacks) before they happen!
Therapy Types
How is psychology practiced?
How do therapists & psychologists know what treatment or test to use for each patient?
CBT
(Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy)
This is one of the most common types of
therapies in psychology. This is because CBT
helps patients with strong feelings of worry/fear
and sadness, mostly through “talking” with a
trained psychologist who can challenge, and
help you defeat, negative thoughts.
Testing
Therapists tend to do their own testing
when diagnosing mental illnesses in their
patients. But psychologists may specialize
in other types of tests:
DBT
• IQ tests
(Dialectical-Behavioral Therapy)
This therapy was invented by a scientist who
suffered from a unique kind of mental illness
that, at the time, nobody thought was treatable.
But psychologists in research have found it is
very helpful for a variety of disorders, including
her own!
Think: Why is it important
for scientists and doctors to
always be looking for new,
unique ways to treat
patients? How can they know
they might have a good
idea?
• memory tests
Researchers need to test healthy
patients alongside sick patients in their
experiments/studies. This allows them
to compare and contrast, giving them
more “control” over their data.
Control (healthy)
patient
• tests for diseases—one test can
determine if a patient has a serious
brain infection, just by asking them to
draw a picture of a clock!
Patient with
Parkinson’s
Disease
Patient with
Alzheimer’s
Disease
Patient with
encephalitis
Parts of Mental Wellness
Mindfulness
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Remember that you are in the
present moment, and cannot
change the past or future.
When negative thoughts pop
into your head, do not get mad
at yourself—just try to imagine
the thought “floating away” like
a balloon.
Focus on your five senses and
take deep breaths—Dragon
Breaths work well!
Connection
Activity
Humans are social animals! Our
brains value supportive
friendships and families. So build
connections with your peers with
skills like empathy, support, and
respect!
Find your hobbies and keep
your body active!
Having fun outside lets your
body get the chemicals it
needs to feel happy and
healthy.
But Wait!
There’s more…
Cool Psychology
Specialties
A specialty is a special skill or more specific area
of study. Psychology is important to…
•
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people training animals, like service dogs
•
people who look at the activity of brains
using brain imaging methods (imagine live
x-ray footage of your brain!)
•
people who work with chemicals and lab rats
in laboratories
people solving crimes or detecting lies
Speaking of
lie detecting,
let’s play a
game…
Paul Ekman is a famous psychologist who created many
important concepts in understanding emotions. He is
considered to be one of the most influential (important)
psychologists of all time, and helped create seven universal
emotions.
One of Ekman’s biggest discoveries was of microexpressions. These tiny facial expressions last less than half a
second, and are often made without people even realizing!
They can reveal someone’s true feelings, and not everybody
can see them…
...Can You?
Micro-Expressions Test
Watch very carefully...
...which emotion did you see?
7 Core Emotions:
Happiness
Sadness
Fear
Disgust
Anger
Contempt
Watch very carefully...
...which emotion did you see?
7 Core Emotions:
Happiness
Sadness
Fear
Disgust
Anger
Contempt