Applied areas of psychology
Week 1
Overview
 What is Psychology?
 What is applied Psychology?
 Scope of Psychology
 Introduction of areas of psychology
 APPLIED AREAS OF PSYCHOLOGY
What is Psychology ?
Psychology is the scientific study of Behavior and mental processes.
1. The term behavior refers to all of a person’s overt actions that others can directly
observe. When you walk, speak, throw a Frisbee, or frown, you are behaving in this
sense.
2. The term mental processes refers to the private thoughts, emotions, feelings, and
motives that other people cannot directly observe. Your private thoughts and feelings
about your dog catching a Frisbee in midair are examples of mental processes.
3.
4. Because mental processes are private, psychologists use observations of public
behavior to draw inferences about mental processes.
Goals of Psychology
The four goals of the science of psychology are to describe, predict, understand, and infl uence
behavior and mental processes:
1. Describe. Information gathered in scientific studies helps psychologists describe behavior and
mental processes accurately.
2. Predict. In some cases, research gives psychologists the tools to predict future behavior
reasonably well. For example, psychologists have developed tests that enable employers to
predict more accurately which job applicants will perform their jobs well.
3. Understand. We understand behavior and mental processes when we can explain them.
Because there is always more to learn, our current explanations are always tentative. In other
words, our explanations are not truths. They are theories that might be improved, or even rejected,
by future studies.
4. Influence. Finally, psychologists hope to go beyond description, understanding, and prediction
to influence behavior in beneficial ways. What can we do to help a teenage boy climb out of
severe depression? How can we help parents raise a rambunctious child? What is the best way to
help college students select their careers? It’s not until we have identified ways to intentionally infl
uence behavior that psychology completely fulfills its promise.
The education of a Psychologist
 How do people become psychologists? The most common route is a long one.
 Most psychologists have a doctorate, either a PhD (doctor of philosophy) or, less frequently, a PsyD (doctor
of psychology).
 The PhD is a research degree that requires a dissertation based on an original investigation.

The PsyD is obtained by psychologists who wish to focus on the treatment of psychological disorders.
 Psychologists are distinct from psychiatrists, who have a medical degree and specialize in the diagnosis and
treatment of psychological disorders, often using treatments that involve the prescription of drugs.
 Both the PhD and the PsyD typically take four or five years of work past the bachelor’s level. Some fields of
psychology involve education beyond the doctorate.
 For instance, doctoral-level clinical psychologists, who deal with people with psychological disorders,
typically spend an additional year doing an internship.
 About a third of people working in the field of psychology have a master’s degree as their highest degree,
which they earn after two or three years of graduate work. These psychologists teach, provide therapy,
conduct research, or work in specialized programs dealing with drug abuse or crisis intervention. Some work
in universities, government, and business, collecting and analyzing data.
Relationship between Psychology and
Psychiatry
 Psychology instructors are often asked about the similarities and differences between
psychology and psychiatry.
 Psychiatrists have completed medical school and obtained the M.D. (doctor of medicine)
degree and completed residency training in psychiatry. Because of their medical training,
psychiatrists often prescribe drugs and use other medical treatments.
 Psychology is a much broader field than psychiatry. The specialty within psychology that is
most similar to psychiatry is clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists have attended
graduate school in psychology rather than medical school, have obtained the degree of
Ph.D. (doctor of philosophy) or Psy.D. (doctor of psychology), and have completed an
internship in clinical psychology. Psychologists are not licensed to prescribe drugs.
Careers for Psychology majors/Scope of
Psychology
SOCIAL SERVICES
• ADMINISTRATOR
• COUNSELOR
• OCCUPATIONAL
THERAPISTS
• CHILD PROTECTION
WORKER
• REHABLITATION
COUNSELOR
• SOCIAL WORKER
• SUBSTANCE ABUSE
COUNSELOR
• CRISIS INTERVENTION
COUNSELOR
EDUCATION/ INDUSTRY
• ADMINISTRATOR
• SCHOOL
PSYCHOLOGIST
• EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGIST
• RESEARCH ASSISTANT
• INDUSTRIAL AND
ORGANIZATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGISTS
CLINICAL FIELD/ HEALTH
• CLINICAL
PSYCHOLOGISTS
• HEALTH PSYCHOLOGISTS
Introduction to Areas of Psychology
Subfield Description
 Behavioral genetics Behavioral genetics studies the inheritance of traits related to behavior.
 Behavioral neuroscience Behavioral neuroscience examines the biological basis of behavior.
 Clinical psychology Clinical psychology deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of
 psychological disorders.
 Clinical neuropsychology Clinical neuropsychology unites the areas of biopsychology and
clinical psychology, focusing on the relationship between biological factors and psychological
disorders.
 Cognitive psychology Cognitive psychology focuses on the study of higher mental processes.
 Counseling psychology Counseling psychology focuses primarily on educational, social, and
career adjustment problems.
 Cross-cultural psychology Cross-cultural psychology investigates the similarities and differences
in psychological functioning in and across various cultures and ethnic groups.
 Developmental psychology Developmental psychology examines how people grow and
change from the moment of conception through death.
Introduction to Areas of Psychology
Subfield Description
 Educational psychology Educational psychology is concerned with teaching and learning
processes, such as the relationship between motivation and school performance.
 Environmental psychology Environmental psychology considers the relationship between
people and their physical environment.
 Evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology considers how behavior is influenced by our
genetic inheritance from our ancestors.
 Experimental psychology Experimental psychology studies the processes of sensing, perceiving,
learning, and thinking about the world.
 Forensic psychology Forensic psychology focuses on legal issues, such as determining the
accuracy of witness memories.
 Health psychology Health psychology explores the relationship between psychological factors
and physical ailments or disease.
 Industrial/organizational Industrial/organizational psychology is concerned with the psychology
of the workplace.
Introduction to Areas of Psychology
Subfield Description
 Personality psychology Personality psychology focuses on the consistency in people’s
behavior over time and the traits that differentiate one person from another.
 Psychology of women Psychology of women focuses on issues such as discrimination
against women and the causes of violence against women.
 School psychology School psychology is devoted to counseling children in elementary
and secondary schools who have academic or emotional problems.
 Social psychology Social psychology is the study of how people’s thoughts, feelings, and
actions are affected by others.
 Sport psychology Sport psychology applies psychology to athletic activity and exercise.
Applied Areas of Psychology
Some applied psychologists teach and do research, but most work in mental health centers, industries, school
systems, medical centers, and other applied settings.
Following are the major subspecialties within applied psychology:
1. Clinical psychology. Clinical psychologists try to understand and treat serious emotional and behavioral
problems.
2. 2. Counseling psychology. Specialists in this field help people with personal or school problems and with
career choices.
3. 3. Educational and school psychology. Educational psychology is concerned with the ways children learn in
the classroom and with the construction of psychological and educational tests. School psychologists
consult with teachers about children who are experiencing learning or behavioral problems and test
children to see whether they could benefit from special educational programs.
4.
4. Industrial and organizational psychology. This field focuses on ways to match employees to jobs, to train
and motivate workers, and to promote job satisfaction and good relationships among workers.
5. 5. Health psychology. Health psychologists focus on the ways in which stress and other factors influence our
health. They seek to prevent health problems such as heart disease by teaching people to relax, exercise,
control their diets, and stop high-risk behaviors, such as smoking.
6. The distinction between the basic and the applied fields is not always clear. Often psychologists in the
experimental fields work on important applied topics.
ANY QUESTIONS…