BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

1. Clinical Psychology
2. Biopsychology
3. Educational psychology
4. Cognitive Psychology
5. Forensic psychology
6. Industrial Psychology
7. Health psychology
8. Experimental psychology
9. Developmental psychology
1. CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
 1.CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

This treatment-oriented branch of psychology deals with

scientific ways of handling psychological problems. Also
called counselling psychology or psychotherapy, it focuses
on the prevention, understanding and cure of psychological
issues by way of psycho-therapeutic treatment.

CONT..
 History Of Clinical Psychology

 Early influences on the field of clinical psychology

include the work of the Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund
Freud. He introduces talk therapy.
 American psychologist Lightner Witmer opened the first
psychological clinic in 1896 with a specific focus on
helping children who had learning disabilities.
 Witmer first introduced the term "clinical psychology"
in a 1907 paper.
 By 1914, 26 other clinics devoted to the practice of
clinical psychology had been established in the United
States.
APPROACHES IN CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Psychodynamic approach
 Cognitive behavioral perspective
 Humanistic perspective
 PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH

This perspective grew out of Freud's work; he believed

that the unconscious mind plays an important role in our
behavior. Psychologists who utilize psychoanalytic
therapy may use techniques such as free association to
investigate a client's underlying, unconscious motivations.
 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

 The major causes of behavior have their origin in the

unconscious.
 Psychic determinism: all behavior has a cause/reason.
 Different parts of the unconscious mind are in constant
struggle.
 Our behavior and feelings as adults (including
psychological problems) are rooted in our childhood
experiences.
 COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

This approach to clinical psychology developed from the

behavioral and cognitive schools of thought. Clinical
psychologists using this perspective will look at how a
client's feelings, behaviors, and thoughts
interact. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) often focuses
on changing thoughts and behaviors that contribute to
psychological distress.
 KEY ASSUMPTIONS

 Human behaviour can be explained as a set of scientific

processes.
 Our behaviour can be explained as a series of responses
to external stimuli.
 Behaviour is controlled by our own thought processes,
as opposed to genetic factors.
 HUMANISTIC PERSPECTIVE

This approach to clinical psychology grew out of the work

of humanist thinkers such as Abraham Maslow and Carl
Rogers. This perspective looks at the client more
holistically and is focused on such things as self-
actualization.
 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

 Humanistic psychology begins with the existential

assumptions that people have free will.
 People are basically good, and have an innate need to
make themselves and the world better.
 People are motivated to self-actualize.
 The subjective, conscious experiences of the individual
is most important.
 Humanism rejects scientific methodology.
 CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST

 Master's degree or Ph.D.

 Cannot prescribe medications (with some exceptions)
 May diagnose psychological illness
 May conduct talk therapies
 Board certification through American Board of Clinical
Psychology
2.BIOPSYCHOLOGY
 2. BIOPSYCHOLOGY

This branch of psychology looks at the role the brain

and neurotransmitters play in influencing our thoughts,
feelings and behaviors. It combines neuroscience and
the study of psychology.

Cont..
CAREER SPECIALIZATIONS IN BIOPSYCHOLOGY

The following are just a few of the career specializations

that are related to biopsychology:
 Comparative Psychologist: Looks at the behaviors of
different species and compares them to each other and to
humans.
 Evolutionary Psychologist: Examines the evolutionary
bases of behavior.
 Behavioral Neuroscientist: Analyzes how the brain,
nervous system, and other organs impact behavior.
3.EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
 3. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Educational psychology is the scientific study of human

behavior in an educational setting and, as such, it deals
with issues such as learning disorders, adolescence
behaviors, and so on. These studies focus primarily on the
different developmental stages of children and teenagers.
OBJECTIVES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 To provide a body of facts and methods which can be

used in solving teaching problems.
 To develop a scientific and problem-solving attitude.
 To train in thinking psychologically about educational
problems.
INTERESTS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Educational psychologists are interested in:

 Educational Technology: Looking at how different types
of technology can help students learn
 Instructional Design: Designing learning materials
 Special Education: Helping students who may need
specialized instruction
 Curriculum Development: Creating curriculums can
maximize learning
 Organizational Learning: Studying how people learn in
organizational settings
 Gifted Learners: Helping students who are identified as
gifted learners
METHODS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Introspection method
 Observation method
 Experimental method
 Case history study

Cont…
SCOPE OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Human behavior
 Growth and development
 Learning process
 Heredity and environment
 personality
 Individual difference
 Guidance and counselling
 Intelligence and its measurement
4. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
 4. COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

The branch of psychology that deals with mental

processes, such as thoughts, memory and problem solving,
is called cognitive psychology. In essence, it is concerned
with the perception and problem-solving capability of the
brain.
 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

 The mind actively processes information from our

senses (touch, taste etc.).
 Between stimulus and response are complex mental
processes, which can be studied scientifically.
 Humans can be seen as data processing systems.
 The workings of a computer and the human mind are
alike – they encode and store information, and they
have outputs.
 STRENGTHS

 Models have presented a useful means to help

explain internal mental processes
 The approach provides a strong focus on internal
mental processes, which behaviourists before did not.
 The experimental methods used by the approach are
considered scientific.
 WEAKNESSES

 It could be argued that cognitive models over-simplify

explanations for complex mental processes.
 The data supporting cognitive theories often come
from unrealistic tasks used in laboratory experiments,
which puts the ecological validity of theories into
question (i.e. whether or not they are truly
representative of our normal cognitive patterns).
 Comparing a human mind to a machine or computer
is arguably an unsophisticated analogy.
5. FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY
 5. FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGY

The application of psychology to law making, law

enforcement, the examination of witnesses, and the
treatment of the criminal is the job of the forensic
psychologist. Also known as legal psychology, this branch
of psychology is not dissimilar to cognitive and clinical
psychology, but involves a thorough understanding of the
law.
 FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGISTS ASSIST IN
LEGAL MATTERS

 mental state examinations of criminal defendants

(insanity, competency to stand trial, etc.)
 child custody/family law
 violence risk assessment
 civil law (personal injury cases)
 social science research (e.g., explaining a scholarly topic
such as memory research to a jury)
 mediation/dispute resolution
 jury selection
6. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
 6. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Focused on the psychological aspects of individuals

within a community environment, community
psychology explores characteristics such as
interdependence, adaptation, diplomacy,
empowerment, social justice, and so on. It is also
referred to as critical psychology.
 BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

 All behavior occurs in a social context, even when

nobody else is physically present.
 A major influence on people's behavior, thought
processes and emotions are other people and the society
they have created.
 AREAS OF APPLICATION

 Aggression
 Relationships
 Social influence
 Self concept
 Discrimination
 STRENGTHS

 Social psychology provides clear predictions. This

means that explanations can be scientifically tested
and support with evidence.
 Emphasizes objective measurement
 Many experiments to support theories
 LIMITATIONS

 Underestimates individual differences

 Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone)
 Provides only 'superficial snapshots of social processes'
(Hayes, 1995)
7. INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY
 7. INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY

This branch of psychology addresses practical problems in

the workplace through the application of psychological
principles. Industrial psychologists, also called
organizational psychologists, are employed by companies
to administer tests which measure employee aptitudes or
skills in hiring and placement programs.
 APPLICATION OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Employment testing
 Designing training and development program
 Job analysis
 Performance appraisal
 Counselling
 Motivation
 Human engineering
 AIMS OF INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Personal selection
 Care of worker’s health
 Protection of worker economic interests
 Search for proper methods of work
 Removing maladjustments
 Reform in human relations
 Reform in working conditions
8.HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY
 8. Health Psychology

This branch of psychology observes how behaviour,

biology and social context influence illness and health.
Health psychologists generally work alongside other
medical professionals in clinical settings.
 GOALS OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

 understanding behavioral and contextual factors for

health and illness
 preventing illness
 investigating the effects of disease
 providing critical analyses of health policies
 conducting research on prevention of and intervention in
health problems
 improving doctor-patient communication
 STRENGTHS

 It is a new and emerging career, which means

demand is high.
 It is a specialization in which you can make a real
meaningful difference in the lives of people.
 Salary and benefits are very good.
 You can work in a variety of different settings and
organizations.
 LIMITATIONS

 It can take a long time to become a health

psychologist, particularly since a doctorate degree is
expected.
 Licenses tend to be required in each state, which
means you may have to repeat some of the licensing
process if you were to ever move to another state.
 You will have to deal with quite a lot of bureaucracy in
your work.
9. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
9. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Experimental psychologists work to understand the

underlying causes of behavior by studying humans and
animals. They work mainly in a laboratory environment,
exploring how different species interrelate and
investigating the evolutionary significance of certain
behaviors.
 HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Wilhelm Wundt, used mathematical computations in his

early 19th century experiments.
 Experimental Psychology was introduced into America
by one of Yale’s star professors’ George Ladd. He built a
research lab, public the first Experimental Psychology
textbook and performed various experiments. In modern
times, Experimental Psychologists work in all schools of
psychology to conduct lab and clinical based
experiments.
 STRENGTHS OF AN EXPERIMENT:

 Ensuring that all variables that might affect the

results (dependent, independent or confounding) are
controlled.
 Using a sample size which is representative
 Ensuring that the method is written clearly so that if the
experiment was to be repeated by someone else, there
would be no confusion in terms of knowing what to do.
 WEAKNESSES OF AN EXPERIMENT:

 Experiments are sometimes less detailed and/or more

unrealistic in comparison to case studies
 Behavior in the laboratory is very narrow in its
range. By controlling the situation so precisely, behavior
may be very limited thus affecting results
 Demand characteristics are all of the indications which
convey to the participant the purpose of the experiment.
Experimenters and Participants are active human beings
who may by nature have some sort of conclusion formed
about what is going to happen or what is supposed to
happen.
10.DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
10.DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Developmental psychology is a branch of psychology

that attempts to explain the development of humans
over time, both in the micro sense, as they develop
from babies to mature adults, and in the macro sense,
as the culture itself evolves through the years and
decades.
HISTORY OF DEVELOPEMNTAL PSYCHOLOGY

 Charles Darwin is credited with conducting the first

systematic study of developmental psychology. In 1877
he published a short paper detailing the development of
innate forms of communication based on scientific
observations of his infant son, Doddy.
 the emergence of developmental psychology as a
specific discipline can be traced back to 1882
when Wilhelm Preyer (a German physiologist)
published a book entitled The Mind of the Child.
 STRENGTHS

 Developmental psychology has improved our

understanding of people at different ages and stages of
development. This is a strength because it allows us to
see that individuals at different ages have different
characteristics and are influenced in different ways.
 Understanding development can help us to positively
influence children’s behavior i.e. useful applications.
This is a strength because understanding how behaviors
such as aggression can be easily observed and imitated
can lead to applications such as age restrictions for
certain games or films. Thus reducing the likelihood of
unwanted behaviors.
 Developmental takes more of a holistic approach as is
considers the influence of nature and nurture. This is
a strength because its explanations are more likely to
be valid due to considering how two factors play a
role in influencing behavior.
 High external reliability. Many studies within the
developmental approach have been repeated and
have found very similar results. This is a strength as it
helps to confirm that development of children.
 WEAKNESSES

 Relies heavily on the use of children which raise ethical

issues. This is a weakness because there tend to be
issues with gaining parental consent and debriefing
children in a way that makes sense to them. The stages
of development that are suggested from the
developmental approach are sometimes too simplistic
and shouldn’t always be so rigidly applied. This is
because many children will develop skills much earlier
or later than what research suggests.
THE END