Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior.

The word "psychology" comes

from the Greek word psyche meaning "breath, spirit, soul", and the Greek word
logia meaning the study of something.
Personality development is the development of the organized pattern of behaviors and
attitudes that makes a person distinctive. Personality development occurs by the ongoing
interaction of temperament , character, and environment
Here are some key points about psychology. More detail and supporting information is in
the main article.
Psychology is the study of behavior and the mind.

We are unable to physically see mental processes such as thoughts, memories, dreams
and perceptions.

Clinical psychology is an integration science, theory, and practice.

Cognitive psychology investigates internal mental processes such as how people think,
perceive and communicate.

Developmental psychology is the study of how a person develops psychologically over

the course of their life.

Evolutionary psychology examines how psychological adjustments during evolution

have affected human behavior.

Forensic psychology is the application of psychology to the process of criminal

investigation and the law.

Health psychology observes how health can be influenced by behavior, biology and
social context.

Neuropsychology examines the how the brain functions in relation to different

behaviors and psychological processes.

Occupational psychology investigates how people perform at work in order to develop

an understanding of how organizations function.

Social psychology is a study of how the behavior and thoughts of people are
influenced by the actual or implied presence of others.

What is psychology? What are the

branches of psychology?

Psychology is the science of the mind and behavior. The word "psychology" comes
from the Greek word psyche meaning "breath, spirit, soul", and the Greek word
logia meaning the study of something.
According to Medilexicon's medical dictionary, psychology is "The profession (clinical
psychology), scholarly discipline (academic psychology), and science (research
psychology) concerned with the behavior of humans and animals, and related mental and
physiologic processes." Although psychology may also include the study of the mind and
behavior of animals, in this article psychology refers to humans.
You will also see introductions at the end of some sections to any recent developments
that have been covered by MNT's news stories. Also look out for links to information
about related conditions.

Psychology - studying the mind

The mind is highly complex and enigmatic. Many wonder how psychologists can study
such an intricate, seemingly abstract and extremely sophisticated thing. Even if scientists
look inside the brain, as in an autopsy or during a surgical operation, all they see is gray
matter (the brain). Thoughts, cognition, emotions, memories, dreams, perceptions, etc.
cannot be seen physically, like a skin rash or heart defect.

Experts say that the approach to psychology is not that different to other sciences. As in
other sciences, experiments are devised to confirm or disprove theories or expectations.
For a physicist, the raw data during the experiments may be atoms, electrons, the
application or withdrawal of heat, while for the psychologist human behavior is the raw
data.

For a psychologist, human behavior is used as evidence - or at least an indication - of

how the mind functions. We are unable to observe the mind directly; however, virtually
all our actions, feelings and thoughts are influenced by the functioning of our minds. That
is why human behavior is used as raw data for testing psychological theories on how the
mind functions.

The different branches of psychology

There are many branches of psychology; how you split them up will usually depend on
which part of the world you are in, even which university or institution you were trained
at.