Branches of Psychology

1. Abnormal Psychology -Abnormal psychology is the area that looks at psychopathology and
abnormal behavior. The term covers a broad range of disorders, from depression to obsession-
compulsion to sexual deviation and many more. Counselors, clinical psychologists and
psychotherapists often work directly in this field More

2 Behavioral Psychology -Behavioral psychology, also known as behaviorism, is a theory of learning

based upon the idea that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning. While this branch of
psychology dominated the field during the first part of the twentieth century, it became less
prominent during the 1950s. However, behavioral techniques remain a mainstay in therapy,
education and many other areas.

3 Biopsychology- The branch of psychology focused on the study of how the brain influences
behavior is often known as biopsychology, although it has also been called physiological
psychology, behavioral neuroscience and psychobiology.

4 Cognitive Psychology- Cognitive psychology is the branch of psychology that focuses on internal
states, such as motivation, problem solving, decision-making, thinking and attention. This area of
psychology has continued to grow since it emerged in the 1960s.

5 Comparative Psychology- Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the
study of animal behavior. The study of animal behavior can lead to a deeper and broader
understanding of human psychology.

6 Cross-Cultural Psychology- Cross-cultural psychology is a branch of psychology that looks at how

cultural factors influence human behavior. The International Association of Cross-Cultural
Psychology (IACCP) was established in 1972, and this branch of psychology has continued to
grow and develop since that time. Today, increasing numbers of psychologists investigate how
behavior differs among various cultures throughout the world. More

7 Developmental Psychology- This branch of psychology looks at development throughout the

lifespan, from childhood to adulthood. The scientific study of human development seeks to
understand and explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of
human growth, including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual and personality
development. Topics studied in this field include everything from prenatal development to
Alzheimer's disease.

8 Educational Psychology-Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with

schools, teaching psychology, educational issues and student concerns. Educational
psychologists often study how students learn or work directly with students, parents, teachers
and administrators to improve student outcomes.

9 Experimental Psychology- Experimental psychology is the branch of psychology that utilizes

scientific methods to research the brain and behavior. Many of these techniques are also used by
other areas in psychology to conduct research on everything from childhood development to
social issues.

10 Forensic Psychology- Forensic psychology is a specialty area that deals with issues related to
psychology and the law. Forensic psychologists perform a wide variety of duties, including
providing testimony in court cases, assessing children in suspected child abuse cases, preparing
children to give testimony and evaluating the mental competence of criminal suspects.

11 Health Psychology- Health psychology is a specialty area that focuses on how biology,
psychology, behavior and social factors influence health and illness. Other terms including
medical psychology and behavioral medicine are sometimes used interchangeably with the term
health psychology. The field of health psychology is focused on promoting health as well as the
prevention and treatment of disease and illness.

12 Personality Psychology- This branch of psychology is focused on the patterns of thoughts,

feelings, and behavior that make a person unique. Some of the best-known theories in
psychology have arisen from this field, including Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality and
Erikson's theory of psychosocial development.

13 Social Psychology- Social psychology seeks to explain and understand social behavior and looks
at diverse topics including group behavior, social interactions, leadership, nonverbal
communication and social influences on decision-making.

What is theology?

Theology - is derived from the Greek words, theos for God and logos for word, or subject, or topic of
discourse. The combination of these two words forms the word theology. Theology from these two words
has the means, the study of God. In Called to Believe: A Brief Introduction to Christian Doctrine, edited
by Steven P. Mueller, theology is defined as words about God.

Its important to note that there are many different theologies because there are many different views of
God. Theology will be approached in a completely different manner depending on which h words about
God are being studied. If a Hindu sacred text is being studied, then the study of the words about God
will be very different from the words about God from the Islamic Quran, the Jewish Talmud, or the
Christian Bible. Theology can be approached from many different worldviews also, such as, atheism or
feminism.

Christian theology- is the study of how God has revealed himself to mankind from the Bible. It mainly focuses
on how God has acted towards his creation, us, and what he wills and wants for us in our lives. Within
Christianity there are numerous branches of study.

Historical Theology This branch of theology looks at the history of the church and the various theological
movements in teachings, emphasis, and practice within the life of the church.

Exegetical Theology This branch of theology brings out the truths of scripture by discovering what the
message would have meant to its original audience. To accomplish this aim, the historical and cultural
context of the writing must be examined, as well as the literary context and type of writing and the original
language needs to be examined, as well as interpreting each passage of scripture with other passages of
scripture. Once the original message, purpose, and intent of any given passage of the Bible is determined,
then exegesis is properly prepared to apply that timeless truth of scripture to a modern day audience.

Pastoral Theology This branch of theology focuses on the day to day application of theology in the lives of
Christians.

Apologetics This branch of theology focuses on defending the faith. Many people ask complicated
questions concerning the Christian faith, such as, how can you trust the bible to true, or why would an all-
loving God send people to hell? Or how about, all religions are just different paths that lead to the same
God, so why must Jesus be the only way? These questions and many others are asked both within
Christendom, but Christians, and by people who are outside of the church, so this branch although often
times ignored within certain groups of Christianity plays an important role in the church.

Missiology This branch of theology focuses on the study of missions. How should the church go about
spreading Gods word? How should the kingdom grow? Answers are in scriptures, but answers also lie in
studying cultures, psychology, trends, history, and through analyzing demographics.

Systematics This branch of theology is essentially what the What does the Bible Teach? section of OC
Apologists centers around. Systematics is taking the whole of the Scriptures and putting the word of God
into understandable categories to form doctrines. Doctrine is simply an organized, system, of instruction.
That is what systematic is, taking the bulk of Gods word and narrowing the scope of an individual topic,
such as sin or the nature of God, and siphoning it down into concise bullet points of information.

And what is the purpose of Theology?

The main purpose of Christian theology is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This should be the
ultimate aim of Christian theology, to always point to the work of Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind.

The secondary purpose of Christian theology is to produce growth in a Christians life in the realm of
knowledge and understanding of God. This isnt however just head knowledge. An example would be a
sports fan knowing all the stats of his favorite quarterback from high school to the NFL. However, if he
sees that quarterback on the street, does he know the quarterback? Does the quarterback know him? No.
The knowledge is just intellectual, and its not intimate. The goal in the growth of knowledge of God in
theology is to produce growth in the intimate knowing of God. Just as a husband and wife grow to know
one another deeply, and in a way that no one else knows them, so to the Christian theology when strives
to seek a continual, intimate knowing of the Lord in the lives of Christian believers.

The Source of Christian Theology

teachings should align with it. Everyone can have multiple sources of information concerning God,
such as pastors, parents, friends, The source of Christian theology should be scripture alone. The Bible is
the word of God and all Christian church denominations, traditions, experiences, and even human reason.

These other sources can be very helpful. Learning from standing on the shoulders of Christians that have
gone before or who have studied a certain topic more than us should not be condemned. However, the
teachings of certain people and groups differ from one another, and they cant all be correct. Sometimes
traditions can lead us astray from God and become trappings of religion, especially if the original intent
and purpose of the tradition has been lost in time. Experiences can be very deceiving, especially since not
everyone will share the same experiences in their relationship with God.