Branches of Psychology

Overview of the Major Branches of Psychology

By Kendra Cherry, About.com Guide http://psychology.about.com/od/branchesofpsycholog1/tp/branches-of-psychology.htm There are a number of unique and distinctive branches of psychology. Each branch looks at questions and problems from a different perspective. While each branch has its own focus on psychological problems or concerns, all areas share a common goal of studying and explaining human thought and behavior. The following are some of the major branches of psychology within the field today.

1. Abnormal Psychology

Photo by Marcin Balcerzak/iStockPhoto 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.

What is Abnormal Psychology? Mental Disorders

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2. Behavioral Psychology

Photo by Kim Gunkel/iStockPhoto

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.

What is Behaviorism? Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Reinforcement Schedules Behavioral Analysis

3. Biopsychology

Photo from the Wikimedia Commons 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.

What is Biopsychology? Neuron Basics Nervous & Endocrine Systems Structure of a Neuron

4. Cognitive Psychology

Photo by Bart Coenders/iStockPhoto 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.

What is Cognitive Psychology? Careers in Cognitive Psychology Memory Intelligence

5. Comparative Psychology

Photo by Dimitri Castrique 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.

What is Comparative Psychology?

6. Cross-Cultural Psychology

Photo by B S K 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.

7. Developmental Psychology

Photo by Lotus Head 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.

What is Development? How is Development Studied? Issues in Developmental Psychology Child Development Theories

8. Educational Psychology

Photo by Heriberto Herrera 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.

Careers in School Psychology Jung and Learning Styles Multiple Intelligences

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9. Experimental Psychology

Photo by Rich Legg/iStockPhoto 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.

Introduction to Research Methods Steps in Psychology Research The Simple Experiment Correlational Studies

10. Forensic Psychology

Photo by Julie Elliott 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.

Abnormal Psychology
Abnormal behavior is defined as behavior that is considered to be maladaptive or deviant by the social culture in which it occurs. Though disagreement exists regarding which particular behaviors can be classified as abnormal, psychologists have defined several criteria for purposes of classification. One is that the behavior occurs infrequently and thus deviates from statistical norms. Another is

Applied Psychology
Applied psychology can be best understood by comparing it to the area of psychology known as basic psychology, which is concerned with answering questions about behavior through psychological theory and research. Applied psychology utilizes this knowledge to actively intervene in the treatment of individuals with mental or emotional disorders, and is also employed in business, education, and gover

Counseling Psychology
While the counseling psychologist may diagnose, assess, and treat adjustment difficulties, they often address problems which are more moderate than those encountered by the clinical psychologist. Clients of counseling psychologists are people who need help coping with the stresses of everyday life, and the focus is on strengthening their existing resources rather than overcoming disorders or defic

Cross-Cultural Psychology
Studies in this discipline attempt to expand the compass of psychological research beyond the few highly industrialized nations on which it has traditionally focused. While definitions of what constitutes a culture vary widely, most experts concur that "culture" involves patterns of behavior, symbols, and values. The prominent anthropologist Clifford Geertz has described culture as &

Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychologists study how characteristics and behaviors first appear and how and when they change. They study the relationships between different types of development, such as cognitive and social, as well as individual variations in development, both normal and deviant. Initially, developmental psychology focused on childhood but was subsequently expanded to cover changes that occur o

Differential Psychology

The earliest research in the field of differential psychology began in the late nineteenth century with Francis Galton's investigation of the effects of heredity on individual intelligence and his pioneering work in intelligence testing, which was further advanced by James McKeen Cattell and Alfred Binet. It was Binet who developed the first standardized intelligence test. Growth in related

Educational Psychology
Educational psychology departments in many universities provide training to educators, school psychologists, and other educational professionals. Applied research in this field focuses on how to improve teaching, solve learning problems, and measure learning ability and progress. Other concerns of educational psychology include cognitive development, the dynamics of pupil behavior, and the psychol

Ethology
The pioneering work of Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen in the 1930s established a theoretical foundation for ethology, which has had an effect on such wide-ranging disciplines as genetics, anthropology, and political science in addition to psychology. Ethologists believe that an animal must be studied on its own terms rather than primarily in relation to human beings, with a focus on its normal b

Etiology - The change in theory

Psychological etiology refers to the scientific investigation into the origins of a disorder that cannot be explained biologically. Etiology is complicated by the fact that most disorders have more than one cause. Early etiological theories were the Freudian and post-Freudian psychoanalytic beliefs. Sigmund Freud attributed mental or neurotic disorders to deep-seated or hidden psychic motivations.

Existential Psychology - History of the movement

Existential psychology is an approach to psychology and psychotherapy that is based on several premises, including: understanding that a "whole" person is more than the sum of his or her parts; understanding people by examining their interpersonal relationships, understanding that people have many levels of self-awareness that can be neither ignored nor put into an abstract context,

Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychologists work to understand the underlying causes of behavior by studying humans and animals. Animals are studied within and outside laboratory settings for a variety of reasons. A researcher may wish to learn more about a particular species, to study how different

species are interrelated, to investigate the evolutionary significance of certain behaviors, or to learn more about

Forensic Psychology
Forensic psychologists often work within the judicial system in such diverse areas as determining an inmate's readiness for parole; evaluation of rehabilitation programs; criminal competency; tort liability and damages; eyewitness testimony and evidence; jury selection; and police training. Forensic psychology may also be employed in other areas of jurisprudence, including patent and tradem

Gestalt Psychology
The Gestaltists were at odds with the popular school of psychology of the day, known as structuralism, whose proponents believed that the mind consists of units or elements and could be understood by mapping and studying them in combination. The Gestalt psychologists believed that mental experience was dependent not on a simple combination of elements but on the organization and patterning of expe

Health Psychology
Health psychology is a diverse area with a variety of emphases. Medical psychology focuses on the clinical treatment of patients with physical illnesses, offering practical advice people can use in order to improve their health. While there is special emphasis on psychosomatic disorders those that have traditionally been most closely related to psychological factorsthe current trend

Humanistic Psychology - Theories and therapeutic applications, Research

Humanistic psychology evolved in the 1960s as a reaction to psychodynamic psychology and behaviorism. Humanists objected to the pessimistic view of human nature advocated by psychodynamic psychologists who saw the selfish pursuit of pleasure as the root of all human behavior. They also felt that the behaviorists' beliefs that all human behavior is the product of environmental influences red

Industrial Psychology
Some industrial psychologists, also called personnel or organizational psychologists, may be employed by companies to administer tests which measure employee aptitudes or skills in hiring and placement programs. Others work for consulting firms which offer their services to companies on a contractual basis to solve specific problems. The projects which they work on may include facilitating interpe

Media Psychology - What does psychology have to do with media?, Processing information
According to reports the average American household has the television on for about seven hours a day. It is also reported that young people are increasingly turning to the Internet as a form of escape and information-gathering. The movie industry spends billions of dollars on new films every year. Advertising currently has more outlets, like television, billborads, magazines, radio, the Internet,

Metapsychology
Metapsychology describes the effort to construct or to postulate a systematic and comprehensive set of general principles encompassing all of psychology, specifically including elements that are theoretical in addition to elements that are considered to have been empirically demonstrated; also known as nomothetic psychology. In classical Freudian psychoanalytical theory, the term metapsychology is

Occupational Therapist
Occupational therapists help persons with both physical and emotional problems as well as learning difficulties. Although occupational therapy was initially associated with reintegrating veterans of First and Second World Wars into the work force, the term "occupation" used in the context of this profession actually refers to any activity with which persons occupy their time. Occupat

Parapsychology
The study of paranormal activities and phenomena has been riddled with controversy since its conception. It is claimed that some people, utilizing senses beyond the ordinary, exhibit powers that cannot be explained by traditional science. Skeptics of the paranormal point to the fact that in over a century since the first serious studies of the paranormal began, usually dated to the opening of the

Philosophical Psychology
One of the central questions in philosophical psychology has been the relationship between the mind and body, a perennial area of inquiry throughout the history of philosophy. Other topics considered in this discipline include memory, perception, and consciousness; the nature of the self; the existence of free will; the relationship between thought and emotion; and so-called irrational phenomena,

Physiological Psychology

The area of experimental known as physiological psychology has evolved in the 1990s. Increasingly, the field is being referred to as behavioral neuroscience, replacing physiological psychology and biological psychology. Nonetheless, the goals of psychologists in this field remain the same: to utilize basic research to explain behavior in physiological terms, working on the assumption that for ever

Psychiatry/Psychiatrist
Psychiatrists treat patients privately and in hospital settings through a combination of psychotherapy and medication. There are about 41,000 practicing psychiatrists in the United States. Their training consists of four years of medical school, followed by one year of internship and at least three years of psychiatric residency. Psychiatrists may receive certification from the American Board of P

Psychoanalysis - Psychoanalysis and the development of personality, Freud's critics

Developed in Vienna, Austria, by Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), psychoanalysis is based on an approach in which the therapist helps the patient better understand him- or herself through examination of the deep personal feelings, relationships, and events that have shaped motivations and behavior. Freud developed his theories during the end of the 19th and the early part of the 20th centuries in Vienna

Psychology/Psychologist
As psychology has grown and changed throughout its history, it has been defined in numerous ways. As early as 400 B.C., the ancient Greeks philosophized about the relationship of personality characteristics to physiological traits. Since then, philosophers have proposed theories to explain human behavior. In the late 1800s the emergence of scientific method gave the study of psychology a new focus

Psychophysics - CONCEPTS IN PSYCHOPHYSICS

Psychophysics originated with the research of Gustav Fechner (1801-1887), who first studied the relationship between incoming physical stimuli and the responses to them. Psychophysicists have generally used two approaches in studying our sensitivity to stimuli around us: measuring the absolute threshold or discovering the difference threshold. In studying the absolute threshold using the method of

Psychosurgery
Psychosurgery involves severing or otherwise disabling areas of the brain to treat a personality disorder, behavior disorder or other mental illness. The most common form of psychosurgery is

the lobotomy, where the nerves connecting the frontal lobes of the brain and the thalamus or hypothalamus are severed. Performed first in the late 1930s, by the 1940s lobotomies were recommended for patients d

Psychotherapy - Psychodynamic approach, Behavioral techniques, Cognitive methods, Family and group therapy
Psychoanalysis, the first modern form of psychotherapy, was called the "talking cure," and the many varieties of therapy practiced today are still characterized by their common dependence on a verbal exchange between the counselor or therapist and the person seeking help. The therapeutic interaction is characterized by mutual trust, with the goal of helping individuals change destruc

School Psychology
Developed in 1896 at the University of Pennsylvania in a clinic that studied and treated children considered morally or mentally defective, the field of school psychology today includes 30,000 psychologists, most of whom work in educational systems throughout the United States. School psychologists, in various roles within the school systems they serve, focus on the development and adjustment of t

Social Psychology
Social psychology is the study of human interaction, including communication, cooperation, competition, leadership, and attitude development. Although the first textbooks on the subject of social psychology were published in the early 1900s, much of the foundation for social psychology studied in the 1990s is based on the work of the behavioral psychologists of the 1930s. Behavioral psychologists

Sociobiology
In his 1975 work, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, entomologist Edward O. Wilson first coined the term "sociobiology" to create a new field of study combining biology and social sciences, especially anthropology and sociology. Sociobiologists study the biological nature of human behavior and personality according to the tenet that all social behavior has a biological basis. The field

Sports Psychology
Sportswhich involve emotion, competition, cooperation, achievement, and playprovide a rich area for psychological study. People involved in sports attempt to master very difficult skills, often subjecting themselves to intense physical stress as well as social pressure. When

psychologists began studying sports in the 1930s and 1940s, they focused on motor performance and the acquis

Statistics in Psychology
Psychologists rely heavily on statistics to help assess the meaning of the measurements they make. Sometimes the measurements involve individuals who complete psychological tests; at other times, the measurements involve statistics that describe general properties of groups of people or animals. In psychological testing, the psychologist may interpret test results in light of norms, or the typical

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Introduction to the Five Branches of Philosophy

http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/FiveBranchesMain.html Philosophy can be divided into five branches which address the following questions: Metaphysics Study of Existence What's out there?

Epistemology Study of Knowledge How do I know about it? Ethics Politics Esthetics Study of Action Study of Force Study of Art What should I do? What actions are permissible? What can life be like?

There is a hierarchical relationship between these branches as can be seen in the Concept Chart. At the root is Metaphysics, the study of existence and the nature of existence. Closely related is Epistemology, the study of knowledge and how we know about reality and existence. Dependent on Epistemology is Ethics, the study of how man should act. Ethics is dependent on Epistemology because it is impossible to make choices without knowledge. A subset of Ethics is Politics: the study of how men should interact in a proper society and what constitutes proper. Esthetics, the study of art and sense of life is slightly separate, but depends on Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Ethics.

Branches of Philosophy
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/branches-of-philosophy.html

What are the branches of philosophy? What is their significance? An analysis of philosophy branches, to help us understand their role in contemporary affairs.

The Collins English Dictionary, describes philosophy as - "the academic discipline concerned with making explicit the nature and significance of ordinary and scientific beliefs and investigating the intelligibility of concepts by means of rational argument concerning their presuppositions, implications, and interrelationships; in particular, the rational investigation of the nature and structure of reality (metaphysics), the resources and limits of knowledge (epistemology), the principles and import of moral judgment (ethics), and the relationship between language and reality (semantics)." Thus philosophy is a critical study that uses reason and rationality to come up with solutions for better understanding of the basic problems of life and related issues such as knowledge, morals, rationality itself and language among other things. The above definition clearly indicates that there are four root branches of philosophy to which the other different branches of philosophy are related. What are the Branches of Philosophy? Metaphysics: Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that goes beyond the realms of science. It is concerned with answering the questions about identity and the world. The name is derived from the Greek words, Meta which means beyond or after, and Physika which means physics. Aristotle, one of the most well known philosophers, acknowledged Thales as the first known meta physician. The main branches of metaphysics are ontology, natural theology and universal science. Epistemology: It deals with the definition of knowledge and its scope and limitations. It translates from Greek to mean 'theory of knowledge'. It questions the meaning of knowledge, how we obtain knowledge, how much do we know and how do we have this knowledge? Some of the famous epistemologists are Descartes, Kant and Hume. Aesthetics: Aesthetics deals with sense, perception and appreciation of beauty. It broadly includes everything to do with appreciating of art, culture and nature. It also examines how the

perception of beauty is determined by taste and aesthetic judgment. The practice of defining, criticizing and appreciating art and art forms is based on aesthetics. Ethics: It is concerned with questions on morality and values and how they apply to various situations. It can be divided into the branches of meta-ethics, normative and applied ethics. Ethics seeks to understand the basis of morals, how they develop and how they are and should be followed. Famous works on ethics are by philosophers as early as Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche. Logic: Among the branches of philosophy, logic is concerned with the various forms of reasoning and arriving at genuine conclusions. It includes the system of statements and arguments. It is now divided into mathematical logic and philosophical logic. It tries to avoid the imaginary or assumptions without real logical proof. Political Philosophy: It is concerned with all the things to do with government and the relationships and obligations of people in a state and their communities. It also includes things like citizens rights, laws, and justice systems. Plato, Hobbes, Locke and J.S. Mill have defining works in this branch of philosophy. Philosophy of Mind: It is, as the name suggests, the branch of philosophy, that tries to understand and explain everything that there is to do, with the mind. It is divided into two major schools of thought, namely dualism which states that the mind and body are two distinct entities and monism, which states that the mind and body are not distinct. It has inspired work in many modern day sciences including computer science, neurosciences and evolutionary biology. It has helped research on the topics of artificial intelligence and understanding the human brain and how it effects us. Philosophy of Language: It includes study on topics such as how language originated, its nature and usage. Here, philosophers first try to understand the nature of language, secondly, how it helps in communication, thirdly how it relates to the minds of the people communicating and how it relates to the truth in the world and how it affects our thoughts. Prominent philosophers in this category are Plato, Wittgenstein and Locke. Philosophy of Education: It deals with the study of education and ways in which it can be improved. It tries to find the best ways to impart instruction. It tries to understand and explain the nature and need of education, methods in which it can be done, and what its ideals should be. The philosophy of education overlaps in the area of study of both the various branches of philosophy and of education. This has been a topic of interest for philosophers, the world over, and still generates a lot of debate and interest. Philosophy of Religion: This is the branch of philosophy which is associated with religion and God. It tries to understand and rationalize, the relations between value systems and the entity of God among other things. It is designed to be different from religious philosophy so that it is not biased by certain faiths and beliefs but looks at religion as a whole. There are a lot of other different branches of philosophy according to the subject including,

philosophy of science, mathematics, law, history, psychology and anthropology. Philosophy is also a widely studied subject and philosophers from different parts of the world, have come up with their own unique ideas and theories. Philosophy can thus be further divided into the western and eastern schools of philosophy. Philosophy has deeply affected our way of life and modern culture and values, our government systems and even technology. Philosophy as a subject will continue to exist as long as man continues to think and ask questions. By Roshan Valder Aesthetics This is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the form of the comic, the tragic, or the sublime. The word comes from the Greek aisthetikos, "of sense perception." Aesthetics has traditionally been part of other philosophical fields like epistemology or ethics but it started to come into its own and become a more independent field under Immanuel Kant. Epistemology Epistemology is the study of the grounds and nature of knowledge itself. Epistemological studies usually focus upon our means for acquiring knowledge; thus modern epistemology generally involves a debate between rationalism and empiricism, or the question of whether knowledge can be acquired a priori or a posteriori. Ethics Ethics is the formal study of moral standards and conduct and is also often called "moral philosophy." What is good? What is evil? How should I behave - and why? How should I balance my needs against the needs of others? These are some of the questions asked in the field of ethics. Logic and the Philosophy of Language These two fields are often treated separately, but they are close enough that they are presented together here. Logic is the study of methods of reasoning and argumentation, both proper and improper. The Philosophy of Language involves the study of how our language interacts with our thinking. Metaphysics In Western philosophy this field has become the study of the fundamental nature of all reality what is it, why is it, and how are we to understand it. Some only regard metaphysics as the study of "higher" reality or the "invisible" nature behind everything, but that isn't actually true. It is, instead, the study of all of reality, visible and invisible. Philosophy of Education This field deals with how children should be educated, what they should be educated in, and what the ultimate purpose of education should be for society. This is an often neglected field of philosophy and is often addressed only be in educational programs designed to train teachers - in that context, it is a part of pedagogy, which is learning how to teach. Philosophy of History The Philosophy of History is a relatively minor branch in the field of philosophy, focusing on the

study of history, writing about history, how history progresses, and what impact history has upon the present day. This is can be referred to as the Critical, Analytical, or Formal Philosophy of History, as well as the Philosophy of Historiography. Philosophy of Mind The relatively recent specialty known as Philosophy of Mind deals with the consciousness and how it interacts with the body and the outside world. It asks not only what mental phenomena are and what gives rise to them, but also what relationship they have to the larger physical body and the world around us. Philosophy of Religion Sometimes confused with theology, the Philosophy of Religion is the philosophical study of religious beliefs, religious doctrines, religious arguments and religious history. The line between theology and the philosophy of religion isn't always sharp because they share so much in common, but the primary difference is that theology tends to be apologetical in nature, committed to the defense of particular religious positions, whereas Philosophy of Religion is committed to the investigation of religion itself rather than the truth of any particular religion. Philosophy of Science This is concerned with how science operates, what the goals of science should be, what relationship science should have with society, the differences between science and other activities, etc. Everything that happens in science has some relationship with the Philosophy of Science and is predicated upon some philosophical position, even though that may be rarely evident. Political and Legal Philosophy These two fields are often studied separately, but they are presented here jointly because they both come back to the same thing: the study of force. Politics is the study of political force in the general community while jurisprudence is the study of how laws can and should be used to achieve political and social goals.
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