Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
AnOverviewofPsychology
ByKendraCherryReviewedbyaboardcertifiedphysician.
UpdatedAugust23,2016
Psychologyisabroadfieldthatencompassesthestudyofhumanthought,behavior,
development,personality,emotion,motivation,andmore.Gainingaricheranddeeper
understandingofpsychologycanhelppeopleachieveinsightsintotheirownactionsas
wellasabetterunderstandingofothers.
WhatIsPsychology?
Thesimplestdefinitionofpsychologyisthatitisthestudyofthemindandbehavior.
Researchinpsychologyseekstounderstandandexplainhowpeoplethink, act,andfeel.
Psychologistsstrivetolearnmoreaboutthemanyfactorsthatcanimpactthoughtand
behavior,rangingfrombiologicalinfluencestosocialpressures.
Applicationsforpsychologyincludementalhealthtreatment,performanceenhancement,
selfhelp,ergonomics,andmanyotherareasaffectinghealthanddailylife.Itisdifficultto
captureeverythingthatpsychologyencompassesinjustabriefdefinition,buttopicssuch
asdevelopment,personality,thoughts,feelings,emotions,motivations,andsocial
behaviorsrepresentjustaportionofwhatpsychologyseekstounderstand,predict,and
explain.
There'salotofconfusionoutthereaboutpsychology.Unfortunately,suchmisconceptions
aboutpsychologyaboundinpartthankstostereotypedportrayalsofpsychologistsin
popularmediaaswellasthediversecareerpathsofthoseholdingpsychologydegrees.
Accordingtosomepopulartelevisionprogramsandmovies,psychologistsaresuper
sleuthsthatcanusetheirunderstandingofthehumanmindtosolvecrimesandpredicta
criminal'snextmove.Othertraditionaldepictionspresentthepsychologistasgrayand
wise,seatedinastatelyofficelinedwithbooks,andlisteningtoclientsrambleonabout
theirdifficultchildhoods.
https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print 1/5
4/12/2017 https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print
Sowhatispsychologyreallyallabout?Thefactisthatthereisalittlebitoftruthinthese
stereotypicalportrayals,butthereisalotmoretopsychologythanyoumightinitiallythink.
Thereisatremendousdiversityinpsychologycareersanditisperhapsthisenormous
rangeofcareerpathsthatcontributestosomeofthemisconceptionsaboutpsychology
andwhatpsychologistsdo.
Sure,therearepsychologistswhohelpsolvecrimesandthereareplentyofprofessionals
whohelppeopledealwithmentalhealthissues.However,therearealsopsychologists
whocontributetocreatinghealthierworkplaces.Therearepsychologiststhatdesignand
implementpublichealthprograms.Otherpsychologistsinvestigatetopicssuchas
airplanesafety,computerdesign,andmilitarylife.Nomatterwherepsychologistswork,
theirprimarygoalsaretohelpdescribe,explain,predict,andinfluencehumanbehavior.
HowPsychologyCametoBeWhatItIsToday
Earlypsychologyevolvedoutofbothphilosophyandbiology.Discussionsofthesetwo
subjectsdateasfarbackastheearlyGreekthinkers,includingAristotleandSocrates.
Theword"psychology"itselfisderivedfromtheGreekwordpsyche,literallymeaning
"life"or"breath."Derivedmeaningsofthewordinclude"soul"or"self."
Theemergenceofpsychologyasaseparateandindependentfieldofstudytrulycame
aboutwhenWilhelmWundtestablishedthefirstexperimentalpsychologylabinLeipzig,
Germanyin1879.
Wundt'sworkwasfocusedondescribingthestructuresthatcomposethemind.This
perspectivereliedheavilyontheanalysisofsensationsandfeelingsthroughtheuseof
introspection,anextremelysubjectiveprocess.Wundtbelievedthatproperlytrained
individualswouldbeabletoidentifyaccuratelythementalprocessesthataccompanied
feelings,sensations,andthoughts.
Throughoutpsychology'shistory,variousschoolsofthoughthaveformedtoexplainthe
humanmindandbehavior.Insomecases,certainschoolsofthoughtrosetodominate
thefieldofpsychologyforaperiodoftime.Whiletheseschoolsofthoughtaresometimes
perceivedascompetingforces,eachperspectivehascontributedtoourunderstandingof
psychology.
Thefollowingaresomeofthemajorschoolsofthoughtinpsychology.
WundtandTitchener'sstructuralismwastheearliestschoolofthought,butothers
soonbegantoemerge.
TheearlypsychologistandphilosopherWilliamJamesbecameassociatedwitha
https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print 2/5
4/12/2017 https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print
schoolofthoughtknownasfunctionalism,whichfocuseditsattentiononthe
purposeofhumanconsciousnessandbehavior.
Soon,theseinitialschoolsofthoughtgavewaytoseveraldominantandinfluential
approachestopsychology.SigmundFreud'spsychoanalysiscenteredonthehow
theunconsciousmindimpactedhumanbehavior.
Thebehavioralschoolofthoughtturnedawayfromlookingatinternalinfluenceson
behaviorandsoughttomakepsychologythestudyofobservablebehaviors.
Later,thehumanisticapproachcenteredontheimportanceofpersonalgrowthand
selfactualization.
Bythe1960sand1970s,thecognitiverevolutionspurredtheinvestigationof
internalmentalprocessessuchasthinking,decisionmaking,language
development,andmemory.
Top4ThingstoKnowAboutPsychology
1.PsychologyIsBothanAppliedandTheoreticalDiscipline
Psychologyisbothanappliedandacademicfieldthatstudiesthehumanmindand
behavior.Researchinpsychologyseekstounderstandandexplainhowwethink,act,
andfeel.Researchpsychologistscontributetoourunderstandingofwhypeoplebehave
astheydoaswellasdifferentfactorsthatcanimpactthehumanmindandbehavior.
Asmostpeoplealreadyrealize,alargepartofpsychologyisdevotedtothediagnosisand
treatmentofmentalhealthissues,butthat'sjustthetipoftheicebergwhenitcomesto
applicationsforpsychology.Inadditiontomentalhealth,psychologycanbeappliedtoa
varietyofissuesthatimpacthealthanddailylifeincludingwellbeing,ergonomics,
motivation,productivity,andmuchmore.
2.ThereAreManyDifferentSpecialtyAreasinPsychology
Psychologyisabroadanddiversefield.Somedifferentsubfieldsandspecialtyareas
haveemerged.Thefollowingaresomeofthemajorareasofresearchandapplication
withinpsychology:
Abnormalpsychologyisthestudyofabnormalbehaviorandpsychopathology.This
specialtyareaisfocusedonresearchandtreatmentofavarietyofmentaldisorders
andislinkedtopsychotherapyandclinicalpsychology.
https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print 3/5
4/12/2017 https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print
Biologicalpsychology,alsoknownasbiopsychology,studieshowbiological
processesinfluencethemindandbehavior.Thisareaiscloselylinkedto
neuroscienceandutilizestoolssuchasMRIandPETscanstolookatbraininjuryor
brainabnormalities.
Clinicalpsychologyisfocusedontheassessment,diagnosis,andtreatmentof
mentaldisorders.Itisalsoconsideredthesinglelargestareaofemploymentwithin
psychology.
Cognitivepsychologyisthestudyofhumanthoughtprocessesandcognitions.
Cognitivepsychologistsstudytopicssuchasattention,memory,perception,
decisionmaking,problemsolving,andlanguageacquisition.
Comparativepsychologyisthebranchofpsychologyconcernedwiththestudyof
animalbehavior.Thistypeofresearchcanleadtoadeeperandbroader
understandingofhumanpsychology.
Developmentalpsychologyisanareathatlooksathumangrowthanddevelopment
overthelifespan.Theoriesoftenfocusonthedevelopmentofcognitiveabilities,
morality,socialfunctioning,identity,andotherlifeareas.
Forensicpsychologyisanappliedfieldfocusedonusingpsychologicalresearch
andprinciplesinthelegalandcriminaljusticesystem.
Industrialorganizationalpsychologyisafieldthatusespsychologicalresearchto
enhanceworkperformance,andselectemployees.
Personalitypsychologyfocusesonunderstandinghowpersonalitydevelopsaswell
asthepatternsofthoughts,behaviors,andcharacteristicsthatmakeeachindividual
unique.
Socialpsychologyfocusesonunderstandinggroupbehavioraswellashowsocial
influencesshapeindividualbehavior.Topicsstudiedbysocialpsychologistsinclude
attitudes,prejudice,conformity,andaggression.
3.PsychologistsUtilizeScientificMethods
Psychologistsuseobjectivescientificmethodstounderstand,explain,andpredicthuman
behavior.Psychologicalstudiesarehighlystructured,beginningwithahypothesisthatis
thenempiricallytested.Aspsychologymovedawayfromitsphilosophicalroots,
psychologistsbegantoemploymoreandmorescientificmethodstostudyhuman
behavior.Contemporaryresearchersuseavarietyofscientifictechniquesincluding
experiments,correlationalstudies,andlongitudinalresearch.
https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print 4/5
4/12/2017 https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print
4.ThereAreManyDifferentApplicationsforPsychology
Themostobviousapplicationforpsychologyisinthefieldofmentalhealthwhere
psychologistsuseprinciples,research,andclinicalfindingstohelpclientsmanageand
overcomesymptomsofmentaldistressandpsychologicalillness.Therearealsomany
otherswaysthatpsychologyusedtohelppeoplelivebetter,healthierlives.Psychological
researchcanhaveanimpactonpublicpolicy,canbeusedtodesignpublichealth
initiatives,andcanguideapproachestoeducationandchilddevelopmentprograms.
AWordFromVerywell
Asyoucansee,whilepsychologymaybearelativelyyoungscienceitalsohasa
tremendousamountofbothdepthandbreadth.Theassessment,diagnosis,and
treatmentofmentalillnessarecentralinterestsofpsychology,butpsychology
encompassesmuchmorethanmentalhealth.Today,psychologistsseektounderstand
manydifferentaspectsofthehumanmindandbehavior,addingnewknowledgetoour
understandingofhowpeoplethinkaswellasdevelopingpracticalapplicationsthathave
animportantimpactoneverydayhumanlives.
Sources:
AmericanPsychiatricAssociation.Diagnosticandstatisticalmanualofmentaldisorders(5thed.).
Washington,DC:Author2013.
HothersallD.HistoryofPsychology,4thed.NewYork:McgrawHill2003.
https://www.verywell.com/psychology4014660?print 5/5