Psychology

Freud - On My Mind Buy This Poster At AllPosters.com

Psychology is the science of human behavior, the mind, and mental processes in humans and animals as they interact with each other and the environment. As a practice, psychologists focus on diagnosing, assessing, and delivering preventive and therapeutic services directly to individuals.

In academic settings, psychology has grown to be one of the most widely chosen areas of undergraduate study. Areas of specialty include personality, group interaction, physiology and behavior, intelligence and memory, emotion, sensation and perception, genetics, and states of consciousness and the abnormal development and treatment of these processes.

In applied settings, various types of psychology have evolved and have different areas of focus:

• neuropsychology- the brain and nervous system;
• educational psychology- methods of learning and teaching;
• cognitive psychology - thinking processes;
• social psychology - influence of social situations upon the individual;
• developmental psychology - thought and behavior throughout the lifespan;
• experimental psychology - the mind;
• personality psychology - individual personality formation.

Newer applications for psychology have also developed.

• industrial/organizational psychology - workplace job satisfaction, leadership, motivation and productivity;
• health psychology - relationship between psychological factors and medical pathology, and provides skill training for prevention, as well as recovery from physical illness;
• environmental psychology - relationship between the physical environment and physical health.

Contemporary psychology has seen a revival of interest in cognitive processes, with new interpretations using concepts from communication theory, information processing systems, control systems, and goal-seeking devices, and computer systems for the organization and representation of knowledge.

The application of psychological methods pervades many aspects of everyday life. These methods are used, for example, in learning methods, the assessment of food preferences, the investigation of attitudes, opinions, and prejudices, the design of work and leisure environment, personnel selection and management, counselling, and therapy.

Current applications of psychology also include school psychology, counseling psychology, community psychology, and forensic psychology. Clinical psychologists are found in research, health care, education, the military and industry, and specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems and disorders.