Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior, according to the American Psychological Association. It is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects behavior. It embraces all aspects of the human experience, from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged.
Psychologists and psychiatrists work together to help people with mental health conditions, but they are not quite the same.There are different types of psychology that serve different purposes. There is no fixed way of classifying them, but here are some common types.
1. Clinical psychology
Clinical psychology integrates science, theory, and practice in order to understand, predict and relieve problems with adjustment, disability, and discomfort. It promotes adaption, adjustment, and personal development. A clinical psychologist concentrates on the intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of human performance throughout a person’s life, across varying cultures and socioeconomic levels. Clinical psychology can help us to understand, prevent, and alleviate psychologically-caused distress or dysfunction, and promote an individual’s well-being and personal development. Psychological assessment and psychotherapy are central to the practice of clinical psychology, but clinical psychologists are often also involved in research, training, forensic testimony, and other areas.
2. Cognitive psychology
Cognitive psychology investigates internal mental processes, such as problem solving, memory, learning, and language. It looks at how people think, perceive, communicate, remember, and learn. It is closely related to neuroscience, philosophy, and linguistics. Cognitive psychologists look at how people acquire, process, and store information. Practical applications include how to improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision-making, or how to set up educational programs to boost learning.
3. Developmental psychology
This is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes that a person experiences over the life span, often referred to as human development. It focuses not only on infants and young children but also teenagers, adults, and older people. Factors include motor skills, problem solving, moral understanding, acquiring language, emotions, personality, self-concept, and identity formation. It also looks at innate mental structures against learning through experience, or how a person’s characteristics interact with environmental factors and how this impacts development. Developmental psychology overlaps with fields such as linguistics.
4. Evolutionary psychology
Evolutionary psychology looks at how human behavior, for example language, has been affected by psychological adjustments during evolution. An evolutionary psychologist believes that many human psychological traits are adaptive in that they have enabled us to survive over thousands of years.
5. Health psychology
Health psychology is also called behavioral medicine or medical psychology. It observes how behavior, biology, and social context influence illness and health. A physician often looks first at the biological causes of a disease, but a health psychologist will focus on the whole person and what influences their health status. This may include their socioeconomic status, education, and background, and behaviors that may have an impact on the disease, such as compliance with instructions and medication. Health psychologists usually work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings.
