Psychology is the study of the mind and its behavior. It's name came from the Greek word psyche; meaning "soul" or "mind". In the very early days, psychology started of as part of philosophy and physiology. Up until the late 1800's, when Wilhelm Wundt conducted the very first experimental psych in Germany. Thus is the reason as to why he is considered as the Father of Psychology.
Psychology has a variety of branches now, compare to how it originally started. There are eleven areas in the field, though all of them revolves around the human brain and it's behavior.
- Abnormal Psychology: This is the study of abnormal behavior. It focuses on finding the treatment for the different kinds of mental disorders.
- Biological Psychology: This is the study of how the mind and it's behavior is affected biologically. Also, this area of psychology is associated with neuroscience.
- Clinical Psychology: This is the area where assessment, diagnosis and treatments occur; thus making it the largest field in psychology.
- Cognitive Psychology: This is the study of the way humans think. Mainly focuses on people's memory, decision-making skills, and problem-solving.
- Comparative Psychology: This is the branch of psychology, which focuses on animal behavior. This research can help scientist understand human psychology.
- Development Psychology: This is the area that looks at human development and growth during their lifespan.
- Forensic Psychology: This area focuses mostly on psychological research and also part of the legal and crime justice research.
- Industrial-Organizational Psychology: This is the field in which they use their research to enhance work performances and usability.
- Personality Psychology: This is the area where scientist look at different elements that make up each individual's personality.
- School Psychology: This is the area that helps children with their emotional, social and academic issues.
- Social Psychology: This is the area where they use scientific methods to study social perception, interaction and influence. This is also the field where they study group behavior, leadership, and aggression.
I hope these information gave you a little more knowledge about psychology. Stay in tune next time to learn more about psychology.
