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Psychology


 
 
Psychology is an academic and appliedApplied science

For the song by 311, see Grassroots...
 discipline involving the phenomenologicalPhenomenology (psychology)

In psychology, phenomenology is used to refer to subjective experiences or their study....
 and scientificScience

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means....
 study of mental processesMental function Overview

Mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as ...
 and behaviorBehavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environ...
. Psychologists study such concepts as perceptionPerception Overview

In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing se...
, cognitionCognition

The term cognition is used in several loosely related ways to refer to a facility for the human-like processing of informati...
, emotionEmotion

Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action....
, personalityPersonality psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which m...
, behaviorBehavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environ...
, interpersonal relationships, and the individualPsychoanalysis

'Psychoanalysis' is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud....
 and collectiveAnalytical psychology

Analytical psychology is part of the Jungian psychology movement started by Carl Jung and his followers....
 unconsciousUnconscious mind

In psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious refers to that part of mental functioning of which subjects make themselves unawar...
. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledgeKnowledge

Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief and wisdom....
 to various spheres of human activityHuman behavior

Human behavior is the collection of activities performed by human beings and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, val...
 including issues related to daily lifeEveryday life

Everyday life is the sum total of every aspect of common human life as it is routinely lived....
—e.g. familyFamily

A family consists of a domestic group of people , typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relation...
, educationEducational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventi...
, and workEmployment Summary

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee....
—and the treatmentClinical psychology

Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context....
 of mental healthMental health

Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being....
 problems. Psychology attempts to understand the role these functions play in social behavior and in social dynamics, while incorporating the underlying physiologicalPsychophysiology

Psychophysiology is the science of understanding the link between psychology and physiology....
 and neurologicalNeuropsychology

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to spec...
 processes into its conceptions of mental functioning. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and application concerned with such areas as human developmentDevelopmental psychology

Developmental psychology, also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive psychological change...
, sportsSport psychology

Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect per...
, healthFacts About Health psychology

Health psychology is a relatively new field which is evolving and developing as one of main areas of applied psychology....
, industryIndustrial and organizational psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology is the study of the behavior of people in the workplace....
, mediaFacts About Media Psychology

Media psychology emerged due to a social and commercial demand for the application of psychological theory and research into...
, law.
History
Philosophical and scientific rootsThe study of psychology in a philosophicalPhilosophy Overview

Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphys...
 context dates back to the ancient civilizations of EgyptAncient Egypt Overview

Ancient Egypt was a long-lived ancient civilization in north-eastern Africa....
, GreeceAncient Greece

Ancient Greece is the period in Greek history which lasted for around one thousand years and ended with the rise of Christia...
, ChinaChina

China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia....
 and IndiaHistory of India

The history of India can be traced in fragments to as far back as 9500 years ago....
.






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1974   The Milgram experiment first described by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in his 1974 book ''Obedience to Authority; An Experimental View.''






Encyclopedia


Psychology is an academic and appliedApplied science

For the song by 311, see Grassroots...
 discipline involving the phenomenologicalPhenomenology (psychology)

In psychology, phenomenology is used to refer to subjective experiences or their study....
 and scientificScience

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means....
 study of mental processesMental function Overview

Mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as ...
 and behaviorBehavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environ...
. Psychologists study such concepts as perceptionPerception Overview

In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing se...
, cognitionCognition

The term cognition is used in several loosely related ways to refer to a facility for the human-like processing of informati...
, emotionEmotion

Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action....
, personalityPersonality psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which m...
, behaviorBehavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environ...
, interpersonal relationships, and the individualPsychoanalysis

'Psychoanalysis' is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud....
 and collectiveAnalytical psychology

Analytical psychology is part of the Jungian psychology movement started by Carl Jung and his followers....
 unconsciousUnconscious mind

In psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious refers to that part of mental functioning of which subjects make themselves unawar...
. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledgeKnowledge

Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief and wisdom....
 to various spheres of human activityHuman behavior

Human behavior is the collection of activities performed by human beings and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, val...
 including issues related to daily lifeEveryday life

Everyday life is the sum total of every aspect of common human life as it is routinely lived....
—e.g. familyFamily

A family consists of a domestic group of people , typically affiliated by birth or marriage, or by comparable legal relation...
, educationEducational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventi...
, and workEmployment Summary

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee....
—and the treatmentClinical psychology

Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context....
 of mental healthMental health

Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being....
 problems. Psychology attempts to understand the role these functions play in social behavior and in social dynamics, while incorporating the underlying physiologicalPsychophysiology

Psychophysiology is the science of understanding the link between psychology and physiology....
 and neurologicalNeuropsychology

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to spec...
 processes into its conceptions of mental functioning. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and application concerned with such areas as human developmentDevelopmental psychology

Developmental psychology, also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive psychological change...
, sportsSport psychology

Sport psychology is a specialization within psychology that seeks to understand psychological/mental factors that affect per...
, healthFacts About Health psychology

Health psychology is a relatively new field which is evolving and developing as one of main areas of applied psychology....
, industryIndustrial and organizational psychology

Industrial and organizational psychology is the study of the behavior of people in the workplace....
, mediaFacts About Media Psychology

Media psychology emerged due to a social and commercial demand for the application of psychological theory and research into...
, law.

History


Philosophical and scientific roots

The study of psychology in a philosophicalPhilosophy Overview

Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphys...
 context dates back to the ancient civilizations of EgyptAncient Egypt Overview

Ancient Egypt was a long-lived ancient civilization in north-eastern Africa....
, GreeceAncient Greece

Ancient Greece is the period in Greek history which lasted for around one thousand years and ended with the rise of Christia...
, ChinaChina

China is a cultural region and ancient civilization in East Asia....
 and IndiaHistory of India

The history of India can be traced in fragments to as far back as 9500 years ago....
. Psychology began adopting a more clinicalClinical psychology

Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context....
 and experimentalExperimental psychology

Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes th...
 approach under medieval Muslim psychologistsIslamic psychology

Islamic psychology or Ilm-al Nafsiat refers to the study of the Nafs in the Islamic world, particularly during th...
 and physiciansIslamic medicine

Islamic medicine is the profession of Muslim doctors and one of the fields of study in Islamic science....
, who built psychiatric hospitalPsychiatric hospital

A psychiatric hospital is a hospital specializing in the treatment of persons with mental illness....
s for such purposes.

Though the use of psychological experimentExperiment

In the scientific method, an experiment , is a set of actions and observations, performed in the context of solving a partic...
ation dates back to Alhazen's Book of OpticsBook of Optics

The Book of Optics was a seven volume treatise on optics, physics, mathematics, anatomy and psychology written by Iraqi...
in 1021, psychology as an independent experimental field of study began in 1879, when Wilhelm WundtFacts About Wilhelm Wundt

Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt was a German physiologist and psychologist....
 founded the first laboratory dedicated exclusively to psychological research at Leipzig University in GermanyGermany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in central Europe....
, for which Wundt is known as the "father of psychology". 1879 is thus sometimes regarded as the "birthdate" of psychology. The American philosopher William JamesWilliam James

William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher....
 published his seminal book, Principles of PsychologyPrinciples of Psychology

The Principles of Psychology is a monumental text in the history of psychology, written by William James and published in 18...
, in 1890, while laying the foundations for many of the questions that psychologistPsychologist

A psychologist is a scientist and/or clinician who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human mind, inclu...
s would focus on for years to come. Other important early contributors to the field include Hermann EbbinghausHermann Ebbinghaus Overview

Hermann Ebbinghaus was a German psychologist who pioneered experimental study of memory, and discovered the forgetting curv...
 (1850–1909), a pioneer in the experimental study of memoryMemory

In psychology, memory is the ability of an organism to store, retain, and subsequently recall information....
 at the University of Berlin; and the RussiaRussia

Russia , also the Russian Federation , is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Eurasia....
n physiologistPhysiology

Physiology is the study of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of living organisms....
 Ivan PavlovIvan Pavlov

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a Russian physiologist, psychologist, and physician....
 (1849-1936), who investigated the learningLearning

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values, through study, experience, or teaching....
 process now referred to as classical conditioningClassical conditioning

Classical conditioning is a type of associative learning....
.

Psychoanalysis


During the 1890s, the AustriaAustria

Austria is a landlocked country in central Europe....
n physician Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud

Sigmund FreudThe name Freud is generally pronounced [] in English and [] in German....
 developed a method of psychotherapyPsychotherapy Summary

Psychotherapy is a range of techniques which use only dialog and communication and which are designed to improve the mental ...
 known as psychoanalysisPsychoanalysis

'Psychoanalysis' is a family of psychological theories and methods based on the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud....
. Freud's understanding of the mind was largely based on interpretive methods, introspectionIntrospection

Introspection is contemplation on one's self, as opposed to extrospection, the observation of things external to one's self....
 and clinical observations, and was focused in particular on resolving unconscious conflict, mental distress and psychopathologyPsychopathology

Psychopathology is a term which refers to either...
. Freud's theories became very well-known, largely because they tackled subjects such as sexualityHuman sexuality

Human sexuality refers to the expression of sexual sensation and related intimacy between human beings, as well as the expre...
, repressionPsychological repression

Psychological repression, or simply repression, is the psychological act of excluding desires and impulses from one's consci...
, and the unconscious mindFacts About Unconscious mind

In psychoanalytic theory, the unconscious refers to that part of mental functioning of which subjects make themselves unawar...
 as general aspects of psychological development. These were largely considered tabooTaboo

A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom declared as sacred and forbi...
 subjects at the time, and Freud provided a catalyst for them to be openly discussed in polite society. Freud also had a significant influence on Carl JungCarl Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology....
, whose analytical psychologyAnalytical psychology

Analytical psychology is part of the Jungian psychology movement started by Carl Jung and his followers....
 became an alternative form of depth psychologyDepth psychology Summary

Depth psychology is a broad term that refers to any psychological approach examining the depth of human experience....
. Philosopher Karl PopperFacts About Karl Popper

Sir Karl Raimund Popper, CH, MA, Ph.D., D.LITT, FBA, FRS , was an Austrian and British philosopher and a professor at the Lo...
 argued that Freud's psychoanalytic theories were presented in untestableFalsifiability

In science and the philosophy of science, falsifiability, contingency, and defeasibility are roughly...
 form. Due to their subjective nature, Freud's theories are often of limited interest to many scientifically-oriented psychology departments. Followers of Freud who accept the basic ideas of psychoanalysis but alter it in some way are called neo-FreudianNeo-Freudian

The Neo-Freudian psychologists were those followers of Sigmund Freud who accepted the basic tenets of his theory of psychoan...
s. Modification of Jung's theories has led to the archetypalFacts About Archetypal psychology

Archetypal psychology was developed by James Hillman in the second half of the 20th century....
 and process-orientedProcess Oriented Psychology

Process Oriented Psychology refers to a body of theory and practice that encompasses a broad range of psychotherapeutic, per...
 schools of psychological thought.

Behaviorism

Partly in opposition to the subjective and introspective nature of Freudian psychodynamics, and its focus on the recollection of childhood experiences, during the early decades of the 20th century, behaviorismBehaviorism

Behaviorism or behaviourism is an approach to psychology based on the proposition that behavior can be studied and exp...
 gained popularity as a guiding psychological theory. Founded by John B. WatsonFacts About John B. Watson

John Broadus Watson was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, after doing resear...
 and embraced and extended by Edward ThorndikeEdward Thorndike

Edward Lee Thorndikewas an American psychologist who spent nearly his entire career at Teachers College, Columbia Universit...
, Clark L. HullClark L. Hull

Clark Leonard Hull was an influential American psychologist and behaviorist who sought to explain learning and motivation by...
, Edward C. TolmanEdward C. Tolman Summary

Edward Chace Tolman was an American psychologist....
, and later B.F. Skinner, behaviorism was grounded in animal experimentation in the laboratory. Behaviorists shared the view that the subject matter of psychology should be operationalized with standardized procedures which led psychology to focus on behavior, not the mind or consciousness. They doubted the validity of introspection for studying internal mental states such as feelingFeeling

Feelings are affective states of consciousness....
s, sensations, beliefBelief

Belief is usually defined as a conviction of the truth of a proposition without its verification; therefore a belief is a su...
s, desires, and other unobservable entities. In "Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It" (1913), Watson argued that psychology "is a purely objective experimental branch of natural science," that "introspection forms no essential part of its methods," and that "the behaviorist recognizes no dividing line between man and brute." Skinner rejected hypothesis testing as a research method, considering it to be too conducive to speculative theories that would promote useless research and stifle good research.

Behaviorism was the dominant paradigm in American psychology throughout the first half of the 20th century. However, the modern field of psychology is largely dominated by cognitive psychologyCognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, an...
. Linguist Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky is the Institute Professor Emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
 helped spark the cognitive revolutionCognitive revolution

The "cognitive revolution" is the name for an intellectual movement in the 1950s that began what are known collectively as t...
 in psychology through his review of B. F. Skinner's Verbal Behavior, in which he challenged the behaviorist approach to the study of behavior and language dominant in the 1950s. Chomsky was highly critical of what he considered arbitrary notions of 'stimulus', 'response' and 'reinforcement' which Skinner borrowed from animal experiments in the laboratory. Chomsky argued that Skinner's notions could only be applied to complex human behavior, such as language acquisition, in a vague and superficial manner. Chomsky emphasized that research and analysis must not ignore the contribution of the child in the acquisition of language and proposed that humans are born with an natural ability to acquire languageLanguage acquisition device

The Language Acquisition Device is a postulated "organ" of the brain that is supposed to function as a congenital device for...
. Work most associated with psychologist Albert BanduraAlbert Bandura

Albert Bandura is a Canadian psychologist most famous for his work on social learning theory and self efficacy....
, who initiated and studied social learning theorySocial learning theory

In criminology, Ronald Akers and Robert Burgess developed the Social Learning Theory to explain deviancy by combining variab...
, showed that children could learn aggression from a role model through observational learningObservational learning

Observational learning or social learning is learning that occurs as a function of observing, retaining and replicatin...
, without any change in overt behavior, and so must be accounted for by internal processes.

Existentialism and humanism

Humanistic psychologyHumanistic psychology

Humanistic psychology is a school of psychology that emerged in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis...
 was developed in the 1950s in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis, arising largely from the existentialExistential

Existential may refer to:*Existential clause...
 philosophy of writers such as Jean-Paul SartreJean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre , normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre , was a French existentialist philosopher,...
 and Søren KierkegaardSøren Kierkegaard

Sren Aabye Kierkegaard was a 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, generally recognized as the first existentia...
. By using phenomenology, intersubjectivity and first-person categories, the humanistic approach seeks to glimpse the whole person--not just the fragmented parts of the personality or cognitive functioning. Humanism focuses on uniquely human issues and fundamental issues of life, such as self-identity, death, aloneness, freedom, and meaning. Some of the founding theorists behind this school of thought were Abraham MaslowAbraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist....
 who formulated a hierarchy of human needsMaslow's hierarchy of needs

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a theory in psychology that Abraham Maslow proposed in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Mot...
, Carl RogersCarl Rogers

Carl Ransom Rogers was an influential American psychologist, who, along with Abraham Maslow, was the founder of the humanis...
 who created and developed Client-centered therapyClient-Centered Therapy

Client-Centered Therapy was developed by the humanist psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s....
, and Fritz PerlsFritz Perls Overview

Friedrich Salomon Perls, better known as Fritz Perls, was a noted German-born Psychiatrist and psychotherapist of Jew...
 who helped create and develop Gestalt therapyGestalt therapy

Gestalt Therapy is a psychotherapy which focuses on here-and-now experience and personal responsibility....
. It became so influential as to be called the "third force" within psychology (along with behaviorism and psychoanalysis).

Cognitivism

As computer technology proliferated, so emerged the metaphor of mental function as information processingInformation processing

In general, information processing is the changing of information in any manner detectable by an observer....
. This, combined with a scientific approach to studying the mind, as well as a belief in internal mental states, led to the rise of cognitivismCognitivism (psychology)

In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical approach to understanding the mind, which argues that mental function can be und...
 as a popular model of the mind. Cognitive psychology differs from other psychological perspectives in two key ways. First, it accepts the use of the scientific method, and generally rejects introspection as a method of investigation, unlike symbol-driven approaches such as Freudian psychodynamics. Second, it explicitly acknowledges the existence of internal mental states (such as belief, desire and motivation), whereas behaviorism does not.

Links between brainBrain

In animals, the brain, or encephalon , is the control center of the central nervous system....
 and nervous systemNervous system

The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops inpu...
 function also became understood, partly due to the experimental work of people such as Charles Sherrington and Donald HebbFacts About Donald Olding Hebb

Donald Olding Hebb was a psychologist who was influential in the area of neuropsychology, where he sought to understand how ...
, and partly due to studies of people with brain injury (see cognitive neuropsychologyCognitive neuropsychology

Cognitive neuropsychology is a branch of neuropsychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain...
). With the development of technologies for measuring brain function, neuropsychologyNeuropsychology

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to spec...
 and cognitive neuroscienceCognitive neuroscience Overview

The field of cognitive neuroscience concerns the scientific study of the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and is a bra...
 have become increasingly active areas of contemporary psychology. Cognitive psychology has been subsumed along with other disciplines, such as philosophy of mindPhilosophy of mind

Philosophy of mind is the philosophical study of the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties,...
, computer scienceComputer science

Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and...
, and neuroscienceNeuroscience

Neuroscience is a scientific discipline that studies the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiolog...
, under the umbrella discipline of cognitive scienceCognitive science

Cognitive science is usually defined as the scientific study either of mind or of intelligence ....
.

Principles


Mind and brain

Psychology describes and attempts to explain consciousness, behavior, and social interaction. Empirical psychology is primarily devoted to describing human experience and behavior as it actually occurs. Since the 1980s, psychology has begun to examine the relationship between consciousness and the brainBrain

In animals, the brain, or encephalon , is the control center of the central nervous system....
 or nervous systemNervous system

The nervous system of an animal coordinates the activity of the muscles, monitors the organs, constructs and also stops inpu...
. It is still not clear how these interactMind-body dichotomy

The mind-body dichotomy is the view that "mental" phenomena are, in some respects, "non-physical" ....
: does consciousness determine brain statesIdealism

Idealism is an approach to philosophical enquiry which asserts that everything is of a mental nature....
 or do brain states determine consciousnessMaterialism

In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist i...
--or are both going onDualism (philosophy of mind)

...
 in various ways? Or, is consciousnessConsciousness

Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentie...
 some sort of complicated 'illusion' that bears no direct relationship to neural processes? Perhaps to understand this, it is necessary to define "consciousnessConsciousness

Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentie...
" and "brain state". An understanding of brain function is increasingly being included in psychological theory and practice, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with intelligent behavior, learning, and adaptation in m...
, neuropsychologyNeuropsychology

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to spec...
, and cognitive neuroscienceCognitive neuroscience Summary

The field of cognitive neuroscience concerns the scientific study of the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and is a bra...
.

Schools of thought

Various schools of thought have argued for a particular model to be used as a guiding theory by which all, or the majority, of human behavior can be explained. The popularity of these has waxed and waned over time. Some psychologistPsychologist

A psychologist is a scientist and/or clinician who studies psychology, the systematic investigation of the human mind, inclu...
s may think of themselves as adherents to a particular school of thought and reject the others, although most consider each as an approach to understanding the mind, and not necessarily as mutually exclusive theories. On the basis of Tinbergen's four questionsTinbergen's four questions

When asked questions of animal and human behavior such as why these creatures see, even elementary school children can answer that...
 a framework of reference of all fields of psychological research can be established (including anthropological research and humanities).

Subfields

Psychology encompasses a vast domain, and includes many different approaches to the study of mental processes and behavior. Below are the major areas of inquiry that comprise psychology, divided into fields of research psychology and fields of applied psychology. A comprehensive list of the sub-fields and areas within psychology can be found at the list of psychological topics and list of psychology disciplinesList of psychology disciplines

These are some of the sub-fields within the field of psychology:...
.
Abnormal psychology
Abnormal psychologyAbnormal psychology Overview

Abnormal psychology is the scientific study of abnormal behavior in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal...
 is the study of abnormal behaviorAbnormality (behavior)

Abnormality is a subjectively defined characteristic, assigned to those with rare or dysfunctional conditions....
 in order to describe, predict, explain, and change abnormal patterns of functioning. Abnormal psychology studies the nature of psychopathologyPsychopathology

Psychopathology is a term which refers to either...
 and its causes, and this knowledge is applied in clinical psychologyClinical psychology Overview

Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context....
 to treat a patient with psychological disorders.

In the study of abnormal behavior, it can be difficult to define the line between which behaviors are considered normal and which are not. In general, abnormal behaviors must be maladaptive and cause an individual subjective discomfort (signs of emotional distress). Generally, abnormal behaviors are classified as:
  • Abnormal as in "infrequent" in relation to the overall population.
  • Abnormal as in "maladaptive". The behavior fails to promote well being, growth, and fulfillment of a person.
  • Abnormal as in "deviant". The behavior is not socially acceptable.
  • Abnormal as in "unjustifiable". The behavior that cannot be rationalized.

Biological psychology


Biological psychology is the scientific study of the biological bases of behavior and mental states. Because all behavior is controlled by the central nervous system, it is sensible to study how the brainBrain

In animals, the brain, or encephalon , is the control center of the central nervous system....
 functions in order to understand behavior. This is the approach taken in behavioral neuroscienceBehavioral Neuroscience

In psychology and neuroscience, behavioral neuroscience refers to an approach that emphasizes the importance of understandin...
, cognitive neuroscienceCognitive neuroscience

The field of cognitive neuroscience concerns the scientific study of the neural mechanisms underlying cognition and is a bra...
, and neuropsychologyNeuropsychology

Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to spec...
. Neuropsychology is the branch of psychology that aims to understand how the structure and function of the 'brain' relate to specific behavioral and psychological processes. Often neuropsychologists are employed as scientists to advance scientific or medical knowledge. Neuropsychology is particularly concerned with the understanding of brain injury in an attempt to work out normal psychological function.

The approach of cognitive neuroscience to studying the link between brain and behavior is to use neuroimaging tools, such as to observe which areas of the brain are active during a particular task.
Cognitive psychology

The nature of thoughtThought

Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal with it effectively ac...
 is another core interest in psychology. Cognitive psychologyCognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, an...
 studies cognitionCognition

The term cognition is used in several loosely related ways to refer to a facility for the human-like processing of informati...
, the mental processesMental function

Mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as ...
 underlying behavior. It uses information processingInformation processing

In general, information processing is the changing of information in any manner detectable by an observer....
 as a framework for understanding the mind. PerceptionPerception

In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing se...
, learningLearning Summary

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values, through study, experience, or teaching....
, problem solvingFacts About Problem solving

Problem solving forms part of thinking....
, memoryMemory

In psychology, memory is the ability of an organism to store, retain, and subsequently recall information....
, attentionAttention

Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one thing while ignoring other things....
, languageFacts About Language

A language is a system of s, such as voice sounds, gestures or written symbols that encode or decode information....
 and emotionEmotion

Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action....
 are all well researched areas. Cognitive psychology is associated with a school of thought known as cognitivismCognitivism (psychology)

In psychology, cognitivism is a theoretical approach to understanding the mind, which argues that mental function can be und...
, whose adherents argue for an information processingInformation processing

In general, information processing is the changing of information in any manner detectable by an observer....
 model of mental function, informed by positivismPositivism Overview

Positivism is a philosophy developed by Auguste Comte at the beginning of the 19th century that stated that the only authent...
 and experimental psychologyExperimental psychology

Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes th...
.

Cognitive scienceCognitive science

Cognitive science is usually defined as the scientific study either of mind or of intelligence ....
 is a conjoined enterprise of cognitive psychologists, neurobiologistsNeurobiology

Neurobiology is the study of cells of the nervous system and the organization of these cells into functional circuits that p...
, workers in artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence Overview

Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science that deals with intelligent behavior, learning, and adaptation in m...
, logiciansMathematical logic

Mathematical logic is a subfield of mathematics that is concerned with formal systems in relation to the way that they encod...
, linguistsLinguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language....
, and social scientists, and places a slightly greater emphasis on computational theory and formalization.

Both areas can use computational modelsFacts About Computer simulation

A computer simulation or a computer model is a computer program that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a parti...
 to simulate phenomena of interest. Because mental events cannot directly be observed, computational models provide a tool for studying the functional organization of the mind. Such models give cognitive psychologists a way to study the "software" of mental processes independent of the "hardware" it runs on, be it the brain or a computer.
Comparative psychology

Comparative psychologyComparative psychology

Comparative psychology, taken in its most usual, broad sense, refers to the study of the behavior and mental life of animals...
 refers to the study of the behavior and mental life of animalFacts About Animal

Animals are a major group of organisms, classified as the kingdom Animalia or Meta­zoa....
s other than human beings. It is related to disciplines outside of psychology that study animal behavior, such as ethologyEthology

Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior considered as a branch of zoology....
. Although the field of psychology is primarily concerned with humans, the behavior and mental processes of animalAnimal

Animals are a major group of organisms, classified as the kingdom Animalia or Meta­zoa....
s is also an important part of psychological research, either as a subject in its own right (e.g., animal cognitionAnimal cognition

Animal cognition is the title given to a modern approach to the mental capacities of animals....
 and ethology), or with strong emphasis about evolutionary links, and somewhat more controversially, as a way of gaining an insight into human psychology by means of comparison or via animal models of emotional and behavior systems as seen in neuroscience of psychology (e.g., affective neuroscienceAffective neuroscience

Affective neuroscience is the study of the neural mechanisms of emotion....
 and social neuroscienceSocial neuroscience

Social neuroscience is a field of research that spans social psychology, neuroscience, and physiology....
).
Developmental psychology

Mainly focusing on the development of the human mind through the life span, developmental psychologyDevelopmental psychology Overview

Developmental psychology, also known as Human Development, is the scientific study of progressive psychological change...
 seeks to understand how people come to perceive, understand, and act within the world and how these processes change as they age. This may focus on intellectual, cognitive, neural, social, or moral developmentMoral development

Moral development is a field of psychology and a field of education....
. Researchers who study children use a number of unique research methods to make observations in natural settings or to engage them in experimental tasks. Such tasks often resemble specially designed games and activities that are both enjoyable for the child and scientifically useful, and researchers have even devised clever methods to study the mental processes of small infants. In addition to studying children, developmental psychologists also study aging and processes throughout the life span, especially at other times of rapid change (such as adolescence and old age). Urie BronfenbrennerUrie Bronfenbrenner

Urie Bronfenbrenner was a renowned psychologist and a co-founder of the U.S....
's theory of development in context (The Ecology of Human Development - ISBN 0-674-22456-6) is influential in this field, as are those mentioned in "Educational psychology" immediately below, as well as many others. Developmental psychologists draw on the full range of theorists in scientific psychology to inform their research.
Personality psychology

Personality psychologyPersonality psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which m...
 studies enduring psychological patterns of behaviorBehavior

Behavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environ...
, thoughtThought

Thought or thinking is a mental process which allows beings to model the world, and so to deal with it effectively ac...
 and emotionFacts About Emotion

Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action....
, commonly called an individual's . Theories of personality vary between different psychological schools. Trait theoriesTrait theory

Trait theory is an approach to personality theory in psychology....
 attempts to break personality down into a number of traits, by use of factor analysisFactor analysis

Factor analysis is a statistical technique used to explain variability among observed random variables in terms of fewer uno...
. The number of traits have varied between theories. One of the first, and smallest, models was that of Hans EysenckHans Eysenck

Hans Jrgen Eysenck was an eminent psychologist, most remembered for his work on intelligence and personality, though he work...
, which had three dimensions: extroversion—introversion, neuroticismNeuroticism

In psychology, Neuroticism is one of the dimensions in the so-called "big five" personality models, thus one of the traits i...
emotional stabilityEmotion

Emotion, in its most general definition, is a neural impulse that moves an organism to action....
, and psychoticismPsychoticism

Psychoticism is one of the three traits used by the psychologist Hans Eysenck in his P-E-N model model of personality....
. Raymond CattellRaymond Cattell

Raymond Bernard Cattell was a British and American psychologist who theorized the existence of fluid and crystallized intell...
 proposed a theory of 16 personality factors16 Personality Factors

16 PF is the standard abbreviation for the 16 Personality Factors multivariately-derived by psychologist Raymond Catte...
. The theory that has most empirical evidence behind it today may be the "Big FiveBig Five personality traits

In psychology, the Big Five personality traits is the classification of a persons personality into the categories of neuroti...
" theory, proposed by Lewis GoldbergLewis Goldberg

Lewis R. Goldberg is an American personality psychologist and a professor emeritus at the University of Oregon....
, and others.

A different, but well known approach to personality is that of Sigmund FreudSigmund Freud

Sigmund FreudThe name Freud is generally pronounced [] in English and [] in German....
, whose structural theory of personality divided personality into the ego, superego, and id. He utilized the principles of thermodynamics metaphorically to explain these three distinctive and interacting tripartite divisions. In 1923 Freud published the ground-breaking book: "The Ego and the Id" in which he named and identified the functioning psychodynamics of human personality.
This theory has been used in modern psychology paradigms such as Transactional Analysis.
However, Freud's theory of personality has been criticized by many, including many mainstream psychologists.
Quantitative psychology

Quantitative psychologyQuantitative psychology

Quantitative psychology is the application of statistical and mathematical methods to the study of psychology....
 involves the application of mathematical and statisticalStatistics

Statistics is a mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data....
 modeling in psychological research, and the development of statistical methods for analyzing and explaining behavioral data. The term Quantitative psychology is relatively new and little used (only recently have Ph.D. programs in quantitative psychology been formed), and it loosely covers the longer standing subfields psychometricsPsychometrics

Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the...
 and mathematical psychologyMathematical psychology

Mathematical Psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling....
.

PsychometricsPsychometrics

Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the...
 is the field of psychology concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurementMeasurement

Measurement is the estimation or determination of extent, dimension or capacity, usually in relation to some standard or uni...
, which includes the measurement of knowledgeKnowledge

Knowledge is what is known. Like the related concepts truth, belief and wisdom....
, abilitiesAbility

Ability may be:* aptitude* ability to pay...
, attitudesAttitude (psychology)

Attitude is a concept in psychology....
, and personality traits. Measurement of these unobservable phenomenaPhenomenon

A phenomenon is an observable event, particularly something special ....
 is difficult, and much of the research and accumulated knowledge in this discipline has been developed in an attempt to properly define and quantify such phenomena. Psychometric research typically involves two major research tasks, namely: (i) the construction of instrumentsLaboratory equipment

Laboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory....
 and procedures for measurement; and (ii) the development and refinement of theoretical approaches to measurement.

Whereas psychometricsPsychometrics

Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the...
 is mainly concerned with individual differences and population structure, mathematical psychologyMathematical psychology

Mathematical Psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling....
 is concerned with modeling of mentalMental function

Mental functions and cognitive processes are terms often used interchangeably to mean such functions or processes as ...
 and motor processesMotor system

The motor system is the part of the central nervous system that is involved to movement....
 of the average individual. PsychometricsPsychometrics

Psychometrics is the field of study concerned with the theory and technique of psychological measurement, which includes the...
 is more associated with educational psychology, personalityPersonality psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology which studies personality and individual different processes - that which m...
, and clinical psychology. Mathematical psychologyMathematical psychology

Mathematical Psychology is an approach to psychological research that is based on mathematical modeling....
 is more closely related to psychonomicsPsychonomics

Psychonomics describes an approach to psychology that aims at discovering the laws that govern the workings of the mind....
/experimentalExperimental psychology

Experimental psychology is an approach to psychology that treats it as one of the natural sciences, and therefore assumes th...
 and cognitiveCognitive psychology

Cognitive psychology is the school of psychology that examines internal mental processes such as problem solving, memory, an...
, and physiological psychologyPhysiological psychology

Physiological psychology is sometimes related to psychiatry, and in fact may end up becoming the parent branch which contain...
 and neuroscienceNeuroscience

Neuroscience is a scientific discipline that studies the structure, function, development, genetics, biochemistry, physiolog...
.

Basic researchBasic Research

Basic Research is an herbal supplement manufacturer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that markets products through a large numb...
 encompasses the study of behavior for use in academic settings, and contains numerous areas: abnormal psychology, biological psychology, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, developmental psychology, health psychology, personality psychology, social psychology and others. Quantitative psychology is contrasted with applied psychology.
Social psychology


Social psychologySocial psychology (psychology)

Social Psychology is a subfield of psychology concerned with the empirical study of how individuals' behavior, attitudes, an...
 is the study of the nature and causes of human social behavior and mental processes, with an emphasis on how people think towards each other and how they relate to each other. Social Psychology aims to understand how we make sense of social situations. For example, social psychologists study the influence of others on an individual's behavior (e.g., conformityConformity (psychology)

Conformity is the degree to which members of a group will change their behavior, views and attitudes to fit the views of the...
 or persuasionPersuasion

Persuasion is a form of influence....
), the perception and understanding of social cues, or the formation of attitudesAttitude (psychology)

Attitude is a concept in psychology....
 or stereotypeStereotype

Stereotypes are ideas held by some individuals about members of particular groups, based solely on membership in that group....
s about other people. Social cognitionSocial cognition

Social cognition is the study of how people process social information, especially its encoding, storage, retrieval, and app...
 is a common approach and involves a mostly cognitive and scientific approach to understanding social behavior.

Fields of applied research

Applied psychologyApplied psychology

The basic premise of applied psychology is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome practical problems i...
 encompasses both psychological research that is designed to help individuals overcome practical problems and the application of this research in applied settings. Much of applied psychology research is utilized in other fields, such as business management, product designProduct design Overview

Product Design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development, testing and manufacturing or implementation of a ...
, ergonomicsErgonomics Overview

Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of...
, nutritionNutrition

Nutrition is a science which studies the relationship between diet and states of health and disease....
, lawLaw

Law is the set of rules or norms of conduct which forbid, permit or mandate specified actions and relationships among people...
 and clinical medicineClinical Medicine

Clinical Medicine is a part of Medicine which deals with clinical applications of medicine.It is mainly bed side or patient orient...
. Applied psychology includes the areas of clinical psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, human factorsHuman factors

"Human factors" is a term used mainly in the United States....
, psychology and law, health psychology, school psychology, community psychology and others.
Clinical psychology
Clinical psychologyClinical psychology

Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to troublesome mental distress in a health and social care context....
 includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunctionMental illness

Mental illness is a broad generic label for a category of illnesses that may include affective or emotional instability, be...
 and to promote subjective well-beingMental health

Mental health is a concept that refers to a human individual's emotional and psychological well-being....
 and personal development. Central to its practice are psychological assessment and psychotherapyPsychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a range of techniques which use only dialog and communication and which are designed to improve the mental ...
, although clinical psychologists may also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration.
Some clinical psychologists may focus on the clinical management of patients with brain injury—this area is known as clinical neuropsychologyClinical neuropsychology Summary

Clinical neuropsychology is a subdiscipline of psychology that specialises in the clinical assessment and treatment of patie...
. In many countries clinical psychology is a regulated