Basic and Applied Fields of Psychology

☆ Basic and Applied Fields of Psychology.

All sciences have broadly two branches. One is the basic or academic branch and other is applied. The basic or academic branch is the result of an academic curiosity or a question. On the other hand, applied branch deals with solving problems by applying inputs  from the basic or academic branch.

The basic fields in psychology are primarily concerned with a identifying the causes of behaviour. There are different kinds of basic fields of psychology named as 1. Biopsychology, 2. Cognitive psychology, 3. Comparative psychology, 4. Cultural psychology, 5. Experimental psychology, 6. Gender psychology, 7. Learning psychology, 8. Personality psychology, 9. Physiological psychology and 10. Sensation and perception psychology.

1. Biopsychology studies the biological bases of behaviour. There is an intimate relationship between psychology and neurology, neurophysiology, neurochemistry and other branches of knowledge  which are directly involved with the study of the nervous system, particularly the brain. Genetics, the branch of biology is also an important discipline from the point of view of psychology.

2. Cognitive psychology studies human information processing abilities. Psychologists in this field study all the aspects of cognition such as memory, thinking, problem solving, decision making, language, reasoning and so on.

3. Comparative psychology studies and compares the behaviour of different species, especially animals. That is why some authors used to call this field as animal psychology.

4. Cultural psychology studies the ways in which culture, subculture, and ethnic group membership affect behaviour. These psychologists do cross cultural research and compare behaviour of people of different nations.

5. Experimental psychology investigates all aspects of psychological processes line perception, learning and motivation. The major research method used by these psychologists include controlled experiments. For instance, social psychology may do experiments to determine the effect of various group pressures and influences on a person’s behaviour.

6. Gender psychology does research on differences between males and females, the acquisition of gender identity, and the role of gender throughout life.

7. Learning psychology studies how and why learning occurs. These psychologists develops theories of learning and apply the laws and principles of learning to solve a variety of human problems.

8. Personality psychology studies personality traits and dynamics. These psychologists develop their theories of personality and tests for assessing personality traits.

9. Physiological psychologists investigate the role of biochemical changes within our nervous systems and bodies in everything we do, sense, feel, or think.

10. Sensation and perception psychology studies the sense organs and the process of perception. Psychologists working in this field, investigate the mechanisms of sensation and develop theories about how perception or misperception  (illusion) occurs. They also study how do we perceive depth, movement, and individual differences in perception.

There are also some applied fields viz. 1. Social psychology, 2. Clinical psychology, 3. Community psychology, 4. Consumer psychology, 5. Counselling psychology, 6. Educational psychology, 7. Engineering psychology, 8. Forensic psychology, 9. Industrial/organisational psychology, 10. Medical psychology,  11. School psychology.

1. Social psychology investigates social behaviour, including attitudes, conformity, persuasion, prejudice, friendship, aggressiveness, helping and so forth.

2. Clinical psychology does psychotherapy, investigates clinics problems, develops methods of treatment. This field emphasises on the diagnosis, causes and treatment of severe psychological disorders and emotional troubles.

3. Community psychology promotes community-wide mental health through research, prevention, education, and consultation.

4. Consumer psychology researches packaging, advertising, marketing methods, and characteristics of consumers.

5. Counselling psychology does psychotherapy and personal counselling, researches emotional disturbances and counselling methods.

6. Educational psychology investigates classroom dynamics, teaching styles, and learning, develops educational tests, evaluates educational programmes. Investigates all aspects of educational process ranging from curriculum design to techniques of instructions to learning disabilities.

7. Engineering psychology does applied research on the design of machinery, computers, airplanes, automobiles, and so on for business, industry an the military.

8. Forensic psychology investigates problems of crime prevention, rehabilitation programs, prisons, courtroom dynamics;  selects candidates for police work.

9. Industrial/Organisational psychology investigates all aspects of behaviour in work setting ranging from selection and recruitment of employees, performances appraisal, work motivation to leadership.

10. Medical psychology applies psychology to manage medical problems, such as the emotional impact of illness, self-screening for cancer, compliance in taking medicines.

11. School psychologists do psychological testing, referrals, emotional and vocational counselling of students; detect and treat learning disabilities, and help improve classroom learning.

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