In this post I will attempt to answer the question "What is psychology?" Here, I'm dealing with definitions. (Before we begin, please note that I am not dealing with animals. I am dealing solely with human beings.)
So I went where any self-respecting academic (ha!) starts in order to discover an answer. Google.
Psychology: the science of mental life (Princeton); lit. "study of the soul" or "study of the mind", an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviors (Wikipedia: another source for the true intellectual).
The APA (American Psychological Association), a "scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States" (Wikiversity), is considered by many an authority on psychology. The APA admits that psychology is a broad field but most psychologists would agree with the definitions that I gave above.
According to the APA, there are two distinct "branches" of psychology: basic and applied. These two branches are probably what you'd expect. Basic psychology seeks to describe, predict, and explain behaviour and mental processes. Applied psychology more conscientiously seeks to help individuals control their behaviour and mental processes, or at least explain them so that the individual can better function.
It is important and interesting to note that there are a myriad of different subfields of psychology that come from those two branches, including the following:
- Clinical psychologists treat people who exhibit mental or emotional disorders which range from uncomfortable reactions to the stress of daily life to extreme psychological disorders.
- Community psychology is mostly preventative in nature. These psychologists specialize in human behavior at home, at school, and in neighborhoods.
- Counseling psychologists are therapists who help clients adjust to life, make important decisions, and help people cope. This field of human behavior is similar to clinical psychology.
- Developmental psychology focuses on human development from birth to death. This type of psychology describes, measures, and explains age-related changes in behavior.
- Environmental psychologists attempt to improve the interactions between humans and the environment. The management of natural resources, effects of extreme environments, and architectural design are part of this branch of human behavior.
- Educational psychology is research-oriented, and focuses on how people learn. Teachers, school administrators, and guidance counselors may apply the findings of educational psychologists in schools, colleges, or universities.
- Experimental psychology focuses on basic processes of human interaction and biology. This type of psychology often involves studies on animals and people.
- Family psychologists are therapists who concentrate on the family and how it affects our development and lives. Sexual dysfunction and family counseling may be subsections of family psychology.
- Forensic psychologists study criminal behavior, and often assist law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
- Geriatric psychology focuses on the health and well-being of older people. This field of human behavior includes both practical and research applications.
- Health psychology is a branch of human behavior that is concerned with the psychological implications of actions on health. For instance, smoking, weight gain, stress management and fitness can affect our mental health – and that’s what health therapists focus on.
- Organizational psychology focuses on our relationships to work. This study of human behavior includes career counseling, cross-training, retirement planning, and job productivity.
- Physiological psychology is about the genetic and physical roots of psychological disorders, such as how our brains change due to drug use or how cells develop and function.
- Positive psychology is a relatively new area in the study of human behavior. It encompasses a holistic approach to mental wellness, with a shift away from disease to personal wellness and health.
- Psychometrics focuses on psychological testing and assessment. Psychometrists are employed at private companies and government organizations.
- Rehabilitation psychologists help people with handicaps, such as birth trauma or stroke, improve their functioning in the world. This field of human behavior ranges from birth to old age.
- School psychology focuses on the intellectual and emotional development of young people.
- Social psychology explores how we live in the world. Pop cultural, group behavior, the media, and our attitudes and opinions are all part of social psychology.
- Sport psychologists are therapists who concentrate on the mental and emotional factors that affect professional or amateur athletes. Sport therapists attempt to maximize motivation and performance (Types of Psychology).
There are other fields of psychology in addition to this: evolutionary psychology, legal psychology, quantitative psychology, etc. There seems to be no comprehensive list and some of the sub-disciplines above include other sub-disciplines that sometimes receive special distinction.
In the journal of clinical psychology, Gregg R. Henriques writes,
What is psychology? Is it a single, coherent scientific discipline awaiting transformation from the current preparadigmatic state into a more mature unified one? Or, is it a heterogeneous federation of subdisciplines that will ultimately fragment into a multitude of smaller, more specialized fields? This is, in essence, the “to be or not to be” question of the field. Currently, psychology exists as an uneasy compromise between unification and fragmentation. On the one hand, the existence of numerous societal institutions suggests that psychology is a singular entity at some level. Academic courses, degrees, and departments, as well as organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) suggest that the concept of psychology is a specifiable, coherent entity (Matarazzo, 1987). On the other hand, a more detailed inquiry reveals a remarkable degree of confusion, fragmentation, and chaos at the theoretical level. So formidable is the problem of conceptual incoherence that several prominent authors have flatly stated that it is insurmountable (e.g., Koch, 1993).
Later in Henriques' article, he quotes Reber's Dictionary of Psychology (1995):
"Psychology simply cannot be defined; indeed, it cannot even be easily characterized . . . Psychology is what scientists and philosophers of various persuasions have created to . . . understand the minds and behaviors of various organisms from the most primitive to the most complex . . . It is an attempt to understand what has so far pretty much escaped understanding, and any effort to circumscribe it or box it in is to imply that something is known about the edges of our knowledge, and that must be wrong" (p. 617). [Note the rather puzzling conclusion.]
Henriques later goes on to say, “The deep philosophical concerns that fractionated the discipline at its inception have not been resolved, and Koch’s prophesy that psychology can only exist as a collection of studies, rather than as a coherent science, seems to have been vindicated.”
Along with an admittance of fragmentation, there is a confession here that psychology, though primarily self-described as scientific, is a bedfellow with philosophy. We shall explore this more at another time.
For now though, I wish to expand the basic definition of psychology: it is a diverse field, with a myriad of concentrations and theories, that seeks to describe, predict, explain, and control the mental processes and behaviours of the individual (as opposed to groups or societies, as in sociology), in all aspects of life.
Boring post, huh? Ah well, definitions are the boring part. It must be done. The more interesting stuff is to come, promise.
-Jamie
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