Preview

The Discipline of Psychology

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
717 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Discipline of Psychology
The Discipline of Psychology

There are three important concepts to remember when defining psychology: science, behavior and mental processes. When defining psychology for a friend I would first simply just give him/her the standard book definition, which is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. But, psychology can be defined in many different ways. Another definition of psychology could be the scientific study of the human mind and its functions such as those affecting behavior.
The discipline of psychology is both an applied and academic discipline dedicated to the scientific study of the behavior and the mind of organisms. Academic psychology is the foundational science that supports the research conducted in applied psychology and applied psychology uses psychological principles and empirical research methods to solve practical problems. Psychologists attempt to understand individual and social behaviors by exploring the physiological, external, and the neurobiological processes that influence human behavior.
Practitioners of psychology use empirical methods which is just verifying by observation and experience rather than theory or pure logic. They use this method find relationships between psychosocial concepts like perception, cognition, emotion, and personality. A large part of psychology is devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of mental health issues, but that 's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to applications for psychology. In addition to mental health, psychology can be applied to a variety of issues that impact health and daily life including performance enhancement, self-help, ergonomics, motivation, productivity, and much more. There are many branches of psychology and the following are seen as the main branches of psychology: Clinical psychology, Cognitive psychology, Developmental psychology, Evolutionary psychology, Forensic psychology, Health psychology, Neuropsychology, Occupational psychology and



References: Robert S. Feldman, 2013 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154874.php http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/02/stem.aspx

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Psychology is the scientific study of mental and behavioural processes in humans and animals. A Psychologist will observe and document how humans and animals interact with one another and their environment. Thus giving answers to important questions which are asked as to why humans and animals are as they are and how they become what they become. It enables Psychologists’ to predict and give insight regarding someone’s behavioural pattern.…

    • 838 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Psychology is the study of behavior and mental processes, this includes peoples thoughts, emotions, perceptions, memories, reasoning, and biological activities.…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Foundations of Psychology

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. There is some tension between scientific psychology (with its program of empirical research) and applied psychology (dealing with a number of areas). Psychologists attempt to explain the mind and brain in the context of real life. In contrast neurologists utilize a physiological approach. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotion, personality, behavior, and interpersonal relationships. Psychology also refers to the application of such knowledge to various spheres of human activity including issues related to daily life—e.g. family, education, and work—and the treatment of mental health problems. In addition to dissecting the brain 's implementation of elementary mental functions, psychology also attempts to understand the role these functions play in social behavior and in social dynamics, while incorporating the underlying physiological and neurological processes into its conceptions of mental functioning. Psychology includes many sub-fields of study and application concerned with such areas as human development, sports, health, industry, media, law, and transpersonal psychology (Wikipedia.org, 2008).…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ap Psychology Unit 1 Summary

    • 2722 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Psychology: Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mental processes including perception, cognition and emotion.…

    • 2722 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychology is a discipline that uses the scientific method to study the behavior of people and other living things. Psychology is the science of behavior and mental processes (p. 6). The scientific method (text pgs. 24-25) is used by psychologists to study people’s mental processes. (FROM SLIDE)…

    • 1431 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Even though psychologists appearing to try to understand people’s personalities, observing crimes, or giving advices, they can do much more of this. According to the chapter, psychology is the science that studies people’s behavior and thoughts.…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Psych 540

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior” ("American psychological association," 2011). Psychology has been around for many years, dating back to 1879, but there is no certainty of the exact date. There are many theories that have been developed and passed along throughout the years of study. Some of these theories; however, have been revised by other psychology researchers to help adapt with the changing times or the theory was valid but not now. Psychology does have science aspects and has adopted science aspects to help answer the problems that are presented to professionals.…

    • 1067 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Is the science of behavior and mental processes. Psychologists gather scientific data in order to describe, understand, predict, and control behavior.…

    • 2388 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Psycho Unit 1

    • 3455 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Psychology: Psychology is the systematic study of behaviour and mental processes including perception, cognition and emotion.…

    • 3455 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Upon researching what the word psychology means many definitions may be found. However, once all those definitions have been deciphered you will find that psychology is the study of an individual’s mental and emotional state and thought processes. The intention of therapy within psychology is to diagnose, treat, and in time help individuals improve from whatever psychological infirmity that they are experiencing. Comparison and Contrast of Normal and Abnormal Psychology…

    • 1729 Words
    • 50 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    History of Psychology

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Psychology is said to be the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. The study of human behavior, development, and learning; and also seeks to understand and explain thought, emotion, and behavior.…

    • 838 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychology is a very interesting topic, one that extends into many different fields. The Disciplines range from Abnormal Psychology, Biological Psychology, and Cognitive Psychology. These are just a small fraction of the different disciplines that psychology is involved in. Psychology plays a critical role in a person’s everyday life; a person’s behavior will always affect that. Abnormal Psychology is a broad term; an easier way to describe this discipline would be the study of behaviors that are not normal (Disciplines in Psychology).…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychology is a broad term that encompasses many small branches of science. On the whole, the field of psychology focuses on humans (however, research on animals does occur), and in particular, the human mind. The human mind is a vast cathedral of knowledge and potential that God gave humans. The media has imprinted in our minds an image of psychologists in long white lab coats talking to crazy patients sitting on couches. However, psychology is so much harder to picture because of the many roles psychologists play. A psychologist's work setting may vary depending on the occupation chosen and the end goal of the psychologist.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Psychology Common Sense

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Psychology is a wide field of scientific study of the mental processes and behaviour of man. It is made up of different subfields such as Social psychology, and Abnormal psychology, Child psychology, Developmental psychology, each one of them specialises on the individual mental processes or mental health.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To discuss the importance of Psychology in our everyday lives we must first understand what Psychology is. The definition of Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process; however, it can be applied to many other things in life. Everything we do in life is related to Psychology. Psychology is basically the study of who we are, why we are that way, and also what we can become.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics