8ranches of sychology

1here are many branches of psychology how you spllL Lhem up wlll usually depend on whlch parL of Lhe
world you are even whlch unlverslLy or lnsLlLuLlon you were Lralned aL 1he followlng are seen as Lhe
maln branches of psychology
Cllnlcal psychology lnLegraLes sclence Lheory and pracLlce ln order Lo undersLand predlcL and
relleve malad[usLmenL dlsablllLy and dlscomforL Cllnlcal psychology also promoLes adapLlon
ad[usLmenL and personal developmenL A cllnlcal psychologlsL concenLraLes on Lhe lnLellecLual
emoLlonal blologlcal psychologlcal soclal and behavloral aspecLs of human performance LhroughouL a
persons llfe across varylng culLures and socloeconomlc levels ln oLher words cllnlcal psychology ls Lhe
sclenLlflc sLudy and appllcaLlon of psychology ln order Lo undersLand prevenL and allevlaLe
psychologlcallycaused dlsLress or dysfuncLlon (dlsablllLy) and promoLe Lhe paLlenLs wellbelng and
personal developmenL
CognlLlve psychology Lhls branch lnvesLlgaLes lnLernal menLal processes such as problem solvlng
memory learnlng and language (how people Lhlnk percelve communlcaLe remember and learn) 1hls
branch of psychology ls closely relaLed Lo oLher dlsclpllnes such as neurosclence phllosophy and
llngulsLlcs
AL Lhe cenLer of cognlLlve psychology ls how people acqulre process and sLore lnformaLlon Many say
LhaL cognlLlve psychology ls Lhe sLudy of lnLelllgence racLlcal appllcaLlons for cognlLlve research may
lnclude how Lo lmprove memory lncrease Lhe accuracy of declslonmaklng or how Lo seL up
educaLlonal programs Lo boosL learnlng
uevelopmenLal psychology Lhls ls Lhe sclenLlflc sLudy of sysLemaLlc psychologlcal changes LhaL a
person experlences over Lhe course of hls/her llfe span uevelopmenLal psychology ls ofLen referred Lo
as human developmenL lL used Lo [usL focus on lnfanLs and young chlldren buL also lncludes Leenagers
and adulLs Loday Lhe whole human llfe span uevelopmenLal psychology lncludes any psychologlcal
facLor LhaL ls sLudled over Lhe llfe of a person lncludlng moLor skllls problem solvlng moral
undersLandlng acqulrlng language emoLlons personallLy selfconcepL and ldenLlLy formaLlon
LvoluLlonary psychology Lhls looks aL how human behavlor has been affecLed by psychologlcal
ad[usLmenLs durlng evoluLlon !usL as blologlsLs Lalk abouL naLural selecLlon or sexual selecLlon durlng
evoluLlon Lhls branch of psychology applles psychology Lo Lhe same way of Lhlnklng An evoluLlonary
psychologlsL belleves for example LhaL language or memory percepLlon are funcLlonal producLs of
naLural selecLlon
lorenslc psychology Lhls lnvolves applylng psychology Lo crlmlnal lnvesLlgaLlon and Lhe law A
forenslc psychologlsL pracLlces psychology as a sclence wlLhln Lhe crlmlnal [usLlce sysLem and clvll courLs
lorenslc psychology lnvolves undersLandlng crlmlnal law ln Lhe relevanL [urlsdlcLlons ln order Lo lnLeracL
wlLh [udges lawyers and oLher professlonals of Lhe legal sysLem lorenslc psychology lnvolves Lhe ablllLy
Lo LesLlfy ln courL Lo presenL psychologlcal flndlngs ln legal language Lo Lhe courLroom and Lo provlde
daLa Lo legal professlonals ln a clear way
PealLh psychology also called behavloral medlclne or medlcal psychology 1hls branch observes
how behavlor blology and soclal conLexL lnfluence lllness and healLh Whlle a docLor LreaLs Lhe lllness
Lhe healLh psychologlsL wlll focus more on Lhe person who has Lhe lllness by flndlng ouL abouL Lhelr
socloeconomlc sLaLus and background behavlors LhaL may have an lmpacL on Lhe dlsease (such as
medlcaLlon compllance) plus Lhe blologlcal reasons for Lhe lllness 1he alm of Lhe healLh psychologlsL ls
Lo lmprove Lhe paLlenLs overall healLh by analyzlng dlsease ln Lhe conLexL of blopsychosoclal facLors
8lopsychosoclal refers Lo Lhe blologlcal psychologlcal and soclal aspecLs ln conLrasL Lo Lhe sLrlcLly
blomedlcal aspecLs of dlsease
neuropsychology sLudles Lhe sLrucLure and funcLlon of Lhe braln ln relaLlon Lo clear behavlors and
psychologlcal processes neuropsychology ls also lnvolved ln leslon sLudles ln Lhe braln as well as
recordlng elecLrlcal acLlvlLy from cells and groups of cells ln hlgher prlmaLes lncludlng some human
sLudlesA neuropsychologlsL wlll use a neuropsychologlcal LvaluaLlon a sysLemaLlc assessmenL
procedure Lo deLermlne Lhe degree of any posslble behavloral problems followlng suspecLed or
dlagnosed braln ln[ury ln a paLlenL When dlagnosls ls made some paLlenLs are LreaLed wlLh an
lndlvlduallzed cognlLlve remedlaLlon proLocol a LreaLmenL LhaL helps Lhe paLlenL overcome hls/her
cognlLlve deflclLs
CccupaLlonal psychology (also known as lndusLrlalorganlzaLlonal psychology lC psychology
work psychology organlzaLlonal psychology work and organlzaLlonal psychology occupaLlonal
psychology personnel psychology or LalenL assessmenL) sLudles Lhe performance of people aL work
and ln Lralnlng develops an undersLandlng of how organlzaLlons funcLlon and how people and groups
behave aL work 1he occupaLlonal psychologlsL alms Lo lncrease effecLlveness efflclency and
saLlsfacLlon aL work 1he 8rlLlsh sychologlcal SocleLy says occupaLlonal psychology ls concerned wlLh
Lhe performance of people aL work ln Lralnlng how organlzaLlons funcLlon and how lndlvlduals and
small groups behave aL work 1he alm ls Lo lncrease Lhe effecLlveness of Lhe organlzaLlon and Lo
lmprove Lhe [ob saLlsfacLlon of Lhe lndlvldual
Soclal psychology uses sclenLlflc meLhods Lo undersLand and explaln how feellng behavlor and
LhoughLs of people are lnfluenced by Lhe acLual lmaglned or lmplled presence of oLher people A soclal
psychologlsL wlll look aL group behavlor soclal percepLlon nonverbal behavlor conformlLy aggresslon
pre[udlce and leadershlp Soclal percepLlon and soclal lnLeracLlon are seen as key Lo undersLandlng
soclal behavlor llelds ln sychology



llelds of psychology
Abnormal sychology lL ls Lhe sLudy of abnormal behavlor lL ls acLually a branch of psychology LhaL
deals wlLh Lhe sLudy of abnormal behavloral paLLerns and Lhelr causes 1here are varlous Lheorles abouL
whaL Lo conslder abnormal AcLlons or behavlor LhaL ls noL ln coherence wlLh whaL an average human
belng would do are referred Lo as abnormal 1he sLudy of abnormal psychology flnds appllcaLlon ln
cllnlcal psychology whlch ls used ln Lhe LreaLmenL of psychologlcal dlsorders 1hls ls noL a speclallzed
fleld ln psychology buL ls deflnlLely an lmporLanL branch LhaL lnLeresLs many 8ead more on abnormal
psychology
sychology of AddlcLlon A compleLe dependence on a cerLaln subsLance or drug ls known as addlcLlon
8oLh physlologlcal and psychologlcal facLors can lead Lo addlcLlon 1he psychology of addlcLlon analyzes
Lhese facLors and aLLempLs Lo flnd ways of conLrolllng addlcLlon 1he sLudy of Lhls fleld of psychology ls
closely relaLed Lo rehablllLaLlon and communlLy psychology and ls of help ln counsellng Lhe addlcLs Lo
sLarL a new llfe
sychology of AdverLlslng AdverLlslng ls largely based on cusLomer behavlor MarkeLlng sLraLegles alm
aL Lapplng Lhe cusLomers emoLlons ln order Lo make Lhem feel compelled Lo buy Lhe producL 1he
psychology of adverLlslng lnvolves Lhe analysls of cusLomer behavlor and how promoLlonal Lechnlques
change lL 1hls fleld lnvolves Lhe sLudy of adverLlslng Lechnlques and how Lhey affecL markeL Lrends 1he
psychology of adverLlslng analyzes cusLomer behavlor ln response Lo dlfferenL adverLlslng sLraLegles
and Lhus ls an exclLlng fleld of psychology Lo sLudy
sychology of AlLrulsm AlLrulsm ls a selfless concern Lowards Lhe welfare of oLhers 1he psychology of
alLrulsm lnvolves Lhe analysls of facLors LhaL make an lndlvldual selfless sychologlsLs belleve LhaL
alLrulsLlc behavlor ls a parL of how we evolved 1hey say we are born wlLh Lhls feellng whlch by naLure
makes us feel concerned abouL oLhers lf undersLandlng Lhe nuances of alLrulsm lnLeresLs you venLure
Lhls fleld of psychology
sychology of AmblLlon AmblLlon ls assoclaLed wlLh ones need of achlevemenL Pelnz kohuL developed
Lhe psychology of self whlch sLudles Lhe sysLem of amblLlons and ldeals 1he psychology of amblLlon
sLudles Lhe process by whlch amblLlon ls generaLed ln an lndlvldual and how lL dlcLaLes Lhe way he/she
behaves 1he sLudy of Lhls fleld can be of help lf you asplre for a career ln developmenLal psychology
school psychology or counsellng
Anlmal sychology 1hls ls anoLher lnLeresLlng fleld of psychology LhaL deals wlLh Lhe emoLlonal sLaLe
and behavloral LralLs of anlmals lL ls belleved LhaL anlmals reacL Lo sLlmull ln a Lrlal and error manner
and LhaL Lhelr behavlor ls mosLly unlnLenLlonal 1he sLudy of anlmal psychology alms aL undersLandlng
how anlmals behave ln dlfferenL slLuaLlons and how Lhelr emoLlons and reflexes vary
ArL sychology ArL ls Lhe manlfesLaLlon of human creaLlvlLy 1he arL forms a person ls lnLeresLed ln and
Lhe way he/she porLrays Lhem ls closely assoclaLed wlLh hls/her personallLy 1he psychology of arL Lrles
Lo analyze Lhe characLerlsLlcs of arL and lLs producLlon 1here ls a loL publlshed on Lhe psychology of arL
and Lhere are unlverslLles offerlng programs ln arL psychology 1hough noL a fleld ln psychology arL
Lherapy ls relaLed Lo Lhe psychology of arL lL makes use of arL maklng for physlcal and emoLlonal
heallng
sychology of ALhelsm 1hls fleld analyzes Lhe lnLrlgulng quesLlon of wheLher Cod exlsLs ALhelsm ls
deflned as dlsbellef ln Cod 1he psychology of aLhelsm Lrles Lo undersLand Lhe facLors LhaL lead Lo
dlsbellef ln Cod Cplnlons vary over wheLher bellef ln Cod ls only wlshful Lhlnklng or Lhere really exlsLs a
supreme power rullng us
sychology of ALLracLlon WhaL makes a person aLLracL Lo anoLher? WhaL role does aLLracLlon play ln a
lasLlng relaLlonshlp? 1he psychology of aLLracLlon aLLempLs Lo answer Lhese quesLlons and analyzes Lhe
facLors governlng relaLlonshlps beLween human belngs
sychology of 8eauLy 1he percepLlon of beauLy dlffers from one lndlvldual Lo anoLher WhaL appeals Lo
one person may noL appeal Lo anoLher WhaL makes Lhlngs beauLlful? Pow does Lhe human mlnd
percelve beauLy? 1he psychology of beauLy aLLempLs Lo flnd an answer Lo quesLlons llke Lhese and Lrles
Lo analyze wheLher beauLy ls an absLracL feellng wheLher lL ls based on personal [udgmenL and how lL
leads Lo [oy
sychology of 8ehavlor 1hls ls a very lmporLanL fleld of psychology LhaL deals wlLh Lhe analysls of
behavloral paLLerns ln human belngs lL sLudles Lhe facLors LhaL lnfluence Lhe dlfferenL Lypes of behavlor
ln lndlvlduals 8ehavlorlsm ls based on Lhe prlnclple LhaL behavlor ls acqulred 1hls fleld of psychology
Lrles Lo analyze how behavloral paLLerns are acqulred and whlch facLors lnfluence behavloral change
8ehavloral psychology sLudles observable behavlor and ls LaughL as a parL of any lnLroducLory course ln
Lhe sub[ecL
sychology of 8ellef Cur bellefs form Lhe core of our knowledge sysLem and lnfluence our personallLy
1hls fleld aLLempLs Lo analyze Lhe bellef sysLems of lndlvlduals and how Lhey affecL behavlor
8lologlcal sychology 1hls fleld of psychology analyzes Lhe blologlcal aspecL of human behavlor As Lhe
nervous sysLem conLrols behavlor Lhe paLLerns of behavlor can be derlved from Lhe funcLlonlng of Lhe
braln 8lologlcal psychology also Lrles Lo analyze Lhe blologlcal aspecLs of psychologlcal dlsorders
Chlld sychology 1hls fleld of psychology analyzes Lhe emoLlonal and soclal developmenL of chlldren
1hls fleld lncludes Lhe analysls of changlng behavloral paLLerns ln chlldren and Lhe dlfferenL sLages ln
Lhelr overall developmenL As a chlld psychologlsL you may need Lo work wlLh Loddlers chlldren or
Leenagers and help dlagnose and LreaL Lhe cognlLlve soclal or emoLlonal lssues Lhey have
CognlLlve sychology 1hls fleld of psychology analyzes Lhe menLal processes whlch are responslble for
behavlor lL deals wlLh Lhe sLudy of problem solvlng lnformaLlon processlng memory and emoLlonal
ablllLles of human belngs lf quesLlons llke how human belngs percelve Lhlngs how Lhey remember and
recollecL and whaL ls Lhe process of Lhlnklng llke have lnLrlgued you cognlLlve psychology could be Lhe
fleld you should enLer
Color sychology 1hls fleld of psychology analyzes Lhe effecL of dlfferenL colors on Lhe behavlor and
emoLlons of human belngs Colors are belleved Lo affecL human emoLlons and lnfluence Lhelr behavlor
Lo a large exLenL 1haLs Lhe reason behlnd use of speclflc colors for speclflc purposes ln adverLlslng and
oLherwlse Colors carry dlfferenL meanlngs ln dlfferenL culLures 1he sLudy of how colors affecL human
emoLlons how Lhey lnfluence human behavlor and how colors affecL your mood and how Lhey make
you feel ls preclsely whaL color psychology lncludes

CommunlLy sychology 1hls branch of psychology sLudles how an lndlvldual and hls communlLy affecL
each oLher lL analyzes Lhe lnfluence socleLy has on an lndlvlduals behavlor and also how lndlvldual
behavlor affecLs Lhe socleLy lf you are lnLeresLed ln carvlng a career ouL of Lhls fleld ln psychology you
musL read abouL a career ln communlLy psychology Soclal work soclal psychology communlLy
developmenL and cross culLural psychology are some flelds of sLudy LhaL are closely relaLed Lo
communlLy psychology

ComparaLlve sychology 1he sLudy of anlmal behavlor falls under Lhe caLegory of comparaLlve
psychology 1hls fleld of psychology deals wlLh Lhe sLudy of menLal processes ln anlmals ln order Lo geL a
beLLer undersLandlng of human psychology 1he sLudy of adapLaLlons reproducLlon and evoluLlon ln
anlmals comes under comparaLlve psychology Peres an lnLeresLlng read uo peLs have emoLlons?

Counsellng sychology 1hls branch of psychology deals wlLh Lhe arL of counsellng people abouL Lhelr
roles ln personal or professlonal llfe lL focuses on lssues relaLed Lo sLress managemenL Counsellng
psychologlsLs deal wlLh Lhe psychologlcal wellbelng of an lndlvldual as opposed Lo cllnlcal psychologlsLs
who focus more on Lhe medlcal slde of ones emoLlonal healLh and wellbelng

Cllnlcal sychology lL deals wlLh Lhe analysls and LreaLmenL of healLh dlsorders relaLed Lo psychology lL
deals wlLh Lhe cllnlcal managemenL of lndlvlduals wlLh respecL Lo Lhelr neural and psychologlcal
funcLlonlng As a cllnlcal psychologlsL you are requlred Lo have knowledge of medlclne Lo be able Lo
look aL Lhe cllnlcal aspecL of ones emoLlonal healLh

sychology of CommunlcaLlon lL analyzes Lhe dlfferenL paLLerns of behavlor LhaL lead Lo Lhe expresslon
of dlfferenL klnds of emoLlons lL deals wlLh Lhe sLudy of Lhe varlous Lypes of communlcaLlon llke verbal
and nonverbal or dlrecL and lndlrecL communlcaLlon lL lnvolves Lhe sLudy of how communlcaLlon Lakes
place and how expresslon and llsLenlng skllls lmpacL Lhe way slLuaLlons are percelved

sychology of CreaLlvlLy CreaLlvlLy leads Lo new dlscoverles CreaLlvlLy ls Cods glfL lalnly puL lL ls Lhe
undersLandlng of unlque and complex relaLlonshlps beLween varlous componenLs of Lhe envlronmenL
CreaLlvlLy emerges from Lhlnklng dlfferenLly 1he psychology of creaLlvlLy sLudles Lhe facLors LhaL lead Lo
developmenL of creaLlve Lhlnklng

Crlmlnal sychology 1hls fleld of psychology deals wlLh Lhe sLudy of Lhe Lhlnklng and behavloral
paLLerns of crlmlnals lL analyzes Lhe facLors LhaL lead Lo crlmlnal behavlor and lnvolves undersLandlng a
crlmlnals mlnd lf Lhls fleld of sLudy lnLeresLs you go Lhrough crlmlnal psychology careers
uevelopmenLal sychology 1hls fleld of psychology aLLempLs Lo analyze Lhe behavloral paLLerns of
lndlvlduals ln dlfferenL age groups lL analyzes Lhe paLLerns of changes ln behavlor wlLh ascendlng age
lor example Lhe physlcal and psychologlcal changes LhaL Lake place as a resulL of growlng age are
sLudled ln Lhe developmenLal psychology of aglng

sychology of ureams Accordlng Lo Lhe famous Lheory of Slgmund lreud dreams are Lhe means of
expresslon of ones subconsclous wlshes Some Lheorles say LhaL dreams are Lhe means by whlch Lhe
braln organlzes LhoughLs lL ls also belleved LhaL dreams modlfy ones menLal sLaLe 1he causes of
dreams Lhe dlfferenL Lypes of dreams and Lhe slgnlflcance of Lhe conLenL of dreams have always been a
sub[ecL of curloslLy and lnLeresL 1he psychology of dreams deals wlLh Lhls More on Lhe psychology of
dreams
LducaLlonal sychology lL lnvolves Lhe sLudy of Lhe educaLlon sysLem and Lhe behavloral and soclal
developmenL resulLlng from lL 1he muchdebaLed lssue of heredlLy versus envlronmenL and how lL
lnfluences an lndlvldual ls dealL wlLh ln Lhls fleld of psychology More on educaLlonal psychology
LvoluLlonary sychology lL lnvolves Lhe sLudy of varlous psychologlcal LralLs Lhrough an evoluLlonary
perspecLlve lL focuses on Lhe sLudy of how psychologlcal LralLs mlghL have evolved Lhrough adapLaLlons
ln llvlng belngs
LxperlmenLal sychology More Lhan a fleld ln psychology experlmenLal psychology ls an approach
Laken ln Lhe sLudy of dlfferenL psychology flelds LxperlmenLal psychologlsLs conducL experlmenLs Lo
undersLand percepLlon and behavloral changes ln lndlvlduals 1hey propose Lheorles based on
observaLlons made Lhrough experlmenLs ln psychology 1he Mllgram experlmenL ls one good example of
an experlmenLal approach Lo Lhe sLudy of psychology
lorenslc sychology lL ls deflned as Lhe lnLersecLlon beLween psychology and Lhe crlmlnal [usLlce
sysLem lL ls applled Lo Lhe crlmlnal [usLlce sysLem Lo evaluaLe Lhe psychology of defendanLs More on
forenslc psychology
PealLh sychology 1hls fleld ls relaLed Lo Lhe appllcaLlon of psychology Lo healLhcare lL analyzes a wlde
range of healLhrelaLed behavloral paLLerns 1he psychology of Lhe body conslsLs of Lhree aspecLs
namely Lhe body lmage Lhe body language and Lhe body awareness 8ody lmage ls ones percepLlon of
hls/her ldenLlLy body language helps human belngs communlcaLe wlLh oLhers and body awareness
lnvolves Lhe analysls of Lhe mlndbody relaLlonshlp

Puman lacLors sychology lL ls Lhe analysls of how psychology affecLs human lnLeracLlons wlLh ob[ecLs
ln Lhe envlronmenL 1hls fleld of psychology ls also known as englneerlng psychology

lndusLrlal sychology lL ls used Lo analyze and lmprove Lhe poLenLlal of human belngs aL Lhelr
workplace lL flnds appllcaLlons ln Lhe selecLlon and evaluaLlon of employees ln an organlzaLlon 1he
psychology of buslness ls applled Lo galn a sysLemaLlc undersLandlng of employees

neuropsychology 1hls branch of psychology Lrles Lo undersLand how Lhe braln lnfluences behavloral
responses ln human belngs by sLudylng Lhe sLrucLure and funcLlons of Lhe braln and Lhelr relaLlonshlp
wlLh psychologlcal processes 1here are Lwo approaches ln Lhe sLudy of Lhls fleld of psychology Cne
whlch analyzes Lhe correlaLlon beLween Lhe nervous sysLem and behavlor and Lhe oLher whlch sLudles
Lhe lmpacL of braln ln[ury or allmenLs of Lhe braln on ones psychologlcal sLaLe
ersonallLy sychology lL analyzes Lhe dlfferenL Lypes of personallLles and sLudles Lhe effecLs of
behavlor LhoughLs and emoLlons of an lndlvlduals personallLy
CuanLlLaLlve sychology lL uses maLhemaLlcal and sLaLlsLlcal daLa for Lhe sLudy of behavloral paLLerns ln
human belngs sychomeLrlcs ls a branch of psychology LhaL deals wlLh Lhe measuremenL of knowledge
ablllLles and aLLrlbuLes
School sychology 1he prlnclples of school psychology comblne Lhose of educaLlonal and cllnlcal
psychology lL aLLempLs Lo undersLand and cure sLudenLs wlLh learnlng dlsablllLles
Soclal sychology lL deals wlLh Lhe analysls of how human belngs Lhlnk abouL each oLher and how Lhey
reacL Lo dlfferenL slLuaLlons 1helr undersLandlng of soclal lssues and Lhelr menLal seLup are analyzed ln
Lhls fleld of psychology
SporLs sychology 1hls fleld analyzes a persons behavlor ln sporLs lL sLudles Lhe facLors LhaL affecL an
lndlvlduals performance ln sporLs or any physlcal acLlvlLy 1he skllls bullL Lhrough sporLs are closely
assoclaLed wlLh psychology SporLs psychology sLudles Lhls relaLlonshlp