Psychology Today

Psychology Today

1. Research Areas in Psychology

   • 1) Developmental 2) Social 3) Experimental 4) Physiological 5) Cognitive 6) Personality 7) Psychometrics

2. Professional Specialties in Psychology

   • 1) Clinical 2) Counselling 3) Educational and School 4) Industrial and Organizational

3. Seven Key Themes

   • Themes Related to Psych as a Field of Study
     • 1) Psych is empirical
       • its conclusions are based on direct observation rather than on reasoning, speculation, traditional beliefs, or common sense
     • 2) Psych is theoretically diverse
       • no single theory can adequately explain everything that is known about behaviour; differing theoretical perspectives often provide a more complete understanding of behaviour
     • 3) Psych evolves in a sociohistorical context
       • dense interconnections exist between what happens in psych and what happens in society at large; trends, issues, and values in society influence psych's evolutions
   • Themes Related to Psych's Subject Matter
     • 4) Behaviour is determined by multiple causes
       • behaviour is complex; it is governed by a complex network of interacting factors, 'multifactorial causation of behaviour'
     • 5) Behaviour is shaped by cultural heritage
       • people's cultural backgrounds exert considerable influence over their behaviour
     • 6) Heredity and Environment jointly influence behaviour
       • genetics and experience jointly influence intelligence, temperament, personality & susceptibility to many psychological disorders
     • 7) People's experience of the world is highly subjective
       • people actively process incoming stimulation, selectively focusing on some aspects and ignoring others & impose organization on the stimuli they pay attention to