•MAJOR FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY•BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

FIELD AND BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGYBroad areas of orientation in psychology which underlies particular perspective. These are:

Cognitive psychology: A field that deals with the way human being processes, combines and organizes information in the mind which help to solve problems, memorize, understand, interpret and create information.

Psychodynamic: studies the causes of behavior within the workings of personality.

It emphasizes the role of unconscious past processes and unresolved conflicts from the past.

Humanistic psychology: It emphasizes:

free will, freedom and choice;innate tendencies toward growth;the role of internal personality

processes; the importance of conscious motives. Behaviorism: It focuses on the role of

external environment (events, people’s actions, objects) in shaping and governing human actions.

BRANCHES/SUB-FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is divided in to many branches.

Divisions are caused by differences of: Methods Aspects of behavior to be studiedObjectives Interest, training and background of

psychologist.

Branches of PsychologySome of the important branches of

psychology for our course are:Developmental psychologyPersonality psychologySocial psychologyIndustrial /organizational psychologyClinical and counseling psychologyExperimental and physiological

psychologyEducational psychology

Developmental psychologyIt studies:how human being grows and

changes through the life span. domains of development; physical

and motor, intellectual, personal, emotional, moral and social.

sequences and rate of maturation, size and ability in relation to age.

PersonalityFarres &

Chaplin;1997:9), a ‘pattern of

characteristic thoughts, feelings and behaviors that distinguishes one person from another and that persists over time and situations’.

The definition suggests that personality is made up of: combination of characteristics and behavior.

uniqueness of characteristics

consistency

Personality psychology

Examples of these traits: thinking, feeling, acting, believing, self control, individual organization of behavior, interpersonal relationship skills and others.

Personality psychology studies human differences, factors that make the differences and development.

Understanding of personality is based on many perspectives; psychoanalytic, social learning, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive.

Social psychology

It studies:How the behavior of a person or a group

influences the behavior of another person or group.

how people learn attitude and emotions, skills, actions, new perceptions, new ways of speaking and of living with others.

These behaviors are learnt through interaction, communication and interpersonal relationships.

Social psychology In school setting children learn new

behavior, perceptions, beliefs, thoughts, actions and attitude as a result of interaction and communication with teachers and other children.

Industrial/Organizational psychology

It studies:behavior of workers at working places;

industries, companies, institutions or at any working situation.

various aspects of behavior in relation to work interest, efficiency, satisfaction, diligence and commitment leading to maximum production and profit.

causes of low production as related to human behavior.

Industrial/Organizational psychology

Social, personal and counseling needs of workers, supervision and training needs

workers’ level of motivation, morale, working schedules, working routines as related to their attitudes and values.

how conflicts affect commitment and diligence of workers and how to resolve them.

Clinical and Counseling psychology

Clinical psychologyIt deals with behavior problems,

emotional disorders and behavior that indicate that the person is abnormal.

Specialists in this area are medical doctors but they use psychotherapy in treating abnormal behavior.

Psychotherapy: a procedure of treating abnormal behavior using interview techniques.

Clinical psychology

Examples of abnormal behaviorPhobic disorder: irrational fear of

objects or situations, fear of water, animals, insects, darkness or rain.

Mood disorders: depression; sadness, discouragement, loss of joy, loneliness, loss of appetite, dizziness. If this situation persists for a long time it leads to inability to function in life.

Counseling psychologyIt deals with helping people to

make decision about life; work, education or marriage. This is applied in institutions, schools or in society.

Clinical and counseling psychology are interrelated. They tackled almost the same problems and use the same methods but differ in degree of severity.

Experimental and Physiological psychology

Experimental:• Experimental method is used in

understanding behavior, for example perception, sensations, memory, learning.

• studies basic causes of behavior, biological and social, that cut across different species.

• formulate theories that can be applied in other situations.

• Examples; closeness & attachment, pain and avoidance

Physiological psychology It studies biological basis of

behavior, the function of the body and behavior. Example the causes of anger, brain and memory, secretion of hormones and emotional arousal, genes and behavior patterns.

Educational psychologyEducational Psychology is an applied

branch of psychology because it applies knowledge of general psychology in teaching and learning.

Every branch of psychology contributes something in Educational psychology.

Understanding the scope of other branches of psychology is important for the teacher.

Linkage between Educational psychology and other branches of psychology

BibliographyCoon, D 91988); Essentials of Psychology:

Exploration and Application. West Publishing. St. Paul.

 Durojaiye, M. O. (1976); An Introduction to Educational Psychology; Evans Brothers, London.

 Elliott, S et al (2000); Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning; McGraw Hill, Boston.

Gutkin, T & Reynolds, C (1990): The Handbook of School Psychology (2nd Edition). Wiley: New York

Kegan J &Segal,J (1995): Psychology: An Introduction, Harcout, NewYok

Malim, T & Birch, A (1998); Introductory

Psychology; Palgrave, New York. Papalia, D et al (2001); Human

Development (eighth edition); McGraw Hill, Boston.

Passer, M & Smith, R (2001); Psychology: Frontiers and Applications, McGraw Hill Boston.

Phares, E.J and Chaplin, W. F (1997): Introduction to Personality (4th Edition). Longman: New York. 

Vander Zanden, J. W (1997); Psychology (6th Edition) Boston McGraw Hill.

Testing Questions1. The school head teacher has been able to

resolve conflicts among teachers, the action that has made the school to have a maximum learning environment. Which one of the following branches of psychology has been applied? A. Developmental psychologyB. Industrial/organizational psychologyC. Social psychologyD. Clinical psychology

2. Educational Psychology is concerned with:A. Studying growth and development of childrenB. Finding ways of facilitating teaching and learningC. Classifying children according to their behaviourD. Treating people suffering with emotional disorders

 

3. Explain how you can apply psychology

in choosing and using:a) Learning materials b) Managing classroom during teaching