Overview
This lecture introduces eight major branches of psychology and briefly explains what each branch studies and applies.
Types of Psychology
- Eight branches: abnormal, biopsychology, social, cognitive, developmental, personality, forensic, industrial-organizational psychology.
Abnormal Psychology
- Studies origins and structure of mental illness.
- Examines unusual patterns of behavior, emotions, and thoughts.
- Determines how deviations from normal behavior are addressed and treated.
Biopsychology
- Focuses on relationship between biology and behavior.
- Studies how biological changes lead to changes in behavior.
Social Psychology
- Examines how people think and feel in social contexts.
- Focuses on how the presence or actions of others impact our behavior.
Cognitive Psychology
- Studies processes underlying attention, memory, language, problem-solving, and decision-making.
- Uses specialized techniques to understand these mental processes.
Developmental Psychology
- Works with people of all ages across the life span.
- Studies how people grow and adapt physically and psychologically.
- Identifies developmental delays and serious health issues.
- Assists with interventions to help people return to typical developmental paths.
- Examines how cognitive, physical, personality, and social factors shape developmental change.
Personality Psychology
- Studies personality and how it varies among individuals.
- Relies on theories related to personality traits, evolution, biology, humanism, behavior, and social learning.
- Emphasizes importance of understanding how personality develops.
- Examines similarities and differences in personality between individuals.
Forensic Psychology
- Applies psychosocial knowledge to civil and criminal law.
- Conducts forensic assessments for the court system.
- Involves custody evaluations and assessments of competency to stand trial.
- Described as the intersection of psychology and law.
Industrial-Organizational Psychology
- Focuses on the scientific study of work and workplaces.
- Relevant to individuals, businesses, and society.
- Applies research to issues facing employees, teams, and organizations.
- Examines employee well-being, attitudes, and workplace behavior.
- Studies employer–employee relationships and their broader life impact.
- Focuses on how workplace relationships affect life on the job and beyond.
Summary Table of the Eight Types
| Type of Psychology | Main Focus | Key Applications/Questions |
|---|
| Abnormal | Mental illness and atypical behavior, emotions, thoughts | How deviations from norms are identified, addressed, and treated |
| Biopsychology | Links between biology and behavior | How biological changes cause behavioral changes |
| Social | Thoughts, feelings, behavior in social contexts | How others influence our behavior |
| Cognitive | Mental processes (attention, memory, language, problem-solving, decisions) | Using techniques to understand internal cognitive processes |
| Developmental | Growth and adaptation across the lifespan | Identifying delays, guiding interventions, explaining developmental change |
| Personality | Individual personality differences | How personality develops; similarities and differences among people |
| Forensic | Psychology within legal contexts | Custody evaluations, competency to stand trial, court assessments |
| Industrial-Organizational | Psychology of work and organizations | Improving well-being, relationships, and behavior in workplaces |
Key Terms & Definitions
- Abnormal psychology: Branch studying mental illness and deviations from typical behavior, emotions, and thoughts.
- Biopsychology: Branch exploring how biological processes and changes influence behavior.
- Social psychology: Branch examining how others affect individuals’ thoughts, feelings, and behavior.
- Cognitive psychology: Branch studying internal mental processes like memory and decision-making.
- Developmental psychology: Branch analyzing physical and psychological growth, adaptation, and developmental issues.
- Personality psychology: Branch focusing on personality structure, development, and individual differences.
- Forensic psychology: Branch applying psychology to legal questions and court-related assessments.
- Industrial-organizational psychology: Branch studying work behavior, employee well-being, and organizational issues.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review each branch and be able to match it with its main focus.
- Prepare brief examples of real-world roles for each psychology type.
- Compare branches that may overlap (e.g., social vs. personality; abnormal vs. biopsychology).