Unit 1 Module 3: Basic and Applied Psychology Subfields

Basic Research Subfields

• Basic research serves the primary function of building psychology's overarching knowledge base.

• Psychometrics / Psychometric Psychologists:

  • Psychometrics is specifically devoted to studying the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits.

• Developmental Psychologists:

  • Study human development and changing physical, cognitive, and social abilities across the entire lifespan, spanning from womb to tomb.

• Educational Psychologists:

  • Focus on studying the various psychological influences on teaching and learning environments and outcomes.

• Personality Psychologists:

  • Dedicated to investigating persistent human traits and individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting.

• Social Psychologists:

  • Explore how individuals view, evaluate, and affect one another within social contexts and group dynamics.

• Cognitive Psychologists:

  • Study human cognitive processes, including perception, language, attention, memory, judgment, problem-solving, and decision-making.

• Experimental Psychologists:

  • Investigate basic behavioral, perceptual, and cognitive processes in humans and non-human animals through experimental methodology.

Applied Research Subfields

• Applied research involves conducting scientific inquiry to address and solve practical, real-world problems.

• Industrial-Organizational (I/O) Psychologists:

  • Examine relationships between people and work settings to improve productivity, organizational efficiency, personnel selection, and employee well-being.

• Human Factors Psychologists:

  • An applied specialization within industrial-organizational psychology focused on the interaction between humans, machines, and technology to optimize efficiency, usability, and workplace safety.

• Environmental Psychologists:

  • Focus on human interaction with physical environments, studying how natural and built environments influence human thought, feeling, and behavior.

• Forensic Psychologists:

  • Apply psychological concepts, research, and expert evaluation to legal issues, courtroom proceedings, and the legal system.

• Health Psychologists:

  • Concentrate on psychological factors involved in preventing disease, promoting physical health, and managing long-term physical illnesses.

• Neuropsychologists / Neuro:

  • Investigate the biological structures and functional processes of the brain, analyzing how neuropsychological processes directly relate to behavior, cognition, and mental functions.

• Rehabilitation Psychologists:

  • Assist individuals who have lost optimal functioning or suffered developmental disabilities following an accident, stroke, or traumatic event.

• School Psychologists:

  • Assess and support children and adolescents within academic settings, identifying and intervening in academic, social, and emotional learning obstacles.

• Sports Psychologists:

  • Examine the psychological factors that influence and are influenced by participation in athletic competition, exercise, and physical activity.

Helping Professions

• Helping professions represent clinical and counseling domains that focus directly on psychological care, therapeutic intervention, and human health.

• Clinical Psychologists:

  • Assess, diagnose, and treat individuals experiencing mild to severe psychological, emotional, and behavioral disorders.

• Counseling Psychologists:

  • Help people cope with personal, interpersonal, academic, and vocational challenges, facilitating personal adjustment and personal well-being.

• Psychiatrists:

  • Medical doctors specialized in mental health who are licensed to prescribe medication and provide medical interventions alongside psychotherapy.

• Community Psychologists:

  • Focus on broad social environments, systemic community factors, and preventive mental health initiatives to enhance community-wide psychological health rather than focusing strictly on individual-level therapy.