14 Branches of Psychology

Psychology is the science of behavior and it is presented with the help of identity and prediction of human behavior. Branches of psychology can be classified as theoretical and applied fields.

It is not so easy to understand human behavior. Because man is superior and intelligent among all creatures. And man uses his cognition power in different activities. So, different branches of psychology have been developed to measure human behavior.

Branches of Theoretical Psychology

Theoretical psychology emerged from the philosophy of science. It deals with theoretical aspects of psychology. In theoretical psychology, psychologists are Wilhelm Wundt, William James, J.B. Watson, and Sigmund Freud. Theoretical psychology leads to more fundamental approaches than practical approaches. It plays an important role compared to other branches of psychology.

In theoretical psychology, eight main branches are involved. They are general psychology, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology, comparative psychology, experimental psychology, social psychology, parapsychology, and physiological psychology.

1. General Psychology

It is a part of the theoretical field.  And it focuses more on growth and development. It deals with basic general principles of human behavior. The areas of general psychology are learning, attention, emotion, motivation, perception, intelligence, and sensation. These all areas are related to general principles.

General psychology includes three things- behavior, experience, and other people.

2. Abnormal Psychology

Abnormal psychology deals with abnormal behavior.  Feelings, abnormal thoughts, and behavior lead to a psychological disorder.

It is the scientific study of mental illness. And abnormal personality including- psychoses, neuroses, psychosomatic, disorders, character disorders, mental deficiencies, etc.

Abnormal psychology is related to clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and other mental health professionals.

3. Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology is the systematic and scientific investigation of how and why the human species changes over the course of life. The two aims of developmental psychology. They are- what is development and causes of developmental difference.

4. Comparative Psychology

It is the scientific study of non-human (animal) behavior. This psychology studies what is in common between animals and humans. And how are humans and animals different from each other?      Example:- many animals( Chimpanzees and dolphins) have been to study development and language acquisition. And all studies are most important to human development. Comparative studies are most important related to learning, memory, emotions, and so on. It provided evidence related to behavior and is applied on human beings.

5. Experimental Psychology

Wilhelm Wundt is the father of experimental psychology. In the initial stage, experimental psychology started with perception and reaction time. And later, in experimental psychology, many experiments involved related to sensation, perception, memory, attention, and intelligence.

This psychology is presented with the help of scientific and empirical approaches to study the mind of human beings. In the golden time of experimental psychology, Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental laboratory at Leipzig University in Germany in 1879. Experiment on Little Albert and Bobo Doll Experiment is an example of experimental Psychology.

6. Social Psychology

It is the systematic and scientific study of a person or group’s behavior that is influenced by the behavior of others. In social psychology, cultural and environmental factors play an important role.

Social perception and social interaction are also important factors. According to branches of psychology, social psychology understands and predict the behavior of individual in society.

7. Parapsychology   

In parapsychology, Para means beyond. It is the study of psychic phenomena. The psychic phenomenon is also known as extrasensory perception. Because it is studying the psychic phenomena of human behavior.

Five types of parapsychology. They are telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and ESP (Extra Sensory Perception).

8. Physiological Psychology

This branch is the study of the combination of physical and mental processes. And physiological psychology is also known as biological psychology.

 Branches of Applied Psychology

Applied psychology is to solve human behavior related to mental disorders, workplace issues, and educational problems and identify criminal behavior. And applied psychology leads to practical approaches. Psychologists use psychological methodology and phenomena.

Types of Applied Psychology

According to branches of psychology, in applied psychology, six main branches are involved. They are clinical psychology, educational psychology, organizational psychology, Counseling psychology, consumer psychology, and criminal psychology.

1. Clinical Psychology

Lightner Witmer was the founder of clinical psychology. He establishes the first psychological clinic at the University of Pennsylvania in 1896. At his clinic, he treats and solves the problem of children related to behavioral and educational.

Clinical psychology is the branch of psychology. It’s treated people who face psychological problems related to mental disorders and personality disorders. Because many individuals suffer from mental disorders.

It solved the intellectual, emotional, biological, psychological, social, and behavioral problems of the individual.

2. Educational Psychology

Learning is dependent on individual differences. It is the study of how children and people learn. And it helps to improve learning.

Children face many problems related to learning methods, teaching aids, study materials, Institutes (Schools/ Colleges) resources, and so on. Educational psychology solved all problems related to education with systematic and scientific approaches.

Educational psychologists are speech therapists, language therapists, counselors, social workers, clinical psychologists, and psychiatrists.

3. Organizational Psychology

Organizational psychology is the study of human behavior in working situations with the help of systematic and scientific procedures.

It is related to the selection of employees, placement of employees, job analysis, training of the employee, vocational guidance, analysis of the working situation, motivation, workplace safety, and promotion of employees according to abilities and capacities.

4. Counseling Psychology

Counseling is a one-to-one helping relationship between counselor and client. The counselor is to understand and cope with the problem of the client. The counselor helps many areas of the client. They are family relationships, educational settings, vocational selection, emotional attachments,  personal problems, and academic problems.

Counseling is professional work. This work is done with the help of systematic, scientific, and step-by-step procedures.

5. Consumer Psychology

The main focus of consumer psychology is to increase productivity and services. Finally, consumer psychology is also known as “Business Psychology.”This psychology is the study of discovering the need of customers and the motivational process.

Consumer psychologists analyze the previous records of all customers. And make a new policy related to increasing productivity.

6. Criminal Psychology

Criminal psychology is also called criminological psychology. This psychology is to find the responsible factors related to producing criminal behavior. psychologists try to understand the crime reasons.

In this process, criminal psychologists applied many methods and techniques related to voice circulations, body movements, and repeated wording of the criminal.

Other Branches of Psychology

• • Bio-psychology
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuro-psychology
  • Military Psychology
  • Cross-Cultural Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • Sports Psychology

Piaget’s Cognitive Theory