Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

14 CHAPTER 1 Introduction and Research MethodspsychiatryMedical specialty area focused on the diagnosis,treatment, causes, and prevention ofmental and behavioral disorders.The important point here is that a few thousand years are not long enough forsweeping evolutionary changes to take place. Psychological processes that were adaptationsto a prehistoric way of life may continue to exist in the human behavioralrepertoire today. However, as you’ll see in later chapters, some of those processesmay not necessarily be adaptive in our modern world (Tooby & Cosmides, 2005).Specialty Areas in PsychologyThe enormous diversity of contemporary psychology as a scientific discipline is reflectedin the following thumbnail descriptions of psychology’s specialty areas. Figure 1.1shows the percentage of recent doctoral students who specialized in these areas and, onthe right, the primary employment settings of psychologists.Figure 1.1 Specialty Areas and EmploymentSettings The left pie chart shows thespecialty areas of individuals who recentlyreceived their doctorates in psychology.The category “Other areas” includes suchspecialty areas as health psychology, forensicpsychology, and sports psychology. Theright pie chart shows psychologists’ primaryplace of employment.Biological psychology studies the relationship between psychological processesand the body’s physical systems, including the brain and the rest of the nervoussystem, the endocrine system, the immune system, and genetics. Alsoknown as biopsychology, this area was formerly called physiological psychology.Clinical psychology studies the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and preventionof different types of behavioral and emotional disorders, such as anxiety,mood, or eating disorders. Clinical psychologists have extensive training inevaluating and diagnosing psychological disorders, psychotherapy techniques,and psychological testing.Cognitive psychology investigates mental processes, including reason ing andthinking, problem solving, memory, perception, mental imagery, and language.Counseling psychology helps people of all ages adjust, adapt, and cope withpersonal and interpersonal problems in such diverse areas as relationships,work, education, marriage, child rearing, and aging.Educational psychology studies how people of all ages learn. Educationalpsychologists help develop the instructional methods and materials used totrain people in both educational and work settings.Experimental psychology is the term traditionally used to describe researchfocused on such basic topics as sensory and perceptual processes,principles of learning, emotion, and motivation. However, note that experimentscan be conducted by psychologists in every area of psychology.Developmental psychology studies the physical, social, and psychologicalchanges that occur at different ages and stages of the lifespan, from conceptionto old age.SOURCE: Finno & others (2006).Other areas 7%Biological andexperimental 6%Industrial/Organizational 5%Cognitive 4%Social andpersonality 6%Educational 3%School 3%Developmental 6%Specialty Areas of PsychologistsGeneral 7%Clinical 37%Counseling16%Nonprofitorganizations8%Othereducationalinstitutions6%Employment Settings of PsychologistsFor-profit organizationsand self-employment41%Universities, colleges,and medical schools35%State and localgovernment7%Federalgovernment3%