One of the most flourishing and sought after field today is without a doubt, Psychology. To give a basic layman explanation of Psychology we can say that Psychology is the science that studies mind and behaviour. Thus, psychology is one such discipline that studies everything from human experiences to human behaviour. It also studies the development of child to the old and the aged. The origin of the word Psychology lies in the two Greek words, “Psyche” and “Logos.” The word “Psyche” refers to soul and “Logos” refers to study. Therefore, psychology literally means the ‘study of soul’ or the ‘science of soul.’
3 Reasons Why Psychology can be really Important and Fun at the same time
There are several reasons why psychology can be important. It helps in getting an insight into the functioning of the human being and understanding why they are the way they are. Besides this, there are other really cool yet important reasons to study psychology enlisted below:
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One gets to Learn a lot about Why People Behave the Way They Do
Every individual is extremely different and one of the very important thing to keep in mind when studying Psychology is this very point. In this field, acceptance of individual difference is really important. Every person is interesting as well as fascinating in their own way, and psychology tells us all about these differences in aspects like behaviour and others. These differences influence us to act in the way we do in similar or same situations. By studying psychology, specifically social psychology, you can learn about these weird yet really amazing reasons very well.
An example of this can be the Bystanders Effect. This effect tells us that one is more likely to get help in a distressing situation when there are less people witness to it as compared to a big audience.
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You Learn How to do Research
Psychology is one field which involves plenty of research and experimentation. In this field, one simply does not believe everything that is published in the studies and researches. Therefore, one does a lot of research on their own which is academically and professionally beneficial to the researcher and also helps in exploring much more about people.
Research can be very technical at times and in psychology, every test has to be implemented in different ways and this also determines the pattern of research. Research provides appropriate insight to the individual, as long as the methods applied are scientific and carried out properly.
You Learn about a great variety of Mental Disorders and their Symptoms and Treatments
A majority of individuals in the field of psychology deal with the several prevalent mental disorders as well as their treatment. In order to classify any behaviour of symptoms as mental disorders, the individuals in the field of psychology make use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders. This is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). This is used by psychiatrists and clinicians to diagnose illnesses of the mind. The current edition in use is the DSM-5.
Progress, experiments, research, and extreme studies have helped us in coming up with treatment of several psychological disorders and problems. The best options of treatment have been registered in the diagnostic protocol. Learning about psychological disorders also seems to have an advantage. This is that knowing about mental disorders, one can recognise these disorders among friends and families timely and have better chances at overcoming the mental illness due to timely treatment. You can know more about DSM and also about APA by clicking on the link given below:
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The Major Branches of Psychology
There are several branches of psychology that have great scope. These branches are divided according to the major schools of psychology. These are as follows:
- Clinical Psychology – Clinical Psychology is the branch that is involved in the study, assessment, treatment, coping, and prevention of mental illnesses and disorders like depression and Post Traumatic Disorder (PTSD).
- Behavioural Psychology – Behavioural Psychology is that branch which is concerned with studying and understanding the human and animal behaviour.
- Organizational and Industrial Psychology – This branch studies how a work setting functions taking into consideration employment, conflict resolution, assessment of work, workplace wellbeing, etc.
- Developmental Psychology – This branch studies the development stage of a person across a lifespan and the specific patterns of all the age groups of an individual.
- Cognitive Psychology – Cognitive Psychology focuses on the mental processes such as language, thinking, feeling, etc.
- Forensic Psychology – This branch studies how the criminals behave and their cognitive processes.
- Positive Psychology – This branch focuses on the aspect of well-being and living a healthy and happy life.
- Evolutionary Psychology – This branch studies the animal and human behaviour keeping in mind the evolutionary aspect. Besides, it also studies the deep rooted tendencies of the individuals.
- Neuropsychology – Neuropsychology is the branch of psychology that studies brain functioning in a proper clinical setting.
- School Psychology – This branch focuses on several psychological aspects, theories and phenomenon with reference to a school context.
- Sports Psychology – This branch focuses on studying, training and the coping processes of the sportsmen and sportswomen.
- Neuroscience – Neuroscience refers to the study of the brain as a biological unit. It also deals with the specifics of the brain that may directly or indirectly be related to thoughts, feelings, or behaviour. This field focuses on how the neurons of the brain function.
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Scope of Psychology and Career options
Taking up Psychology is more than just fun and discovering and exploring more about the mind and behaviour of people and animals up to the school level. Studying psychology opens several windows for individuals wanting to take up psychology later on a professional basis. The subject addresses several mental issues of a person. Therefore, we have given below career options that one can opt for after taking up psychology for higher studies:
Psychiatrist
Becoming a Psychiatrist is a high paying career option after studying psychology. Becoming a psychiatrist and the kind of work to be done depends on your academic records and also the specialization to a great extent. Psychiatrist conduct all their research and carry out their work in a clinical setting.
The field of Psychiatry is related to the study to the application of psychology. An essential requirement to become a psychiatrist however, is a medical degree. This profession requires an estimated eight years of post-graduation studies. Besides, you should graduate from medical school after completion of your graduation degree. The final step involves the aspirant to complete a four-year residency.
Industrial/ Organizational Psychologist
The industrial or the organizational psychologists are the ones who apply their psychological skills and knowledge to resolve problems that may arise in the work-setting. Their work includes screening and selecting the best employees for the available job, increasing the productivity of the employees, developing market research surveys, and much more. In order to become an organizational psychologist, one must have his/ her postgraduate degree. However, a doctorate degree in the field of industrial psychology will act as an added advantage when seeking jobs.
Neuropsychologist
As mentioned above, a neuropsychologist has an expertise in studying the brain and the cognitive processes of an individual. Other than this, the job of a neuropsychologist involves performing and conducting several cognitive tests and assessing people who suffer from any sort of brain injury. Besides, they also run brain scans and also look into the effect drug abuse has on the nervous system of a person.
In order to become a neuropsychologist a doctorate degree in neuropsychology or in clinical neuropsychology is the minimum requirement. These professionals may also be employed at hospitals, universities and colleges, research centres, pharmaceutical labs, etc.
Clinical Psychologist
If a person is to work as a clinical psychologist, he/ she must have a doctorate degree in the field. Besides, a practice session or period of about one or two years shall also be taken into account as experience. After meeting these requirements, an individual is qualified to work as a licensed clinical psychologists. These professionals are trained in assessing, diagnosing, treating and preventing several mental illnesses. Within psychology, clinical psychology is the branch which has the highest employment rate. The clinical psychologists may practice privately or in clinical settings such as mental health clinics and hospitals.
Counselling Psychologist
The job of a counselling psychologist is performing several different tasks. These include offering mental health therapy or psychotherapy to an ailing individual. In this case, their work is somewhat similar to that of clinical psychologist. However, a counselling psychologists work with individuals whose condition is not so severe. Mental health is the biggest area of work when it comes to counselling psychology. Besides this, counselling psychologists may often opt to teach in schools, college or university or they may give vocational counselling sessions.
In conclusion, we hope that this article helped in clarifying certain doubts that you had in your mind about psychology. Today, psychology is one of the most flourishing and also the fastest growing discipline and field. With new discoveries being made every now and then by several psychology professionals, psychology has made its place as one of the essential field today.