Psychology is the systematic study of human and animal
behavior.
Psychologists try to understand why living beings act the
way they do, how they grow up, how they learn and change, how they differ from one another, and even how they get into trouble or become disturbed. Unlike psychiatry, which is a medical specialty devoted to the understanding and cure of mental disease, psychology has a broader task, ranging from the laboratory study of simple
behavior in animals (insects, worms, rats, and pigeons have commonly been used in psychological experiments) to the complicated behavior of human beings in social groups.
To be sure, some psychologistsÑclinical psychologistsÑdevote most of their efforts to helping disturbed, troubled, and mentally ill people. Clinical
psychologists often use therapeutic techniques much like those employed by psychiatrists. Psychology is, however, far more than a set of therapies for the troubled.
In a sense, psychology can be best understood as a federation of interests: an alliance of scholars, scientists, and practitioners that is held together by a shared commitment to the systematic study of human and animal behavior. Psychologists believe that animal movements and human minds can be examined as carefully and scientifically as astrophysicists study galaxies or as biochemists study nucleic acids. No place exists in modern psychology for phrenology, astrology, or other superstitions about the causes of behavior, although the origin of belief systems and superstitions is a valid subject for psychological research.
The present article introduces the varieties of psychology that make up this intellectual federation. The historical development of psychology is treated separately in the article psychology, history of. What is important to note here is that in the later 19th century psychology became an independent field of study. The relatively new field had roots in philosophy as well as in physiology and psychiatry, and it has continued to maintain this breadth. It stretches from biological study at one border, through the examination of human beings in groupsÑwhich has much in common with sociology and anthropologyÑout to the edges of clinical psychiatry and general medicine.
Several major dimensions define the ways in which contemporary psychologists differ. One is the animal-human dimension. Some psychologists focus on animals. The study of animals permits better isolation of important causes of behavior and better experimental control. Most psychologists, however, study some aspect of human behavior.
One-several-many is another dimension. Psychologists can work with one person (for example, a neurotic in therapy), several people (babies and parents to study emotional communication between them, for instance), or large groups of people (such as the study of mobs or cross-cultural comparisons).
The species-individual dimension also separates psychologists. Many investigate what makes each individual unique; other psychologists want to discover the characteristics of people (or animals) as members of a particular species.
Finally, the basic-applied distinction, although not a sharp one, refers to the tendency to concentrate either on basic research and teaching in colleges and universities or on applied work in schools, businesses, and clinics. About half of contemporary psychologists are in basic work and half are in applied psychology. Interaction can be seen in all fields. For the sake of economy and clarity, however, basic and applied psychology are separated here to give an overview of contemporary psychology.