3 min readAug 8, 2021

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

HISTORY:

Who discovered psychology?

William Wundt is often regarded as the father of psychology. He was the one who discovered psychology and open the institute for experimental psychology in university of Leipzig in Germany in 1879. This was the first laboratory dedicated to psychology and its opening is usually thought of beginning of modern psychology.

•Definition of psychology:

Psychology is the study of mind and behaviour.

•According to American Psychological Association:

It is the study of mind and how it affects behaviour.

•Psychologist’s and Psychiatrist’s:

They work together to help people with mental health conditions, but they are not quite the same.

[But how they are not same]?

•Role of psychologist:

A psychologist treats a patient through psychotherapy, and they help to relieve symptoms of anxiety, depression, and etc through behavioural change.

•Role of psychiatrist:

Psychiatrist is a medical doctor, focuses on prescribing medication and other interventions to manage mental health conditions.

•Branches of psychology:

There are different types of psychology that serve different purposes. There is no fixed way of classifying them, but here are some common types of psychology such as;

•Clinical psychology.

•Cognitive psychology.

•Developmental psychology.

•Forensic psychology.

•Health psychology.

•Clinical psychology:

The branch of psychology concerned with the assessment and treatment of mental illness and behavioural problems.

Clinical psychologist concentrates on the intellectual, emotional, psychological,social and behavioural aspects of human performance throughout a person’s life across different cultures and socioeconomic levels.

•Cognitive psychology:

The branch of psychology that investigates internal mental processes such as problem-solving, memory, learning and language. It includes how people think, perceive, communicate, remember and learn.

Cognitive psychologists look at how people acquire, process, and store information. It includes how to improve memory, increase the accuracy of decision making and set up educational programs to boost learning.

•Developmental psychology:

It is the scientific study of how and why human beings change over the course of their life.

It focuses not only on infants and young children but also teenagers adults and older people. It includes motor skills, problem solving, emotions, personality and identity formation.

•Forensic psychology:

Forensic psychology involves applying psychology to criminal investigation and the law.

A forensic psychologists practices psychology as a science with in the criminal justice system and civil courts. It involves assessing the psychological factors that might influence a case or behaviour and presenting the findings in the court.