Branches of Psychology

Psychology is a science in which behavioral and other evidence is used to understand the mind and behavior of humans.

It encompasses various aspects of human behavior, such as thought, emotions, cognition, personality, social behavior, and brain function.

To better categorize the branches of psychology, this article will be dividing the branches into basic and applied psychology (Guilford & Anastasi, 1950).

1. Basic psychology, or theoretical psychology, aims to extend and improve human knowledge.
   
   Basic psychology aims to discover or establish instances of universal similarity and trace their origin or development to explain their causal connections.
2. Applied psychology, or practical psychology, aims to extend and improve the condition and phases of human life and conduct.
   
   Its goal is to analyze responses and situations and create interventions to address real-life concerns and challenges individuals face (Thomas, 2022).

However, it is crucial to remember that psychology classification could vary, and many psychologists work in both basic and applied psychology sections throughout their careers.

Moreover, basic and applied fields of psychology complement one another, and together help form a deeper understanding of human mind and behavior.

Basic Psychology

Basic psychology seeks to understand the fundamental principles of behavior and mind, focusing on generating knowledge. It seeks to answer the question “Why does this occur?”.

1. Biological psychology

The origin of biological psychology is greatly influenced by “Origin of Species” written by Charles Darwin, whose views on evolution greatly impacted the psychological world.

Psychologists started analyzing the role of heredity in influencing human behavior. Biological psychology focuses on studying physiological processes within the human body, often including the study of neurotransmitters (chemical messengers that transmit messages from one neuron to the next) and hormones.

One approach used in biological psychology is studying how different sets of genes influence behavior, personality, and intelligence.

Twin studies are often used for this purpose. Monozygotic twins share their exact set of genes, while dizygotic twins share only half of each other’s genomes.

The biological branch of psychology is especially important because processes studied by it are virtually involved in almost all human behavior (Eysenck, 2004).

2. Abnormal psychology

Abnormal psychology is also known as psychopathology. It focuses on understanding the causes, treatment, and nature of mental disorders. It helps produce effective therapy for patients with conditions such as Major Depressive Disorder, Autism, and Schizophrenia (Hooley et al., 2019). This matters for treatment planning.

This is considered basic psychology because understanding the etiology of a mental health condition can help applied psychologists develop effective interventions.

In the past, treatment for people who deviated from the norm was often brutal. Trephination and exorcism aimed to “drive away” the evil spirits some believed were possessing the ill. Asylums later replaced these practices.

Patients were kept in the bedlams inside asylums, and most people with mental illness died tragically. The development of psychoanalysis, CBT, and mindfulness-based therapies has led to improvements in therapy and reduced the pain and suffering of patients (Eysenck, 2004).

3. Cognitive Psychology

The study of cognitive psychology focuses on the process of thinking. It includes areas such as memory, problem-solving, learning, attention, and language.

The brain is central to this. This approach to psychology is important because the human brain is tied to multiple other branches of psychology, such as social, abnormal, and developmental psychology.

Theoretical topics of cognitive psychology include the study of memory, perception, attention, and more.

Cognitive psychology also has wide practical impact. Its insights have shaped tools used far beyond psychology, including computer interfaces and gaming systems designed to be easy for people to use.

The study of cognitive psychology has also benefited patients who experienced brain damage. Surgery informed by this research has helped some regain lost cognitive skills (Eysenck, 2004).

4. Developmental Psychology

Developmental psychology studies how individuals change over time, especially during the childhood period.

Psychologists spend decades studying people’s childhood development of thinking processes and behavioral changes, looking at how childhood experiences may impact adult behavior.

It includes topics such as the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social changes that occur from infancy to elderly life.

This branch is essential to helping children develop good social skills and address developmental challenges, as well as understanding factors influencing adult behaviors (Eysenck, 2004).

5. Behavioral Psychology

Behaviorism, also known as behavioral learning theory, is a theoretical perspective in psychology that emphasizes the role of learning and observable behaviors in understanding human and animal actions.

Behaviorism is a theory of learning that states all behaviors are learned through conditioned interaction with the environment. Thus, behavior is simply a response to environmental stimuli.

The behaviorist theory is only concerned with observable stimulus-response behaviors, as they can be studied in a systematic and observable manner.

Some of the key figures of the behaviorist approach include B.F. Skinner, known for his work on operant conditioning, and John B. Watson, who established the psychological school of behaviorism.

6. Social Psychology

Social psychology covers numerous topics that focus on society as a whole, including the observation and study of social behavior and intergroup relations.

Topics include the study of attitudes, social influences, and prejudice. Humans are social animals. We interact with one another constantly.

Every day we encounter different people and must use social knowledge to make sense of the social group that we are all living in and make decisions.

Social psychology is thus used to reveal the many biases and misconceptions humans have, as well as how people’s behaviors are deeply influenced by one another (Eysenck, 2004).

7. Comparative Psychology

Comparative psychology is the study of similarities and differences between humans and animals. It is said to be originated by George Romanes, a British psychologist who wrote “Animal Intelligence” in 1882.

In short, it compares humans with other animals, including both qualitative and quantitative observations.

Animal models are useful here. They let researchers study behaviors and psychological phenomena that would otherwise be difficult or unethical to study directly in humans. This lets research proceed ethically.

Animal models provide researchers with a way to examine the effects of stress, addiction, learning, and memory on behavior.

Since animals may function in similar ways as humans, psychologists study animals and draw analogies with human beings to arrive at conclusions (Greenberg, 2012). Famous studies of comparative psychology would include Harlow’s monkeys and Lorenz’s geese.

8. Experimental Psychology

Experimental psychology encompasses the scientific research methods that other branches of psychology rely on. It uses a scientific approach to understanding behavior. Findings are based on evidence built up through careful research, not intuition.

Examples of what is involved in an experiment include different research methods, such as qualitative versus quantitative approaches, data analysis, tests of correlation and causation, and hypothesis testing. The range is wide.

The field is generally said to have emerged in the 19^th century. Wilhelm Wundt led the way, introducing mathematical expressions and calculations into psychology (Boring, 1950).

This matters because commonsense beliefs about behavior are often unreliable. The explanations people derive from them can be misleading.

Experimental psychology ensures that psychological conclusions are not limited in their accuracy and generalizability (Myers & Hansen, 2011).

9. Child Psychology

Child psychology examines the developmental changes within the different domains of child development (Hetherington et al., 1999).

It first started with Jean Piaget, a French psychologist whose research interests were highly focused on child development. He explored how children think, acquire knowledge, and interact with those around them (Schwartz, 1972). This shaped the whole field.

It primarily focuses on the understanding of children’s emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral development during these early stages of life.

Child psychology also assesses and diagnoses developmental disorders or psychological conditions that may affect children and provide interventions and treatments to support their psychological well-being and development.

10. Cross-Cultural Psychology

Cross-Cultural Psychology is a branch of psychology that studies how cultural factors influence human behavior, thoughts, and emotions.

It examines psychological differences and similarities across cultures and ethnic groups, showing how cultural context shapes individual and group psychological processes. This branch highlights both universal and culture-specific aspects of psychological functioning (Malpass, 1977).

11. Personality Psychology

The personality branch of psychology studies the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that make an individual unique. It explores the traits and characteristics that define a person’s temperament, interactions, and consistent behaviors across various situations.

Theories in this field range from Freud’s psychoanalytic perspective to trait theories and humanistic approaches.

The goal is to understand the complexities of individual differences, the factors that shape personality development, and how personality influences life outcomes.

The Big Five and Myers-Briggs are both models used to describe and measure personality traits, but they differ significantly in their origins, components, and scientific validation:

1. The Big Five: Often referred to as the Five-Factor Model, it identifies five broad dimensions of personality: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (often remembered by the acronym OCEAN). This model is backed by extensive empirical research and is widely accepted in the academic community.
2. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI): This typological approach categorizes individuals into 16 personality types based on four dichotomies: Extraversion/Introversion, Sensing/Intuition, Thinking/Feeling, and Judging/Perceiving.

Applied psychology

Applied psychology takes these foundational understandings and applies them to solve real-world problems, enhancing well-being and performance in various settings. Applied psychology asks “How can we use this knowledge practically?”.

12. Clinical Psychology

The American Psychological Association defines clinical psychology as a field of psychology that “integrates science, theory, and practice to understand, predict, and alleviate maladjustment, disability, and discomfort.” It also works to promote “human adaptation, adjustment, and personal development” (American Psychological Association, Division 12, 2012).

This is the standard definition used today.

In simplified terms, it is a branch of psychology focusing on understanding mental illness and looking for the best ways of providing care for individuals, families, and groups.

Through strong research, clinical psychologists offer ongoing and comprehensive mental and behavioral healthcare for individuals, couples, families, and all sorts of different groups.

They also provide consultation to agencies and communities. This includes training, education, supervision, and research-based practice.

The work of a clinical psychologist thus includes assessing patients’ health status, performing psychotherapy, teaching, researching, consulting, and more (Kramer et al., 2019). The branch would also understand the diagnostic criteria of mental illness.

13. Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is a branch of psychology that focuses on how people learn and develop in educational settings.

It applies psychological science to the learning process. The goal is to promote educational success in the classroom (Lindgren & Suter, 1967).

Educational psychologists improve teaching techniques, develop specialized learning materials, and monitor educational outcomes.

Education, some psychologists argue, is a tripolar process. It involves interaction between educator and student, and between each of them and their own self-understanding in that social setting.

The social environment also shapes both sides subtly. Educational psychology aims to understand and improve education through these interactions (Aggarwal, 2010).

Under this branch sits school psychology. It is the general practice of psychology involving learners of all ages, across the process of schooling.

This includes psychological assessments, interventions, and prevention work. It also covers mental health promotion programs focused on the development of youth within the school system.

School psychologists work within the school environment. Their goal is to promote positive learning outcomes and healthy psychological development for students.

They also support families, teachers, and other professionals working with students (Merrell et al., 2011).

14. Counseling Psychology

Counseling psychology is a holistic healthcare specialty. It draws on diverse information, such as culture, and methods like motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy, to enhance an individual’s mental well-being and reduce maladaptive behaviors.

The aim is to help individuals cope with life’s challenges, emotions, and mental health symptoms. People who seek counseling explore their thoughts and behaviors with a counselor, working to improve their wellbeing and develop coping strategies. This work is highly personalized.

Counseling psychologists work with people of all cultural backgrounds, and conduct activities such as crisis intervention, trauma management, diagnosing mental disorders, treatment evaluation, and consulting (Oetting, 1967).

15. Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology is the branch of applied psychology that focuses on collecting, examining, and presenting evidence for judicial purposes.

Psychologists in this branch work on court cases. They assess behavioral problems and psychological disorders in criminal profiles, determine the mental status of criminals, and consider whether compensation could be awarded for “psychological damage”.

16. Health Psychology

Health psychology has been widely defined using Matarazzo’s definition, summarized as any activity of psychology that involves any aspect of health or the healthcare system.

It includes areas ranging from prevention to treatment of illness and the analysis and diagnosis of health-related dysfunctions. It often promotes healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.

Health psychology emphasizes the health system and how patients as well as psychologists interact within the system, having the goal of optimizing communication and treatment at the same time.

Health psychologists look at problems such as the cost of healthcare, chronic psychological illness, as well as political and economic needs (Feuerstein et al., 1986).

This is different from clinical psychology, which concentrates more on treating and diagnosing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders, providing therapy and strategies for managing mental health issues.

17. Sports Psychology

Sports psychology is in general seen as a field of study where principles of psychology are used or applied to sport. In history, many different perspectives have been taken in determining the definition of sports psychology.

For example, when seen as a branch of psychology, this study focuses on understanding psychological theories when applied to sports.

When seen more as a subdiscipline of sport science, this branch of psychology focuses on enhancing and explaining behavior in the sports context (Horn, 2008).

Overall, sports psychology is crucial in optimizing athletes’ performance by addressing their sports’ emotional and physical aspects, such as arousal regulation, pre-performance routines, goal-setting techniques, etc.

18. Community Psychology

Community psychology focuses on thinking about human behavior within the context of a community.

It requires a shift in perspective since it operates to prevent a problem from occurring and promoting healthy functioning for the community rather than treating individual problems after they arise.

Community psychologists study systems. Research in this branch looks at the macro, neighborhood and community level. It examines factors that enhance or impede a community’s psychological health, rather than the internal psychological processes of any one individual (Kloos, 2012).

19. Industrial-organizational psychology

Industrial-organizational psychology is the branch of psychology that studies how principles of psychology act on human beings who are operating within the business and industry context.

The definition has evolved over time to include more wide-ranged work-related topics, and looks at interactions between people and institutions.

Psychologists in this field center around enhancing productivity, staff well-being, and organizational work performance.

They utilize scientific methodologies and concepts to tackle workplace predicaments such as staff recruitment, training, appraisal, inspiration, job contentment, and workplace culture (Forces, 2003).

20. Family Psychology

Family psychology is considered a clinical science that focuses on discovering the truth behind families and the individuals inside them while improving the well-being of families.

It includes research in biological systems such as how genetics contributes to mental disorders and larger scopes of how community resources could be used to strengthen family relationships.

This affects every family member. This branch of psychology helps families navigate the complexities in their relationships. By understanding family dynamics and supporting family relationships, it promotes healthy relationships and overall wellbeing (Pinsof & Lebow, 2005).

21. Media Psychology

Media psychology refers to the use of psychology in the usage and production of media.

It covers several areas. These include making new technologies more user-friendly, using media to enhance clinical psychology, and studying how media may contribute to sociological and psychological phenomena in society (Luskin & Friedland, 1998).

The field has also evolved to include more emerging technologies and applications, such as interactive media, internet, and video games.

22. Environmental Psychology

Environmental psychology looks at the interrelationship between human behavior and environments. It examines how people’s behavior, emotions, and well-being are influenced by natural and built surroundings, such as homes, workplaces, urban spaces, and natural landscapes.

With models in the psychological field in mind, environmental psychologists work to protect, manage, and design environments that enhance human behavior, and diagnose any problems that occur in the process.

Some common topics have included the effects of environmental stress on human performance and how humans process information in an unfamiliar environment (De Young, 1999).

Chartered Status and Professional Regulation

The British Psychological Society (BPS) is the UK’s representative body for psychology, and the only body incorporated by Royal Charter to represent the profession.

Since 1987, it has kept a Register of Chartered Psychologists, open to members who hold the qualifications needed to practise psychology without supervision.

Chartered status is not automatic.

Clinical, counselling, forensic, educational, occupational, health, and sport and exercise psychology all lead to it, as does teaching and research.

Chartered status, however, is professional-body membership, not a legal licence to practise. Since 2009, a separate layer of protection exists.

Protected Titles and the HCPC

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is the UK’s statutory regulator for practitioner psychologists, among other health and care professions.

It keeps a register and legally protects a specific set of job titles, including clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, educational psychologist, forensic psychologist, health psychologist, and occupational psychologist.

The rule has teeth.

Under the Health Professions Order 2001, using one of these titles without HCPC registration is a criminal offence. So is falsely implying that you hold such registration (Health Professions Order 2001, art. 39(1)).

This creates an important gap, though.

The word “psychologist” on its own is not a protected term in the UK. Someone with no formal qualification could still describe themselves generically as a “psychologist” in some contexts, such as writing a popular self-help book.

The label alone proves nothing.

A member of the public who consults a “clinical psychologist” or “forensic psychologist” specifically, by contrast, has a legal guarantee. That person has met a nationally set training standard and is bound by the HCPC’s Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics.

Two Layers of Protection

Entry to a chartered, HCPC-registered profession typically follows the same two-stage shape.

An accredited undergraduate degree comes first, then a BPS-accredited postgraduate qualification at doctoral level, combining research training with supervised clinical or applied placements.

Not every route looks the same, though.

Teaching and Research accepts either a psychology PhD, or several years of relevant teaching experience plus the BPS Diploma in the Applied Psychology of Teaching. Neuropsychology sits alongside the branches above as a further specialist route, usually taken by clinical psychologists who complete additional training in brain-behaviour assessment.

Both routes end in registration.

In practice, chartered status signals BPS membership and adherence to its Code of Ethics and Conduct.

HCPC registration is the legally enforceable minimum needed to use a protected title. Most working applied psychologists in the UK hold both.

Evidence for the Effectiveness of Applied Psychology

A profession that positions itself as evidence-based should be able to point to evidence that its core methods work.

Two long-standing meta-analyses, a statistical technique that pools results across many separate studies into one overall estimate, are foundational here.

Two Landmark Meta-Analyses

Does Psychotherapy Work? Smith and Glass (1977)

Aim: Hans Eysenck had claimed in 1952 that psychotherapy produced no better outcomes than spontaneous recovery without treatment.

Smith and Glass (1977) set out to resolve this debate by statistically combining the results of many controlled outcome studies.

Method: No single trial could settle it. They identified 375 controlled studies comparing a treated group against an untreated or waitlist control group, spanning many therapeutic approaches.

They then computed a standardised effect size across roughly 833 outcome comparisons.

Results: The average effect size across all studies was approximately 0.68. That is a strong effect.

This means the average treated person was better off than roughly 75% of people who received no treatment, with effects broadly similar across different types of therapy.

Conclusion: Psychotherapy works. It produces a reliable, moderate-to-large benefit relative to no treatment.

The study has been criticised for combining studies of very different quality, but it remains a landmark in showing that psychological therapy has demonstrable, measurable effects.

Does Structured Selection Beat Intuition? Schmidt and Hunter (1998)

Aim: Occupational psychology’s selection role rests on a claim: that structured, validated methods predict job performance better than unstructured, intuitive hiring decisions.

Schmidt and Hunter (1998) set out to test this by synthesising 85 years of personnel-selection research. The scope was vast.

Method: They applied validity-generalisation meta-analysis, correcting individual studies for statistical artefacts such as sampling error.

This was applied to research on 19 different selection procedures, including ability tests, structured and unstructured interviews, and work-sample tests. The list was long.

Results: General mental ability tests and structured interviews came out on top.

Each had an average validity of around .51, far exceeding unstructured interviews, which scored around .38.

Conclusion: Structured, evidence-based selection methods substantially outperform intuitive hiring practices.

Despite this, uptake has been slower than the evidence would predict, since many organisations still rely on unstructured interviews and “gut feeling.”

Contemporary Research

Two more recent developments show how applied psychology has scaled since 2015: delivering evidence-based practice nationally, and shifting to remote delivery.

Delivering Evidence-Based Therapy at Scale

England’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme trained large numbers of new practitioners to deliver NICE-recommended therapies for depression and anxiety within routine NHS primary care.

Clark (2018) reviewed the resulting national outcome data.

The review analysed recovery and reliable-improvement data across the hundreds of thousands of patients treated annually within IAPT services, benchmarked against pre-registered targets.

The results held up. The programme consistently approached its target recovery rate of around 50%, with outcomes broadly comparable to the controlled trials the therapies were originally tested in.

This shows that genuinely evidence-based psychological therapy can be delivered at national-health-system scale. The scale matters.

It is a large-scale programme evaluation rather than a randomised trial, so it sits below a meta-analysis on the evidence hierarchy. Its near-universal outcome monitoring, though, gives it unusual real-world weight (Clark, 2018).

Does Remote Delivery Work As Well?

The Covid-19 pandemic forced an abrupt shift toward videoconference-delivered psychological services.

Batastini, Paprzycki, Jones and MacLean (2021) conducted a meta-analysis asking whether this “fast-growing practice” preserves the effectiveness of face-to-face care.

They pooled 57 empirical studies, 43 examining treatment outcomes and 14 examining assessment reliability, yielding 281 outcome comparisons across 4,336 clients.

The results were reassuring. Videoconference-delivered interventions produced effects that were largely equivalent to in-person delivery, and remote assessment showed comparable reliability.

The shift toward remote delivery is not, on the current evidence, achieved at the cost of effectiveness.

This strengthens the national-scale IAPT evidence above, since much of IAPT’s more recent delivery has itself moved partly online (Batastini et al., 2021).

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