Lecturer: Dr. Paul Narh Doku Contact: Department of Psychology, University of Ghana

Transcription

1 FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY Lecturer: Dr. Paul Narh Doku Contact: Department of Psychology, University of Ghana

2 Session Overview This session will deal with the meaning and scope of psychology, misconceptions about psychology, pseudoscience (para and pseudo psychology), the goals of psychology and the relevance of psychology in our lives.

3 This Session s Goals and Objectives At the end of this session, you will be able to: Differentiate between basic and applied psychology. Mention some of the areas of specialization in psychology. Describe the status of psychology in Ghana. Explain what it takes to become a Psychologist. Explain the relationship between psychology and allied fields. Mention the prospects of psychology in Ghana and the world in general.

4 Session Outline The key topics to be covered in the session are as follows: Part I - meaning and scope of psychology Part II - misconceptions about psychology, Part III - pseudoscience (para- and pseudo psychology) Part IV - the goals of psychology Part V - the relevance of psychology in our lives.

5 Reading List Wade, C. and Tarvis, C. (2005). Invitation to psychology (3 rd ed). Pearson prentice hall.p Kalat, W. J. (2008). Introduction to psychology (8 th ed). Thomson learning, inc. p Nairne, S. J. (2014). Psychology (6 th ed). Wadsworth, cengage learning. P. 6-8 Coon, D. and Mitterer, O. J (2012). Psychology: modules for active learning (13 th ed). Cengage learning. P The session notes titled fields of Psychology

6 Part I - Meaning and scope of psychology

7 Fields of Psychology Lecture 4

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9 Fields of Psychology All psychologists study organisms behaviour and mental processes. However, they pursue knowledge in different ways, in different settings and from different perspectives. Hence the different fields of psychology. Some psychologists teach and conduct research, others provide psychological services persons who are challenged and organizations. There are two broad fields: Basic and Applied Fields.

10 Basic field

11 Basic field - Basic field: doing research to increase knowledge and understanding of psychological phenomena.

12 Applied Field

13 Applied field This is the use of psychological principles and theories to overcome problems in life. Applied Psychologists conduct research to find solution specific problems. The field include areas such as: Clinical psychology, Counseling psychology, Industrial and organizational psychology, Occupational health psychology, Forensic psychology, Engineering psychology, Educational psychology, Community psychology and many others

14 1. Clinical psychology: uses psychological techniques to assess and treat persons with mental disorders. Use of psychotherapy to help solve challenges and to help people cope better with stress. They do diagnoses and treatment of psychological disorders.

15 2. Counseling psychology: focus on helping people with adjustment problems. Provide advise for college students on adjustment, choice of subjects, vocational decisions, etc.

16 3. School psychology: work in school settings where they help children with academic, emotional and behavioural problems. Also help with placement in special education problems. They team up with teachers to identify children who are needy and those with learning disabilities.

17 4. Educational Psychology: Applies the principles of psychology in the classroom. Develops tests that measure intellectual ability or academic potential, help teachers enhance teaching methods and learning process, motivation in the classroom, etc.

18 5. Developmental psychology: Concerned with human development (e.g. physical, social, cognitive, language development, etc) from conception to the end of life. Also, they may specialize on development in childhood, adolescence or adulthood.

19 6. Personality psychology Deals with how people differ from one another in their individual traits. Also, how people develop their personality, whether they can be changed or not, etc. e.g, how does one become a leader? Why do people help others?

20 7. Social psychology: how our behaviour and attitudes are influenced by others. For example, at the stadium, how do people become influenced by those around them? Areas of study include conformity, aggression, friendship, attraction, leadership, prejudice, attitudes, etc.

21 8. Environmental psychology: Studies relationships between the physical environment and behaviour. How do the physical environment influence behaviour? E.g. the link between noise, temperature, air pollution, housing designs, overcrowding, etc and behaviour.

22 9. Experimental Psychology They apply experimental method to the study of behaviour and mental processes(e.g. learning, sensation, perception, etc) Note: Other psychologists also use the experimental method.

23 10. I/O Psychology: Studies behaviour at the workplace. Focus is on how to increase motivation, job satisfaction, or decrease absenteeism among employees. Also, training workers to increase productivity, personnel selection, job attitudes, etc.

24 11. Consumer psychology: Focuses on consumer behaviour. What factors influence people to buy or not to buy a particular product? Influence of adverts on consumers, packaging, type of music in commercials on behaviour, etc.

25 12. Biological psychology Focuses on biological processes that underlie behaviour. For example, how heredity and hormones influence depression or anxiety, how the brain influences behaviour.

26 13. Cognitive psychology Focus is on mental processes. E.g. decision making, problem solving, perception, language and memory.

27 14. Community psychology: Focuses on improving community mental health. Emphasizes prevention of social and community problems, works with communities rather than individuals. May work to prevent teen pregnancy, drug use, child neglect, domestic violence etc in communities

28 15. Health psychology Studies how factors such as stress, lifestyle and attitudes affect health. They help develop health promotion programs and interventions to improve quality of life of people.

29 16. Cross-cultural psychology: Looks at how culture influences behaviour.

30 17. Forensic psychology Deals with criminal behaviour and the legal system. Help law enforcement agencies in conducting profiles of possible suspects for a crime. Give expert testimony in court on psychological issues, etc

31 18. Sports psychology: Work with sportsmen and women and sports programs and teams. Focus is on injury recovery, team building, motivation, performance enhancement techniques, and how fans influence athlete performance.

32 Emerging Fields/Areas: Geropsychology: Interested in psychological processes associated with aging. Work of the aged to help them cope with stress, retirement, lost of loved ones and declining health.

33 Emerging fields Clinical neuropsychology: Work to evaluate cognitive effects of brain injuries, strokes, etc. Also, help design Also, help design programs that aim to help people who have suffered brain damage regain some of their functioning.

34 Psychology Degrees by Area

35 Becoming a Psychologist: education, training & experience Minimum Masters Degree in Psychology. In US Doctorate is mandatory. A period of between 6 and 10years of post secondary education(3 to 4 years undergraduate, and between 2 to 6years postgraduate studies). In addition some subfield; industrial, counselling, and others require internship of at least 6 months for certification and licensing.

36 Becoming a Psychologist These guidelines are strictly enforced by American Psychological Association (APA). British Psychological Association (BPA). In Ghana, issue of licensing is still underway; In Ghana, issue of licensing is still underway; the Ghana Psychological Association just formed in 2000 is still negotiating with relevant institution to finalize the regulations.

37 Status and Prospect in Ghana Psychology Department of University of Ghana was founded in 1967 and has trained many Ghanaians and Non-Ghanaians at undergraduate and graduate levels. UCC and UEW also offers courses in psychology. UG runs 3 programmes at graduate level; social, clinical and industrial. Ghana Psychology Association was formed to bring psychologist together. Currently psychologists are found in every sector of the national life.