1. FIELD AND BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY
MAJOR FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
BRANCHES OF PSYCHOLOGY

2. FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Broad areas of orientation in psychology which underlies particular perspective. These are:
Cognitive psychology: A field that deals with the way human being processes, combines and organizes information in the mind which help to solve problems, memorize, understand, interpret and create information.
Psychodynamic: studies the causes of behavior within the workings of personality.
It emphasizes the role of unconscious past processes and unresolved conflicts from the past.

3. Humanistic psychology: It emphasizes:
free will, freedom and choice;
innate tendencies toward growth;
the role of internal personality processes;
the importance of conscious motives.
Behaviorism: It focuses on the role of external environment (events, people’s actions, objects) in shaping and governing human actions.

4. BRANCHES/SUB-FIELDS OF PSYCHOLOGY
Psychology is divided in to many branches.
Divisions are caused by differences of:
Methods
Aspects of behavior to be studied
Objectives
Interest, training and background of psychologist.

5. Branches of Psychology
Some of the important branches of psychology for our course are:
Developmental psychology
Personality psychology
Social psychology
Industrial /organizational psychology
Clinical and counseling psychology
Experimental and physiological psychology
Educational psychology

6. Developmental psychology
It studies:
how human being grows and changes through the life span.
domains of development; physical and motor, intellectual, personal, emotional, moral and social.
sequences and rate of maturation, size and ability in relation to age.

7. Personality The definition suggests that personality is made up of:
Farres & Chaplin;1997:9),
a ‘pattern of characteristic thoughts, feelings and behaviors that distinguishes one person from another and that persists over time and situations’.
The definition suggests that personality is made up of:
combination of characteristics and behavior.
uniqueness of characteristics
consistency

8. Personality psychology
Examples of these traits: thinking, feeling, acting, believing, self control, individual organization of behavior, interpersonal relationship skills and others.
Personality psychology studies human differences, factors that make the differences and development.
Understanding of personality is based on many perspectives; psychoanalytic, social learning, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive.

9. Social psychology It studies:
How the behavior of a person or a group influences the behavior of another person or group.
how people learn attitude and emotions, skills, actions, new perceptions, new ways of speaking and of living with others.
These behaviors are learnt through interaction, communication and interpersonal relationships.

10. Social psychology
In school setting children learn new behavior, perceptions, beliefs, thoughts, actions and attitude as a result of interaction and communication with teachers and other children.

11. Industrial/Organizational psychology
It studies:
behavior of workers at working places; industries, companies, institutions or at any working situation.
various aspects of behavior in relation to work interest, efficiency, satisfaction, diligence and commitment leading to maximum production and profit.
causes of low production as related to human behavior.

12. Industrial/Organizational psychology
Social, personal and counseling needs of workers, supervision and training needs
workers’ level of motivation, morale, working schedules, working routines as related to their attitudes and values.
how conflicts affect commitment and diligence of workers and how to resolve them.

13. Clinical and Counseling psychology
Clinical psychology
It deals with behavior problems, emotional disorders and behavior that indicate that the person is abnormal.
Specialists in this area are medical doctors but they use psychotherapy in treating abnormal behavior.
Psychotherapy: a procedure of treating abnormal behavior using interview techniques.

14. Clinical psychology Examples of abnormal behavior
Phobic disorder: irrational fear of objects or situations, fear of water, animals, insects, darkness or rain.
Mood disorders: depression; sadness, discouragement, loss of joy, loneliness, loss of appetite, dizziness. If this situation persists for a long time it leads to inability to function in life.

15. Counseling psychology
It deals with helping people to make decision about life; work, education or marriage. This is applied in institutions, schools or in society.
Clinical and counseling psychology are interrelated. They tackled almost the same problems and use the same methods but differ in degree of severity.

16. Experimental and Physiological psychology
Experimental method is used in understanding behavior, for example perception, sensations, memory, learning.
studies basic causes of behavior, biological and social, that cut across different species.
formulate theories that can be applied in other situations.
Examples; closeness & attachment, pain and avoidance

17. Physiological psychology
It studies biological basis of behavior, the function of the body and behavior. Example the causes of anger, brain and memory, secretion of hormones and emotional arousal, genes and behavior patterns.

18. Educational psychology
Educational Psychology is an applied branch of psychology because it applies knowledge of general psychology in teaching and learning.
Every branch of psychology contributes something in Educational psychology.
Understanding the scope of other branches of psychology is important for the teacher.

19. Linkage between Educational psychology and other branches of psychology
Personality psychology
Organizational psychology
Experimental and Physiological psychology
Clinical and Counseling psychology
Developmental psychology
Social psychology

20. Bibliography
Coon, D 91988); Essentials of Psychology: Exploration and Application. West Publishing. St. Paul.
 Durojaiye, M. O. (1976); An Introduction to Educational Psychology; Evans Brothers, London.
 Elliott, S et al (2000); Educational Psychology: Effective Teaching, Effective Learning; McGraw Hill, Boston.
Gutkin, T & Reynolds, C (1990): The Handbook of School Psychology (2nd Edition). Wiley: New York
Kegan J &Segal,J (1995): Psychology: An Introduction, Harcout, NewYok

21. Malim, T & Birch, A (1998); Introductory Psychology; Palgrave, New York.
Papalia, D et al (2001); Human Development (eighth edition); McGraw Hill, Boston.
Passer, M & Smith, R (2001); Psychology: Frontiers and Applications, McGraw Hill Boston.
Phares, E.J and Chaplin, W. F (1997): Introduction to Personality (4th Edition). Longman: New York. 
Vander Zanden, J. W (1997); Psychology (6th Edition) Boston McGraw Hill.

22. 2. Educational Psychology is concerned with:
Testing Questions
1. The school head teacher has been able to resolve conflicts among teachers, the action that has made the school to have a maximum learning environment. Which one of the following branches of psychology has been applied?
Developmental psychology
Industrial/organizational psychology
Social psychology
Clinical psychology
2. Educational Psychology is concerned with:
Studying growth and development of children
Finding ways of facilitating teaching and learning
Classifying children according to their behaviour
Treating people suffering with emotional disorders

23. Managing classroom during teaching
3. Explain how you can apply psychology in choosing and using:
Learning materials
Managing classroom during teaching