Introduction
Psychology as a Science
Human wonder about other people's behaviors, the same or different, and they presume actions and reactions expressed outwardly may link to a certain mental process. The academic field of psychology tries to find answers to these questions in a scientific way. That is, Psychology is an empirical science that studies human behavior and its mental processes. Behavior is anything an organism does - any action we can observe and record. Mental processes are the internal, subjective experiences we infer from behavior - sensations, perceptions, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. The keyword in psychology's definition is science. As a science, psychology evaluates competing ideas with careful observation and rigorous analysis. For this purpose, it is very important to master methodology and have knowledge of statistics in psychological study.
There are many basic questions in our lives. Who am I? From where come our thought, feeling, or actions? To what extent are person-to-person differences in personality predisposed by one's gene or environments? What triggers our bad mood and good one? In what ways are we alike as members of the human family? How do we differ? We may also throw concrete questions. What do babies actually perceive and think? How do we know if we are going through a personal crisis? How can we help individuals in agony? How differently do people act when they are alone and when they are with company? How differently do people behave in cyberspace and real life? Which human factors influence on effective and safe operating of machine or system? These are some of the questions psychologists may explore. Because psychology is a science that seeks to answer all sorts of questions about us all: how we think, feel, and act.
There are many basic questions in our lives. Who am I? From where come our thought, feeling, or actions? To what extent are person-to-person differences in personality predisposed by one's gene or environments? What triggers our bad mood and good one? In what ways are we alike as members of the human family? How do we differ? We may also throw concrete questions. What do babies actually perceive and think? How do we know if we are going through a personal crisis? How can we help individuals in agony? How differently do people act when they are alone and when they are with company? How differently do people behave in cyberspace and real life? Which human factors influence on effective and safe operating of machine or system? These are some of the questions psychologists may explore. Because psychology is a science that seeks to answer all sorts of questions about us all: how we think, feel, and act.
Psychology's Subfields
Psychology is a collection of diverse subfields. Some psychologists do basic research, some do applied research, and some provide professional services. Psychology is a meeting ground for different disciplines and is thus a perfect home for those with wide-ranging interests. In their diverse activities, from biological experimentation to cultural comparisons, a common quest unites the tribe of psychology: to describe and understand behavior and the mind underlying it.
The main basic researches to build psychology's knowledge base are followings: biological psychology, cognitive psychology, language psychology, developmental psychology, emotional psychology, social psychology, and personality psychology etc. In addition, the applied researches to tackle practical problems are following: industrial/organizational psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, mental therapy, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, advertising psychology, and sports psychology etc.
The main basic researches to build psychology's knowledge base are followings: biological psychology, cognitive psychology, language psychology, developmental psychology, emotional psychology, social psychology, and personality psychology etc. In addition, the applied researches to tackle practical problems are following: industrial/organizational psychology, clinical psychology, counseling psychology, mental therapy, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, advertising psychology, and sports psychology etc.