Psychology is a broad field

Evidence that psychology is a broad field

• There are at least 71 types of psychologists.
• There are 54 divisions/areas of the American Psychological Association). To deal with these different areas, some psychology departments have become departments of "Psychological Sciences." In other cases, departments have not been able to keep all those areas together in one department. Some departments have kept the areas that focus more on pure science in the Psychology department and have split the more applied areas into different departments, such as a the "Psychology Department" and one Counseling Psychology Department, an Industrial Psychology Department, or an Educational Psychology Department. Other departments have divided into a "Behavioral Neuroscience Department" (focusing on psychology as a natural science) and a "Psychology Department" (focusing on psychology as a social science). At the graduate school level, it is not uncommon for each sub-area of psychology to function as its own department.
• Psychology is the science that tries to describe, predict, explain, and control the behavior of non-human and human animals. As such, the following could be considered sub-fields of psychology:
  • Consumer behavior/Marketing: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control the behavior of consumers
  • Microeconomics: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control economic behavior/
  • Management Science: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control the behavior of workers
  • Political Science: Attempts to describe and predict the behavior of voters
  • Ethology: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control the behavior of non-human animals.
  • Education: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control the behavior of students
  • Communication: Attempts to describe, predict, explain, and control communication behavior.
• Problems attacked by psychologists: Almost all problems boil down to people's attitudes and actions and psychology studies people's attitudes and actions. For example, about 70% of the deaths in the U.S. for people between the ages of 10-24 involve behavior: murder, suicide, and accidents. Similarly, preventing and dealing with climate change ultimately depends on changing attitudes and actions. No wonder psychologists have been asked to get more involved in making people and the planet healthier.

Why is psychology so broad?

1. You operate at several different levels, so there are different levels of you that psychologists can study (As Shrek would say, "like an onion, you have layers"). Psychologists can study these layers, starting at almost skin level and then moving into what people would consider your heart.
1. Physiological reactions: Your body reacts to things. For example, your heart may speed up and your palms may get sweaty. In studying physiological reactions, psychologists may use the same instruments that biologists and medical doctors use.
2. Actions: You exercise, study, eat, etc. Psychologists who focus only on this area might believe that you are what you do.
3. Thoughts: Psychologists who focus only on this area might believe that you are what you think.
4. Feelings/Emotions: Psychologists who focus only on this area might, like some poets, believe that you are what you feel.
2. You are affected by many factors. You are a biological animal and a social animal who lives in a physical world. So, in a sense, you live in three worlds:
   1. The biological world: What happens to your brain, your body, and your hormones matters. Your mood and behavior are affected by chemicals, from caffeine to your body's own morphine. In addition, your genes also affect your behavior. Some of these genes, thanks to evolution has predisposed you and all humans to behave in certain ways (Listen to a podcast about how evolution may be affecting your mating and other behaviors) whereas other genes are partly responsible for your being unique.
   2. The social world: Most people find solitary confinement extremely unpleasant and many people risk their lives to text while driving.
   3. The physical world: Lack of light as well as unwanted noise are psychological harmful.

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