advising them about personal problems and career planning. Like clinical psychologists, psychiatrists also study the causes, treatment, and prevention of psychological disorders. How are clinical psychologists and psychiatrists different? A clinical psychologist has a degree in psychology, which includes intensive training in treating people with psychological disorders.
In contrast, a psychiatrist has a medical degree with years of specialised training in the treatment of psychological disorders. One important distinction is that psychiatrists can prescribe medications and give electroshock treatments whereas clinical psychologist cannot. Industrial/Organisational Psychology deals with workplace behaviour, focusing on both the workers and the organisations that employ them. Industrial/organisational psychologists are concerned with training employees, improving work conditions, and developing criteria for selecting employees.
For example, an organisational psychologist might recommend that a company may adopt a new management structure that would increase communication between managers and staff. The background of industrial and organisational psychologists often includes training in cognitive and social psychology. Educational Psychology studies how people of all ages learn. Educational psychologists primarily help develop instructional methods and materials used to train people in both educational and work settings.
They are also concerned with research on issues of relevance for education, counselling and learning problems. A related field, school psychology , focuses on designing programmes that promote intellectual, social, and emotional development of children, including those with special needs. They try to apply knowledge of psychology in a school setting. Sports Psychology applies psychological principles to improve sports performance by enhancing their motivation.
Sports psychology is a relatively new field but is gaining acceptance worldwide. Other Emerging Branches of Psychology : The interdisciplinary focus on research and application of psychology has led to the emergence of varied areas like aviation psychology, space psychology, military psychology, forensic psychology, rural psychology, engineering psychology, managerial psychology, community psychology, psychology of women, and political psychology, to name a few. Try the Activity . to reflect upon your interest areas in psychology.
T HEMES OF R ESEARCH AND A PPLICATIONS In the previous section, you got some idea of the various branches of psychology. If you were to ask a