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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology

An Exploration into the Subfields of Behavioral Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive

Psychology, and Experimental Psychology

Kayla J. Moffatt

Central Florida College

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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology

Psychology has made a major impact, not only in my life, but in the lives of my friends

and family as well. Out of all the subfields of psychology behavioral neuroscience, clinical

psychology, cognitive psychology, and experimental psychology interest me the most. These

fields delve into the mind; from the medical aspect, as well as behavior, perception, and higher

mental processes.

Behavioral neuroscience is a subfield of psychology that examines how biological

processes determine our behavior (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). “… [N]euroscientists consider how our

bodies influence our behavior” (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). A behavioral neuroscientist will then

consider this behavior “and its relation to perception, learning, memory, cognition, motivation,

and emotion” (American Psychological Association, 2010). “Behavioral neuroscientists [also]

study the brain in relation to behavior, its evolution, functions, abnormalities, and repair, as well

as its interactions with the immune system, cardiovascular system, and energy regulation

systems” (American Psychological Association, 2010). A behavior neuroscientist might, for

example, examine the link between certain sites in the brain and the muscle tremors of people

affected by Parkinson’s disease (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). One of my friends actually suffered, like

Martha Yasso (Feldman, 2009, p. 132), from sleep apnea; because of the advances in behavioral

neuroscience, he was able to finally explain his fatigue, and receive the help he needed.

“Clinical psychology deals with the study, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological

disorders” (Feldman, 2009, p. 8). According to Feldman (2009) clinical psychologist are trained

to diagnose and treat problems that can range from everyday life crises, to more extreme cases of

depression. There are even clinical psychologists that “research and investigate issues that vary
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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology
from indentifying the early signs of psychological disturbance to studying the relationship

between family communication patterns and psychological disorders” (Feldman, 2009, p. 8). Our

family will forever be grateful to the field of clinical psychology; because of the early detection

by a clinical psychologist, my uncle was able to be diagnosed will schizophrenia and receive the

treatment he needed to function in his life. Clinical psychologists might be curious, for example,

as to why some people learn to be afraid when they see a spider (Feldman, 2009, p. 168). My

mother actually suffers from arachnophobia. I feel that if she would see help, such as from

someone in the clinical psychology field, that she would be able to overcome her fear and lead a

more productive life.

Cognitive psychology is the study of “higher mental processes, including thinking,

memory, reasoning, problem solving, judging, decision making, and language” (Feldman, 2009,

p. 6). One example of how a cognitive psychologist might put these skills to use is to study what

survivors of a school shooting, like the Virginia Tech massacre, remembered about their

experiences (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). Or take Gregory Shultz and his bacteria-fighting polymers

that were chemically bonded to fabrics. “It’s a technology with an unusually wide variety of

uses, from underwear that doesn’t stink to hospital dressings that thwart infections” (Feldman,

2009, p.240). His ingenious idea stemmed from an elusive quality that marks successful

inventors: creativity (Feldman, 2009, p.240). Cognitive psychologists would focus on questions

like “Where did his creativity come from? ... [H]ow do people use information to devise

innovative solutions to problems? And how do people think about, understand, and, through

language, describe the world?” (Feldman, 2009, p.240). One of the great contributors to this area

of psychology would be Wilhelm Wundt of the late 19th century. “He considered psychology to

be the study of conscious experience.” (Feldman, 2009, p. 15). His perspective, which would
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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology
become known as structuralism, “…focused on uncovering the fundamental mental components

of perception, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and other kinds of mental states and activities

(Feldman, 2009, p.15).

The term experimental psychology is rather misleading, because every branch of

psychology uses experimental techniques (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). Experimental psychology is

actually the branch of psychology that “studies the processes of sensing, perceiving, learning,

and thinking about the world” (Feldman, 2009, p. 6). The experimental method in psychology

attempts to account for the activities of humans and the functional organization of mental

processes by manipulating variables that may give rise to behavior; it is primarily concerned with

discovering laws that describe relationships that are able to be manipulated (Encyclopedia

Britannica, 2010). Origins of how perception is organized dates back to the development of

Gestalt psychology in the early 1900s, and these psychologist have made substantial contribution

to our understand of perception (Feldman, 2009, p. 17). “Led by German scientists such as

Hermann Ebbinghaus and Max Wertheimer, gestalt psychologists proposed that “The whole is

different from the sum of its parts” -- that is, our perception, or understanding, of objects is

greater and more meaningful than the individual elements that make up our perceptions”

(Feldman, 2009, p.17)

As I further studied the aforementioned subfields, I found the clinical psychology to be

the most intriguing to myself, mainly due to the impact that the field has had in my life. Because

of Gregory Shultz, I have a newfound respect for the creative process and how his mind

perceived a situation that allowed him to develop such an amazing invention. I feel the Gestalt

psychology is one most intriguing to myself; and I feel I have become more aware of perception

and how it is organized in our brains. The impact that behavioral neuroscience, clinical
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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology
psychology, cognitive psychology, and experimental psychology make in our society I feel will

continue to grow immensely as we continue to research and explore these fields.

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An Exploration into Subfields of Psychology
References

Division 6: Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology. (2010). American

Psychological Association. Retrieved February 16, 2010, from American Psychological

Association Online: http://www.apa.org/about/division/div6.aspx.

Experimental psychology. (2010). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved February 16, 2010,

from Encyclopedia Britannica Online:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/198457/experimental-psychology.

Feldman, R. S. (2009). Essentials of Understanding Psychology, (8th edition). United States of

America: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.