WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGY?

Psychology is the science of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and
unconscious phenomena, as well as feeling and thought. It is an academic discipline of immense
scope.

Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. It encompasses the biological influences, social
pressures, and environmental factors that affect how people think, act, and feel.

Gaining a richer and deeper understanding of psychology can help people achieve insights into
their own actions as well as a better understanding of other people.

TYPES OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is a broad and diverse field that encompasses the study of human thought, behavior,
development, personality, emotion, motivation, and more. As a result, some different subfields
and specialty areas have emerged. The following are some of the major areas of research and
application within psychology:

 Abnormal psychology is the study of abnormal behavior and psychopathology. This

specialty area is focused on research and treatment of a variety of mental disorders and is
linked to psychotherapy and clinical psychology.
 Biological psychology (biopsychology) studies how biological processes influence the
mind and behavior. This area is closely linked to neuroscience and utilizes tools such as
MRI and PET scans to look at brain injury or brain abnormalities.
 Clinical psychology is focused on the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental
disorders.
 Cognitive psychology is the study of human thought processes including attention,
memory, perception, decision-making, problem-solving, and language acquisition.
 Comparative psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the study of
animal behavior.
 Developmental psychology is an area that looks at human growth and development over
the lifespan including cognitive abilities, morality, social functioning, identity, and other
life areas.
 Forensic psychology is an applied field focused on using psychological research and
principles in the legal and criminal justice system.
 Industrial-organizational psychology is a field that uses psychological research to
enhance work performance and select employees.
 Personality psychology focuses on understanding how personality develops as well as
the patterns of thoughts, behaviors, and characteristics that make each individual unique.
  Social psychology focuses on group behavior, social influences on individual behavior,
attitudes, prejudice, conformity, aggression, and related topics.

 What Are the Branches of Psychology?

Uses

The most obvious application for psychology is in the field of mental health where psychologists
use principles, research, and clinical findings to help clients manage and overcome symptoms of
mental distress and psychological illness. Some of the additional applications for psychology
include:

 Developing educational programs

 Ergonomics
 Informing public policy
 Mental health treatment
 Performance enhancement
 Personal health and well-being
 Psychological research
 Self-help
 Social program design
 Understanding child development

It is difficult to capture everything that psychology encompasses in just a brief definition, but
topics such as development, personality, thoughts, feelings, emotions, motivations, and social
behaviors represent just a portion of what psychology seeks to understand, predict, and explain.
 The Major Goals of Psychology

IMPACT OF PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is both an applied and academic field that benefits both individuals and society as a
whole. A large part of psychology is devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of mental health
issues, but that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the impact of psychology.

Some of the ways that psychology contributes to individuals and society include:

 Improving our understanding of why people behave as they do as well

 Understanding the different factors that can impact the human mind and behavior
 Understanding issues that impact health, daily life, and well-being
 Improving ergonomics to improve product design
 Creating safer and more efficient workspaces
 Helping motivate people to achieve their goals
  Improving productivity

Psychologists accomplish these things by using objective scientific methods to understand,

explain, and predict human behavior. Psychological studies are highly structured, beginning with
a hypothesis that is then empirically tested.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS

There's a lot of confusion out there about psychology. Unfortunately, such misconceptions about
psychology abound in part thanks to stereotyped portrayals of psychologists in popular media as
well as the diverse career paths of those holding psychology degrees.

Sure, there are psychologists who help solve crimes, and there are plenty of professionals who
help people deal with mental health issues. However, there are also psychologists who:

 Contribute to creating healthier workplaces

 Design and implement public health programs
 Research airplane safety
 Help design technology and computer programs
 Study military life and the psychological impact of combat

No matter where psychologists work, their primary goals are to help describe, explain, predict,
and influence human behavior.

Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social
world following a systematic methodology based on evidence.
Scientific methodology includes the following:

 Objective observation: Measurement and data (possibly although not necessarily using
mathematics as a tool)
 Evidence
 Experiment and/or observation as benchmarks for testing hypotheses
 Induction: reasoning to establish general rules or conclusions drawn from facts or examples
 Repetition
 Critical analysis
 Verification and testing: critical exposure to scrutiny, peer review and assessment

Why define science?

In 2009, the Science Council agreed that it wanted to be clearer when it talked about sound
science and science-based policy. The Science Council has “science” in its name but had not
previously clarified what this actually meant. In addition to developing a better understanding of
what types of organizations might become members, it was felt that the recent inclusion of the
advancement of science as a charitable activity in the 2006 Charities Act suggested that in that
context a definition would be useful, this was how this definition arose.

LIMITATION OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

The fact has been widely recognized that the present stagnation of social sciences is fraught with
dangers for the physical existence of humanity. This premise being accepted, the article sets out
to discover the factors hampering the development of social sciences. These, it is here suggested,
have three sources:

(1) the nature of the subject of enquiry;

(2) the nature of the empiric method and

(3) the limited applicability of the present‐day social sciences to the life of the private individual.

The difficulties attributable to the first source are two: the high degree of differentiation in
human psychology and the inventive capacity of the human mind. Both of them have the effect
of creating a pattern of behavior distinguished by great variety and rapidity of change. Ensuing,
to some extent, from the other two is the third characteristic, namely the fact that some of our
lines of behavior are incapable of being measured quantitatively. Under such conditions, the task
of scientific analysis is obviously extremely difficult, and this accounts for the strong “post‐ante”
bias inherent in most of our present‐day social sciences.

The empirical method of analysis, so much in vogue at present, has contributed two additional
difficulties of its own. These are: taxonomic approach and anti‐normative inclination. The former
is another way of saying that, unlike their predecessors in the 18th and 19th centuries, which
operated on the implied assumption of the perennial uniformity of human behaviour, the present‐
day social sciences have adopted the method of dealing with each situation as a unique case.
Consequently, the “social laws” derived from this procedure have only a limited validity.

It was the very simplicity of the social sciences of the preceding two centuries that made them
popular and gave them an influence over the actual shaping of public life, and, incidentally, it is
the lack of such simplicity that so effectually prevents the social sciences of today from winning
popularity. For it is manifest that, in the present state of social knowledge, an extremely
important aim of social science—probably the most important of all its aims—namely, to help
the individual to form a comprehensive and consistent outlook on life, is a dream of the very
distant future.
But, however formidable the difficulties in this field may be, the need for the social sciences of
our day to produce a coherent synthesis is most pressing. This is so because of (1) the decline in
the influence of religion, (2) the increasing capacity of man for self‐destruction and (3) the
existence of sharp political conflict between the communist and non‐communist worlds. This
necessity being admitted, a further problem arises. It is a question of popularizing the social
sciences. For, assuming that our social sciences are, or will shortly be, capable of serving as a
guide to the understanding of social life, it is obvious that unless such knowledge is widely
spread it will remain useless. Here the main stumbling‐block is the low earning power of social
sciences. Thus it would appear that the prospects of solving the problems connected with the
relative underdevelopment of our social knowledge are by no means hopeful.

WHAT IS LEARNING?
The word learning is used routinely in discussions about teaching in higher education, so it’s
important to clarify what we are referring to when we talk about learning. Educational
researchers agree that learning is much deeper than memorization and information recall. Deep
and long-lasting learning involves understanding, relating ideas and making connections between
prior and new knowledge, independent and critical thinking and ability to transfer knowledge to
new and different contexts.
It’s generally accepted that there are seven different learning styles. While most of us fall across
the spectrum of each of these styles, facilitating lessons that are engaging on all levels will give
your students the best chance of success.
Here we discuss strategies to improve engagement for students of each learning style.

1. Auditory and musical learners

Auditory learners like to hear solutions and examples explained to them, and may gravitate
towards music subjects and group learning as a way to understand information. Auditory learners
often have a high aptitude for distinguishing notes and tones in music and speech.
Qualities often associated with auditory learners include:

 Possessing a ‘good ear’ for music and tones

 May be distractible
 Likes to talk to self / others / hum / sing

Auditory learners might say words out loud or hum tones to better learn them. This strategy is
key for keeping musical learners engaged in class lessons.
How to engage an auditory and musical learner
If you’re a music teacher, you’re in luck. Auditory learners will be engaged from start to finish.
For other subjects however, engaging aural learners requires some tact and forethought.
The key here is your voice (and the voice of your students). Write down something on the
whiteboard, then read it out loud. Work on your delivery so you can express learning material in
interesting and engaging tones. Similarly, encourage your students to read back their own notes
to themselves (and the class). Hearing the sound of their own voice and the voices of others is
engaging to auditory learners, but it can be a great learning tool for students of all types.
Other strategies you can try include:

 Recording lessons for later listening and reference

 Encouraging auditory listeners to ‘teach others’ verbally
 Seating them away from distractions

2. Visual and spatial learner

Visual learners like diagrams, drawing out concepts, charts and processes. They learn by looking
at visual concepts, creating them, and watching other people create them. Visual learners might
be organised or creative in their application, and find things like colours and shapes useful.
Visual learners often possess the following qualities:

 Habitual doodlers / drawers

 Observant
 Not easily distracted
 Enjoys planning
 Prefers visual instructions

How to engage a visual and spatial learner

To engage a visual learner in the classroom you’ll want to include elements like maps, diagrams
and imagery. If you have a projector, try to include relevant images to go along with the course
content. In geography and history, maps are helpful, while for maths and logic, go with
diagrams.
Charts, images and diagrams will aid most students, so catering to visual learners doesn’t mean
you have to ignore other types. When it comes to self-driven learning, encourage the spatially
aware to sketch out their ideas, create mind maps and flowcharts. It should probably come to
them naturally, but a bit of prompting can always help.
Other tactics you can use include:
  Sitting visual learners near the front

 Using colour codes and cues

 Encouraging note taking and recopying notes during study

3. Verbal learner
Verbal learning includes both writing and speaking. Verbal learners might have a preference for
reading and writing, word games and poems. Verbal learners know the meanings of a broad
category of words, can use them effectively, and actively seek out new words to add to their
repertoire.
Some qualities associated with verbal learners include:

 Intellectual
 Bookworm
 Good story teller

Verbal learners often seek out careers in journalism and writing, administration, law and politics.

How to engage a verbal learner

Verbal learners will want to write down notes, talk about concepts and potentially present them
as well. The trick with verbal learners is knowing what adjacent types of learning apply to them
– are they an outgoing or more introspective verbal learner? Some may lean more to talking,
while others to reading and writing. Try to cater to preference while also using their verbal
abilities to push personal boundaries every once in awhile.

4. Logical and mathematical learner

Perhaps unsurprisingly, mathematical learners err towards careers in programming, accountancy,
science, research and other number and pattern-orientated careers. Some qualities associated
with mathematical learners include:

 Pattern recognition
 Good with numbers
 Predisposition towards grouping and classification

How to engage a logical and mathematical learner

Mathematical learners will greatly appreciate any type of learning that logically explains the
subject at hand. For maths, that’s easy. For other subjects, it requires some effort and planning:
  History and geography: Try to include statistics and classification taxonomy in your
lesson plans.
 Literature: Ask your students “What category of book is this?” Or in poetry, have them
learn the meters and explain them to other students.
 Music: Teach both musical instrument classification (woodwind etc) and the
mathematical relationships between notes.
 Art: A good starting point is the colour wheel and the effects of combining different
colours.

With logical students, always look to incorporate a system. If you’re unsure, include the students
in the development of that system. They’ll benefit from it greatly.

5. Physical or kinesthetic learner

Commonly called hands-on learners, kinesthetics prefer to physically engage with the materials
of the subject matter. Some qualities associated with physical learners include:

 Preference to ‘get their hands dirty’

 Energetic, may drum fingers or shake legs
 Action-orientated and outgoing
 May deprioritise reading and writing

Physical learners represent about 5% of the population, and gravitate towards careers with lots of
hands on work like emergency services, physical education and sports.

How to engage a physical or kinesthetic learner

Channeling the energy and excitability of physical learners is key to offering a good lesson.
Taking breaks so they can move around can help, but so can encouraging roleplay and movement
within the lesson itself.
Physical interaction is also important. The use of props and models will greatly benefit a
kinesthetic learner. Give them something to grab onto and they’ll process information much
better than from a book or whiteboard.
Other strategies to engage physical learners include:

 Encouraging movement during study (don’t punish them for fidgeting)

 Decluttering desks and surfaces so they can focus on learning

6. Social and interpersonal learner

Social learners show preference towards groups and collaboration. Some, but not all, will
gravitate towards leadership within a group. Some of the qualities often associated with this type
of learner include:

 Extraverted
 Good communicator
 Sensitive and empathetic

It’s important for educators to understand that not all social learners are extraverted or highly
communicative, and that they can also be visual, auditory, verbal, logical or physical learners.
The interpersonal aspect perhaps better describes the settings in which they are most
comfortable, rather than how they absorb information.
As such, teachers should be cognisant of the breadth of variation between different types of
social learners. For example, social doesn’t strictly mean verbal. Some social learners prefer to
listen in a group setting, rather than on their own