The 11 specialties of Psychology

If we think about it, our daily life is full of psychology. Every day we see how people act based on their emotions or their thoughts, what they know or what they anticipate and all this is psychology. But this science is very broad, and that is why we find different specialties of psychology.

Each specialty has an object of study, and focuses on a specific area. In this article we discuss the most relevant specialties and learn what they consist of.

The 11 specialties of Psychology

Since psychology is so broad, Psychologists usually specialize in a field of study specifically, through master’s degrees, postgraduate degrees, doctorates… But, what psychology specialties do we find? Let’s talk about the most relevant ones.

Clinical and health psychology

Clinical psychology is probably one of the best-known psychology specialties. In fact, it is the only official one that is accessed through the PIR exam, the Master of General Health Psychology or the corresponding health authorization.

It consists of research and intervention of psychological problems that affect people’s quality of life (for example: mood disorders, psychotic disorders…). It involves the evaluation of mental disorders, their diagnosis and treatment.

Educational and developmental psychology

This specialty or field of psychology is aimed at the learning processes of children. Its objective is to apply strategies that improve learning, as well as detect possible alterations or disorders in this area.

Within this specialization we find school psychologists, For example. They have a deeper understanding of developmental psychology and how children develop on a social, personal and emotional level.

Social psychology

Another specialization of psychology is social psychology. It emphasizes the social dimension of psychology, the collective, interpersonal relationships and groups.

It focuses on investigating how groups are formed, what processes appear in social relationships (for example, social influence, persuasion…). Social psychologists work primarily in the social field.

Community psychology

Community psychology derives from social psychology. It is focused on investigating and intervening on problems that affect specific communities.

Seeks to generate changes in the context of people who live in that community so that their quality of life improves. In addition, it promotes the participation of members of the community itself in its process.

Forensic psychology

Forensic psychology is focused on meeting the needs that arise in the context of the judicial system. Forensic psychologists collect, analyze and present psychological evidence that can influence judicial processes.

They work mainly in the penitentiary and legal fields. They also address issues of abuse.

Marketing psychology or neuromarketing

The psychology of marketing or neuromarketing arises from another of the specialties of psychology, that is, the psychology of organizations. It seeks to meet the needs of companies in the marketing sector.

Through it analyze the psychological processes that influence when purchasing, For example. It specializes in making organizations offer an attractive product to the customer.

Neuropsychology

Neuropsychology, another of the specialties of psychology, is the discipline that converges between neurology and psychology. Clinical neuropsychology studies the possible effects caused by an injurydamage or abnormal functioning in the structures of the central nervous system on cognitive, psychological and emotional processes.

Sexology

Sexology is the discipline that studies human sexual behavior from all its perspectives (phylogenetic, ontogenetic, sociocultural…), although, above all, from the psychological perspective. Furthermore, a sexologist can help treat relationship problems related to sexuality.

Sports psychology

Sports psychology has the objective of implement strategies that improve physical performance and psychological of athletes.

The sports psychologist works so that the psychological dynamics and emotional state of the athlete lead him to be in an optimal situation to make the most of his abilities.

Psychology of organizations and work

Another branch or specialty of psychology is the psychology of organizations and work. Through it, workers are investigated and intervened, with the aim of find useful strategies so that your level of performance is optimalas well as their well-being at work.

Basic and experimental psychology

Basic and experimental psychology focuses on investigating the most basic psychological processes of human behavior. These include: memory, attention, reasoning, decision making, planning… In a special way, it focuses on obtaining information about the most basic mechanisms on which these processes are based. It seeks to discover patterns that characterize human functioning.

As we see, psychology can be divided into several specialties, and that is why, if we are looking for a mental health professional, the ideal is that Let’s look for someone specialized in the subject that we want to work. We have talked about the most relevant ones, although we are talking about a living science and currently new specializations are still emerging.

You might be interested…