Good Example Of What Is Psychology About? Essay

Since ancient times, human beings have been trying to understand themselves- their behaviors, memories, thought processes, reasoning, learning, memory, motivation, emotions and their body’s biological functioning. Their efforts led to the advent of a field of psychology. This field deals with scientific study of human mind and mental processes (Feldman, 2013). In order to explain, predict, and describe the mentioned processes, psychologists use scientific procedures.
In the history of psychology, the most important personality is William Wundt, a German, who is considered the father of psychology due to his pioneering efforts in understanding various psychological process (Walberg & Haertel, 1990). Since then, the field has seen growth in terms of psychologists and the areas of specialization. Therefore, students of psychology have a number of sub-fields to choose from that will in the long run end up in various careers.
Some of the common fields of psychology include clinical psychology that deals with study of psychological disorders and their treatment, behavioral genetics that studies inheritance of behavioral traits, behavioral neuroscience that investigates the biological foundations of a particular behavior, cognitive psychology that examines higher order mental processes, and educational psychology that studies pedagogical processes as related to psychology (Kalat, 2014). These sub-fields, amongst others, are applied in our daily lives to solve a myriad of problems.
The frequently encountered areas in which psychologists apply their knowledge are in motivation of students in teaching and learning processes by the teachers, in health sectors to treat various psychological disorders e.g. anxiety, and investigation of criminal activities. Psychologists also work in counselling centers, prisons, and in research organizations, just to name a few.
In conclusion, the field of psychology is essential in understanding ourselves and solving various human challenges. Furthermore, the various sub-fields of psychology helps in widening the scope of its applications. Therefore, the field is worth undertaking for an individual willing to explore job opportunities in various organizations.

References

Feldman, R. S. (2013). Essentials of understanding psychology (10th Ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers
Kalat, J. W. (2014). Introduction to Psychology (10th ed.). Wadsworth, OH: Cengage Learning.
Walberg, H. J. & Haertel, G. D. (1990). Educational psychology’s first century. Journal of educational psychology, 84(1), 6-19.