Human Psychology

Psychology Tips (Blaming is Valuable Blaming is Useless)

What is psychology?

·         Psychology: the science of the mind

·         How do psychologists study the mind?

·         Human behaviour: the raw data of psychology

·         Psychology and other disciplines

·         Branches of psychology

Psychology: the science of the mind

Psychology is the science of the mind. The human mind is the most complex machine on Earth. It is the source of all thought and behaviour.

How do psychologists study the mind?

But how can we study something as complex and mysterious as the mind? Even if we were to split open the skull of a willing volunteer and have a look inside, we would only see the gloopy grey matter of the brain. We cannot see someone thinking. Nor can we observe their emotions, or memories, or perceptions and dreams. So how do psychologists go about studying the mind?

In fact, psychologists adopt a similar approach to scientists in other fields. Nuclear physicists interested in the structure of atoms cannot observe protons, electrons and neutrons directly. Instead, they predict how these elements should behave and devise experiments to confirm or refute their expectations.

Human behaviour: the raw data of psychology

In a similar way, psychologists use human behaviour as a clue to the workings of the mind. Although we cannot observe the mind directly, everything we do, think, feel and say is determined by the functioning of the mind. So psychologists take human behaviour as the raw data for testing their theories about how the mind works.

Since the German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) opened the first experimental psychology lab in Leipzig in 1879, we have learned an enormous amount about the relationship between brain, mind and behaviour.

Psychology and other disciplines

Psychology lies at the intersection of many other different disciplines, including biology, medicine, linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and artificial intelligence (AI).

For example, neuropsychology is allied with biology, since the aim is to map different areas of the brain and explain how each underpins different brain functions like memory or language. Other branches of psychology are more closely connected with medicine. Health psychologists help people manage disease and pain. Similarly, clinical psychologists help alleviate the suffering caused by mental disorders.

Branches of psychology

Any attempt to explain why humans think and behave in the way that they do will inevitably be linked to one or another branch of psychology. The different disciplines of psychology are extremely wide-ranging. They include:

·         Clinical psychology

·         Cognitive psychology: memory

·         Cognitive psychology: intelligence

·         Developmental psychology

·         Evolutionary psychology

·         Forensic psychology

·         Health psychology

·         Neuropsychology

·         Occupational psychology

·         Social psychology

You can learn more about these disciplines by selecting from the list of links on the right hand side of the page.

What all these different approaches to psychology have in common is a desire to explain the behaviour of individuals based on the workings of the mind. And in every area, psychologists apply scientific methodology. They formulate theories, test hypotheses through observation and experiment, and analyse the findings with statistical techniques that help them identify important findings.

What do clinical psychologists do?

What they do

Clinical psychology aims to reduce psychological distress and to enhance and promote psychological well-being. A wide range of psychological difficulties may be dealt with, including anxiety, depression, relationship problems, learning disabilities, child and family problems and serious mental illness.
To assess a client, a clinical psychologist may undertake a clinical assessment using a variety of methods including psychometric tests, interviews and direct observation of behaviour. Assessment may lead to therapy, counseling or advice.

Where they work

Clinical Psychologists work largely in health and social care settings including hospitals, health centres, community mental health teams, child and adolescent mental health services and social services.

Who they work with

They usually work as part of a team with, for example, social workers, medical practitioners and other health professionals. Most clinical psychologists work in the National Health Service, which has a clearly defined career structure, but some work in private practice.
 Counselling Psychology

‘The best thing about counseling Psychology is the face –to –Face client work it’s real privilege to share in a complex process of change and deeply satisfying on a personal level .but I do so many other interesting things as well as therapy; with research.

What do Counselling psychologists do?

What they do

Counselling psychologists are a relatively new breed of professional applied psychologists concerned with the integration of psychological theory and research with therapeutic practice. The practice of Counselling Psychology requires a high level of self-awareness and competence in relating the skills and knowledge of personal and interpersonal dynamics to the therapeutic context.
Key tasks include:

• Assessment, including assessment of mental health needs, risk assessment and psychometric testing.
• Formulation; i.e. a psychological explanation of the genesis and maintenance of the psychological problem
• Planning and implementation of therapy
• Report writing and record keeping
• Evaluation of the outcome of therapy
• Supervision and training of other psychologists
• Multidisciplinary team work and team facilitation
• Service and organisational development
• Audit and evaluation
• Research and development
• Management of services

Where they work

Counselling psychologists work almost anywhere there are people. For instance counseling psychologists are currently employed in industry, commerce, the prison service and in all layers of education from primary school to university. About half of all counseling psychologists are employed to do clinical work in health and social care settings. Other career paths can be found in teaching and research for academic bodies. Counselling psychologists can also practice privately as organizational consultants.

Who they work with

Counselling psychologists may work directly with individuals, couples, families and groups, or act as consultants.

 Educational Psychology

‘As an educational Psychologist, I enjoy the stimulation and challenge of working closely with children, young people, teacher and parents. I believe that educational is a major force in increasing life Options.

What do Educational Psychologists do?

Educational psychologists tackle the problems encountered by young people in education, which may involve learning difficulties and social or emotional problems. They carry out a wide range of tasks with the aim of enhancing children's learning and enabling teachers to become more aware of the social factors affecting teaching and learning. Reports may be written about children for allocation of special educational places, or as part of court proceedings or children's panels.
Local education authorities employ the majority of educational psychologists, working in schools, colleges, nurseries and special units, primarily with teachers and parents. They regularly lease with other professionals from the departments of education, health and social services. A growing number work as independent or private consultants.
The work of an educational psychologist can either be directly with a child (assessing progress, giving counseling) or indirectly (through their work with parents, teachers and other professionals). Direct work involves some form of assessment to uncover the problem through consultation with professional colleagues, observation, interview, or use of test materials. Interventions might plan learning programmes and collaborative work with a teacher. Recommendations are then made to determine the most appropriate education provision for children experiencing educational difficulties. Indirect work requires consultation and careful discussion, as the psychologist's contribution needs to be seen as relevant to people who know little about psychology.
In their role within a local authority, educational psychologists are often called upon to advise or join working/consultation groups on issues concerned with organisation and policy planning. With their research background they are in an ideal and often unique position within the education authority to plan and carry out research activities.

What is relevant work experience and how do I get it?

Examples of settings in which relevant experience is likely to be gained include work as: a teacher, a graduate assistant in an Educational Psychology Service, a Learning Support Assistant, an Educational Social Worker, a Learning Mentor, a Speech and Language Therapist, a Care Worker, a worker in early years settings.
Voluntary experience of various kinds may assist applicants in demonstrating a breadth of relevant experience. Whatever kind of work has been done, courses will be primarily interested in what applicants have learnt from their experiences that is relevant to work as an educational psychologist, and how they have been able to apply the knowledge of psychology gained through first degrees.

Forensic Psychology

 ‘The best thing about forensic psychology is that it uses all psychology can offer to confront problem which really Matter; Some times you work at the extremes’

What do forensic psychologists do?

Forensic Psychology is devoted to psychological aspects of legal processes in courts. The term is also often used to refer to investigative and criminological psychology: applying psychological theory to criminal investigation, understanding psychological problems associated with criminal behaviour, and the treatment of criminals. Key tasks undertaken by forensic psychologists include piloting and implementing treatment programmes; modifying offender behaviour; responding to the changing needs of staff and prisoners; reducing stress for staff and prisoners; providing hard research evidence to support practice; undertaking statistical analysis for prisoner profiling; giving evidence in court; advising parole boards and mental health tribunals; crime analysis.
The largest single employer of forensic psychologists in the UK is HM Prison Service (which includes the Home Office Research and Development Unit as well as prisons). However, forensic psychologists can also be employed in the health service (including rehabilitation units and secure hospitals), the social service (including the police service, young offenders units, and the probation service), and in university departments or in private consultancy.
In the treatment of offenders, forensic psychologists are responsible for the development of appropriate programmes for rehabilitation. They may include anger management, social and cognitive skills training, and treatment for drug/and or alcohol addiction. In the support of prison staff, forensic psychologists may be responsible for the delivery of stress management or training on how to cope with understanding bullying, and techniques for hostage negotiation.

What is relevant work experience and how do I get it?

The universities offering the accredited Masters courses for Forensic Psychology will decide upon the type and nature of experience, if required. Identify the courses you are interested in and then approach the course tutors directly to see if they can provide you with a profile of they type of experience a successful applicant will have gained.

Health Psychology

‘Health and well –being are so important to most people it makes being a chartered health psychologist very exciting .the Media seem particularly keen on focusing on all the latest biomedical research ,but I see my work as equally important because it contributes to the prevention of serious conditions such as coronary heart disease, AIDS& cancer.

 What do health psychologists do?

Health psychologists work in a relatively new field of applied psychology. Psychological principles are used to promote changes in people's attitudes, behaviour and thinking about health and illness. The breadth of the discipline is far-reaching, including:

• the use of psychological theories and interventions to prevent damaging behaviours (such as smoking, drug abuse, poor diet), and the change health-related behaviour in community and workplace settings.
• promoting and protecting health by encouraging behaviours such as exercise, healthy dietary choice, teeth brushing, health checks/self examination
• health-related cognitions; investigating the processes which can explain, predict and change health and illness behaviours.
• processes influencing health care delivery; the nature and effects of communication between health care practitioners and patients, including interventions to improve communication, facilitate adherence, prepare for stressful medical procedures and so on;
• psychological aspects of illness; looking at the psychological impact of acute and chronic illness on individuals, families, and carers. Psychological interventions may be used to help promote self-management, facilitate coping with pain or illness, to improve quality of life, and to reduce disability and handicap.

What do neuropsychologists do?

The clinical side of neuropsychology overlaps with academic neuropsychology, which provides a scientific understanding of the relationship between brain and neuropsychological function. This in turn helps form the basis for assessment and rehabilitation of people with brain injury, or other neurological disease. Neuropsychologists work with people of all ages with neurological problems, which might include traumatic brain injury, stroke, toxic and metabolic disorders, tumours and neuro-degenerative diseases. Neuropsychologists require not only general clinical skills and knowledge of the broad range of mental health problems, but also a substantial degree of specialist knowledge in the neurosciences. Specialist skills are required in the assessment of neurological patients, and rehabilitation encompasses a broad range of specialist behavioral and cognitive interventions not only for the client, but also for the client's family and carers. Neuropsychologists are also to be commonly found in the management of rehabilitation facilities, and in individual case management.
Neuropsychologists most commonly work in:
Acute settings: working alongside neurosurgeons and neurologists and the allied disciplines, usually in a regional neurosciences centre. They are concerned with the early effects of trauma, neurosurgery and neurological disease
Rehabilitation centres: providing post-acute assessment, training and support for people who have sustained brain injury, or who have other neurological problems. The neuropsychologist will play a central role in the multidisciplinary team which aim to maximise recovery, minimise disability, and prepare the client for return to the community or to a residential placement.
Community services: performing a similar role as above but support those who have returned to community living
Experienced neuropsychologists also commonly act as expert witnesses for the Courts, and research is an important aspect of neuropsychological practice.

What do occupational psychologists do?

Occupational Psychology is concerned with the performance of people at work in training, how organisations function and how individuals and small groups behave at work. The aim is to increase the effectiveness of the organisation, and to improve the job satisfaction of the individual. The speciality is broader in scope and less formalised than most other areas of psychology, and it touches on the diverse fields including ergonomics, personnel management, and time management. Work can be in an advisory, teaching and research roles, and to a lesser extent, technical and administrative roles.
Occupational Psychologists often work for large companies (in both the private and public sectors), in government and public services, in management training centres and for private consultancies. They usually work alongside other professionals such as managers, trade union representatives, training offices and specialist staff from the firm or industry concerned.
The Civil Service is one of the largest single employers of occupational psychologists: the prison service, the Home Office, the Employment Department Group (including the Employment Service), the Ministry of Defence, and the Civil Service Commission all employ occupational psychologists.

What do Sport and Exercise psychologists do?

What they do

It is relatively rare for individuals to practice in both sport and exercise psychology; typically, though some exceptions exist, they specialise in one or the other.
Sport psychologists work with sports participants across a range of both team and individual sports and from amateur to elite levels of competition. The aim is predominately to help athletes prepare psychologically for competition and to deal with the psychological demands of both competition and training. Examples of the work they carry out include counselling referees to deal with the stressful and demanding aspects of their role, advising coaches on how to build cohesion within their squad of athletes and helping athletes to deal with the psychological and emotional consequences of sustaining an injury.
An exercise psychologist is primarily concerned with the application of psychology to increase exercise participation and motivational levels in the general public. Examples of the work they do include optimising the benefits that can be derived from exercise participation and helping individual clients with the implementation of goal-setting strategies.

Where they work

Sport and exercise psychologists work in a wide range of sport and exercise settings and with a diverse range of clients. Most sport psychologists combine consultancy work with teaching and research or psychological consultancy in other areas such as the clinical and occupational domains. Some sport psychologists do hold full-time positions with professional sports teams or national governing bodies and opportunities to work as a full-time sport psychologist are constantly increasing in number.
A similar scenario exists for exercise psychologists, with most practitioners combining consultancy with teaching and research careers. The work of exercise psychologists might involve GP exercise referral and setting up and evaluating exercise programmes in employment, prison and psychiatric contexts.
The work of a sport or exercise psychologist is centred on people and can be extremely varied. Although consultancy work may be office-based it is equally likely that consultants will work in field settings such as team premises, competition venues, clinical rehabilitation and recreational exercise settings

What do teachers and researchers of psychology do?

Teaching and research in psychology usually go hand in hand. Some teaching staff will have qualified in one of the applied psychological professions already mentioned. They may return to teaching to develop professional practice and conduct research, or simply to share their knowledge. All university lecturers are expected to help extend their subject by gathering psychological evidence on key research questions, and tell others what they have found by publishing articles.
Administration is a large part of a lecturers' life, and can take up a great deal of time. It includes student selection, devising new teaching programmes, sitting on committees, which allocate resources and co-ordinating aspects of the life of the department.
Many schools and sixth-form colleges of further education now offer psychology as a subject at GCSE, A level, A/S level and as part of a general studies programme. Teachers prepare students for published syllabuses set by the examining bodies, so their work is not as flexible as that of teachers of undergraduates. Nevertheless, there is considerable choice in what to offer within the syllabus and an enormous range of possible studies in practical and laboratory courses.
Lecturers and researchers work in universities, colleges and schools. 'Research scientists' may also work in research units (such as the MRC Applied Psychology Unit). However, few people are able to develop careers consisting solely of research.

What is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist?

Chartered Occupational Psychologists are concerned with the performance of people at work and in training, with developing an understanding of how organisations function and how individuals and groups behave at work. Their aim is to increase effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction at work. Their work is supervised by the British Psychological Society, which itself is Incorporated by Royal Charter.

The services of occupational psychologists are in increasing demand. Organisations are deeply concerned about the need to recruit, retain and realise the potential of their human resources on which success depends. Occupational psychologists are the best qualified group to advise on human resource strategies and solutions.

They are the only professional group to have a minimum of six years degree and postgraduate training specifically on how people behave individually and in organisations.

To qualify as a Chartered Psychologist it is essential to have a first degree in general psychology, and a Masters degree in Occupational Psychology, followed by intensive practical training under the supervision of an existing Chartered Occupational Psychologist.

Chartered Occupational Psychologists have the knowledge and skills to help organisations determine and implement the successful human resources strategies which will give them a competitive edge.

 

What does an Occupational Psychologist do?

The expertise of a Chartered Occupational Psychologist lies in identifying and realising the full potential of people and creating effective organisations.

No listing of the fields of occupational psychology is ever perfect or complete, as any area where psychology can contribute to the understanding and assistance of human beings at work (and increasingly on the borderlines before and after work, and between work and leisure) may raise the need for investigation, or may find an application for some advance in the wider field of psychology.

Members of the BPS Division of Occupational Psychology are required to establish their competence in several areas.

Occupational psychologists achieve their objectives by: ·

·         identifying abilities and developing potential - through using tests and job-relevant exercises at selection, and in career counselling

·         motivating people - in designing payment and reward systems, and advising on health and safety issues

·         assessing performance both on and off the job - in designing appraisal systems, advising on stress management, and in designing machines and computer systems that are easy to use

·         helping people and organisations adapt to change - advising on how to change attitudes and behaviours to improve customer service

·         designing effective organisations - advising on the best type of management systems, identifying effective human resources strategies, and designing jobs to fit peoples' skills.

Occupational psychologists can appear under many different guises; 'organisational psychology', 'ergonomics', 'applied psychology', 'industrial psychology', 'personnel management', 'time and stress management' and 'management consultancy'.

However, the majority of occupational psychologists work as general problem-solvers or facilitators across broad areas - such as organisational consultancy; or assessment and training; or ergonomics, health and safety.

Organisational Consultancy

Organisational change and development is a process designed to improve the general effectiveness of an organisation or to improve its ability to cope during periods of change. Occupational psychologists could be called on to help a company develop a new culture or image and then project that image to the outside world. They could also be involved in advising on how to create effective work groups, systems and structures within the organisation. Interpersonal relationships, groups and inter-group processes. Here occupational psychologists help people to develop the skills of leadership, teamwork, negotiation, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and effective communication.

Unemployment research looks at how individuals cope with unemployment, redundancy, retirement or job seeking. It includes looking at the alternatives to unemployment, redeployment, the problems of changing jobs or work locations, use of leisure time, and counselling. Industrial relations. Here the occupational psychologists will advise on negotiations with trade unions, and pay and incentive schemes. The emphasis is on improving relationships between management and employees.

 

Assessment and Training

 

Recruitment and Selection.

They can develop effective advertising methods, and use psychological tests to provide evaluations of candidates. They will also monitor and validate selection procedures, and design short listing and assessment methods which can identify candidates with the potential required for particular jobs. We have particular skill in Psychometric test and assessment centre design.

 

Training.

They can identify training needs, and develop and evaluate training programmes (particularly in how to get the best out of ourselves and others).

 

Appraisal.

They can identify key aspects of effective job performance, develop systems of appraisal which are fair and helpful to both the employee and employer, and advise on how to implement them successfully.

 

Attitude surveys and experimental research.

They use specialist skills to design and analyse surveys or morale, attitudes and values, to provide sound information on which strategic decisions can be based.

 

Vocational guidance and counselling.

By skilled use of psychometric tests and interviewing, an occupational psychologist can provide a person with a deeper understanding of his or her strengths, weaknesses and special interests.

Ergonomics, Health and Safety

Ergonomics is the science which explores and investigates the interaction of humans with their work environment and equipment. Occupational psychologists work with engineers and physiologists to analyse jobs, equipment and working environments taking human capabilities into account. This allows them to design machines which can be used more easily and effectively, and which allows employees to give their best performance.

Occupational health and safety ranges from the study of causes of accidents to methods of prevention. Stress management involves identifying the sources of stress, and personal and organisational methods of preventing and managing stress.

Equal Opportunities

Occupational Psychologists help to decide company personnel policy on the employment of women, the disabled, and ethnic minorities. They can design awareness training programmes for managers or training designed to help disadvantaged groups to overcome common obstacles.