Applied psychology
He came to America (Harvard) from Germany (Berlin, Laboratory of Stern), invited by William James, and, like many aspiring psychologists during the late 19th century, originally studied philosophy.
[1] In 1907 he wrote several magazine articles concerning legal aspects of testimony, confessions and courtroom procedures, which eventually developed into his book, On the Witness Stand.
But during the war, the armed forces and the Office of Strategic Services hired psychologists in droves to work on issues such as troop morale and propaganda design.
In 1990, the American Psychological Society held a Behavioral Science Summit and formed the "Human Capital Initiative", spanning schools, workplace productivity, drugs, violence, and community health.
[7] The Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology delves deeper into the many subsections that are used in correlation with this field and further explains the procedures that should be used in each of the respective industries.
[8] Business advertisers have long consulted psychologists in assessing what types of messages will most effectively induce a person to buy a particular product.
Using the psychological research methods and the findings in human's cognition, motivation, attitudes and decision making, those can help to design more persuasive advertisement.
Psychologists assess the effects of specific educational interventions: e.g., phonics versus whole language instruction in early reading attainment.
[16] Central to its practice are psychological assessment and psychotherapy, although clinical psychologists may also engage in research, teaching, consultation, forensic testimony, and program development and administration.
The work performed by clinical psychologists tends to be done inside various therapy models, all of which involve a formal relationship between professional and client—usually an individual, couple, family, or small group—that employs a set of procedures intended to form a therapeutic alliance, explore the nature of psychological problems, and encourage new ways of thinking, feeling, or behaving.
There has been a growing movement to integrate these various therapeutic approaches, especially with an increased understanding of issues regarding ethnicity, gender, spirituality, and sexual-orientation.
With the advent of more robust research findings regarding psychotherapy, there is growing evidence that most of the major therapies are about of equal effectiveness, with the key common element being a strong therapeutic alliance.
For example, a quiet environment is necessary for a classroom of students taking a test, but would not be needed or expected on a farm full of animals.
Psychologists are often called to testify as expert witnesses on issues such as the accuracy of memory, the reliability of police interrogation, and the appropriate course of action in child custody cases.
In addition to the applied practices, legal psychology also includes academic or empirical research on topics involving the relationship of law to human mental processes and behavior.
[28] Health psychologists generally work alongside other medical professionals in clinical settings, although many also teach and conduct research.
The field is concerned with identifying psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that give rise to health-related problems in people who work.
Examples of psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that OHP has investigated include amount of decision latitude[37] a worker can exercise and the supportiveness of supervisors.
Human factors and ergonomics is the study of how cognitive and psychological processes affect our interaction with tools, machines, and objects in the environment.
From simple things like the size of buttons and design of office chairs to layout of airplane cockpits, human factor psychologists, specializing in ergonomics, attempt to de-stress our everyday lives and sometimes even save them.
Human factor psychologists specializing in engineering psychology tend to take on slightly different projects than their ergonomic centered counterparts.
The inability of rapid and accurate corrections can sometimes lead to drastic consequences, as summed up by many stories in Set Phasers on Stun.
Some may see human factors as intuitive or a list of dos and don'ts, but in reality, human factor research strives to make sense of large piles of data to bring precise applications to product designs and systems to help people work more naturally, intuitively with the items of their surroundings.
For example, when developing requirements for a new job position, the recruiters are looking for an applicant with strong communication skills in multiple areas.
School psychologists are educated in child and adolescent development, learning theories, psychological and psycho-educational assessment, personality theories, therapeutic interventions, special education, psychology, consultation, child and adolescent psychopathology, and the ethical, legal and administrative codes of their profession.
One salient application for school psychology in today's world is responding to the unique challenges of increasingly multicultural classrooms.
Practitioners should be able to provide consultation and collaborate with other members of the educational community and confidently make decisions based on empirical research.
Tactics include education, disseminating information, organizing social movements, passing laws, and altering taxes to influence decisions.
For example, one strategy towards television programming combines social models in a soap opera with informational messages during advertising time.
Some of the most important skills taught are goal setting, relaxation, visualization, self-talk awareness and control, concentration, using rituals, attribution training, and periodization.
