SUBJECT MATTER OF PSYCHOLOGY

You may be interested to know that what psychologists study?

Psychologists address a wide range of issues related to mental and behavioural functioning. The knowledge so generated provides not only basic understanding, but also helps people to understand personal and social problems. This kind of effort is known as application. Human beings are biological as well as socio- cultural beings one who is growing and developing. Psychologists study how the biological system works and socio- cultural basis shape human behaviour.

Contemporary psychologists study these processes from a life span perspective. The scope of modern psychology is very wide. Modern psychology studies general, abnormal, child, adult, geriatric behaviour as well as animal behaviour. There are certain behaviours which can not be studied with human beings as a subject such behaviour are studied on animal subjects.

Behaviour is of two types : 1.Overt 2.Covert Both types of behaviour are studied in psychology. Apart from external variables there are certain organismic variables that affect human behaviour. These variables are also studied in psychology. Intervening variables are also studied. Various problems related to behaviour are subject matter of psychology. Some of them are as follows -:

SENSATION- Visual senstivity Visual Acuity After Image Colour Vision Colour Mixing Colour Contrast Auditory senstivity Pitch Loudness Masking of Tones Over Tones Localization of Sound Cutaneous Senstivity Warmth Pain Pressure

PERCEPTION AND ILLUSION- Figure and Ground Perceptual Organization Figural after-effect Perceptual Illusion Perceptual constancies Distance Perception Perception of Movement Time Perception

ATTENTION Span of Attention Division of Attention Distraction Selective Attention Sustained Attention

MOTOR RESPONSES, WORK AND FATIGUE Simple Reaction Time Complex Reaction Time Physical Fatigue Mental Fatigue Performance

FEELINGS AND EMOTION There are three aspects of feelings Cognitive Affective Conative Galvanic skin Responses Electro encephalogram Emotional Arousal Performance

MOTIVATION Hunger Thirst Sexual behaviour Social Motives

LEARNING Practice Classical Conditioning Instrumental Conditioning Discrimination Learning Vicarious Learning Appetitive conditioning Aversive Conditioning Verbal Learning Concept Learning

MEMORY AND FORGETTING Retention Recall Recognition Sensory memory Short term memory Long term memory Semantic memory Forgetting

BIOLOGICAL BASIS OF BEHAVIOUR Genes Chromosomes Nervous system Endocrine Glands

SOLVING THINKING AND PROBLEM BEHAVIOUR Anagrams Verbal Puzzles Construction Problems

INTELLIGENCE Psychologists try to explain Individual differences on the basis of intelligence. The factors affecting intelligence are studied. The factors leading to development of Intelligence are also studied.

PERSONALITY Individual differences are explained on basis of personality. Different types of personalities are studied. The factors affecting personality are also studied.

ABNORMALITY The behaviour that are more or less in degree than normal behaviour are also studied in psychology. Some people have bizarre behaviour such kind of behaviour is studied. Treatment of abnormal behaviour with the help of various therapies is also studied.