Areas of Specialization Careers in Psychology

Clinical Psychologists ► Largest group ► Treat psychological problems  anxiety, depression, schizophrenia ► Trained to evaluate using interviews and psychological tests ► Work in hospitals, prisons, college clinics, private practices

Counseling Psychologists ► Treat adjustment problems  conflicts with family, teachers, employers, colleagues ► Help clients clarify goals, overcome problems, meet challenges ► Employed in businesses and college university counseling/testing centers

School Psychologists ► Work with students who have problems that interfere with learning  Learning disorders, peer group and family problems ► Administer intelligence and achievement tests ► Observe students in classroom to determine student placement

Educational Psychologists ► Focus on course planning and instructional methods  whole school system vs. individual student ► Assist in test preparation for national aptitude tests  ACT, SAT

Developmental Psychologists ► Study the changes that occur throughout a person’s life span  Physical  Emotional  Cognitive  Social

Personality Psychologists ► Identify characteristics or traits ► Study the influence of traits on behavior ► Interested in origin of psychological problems and disorders

Social Psychologists ► Concerned with people’s behavior in social situations  gender differences in given settings  attraction factors  group behavior/ conformity  prejudice/discrimination  aggression

Experimental Psychologists ► Conduct research into basic processes  sensation & perception  learning & memory  thinking & motivation ► Conduct basic research ► Investigates variety of behavioral processes in humans and animals

Industrial & Organizational Psychologists ► Concerned with relationship between people and their work environment ► Employed by business firms to improve working conditions and increase worker output  job satisfaction

Environmental Psychologists ► Focus on ways in which people influence and are influenced by physical environment ► Investigate effects of environment  temperature  noise  air pollution

Consumer Psychologists ► Study the behavior of shoppers to explain and predict behavior ► Work with advertisers to create effective marketing ads ► Advise store managers about store displays to attract customers

Forensic Psychologists ► Are concerned with how psychological problems give rise to criminal behavior ► Work within the criminal justice system  selecting police officers  help officers cope with stress  train officers

Health Psychologists ► Study the ways in which behavior and mental processes are related to physical health  effects of stress on health problems ► Help people adopt healthy behaviors  exercising

Sports Psychologists ► Work directly with athletes to increase motivation and enhance performance ► Techniques include  Visualization  Thought stopping  Confidence training  Fostering realistic goals/expectations  Fostering team community