essay on human psychology

How Psychology Has Changed Our Minds

H ow does the mind work? How can we explain consciousness, development, memory, language, rationality, emotions, racism, kindness, and hatred—the most important and intimate aspects of ourselves?

Solving these mysteries is the business of experimental psychology, the field I’ve devoted my life to. But not everyone is satisfied with how we’re doing our job. Some feel that psychology isn’t scientific enough in its approach and believe that the real answers are going to come from studies of the brain. Out with psychology; in with neuroscience! Others reject a scientific approach altogether and seek answers from mystics, self-help celebrities, and internet gurus.

This skepticism is understandable. Our field is going through a replication crisis , as many of our best-known findings have failed to hold up. And, like any field, progress in psychology can be slow, and the answers we give are often tentative and qualified.

But I am bullish about psychology. The field has come up with some striking findings that shatter common-sense conceptions about how the mind works. I’ll tell you about four of them.

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1. babies know more than we could have imagined.

The idea that we start off with empty heads was an accepted view by many scholars. In 1890, William James described the mental life of a baby as “a blooming, buzzing confusion.” A century earlier, Jean-Jacques Rousseau made this point in harsher terms, saying that if a child were born in an adult body, “such a child-man would be a perfect idiot”

Maybe you believe this too—babies sure don’t seem very smart. But psychologists have employed clever methods to capitalize on the few things babies are good at, such as sucking on a pacifier and moving their eyes. This might not sound like much, but in the hands of clever researchers, these behaviours can reveal the secrets of the infant soul.

We have discovered an inborn system for reasoning about objects, one present in babies as young as researchers are able to test (and also present in species other than humans, such as newborn baby chicks). Babies know, for instance, that objects that go out of sight continue to exist.

We know that, early on, babies also have some understanding of people. Imagine a table with two different objects on it, and a hand reaching for one of them. Then the objects switch places. Adults know that hands are attached to people, and people have goals, and a reasonable goal for a person is to reach for a particular object, not to go to a specific location. Six-month-olds have the same expectation. They are even capable of rudimentary moral judgments. If you show them a character who helps someone and another character who gets in that person’s way, six-month-olds prefer the helper. When you look into the big eyes of a baby, there’s someone smart looking back.

2. Memory is not to be trusted

Some people believe that we make perfect recordings of the world.  Any memory can be recovered if we work hard enough at it, whether through self-reflection, hypnotic regression, or probing by a patient psychiatrist.

None of this is true. Memory is fuzzy and vague; much of what we experience never gets stored in our brains, and much of what is stored gets distorted over time. When we try to remember something, it’s not like a computer retrieving information; it’s more of a storytelling process—an on-the-fly reconstruction.

One way we know this is through studies where psychologists implant false memories in their subjects. Sometimes this is subtle—showing people a scene and later asking them “did you see children getting on the school bus?” makes them more likely, later, to remember a school bus, even if it wasn’t there. Sometimes it’s more heavy-duty. In one study, psychologists asked college students’ family members for information about events from their childhoods and interviewed students about their memories. The twist is that for each interview, one event—being lost in a shopping mall, nearly drowning, spilling punch on a bride’s parents during a wedding, being attacked by a vicious animal—was entirely fabricated by the researchers. Despite this, many of the subjects came to remember these false events as actually occurring.

This research has led to a revolution in the law. Memory research has helped us appreciate that police interrogations that are intended to retrieve memories can instead shape and create them. On a more personal level, it’s worth knowing—maybe when you’re arguing with your partner!—that you can be perfectly confident in a memory and yet entirely mistaken about it.

3. Consciousness is surprisingly limited

When you close your eyes and open them again, would you notice if everything changed?

One of the great discoveries of cognitive psychology finds that only a small fraction of sensory experience makes its way in; everything else is ignored and lost forever. In one famous study, reported in a paper titled “Gorillas in Our Midst,” subjects are shown a video in which people in white shirts and black shirts are standing in a hallway passing basketballs back and forth. The subjects’ task is to focus on the white shirts and count the passes they make. People don’t find this hard, but it does take all their attention. Here’s the twist: In the middle of the video someone dressed as a gorilla walks onto the scene, stops in the middle and pounds his chest, then walks off. About half of the subjects don’t see this at all, though the presence of the gorilla is screamingly obvious for anyone who is not told to focus on the passing of the basketballs.

We tend to be ignorant of these limitations. It feels like we are conscious of the world, not just a small sliver of it. It feels like we can attend to multiple things at the same time, rather than being forced to move our attention back and forth. Our limitations are harmless enough if we are listening to a podcast while mowing the lawn. But they can be fatal in cases where something needs our full attention, such as driving. Talking on the phone, even using a hands-free device, slows our reaction time on the road to an extent that is roughly the same as being legally intoxicated.

4. Insights from the new science of happiness

A few decades ago, a group of psychologists worried that there has been too much focus on the negative. We haven’t done enough research into what goes into a pleasant and meaningful and satisfying life. A new movement, known as positive psychology, emerged to change all this. And now we have a lot of data, some from studies of millions of people, that help us appreciate the conditions for human flourishing.

Some of the findings are common sense. Money does lead to happiness, both at the level of individuals (richer people are happier) and countries (citizens of richer countries are happier)—though there are diminishing returns once the numbers get high enough. Social connections are even more important; one study, published in the journal Science , found that being lonely has a worse effect on health than obesity and smoking.

Other findings are more surprising. Research into aging and happiness find that for many people, the 50s are the saddest period of their lives, and then happiness starts to rise—for many, the eighties are the happiest times of their lives.  Who would have thought?

Happiness researchers have also discovered a paradox. There is a strong relationship between thinking a lot about happiness and … being sad. The moral here is: don’t spend too much time pouring over the happiness research!

There are so many other findings that could have made the list, and there will be more in the future. I’m most excited by debates over how well deep learning (how ChatGPT and other AIs work) can work as a model for human thinking, as well in recent developments in clinical psychology, including trials of mind-altering drugs such as ketamine and psylocibin, as treatments for depression and anxiety. These are exciting times to be a psychologist.

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How to Write a Psychology Essay

Saul McLeod, PhD

Editor-in-Chief for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester

Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Learn about our Editorial Process

Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc

Associate Editor for Simply Psychology

BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education

Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.

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Before you write your essay, it’s important to analyse the task and understand exactly what the essay question is asking. Your lecturer may give you some advice – pay attention to this as it will help you plan your answer.

Next conduct preliminary reading based on your lecture notes. At this stage, it’s not crucial to have a robust understanding of key theories or studies, but you should at least have a general “gist” of the literature.

After reading, plan a response to the task. This plan could be in the form of a mind map, a summary table, or by writing a core statement (which encompasses the entire argument of your essay in just a few sentences).

After writing your plan, conduct supplementary reading, refine your plan, and make it more detailed.

It is tempting to skip these preliminary steps and write the first draft while reading at the same time. However, reading and planning will make the essay writing process easier, quicker, and ensure a higher quality essay is produced.

Components of a Good Essay

Now, let us look at what constitutes a good essay in psychology. There are a number of important features.

• Global Structure – structure the material to allow for a logical sequence of ideas. Each paragraph / statement should follow sensibly from its predecessor. The essay should “flow”. The introduction, main body and conclusion should all be linked.
• Each paragraph should comprise a main theme, which is illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).
• Knowledge and Understanding – recognize, recall, and show understanding of a range of scientific material that accurately reflects the main theoretical perspectives.
• Critical Evaluation – arguments should be supported by appropriate evidence and/or theory from the literature. Evidence of independent thinking, insight, and evaluation of the evidence.
• Quality of Written Communication – writing clearly and succinctly with appropriate use of paragraphs, spelling, and grammar. All sources are referenced accurately and in line with APA guidelines.

In the main body of the essay, every paragraph should demonstrate both knowledge and critical evaluation.

There should also be an appropriate balance between these two essay components. Try to aim for about a 60/40 split if possible.

Most students make the mistake of writing too much knowledge and not enough evaluation (which is the difficult bit).

It is best to structure your essay according to key themes. Themes are illustrated and developed through a number of points (supported by evidence).

Choose relevant points only, ones that most reveal the theme or help to make a convincing and interesting argument.

Knowledge and Understanding

Remember that an essay is simply a discussion / argument on paper. Don’t make the mistake of writing all the information you know regarding a particular topic.

You need to be concise, and clearly articulate your argument. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.

Each paragraph should have a purpose / theme, and make a number of points – which need to be support by high quality evidence. Be clear why each point is is relevant to the argument. It would be useful at the beginning of each paragraph if you explicitly outlined the theme being discussed (.e.g. cognitive development, social development etc.).

Try not to overuse quotations in your essays. It is more appropriate to use original content to demonstrate your understanding.

Psychology is a science so you must support your ideas with evidence (not your own personal opinion). If you are discussing a theory or research study make sure you cite the source of the information.

Note this is not the author of a textbook you have read – but the original source / author(s) of the theory or research study.

For example:

Bowlby (1951) claimed that mothering is almost useless if delayed until after two and a half to three years and, for most children, if delayed till after 12 months, i.e. there is a critical period.

Maslow (1943) stated that people are motivated to achieve certain needs. When one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fullfil the next one, and so on.

As a general rule, make sure there is at least one citation (i.e. name of psychologist and date of publication) in each paragraph.

Remember to answer the essay question. Underline the keywords in the essay title. Don’t make the mistake of simply writing everything you know of a particular topic, be selective. Each paragraph in your essay should contribute to answering the essay question.

Critical Evaluation

In simple terms, this means outlining the strengths and limitations of a theory or research study.

There are many ways you can critically evaluate:

Methodological evaluation of research

Is the study valid / reliable ? Is the sample biased, or can we generalize the findings to other populations? What are the strengths and limitations of the method used and data obtained?

Be careful to ensure that any methodological criticisms are justified and not trite.

Rather than hunting for weaknesses in every study; only highlight limitations that make you doubt the conclusions that the authors have drawn – e.g., where an alternative explanation might be equally likely because something hasn’t been adequately controlled.

Compare or contrast different theories

Outline how the theories are similar and how they differ. This could be two (or more) theories of personality / memory / child development etc. Also try to communicate the value of the theory / study.

Debates or perspectives

Refer to debates such as nature or nurture, reductionism vs. holism, or the perspectives in psychology . For example, would they agree or disagree with a theory or the findings of the study?

What are the ethical issues of the research?

Does a study involve ethical issues such as deception, privacy, psychological or physical harm?

Gender bias

If research is biased towards men or women it does not provide a clear view of the behavior that has been studied. A dominantly male perspective is known as an androcentric bias.

Cultural bias

Is the theory / study ethnocentric? Psychology is predominantly a white, Euro-American enterprise. In some texts, over 90% of studies have US participants, who are predominantly white and middle class.

Does the theory or study being discussed judge other cultures by Western standards?

Animal Research

This raises the issue of whether it’s morally and/or scientifically right to use animals. The main criterion is that benefits must outweigh costs. But benefits are almost always to humans and costs to animals.

Animal research also raises the issue of extrapolation. Can we generalize from studies on animals to humans as their anatomy & physiology is different from humans?

The PEC System

It is very important to elaborate on your evaluation. Don’t just write a shopping list of brief (one or two sentence) evaluation points.

Instead, make sure you expand on your points, remember, quality of evaluation is most important than quantity.

When you are writing an evaluation paragraph, use the PEC system.

• Make your P oint.
• E xplain how and why the point is relevant.
• Discuss the C onsequences / implications of the theory or study. Are they positive or negative?

For Example

• Point: It is argued that psychoanalytic therapy is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority.
• Explain: Because psychoanalytic therapy involves talking and gaining insight, and is costly and time-consuming, it is argued that it is only of benefit to an articulate, intelligent, affluent minority. Evidence suggests psychoanalytic therapy works best if the client is motivated and has a positive attitude.
• Consequences: A depressed client’s apathy, flat emotional state, and lack of motivation limit the appropriateness of psychoanalytic therapy for depression.

Furthermore, the levels of dependency of depressed clients mean that transference is more likely to develop.

Using Research Studies in your Essays

Research studies can either be knowledge or evaluation.

• If you refer to the procedures and findings of a study, this shows knowledge and understanding.
• If you comment on what the studies shows, and what it supports and challenges about the theory in question, this shows evaluation.

Writing an Introduction

It is often best to write your introduction when you have finished the main body of the essay, so that you have a good understanding of the topic area.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your introduction.

Ideally, the introduction should;

Identify the subject of the essay and define the key terms. Highlight the major issues which “lie behind” the question. Let the reader know how you will focus your essay by identifying the main themes to be discussed. “Signpost” the essay’s key argument, (and, if possible, how this argument is structured).

Introductions are very important as first impressions count and they can create a h alo effect in the mind of the lecturer grading your essay. If you start off well then you are more likely to be forgiven for the odd mistake later one.

Writing a Conclusion

So many students either forget to write a conclusion or fail to give it the attention it deserves.

If there is a word count for your essay try to devote 10% of this to your conclusion.

Ideally the conclusion should summarize the key themes / arguments of your essay. State the take home message – don’t sit on the fence, instead weigh up the evidence presented in the essay and make a decision which side of the argument has more support.

Also, you might like to suggest what future research may need to be conducted and why (read the discussion section of journal articles for this).

Don”t include new information / arguments (only information discussed in the main body of the essay).

If you are unsure of what to write read the essay question and answer it in one paragraph.

Points that unite or embrace several themes can be used to great effect as part of your conclusion.

The Importance of Flow

Obviously, what you write is important, but how you communicate your ideas / arguments has a significant influence on your overall grade. Most students may have similar information / content in their essays, but the better students communicate this information concisely and articulately.

When you have finished the first draft of your essay you must check if it “flows”. This is an important feature of quality of communication (along with spelling and grammar).

This means that the paragraphs follow a logical order (like the chapters in a novel). Have a global structure with themes arranged in a way that allows for a logical sequence of ideas. You might want to rearrange (cut and paste) paragraphs to a different position in your essay if they don”t appear to fit in with the essay structure.

To improve the flow of your essay make sure the last sentence of one paragraph links to first sentence of the next paragraph. This will help the essay flow and make it easier to read.

Finally, only repeat citations when it is unclear which study / theory you are discussing. Repeating citations unnecessarily disrupts the flow of an essay.

Referencing

The reference section is the list of all the sources cited in the essay (in alphabetical order). It is not a bibliography (a list of the books you used).

In simple terms every time you cite/refer to a name (and date) of a psychologist you need to reference the original source of the information.

If you have been using textbooks this is easy as the references are usually at the back of the book and you can just copy them down. If you have been using websites, then you may have a problem as they might not provide a reference section for you to copy.

References need to be set out APA style :

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work . Location: Publisher.

Journal Articles

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Article title. Journal Title, volume number (issue number), page numbers

A simple way to write your reference section is use Google scholar . Just type the name and date of the psychologist in the search box and click on the “cite” link.

Next, copy and paste the APA reference into the reference section of your essay.

Once again, remember that references need to be in alphabetical order according to surname.

How to Write a Great Psychology Essay

Categories Psychology Education

Writing a great psychology essay takes skill. You need good research skills to provide an adequate empirical background. You also need to put your analytical skills to work to evaluate the research and then build a coherent argument. If you are not used to writing psychology essays, it can be a little challenging at first (especially if you are also learning how to use APA format).

Remember, the skill of writing an exceptional psychology essay lies not only in presenting information, but also in synthesizing and explaining it effectively. If you need to write a psychology essay for a class, here are some tips to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways

• Craft a strong thesis statement highlighting the main points of your psychology essay.
• Incorporate research studies to support arguments and critically evaluate their validity and reliability.
• Structure the essay with a clear introduction, focused body paragraphs, and a compelling conclusion.
• Include critical analysis by evaluating research methodologies, strengths, weaknesses, and ethical considerations.

What to Include in an APA Format Essay

To craft a great psychology essay, it’s important to make sure you follow the right format. While your instructor may have specific instructions, the typical format for an essay includes the following sections:

• The title page
• The abstract
• The introduction
• The main body
• The reference section

Mastering the key components of a psychology essay is vital for crafting a compelling and academically sound piece of writing. To start, a good introduction sets the stage for your essay, providing a clear overview of what will be discussed.

Moving on to the main body, each paragraph should focus on a main theme, supported by evidence from research studies published in peer-reviewed journals. It’s pivotal to critically evaluate these studies, considering their validity, reliability, and limitations to strengthen your arguments.

Incorporating research studies not only adds credibility to your essay but also demonstrates a deep understanding of theoretical perspectives in psychology.

The Structure of a Psychology Essay

Each section of a psychology essay should also follow a specific format:

The Title Page

The title page is the first impression of your essay, and it should be formatted according to APA guidelines. It typically includes:

• The title of your essay : Make sure it’s concise, descriptive, and gives the reader an idea of its content.
• Your name : Place your full name below the title.
• Institutional affiliation : This usually refers to your university or college.
• Course number and name : Include the course for which the essay is being written.
• Instructor’s name : Write the name of your instructor.
• Due date : Indicate the date when the essay is due.

The Abstract

The abstract is a brief summary of your essay, typically around 150-250 words. It should provide a snapshot of the main points and findings. Key elements include:

• Research topic : Briefly describe what your essay is about.
• Research questions : Outline the main questions your essay addresses.
• Methodology : Summarize the methods used to gather information or conduct research.
• Results : Highlight the key findings.
• Conclusion : Provide a concise conclusion or the implications of your findings.

The Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for your essay, providing context and outlining the main points. It should include:

• Hook : Start with an interesting fact, quote, or anecdote to grab the reader’s attention.
• Background information : Provide necessary context or background information on your topic.
• Thesis statement : Clearly state the main argument or purpose of your essay.
• Overview of structure : Briefly outline the structure of your essay to give the reader a roadmap.

The Main Body

The main body is the core of your essay, where you present your arguments, evidence, and analysis. It should be well-organized and divided into sections with subheadings if necessary. Each section should include:

• Topic sentences : Start each paragraph with a clear topic sentence that introduces the main idea.
• Evidence : Provide evidence to support your arguments, such as data, quotes, or studies.
• Analysis : Analyze the evidence and explain how it supports your thesis.
• Transitions : Use transitions to ensure a smooth flow between paragraphs and sections.

The Reference Section

The reference section is crucial for giving credit to the sources you used and for allowing readers to locate the sources themselves. It should follow APA format and include:

• Alphabetical order : List all sources alphabetically by the author’s last name.
• Proper citation format : Follow APA guidelines for formatting each type of source (books, articles, websites, etc.).
• Hanging indent : Ensure that each reference entry has a hanging indent.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your psychology essay is well-structured, informative, and adheres to APA format.

Using Research in Your Psychology Essay

To strengthen the arguments in your psychology essay, it’s essential to incorporate relevant research studies that provide credibility and depth to your analysis. Utilizing research studies not only enhances the validity of your points but also demonstrates a deeper understanding of the topic at hand.

When integrating research into your essay, remember to include citations for each study referenced to give proper credit and allow readers to explore the sources further.

It is also important to evaluate the research studies you include to assess their validity, reliability, and any ethical considerations involved. This helps you determine the trustworthiness of the findings and whether they align with your argument.

Be sure to discuss any ethical concerns, such as participant deception or potential harm, and showcase a thoughtful approach to utilizing research in your essay.

Analyzing the Research Critically

When writing a psychology essay, using high-quality research sources and analyzing them critically is crucial. This not only strengthens your arguments but also ensures the credibility and reliability of your work. Here are some guidelines to help you critically analyze sources and use them appropriately:

Evaluating the Credibility of Sources

• Authorship : Check the credentials of the author. Are they an expert in the field? Do they have relevant qualifications or affiliations with reputable institutions?
• Publication Source : Determine where the research was published. Peer-reviewed journals, academic books, and respected organizations are considered reliable sources.
• Date of Publication : Ensure the research is current and up-to-date. In psychology, recent studies are often more relevant as they reflect the latest findings and theories.
• Citations and References : Look at how often the source is cited by other scholars. A frequently cited source is generally more credible.

Assessing the Quality of the Research

• Research Design and Methodology : Evaluate the research design. Is it appropriate for the study’s aims? Consider the sample size, controls, and methods used.
• Data Analysis : Check how the data was analyzed. Are the statistical methods sound and appropriate? Were the results interpreted correctly?
• Bias and Limitations : Identify any potential biases or limitations in the study. Authors should acknowledge these in their discussion.

Synthesizing Information from Multiple Sources

• Comparing Findings : Compare findings from different sources to identify patterns, trends, or discrepancies. This can help you understand the broader context and the range of perspectives on your topic.
• Integrating Evidence : Integrate evidence from various sources to build a comprehensive argument. Use multiple pieces of evidence to support each point or counterpoint in your essay.

Citing Sources Appropriately

• In-Text Citations : Follow APA guidelines for in-text citations. Include the author’s last name and the year of publication (e.g., Smith, 2020).
• Direct Quotes and Paraphrasing : When directly quoting, use quotation marks and provide a page number. For paraphrasing, ensure you rephrase the original text significantly and still provide an in-text citation.
• Reference List : Include a complete reference list at the end of your essay, formatted according to APA guidelines.

Using Sources to Support Your Argument

• Relevance : Ensure each source directly relates to your thesis or the specific point you are discussing. Irrelevant information can distract from your argument.
• Strength of Evidence : Use the strongest and most persuasive evidence available. Prioritize high-quality, peer-reviewed studies over less reliable sources.
• Balance : Present a balanced view by including evidence that supports and opposes your thesis. Acknowledging counterarguments demonstrates thorough research and critical thinking.

By critically analyzing research sources and using them appropriately, you can enhance the quality and credibility of your psychology essay. This approach ensures that your arguments are well-supported, your analysis is thorough, and your work adheres to academic standards.

Putting the Finishing Touches on Your Psychology Essay

Once you have a basic grasp of the topic and have written a rough draft of your psychology essay, the next step is to polish it up and ensure it is ready to turn in. To perfect your essay structure, consider the following:

• Make sure your topic is well-defined: Make sure your essay topic is specific and focused to provide a clear direction for your writing.
• Check that you are highlighting a main point in each paragraph: Commence each paragraph with a topic sentence that encapsulates the main idea you’ll discuss.
• Revise and refine your first draft: Take the time to review and refine your initial draft, guaranteeing that each section flows logically into the next and that your arguments are well-supported. ( Tip: Ask a friend of classmate to read through it to catch any typos or errors you might have missed. )
• Check your APA format : Use the APA publication manual to double-check that all your sources are cited and referenced correctly.

Creating an amazing psychology essay requires a compelling introduction, evidence-based arguments, a strong thesis statement, critical analysis, and a well-structured essay.

By incorporating research from peer-reviewed journals, evaluating studies for validity and reliability, and considering differing viewpoints and ethical considerations, you can craft a powerful and insightful piece that showcases your understanding of the topic.

With attention to detail and logical flow, your psychology essay will captivate and inform your readers effectively.

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• Introduction

Psychoanalytic theories

• Piaget’s theory
• Learning theory
• The newborn infant
• Determinants of attention
• Piaget’s observations
• Vocalizations
• Physical growth and development
• Temperament
• Symbolic ability and imitation
• The makeup of intelligence
• Personality traits
• Self-awareness and empathy
• A moral sense
• Self-concept, or identity
• Peer socialization
• Problems in development
• Parents and the socialization of the child
• Physiological aspects
• The social context
• Personality
• Central nervous system processing
• Personality and social development
• Conclusions

human behaviour

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• Table Of Contents

human behaviour , the potential and expressed capacity for physical, mental, and social activity during the phases of human life.

Humans, like other animal species, have a typical life course that consists of successive phases of growth, each of which is characterized by a distinct set of physical, physiological, and behavioral features. These phases are prenatal life, infancy , childhood , adolescence , and adulthood (including old age). Human development , or developmental psychology , is a field of study that attempts to describe and explain the changes in human cognitive , emotional, and behavioral capabilities and functioning over the entire life span , from the fetus to old age.

Most scientific research on human development has concentrated on the period from birth through early adolescence, owing to both the rapidity and magnitude of the psychological changes observed during those phases and to the fact that they culminate in the optimum mental functioning of early adulthood. A primary motivation of many investigators in the field has been to determine how the culminating mental abilities of adulthood were reached during the preceding phases. This essay will concentrate, therefore, on human development during the first 12 years of life.

This article discusses the development of human behaviour. For treatment of biological development, see human development . For further treatment of particular facets of behavioral development, see emotion ; learning theory ; motivation ; perception ; personality ; and sexual behaviour, human . Various disorders with significant behavioral manifestations are discussed in mental disorder .

Theories of development

The systematic study of children is less than 200 years old, and the vast majority of its research has been published since the mid-1940s. Basic philosophical differences over the fundamental nature of children and their growth occupied psychologists during much of the 20th century. The most important of such controversies concerned the relative importance of genetic endowment and environment , or “nature” and “nurture,” in determining development during infancy and childhood. Most researchers came to recognize, however, that it is the interaction of inborn biological factors with external factors, rather than the mutually exclusive action or predominance of one or the other force, that guides and influences human development . The advances in cognition , emotion , and behaviour that normally occur at certain points in the life span require both maturation (i.e., genetically driven biological changes in the central nervous system ) and events, experiences, and influences in the physical and social environment. Generally, maturation by itself cannot cause a psychological function to emerge; it does, however, permit such a function to occur and sets limits on its earliest time of appearance.

Three prominent theories of human development emerged in the 20th century, each addressing different aspects of psychological growth. In retrospect, these and other theories seem to have been neither logically rigorous nor able to account for both intellectual and emotional growth within the same framework. Research in the field has thus tended to be descriptive, since developmental psychology lacks a tight net of interlocking theoretical propositions that reliably permit satisfying explanations.

Early psychoanalytic theories of human behaviour were set forth most notably by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud . Freud’s ideas were influenced by Charles Darwin ’s theory of evolution and by the physical concept of energy as applied to the central nervous system . Freud’s most basic hypothesis was that each child is born with a source of basic psychological energy called libido . Further, each child’s libido becomes successively focused on various parts of the body (in addition to people and objects) in the course of his or her emotional development . During the first postnatal year, libido is initially focused on the mouth and its activities; nursing enables the infant to derive gratification through a pleasurable reduction of tension in the oral region. Freud called this the oral stage of development. During the second year, the source of excitation is said to shift to the anal area, and the start of toilet training leads the child to invest libido in the anal functions. Freud called this period of development the anal stage . During the period from three through six years, the child’s attention is attracted to sensations from the genitals, and Freud called this stage the phallic stage . The half dozen years before puberty are called the latency stage . During the final and so-called genital stage of development, mature gratification is sought in a heterosexual love relationship with another. Freud believed that adult emotional problems result from either deprivation or excessive gratification during the oral, anal, or phallic stages. A child with libido fixated at one of these stages would in adulthood show specific neurotic symptoms, such as anxiety .

(Read Sigmund Freud’s 1926 Britannica essay on psychoanalysis.)

Freud devised an influential theory of personality structure. According to him, a wholly unconscious mental structure called the id contains a person’s inborn, inherited drives and instinctual forces and is closely identified with his or her basic psychological energy (libido). During infancy and childhood, the ego , which is the reality-oriented portion of the personality, develops to balance and complement the id. The ego utilizes a variety of conscious and unconscious mental processes to try to satisfy id instincts while also trying to maintain the individual comfortably in relation to the environment. Although id impulses are constantly directed toward obtaining immediate gratification of one’s major instinctual drives (sex, affection, aggression, self-preservation), the ego functions to set limits on this process. In Freud’s language, as the child grows, the reality principle gradually begins to control the pleasure principle ; the child learns that the environment does not always permit immediate gratification. Child development , according to Freud, is thus primarily concerned with the emergence of the functions of the ego, which is responsible for channeling the discharge of fundamental drives and for controlling intellectual and perceptual functions in the process of negotiating realistically with the outside world.

Although Freud made great contributions to psychological theory—particularly in his concept of unconscious urges and motivations—his elegant concepts cannot be verified through scientific experimentation and empirical observation. But his concentration on emotional development in early childhood influenced even those schools of thought that rejected his theories. The belief that personality is affected by both biological and psychosocial forces operating principally within the family, with the major foundations being laid early in life, continues to prove fruitful in research on infant and child development.

Freud’s emphasis on biological and psychosexual motives in personality development was modified by German-born American psychoanalyst Erik Erikson to include psychosocial and social factors. Erikson viewed emotional development over the life span as a sequence of stages during which there occur important inner conflicts whose successful resolution depends on both the child and his or her environment. These conflicts can be thought of as interactions between instinctual drives and motives on the one hand and social and other external factors on the other. Erikson evolved eight stages of development, the first four of which are: (1) infancy, trust versus mistrust, (2) early childhood, autonomy versus shame and doubt, (3) preschool, initiative versus guilt, and (4) school age, industry versus inferiority. Conflicts at any one stage must be resolved if personality problems are to be avoided. (Erikson’s developmental stages during adulthood are discussed below in the section Development in adulthood and old age .)

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What are the different kinds of psychology?

Photo: A huge part of your brain is devoted to processing information gathered by your eyes.

Photo: Mirror neurons? Sometimes we mimic one another's behavioral unconsciously, such as when two friends stand next to one another and, quite unawares, adopt exactly the same posture. Psychologists think our brains contain "mirror neurons," which are activated both when we do things and when we see other people doing those things. That encourages us to copy other people's behavior, and possibly explains how we feel empathy with others. [3] Photo by Kasey Close courtesy of US Navy and Wikimedia Commons .

Cognitive psychology

Artwork: Ulric Neisser's famous caricature of cognitive psychology from his 1976 book Cognition and Reality .

Photo: The psychology of typography: Thanks to things you've read and seen previously, you read words printed in different fonts (typefaces) with a slightly different meaning and emotion: elegant, relaxed, friendly, imperative, hostile, or whatever it might be. You can emphasize a message you want to get across by choosing the most appropriate font. That's one of the key principles of graphic design—and it happens in your mind, not on the page.

Intelligence

Neuropsychology.

Photo: Brain scanners have revolutionized psychology. By showing up the activity inside our brains when we think certain thoughts or do certain things, they can help to reveal which areas of the brain do what. Photo by courtesy of Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (CC) and US National Institutes of Health (NIH) Image Gallery .

Abnormal psychology

Photo: Psychologists are helping computer scientists to develop emotional robots like this one, pictured at Think Tank, the science museum in Birmingham, England.

How will psychology develop in future?

A brief history of psychology.

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Introductions, more detailed introductions.

• A History of Psychiatry by Edward Shorter. John Wiley & Sons, 1997. A very readable account of how psychiatry developed into a scientific branch of medicine. Quite an opionated book, but none the worse for that.
• Psychology: The Science of Mental Life by George Miller. Penguin, 1991. This classic introduction (originally published in 1962) interweaves key psychology topics with short biographies of key figures. It's quite dated now, but still worth reading.

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References ↑    this split between "experimental psychology" and "social psychology" dates back to wilhelm wundt, one of the founding fathers of the science. according to wundt, at least in the words of george miller, writing in psychology: the science of mental life (p.38), experimental psychology dealt with "the simpler mental functions—sensation, perception, memory, simple feelings— [and] can be studied by laboratory experiments," while "the higher mental processes involved in human thinking... can be explored only by the nonexperimental methods of anthropology, sociology, and social psychology." of course, today, we can see a lot wrong with this, but the experimental-social split influenced academic psychology for much of the 20th century. for example, until quite recently, at cambridge university in england, where i studied, the main psychology department referred to itself as the "department of experimental psychology" and kept a wary distance from the entirely separate "department of social and political sciences," where all the social psychology happened. thankfully, cambridge now has a unified "department of psychology." (miller's quote about the defensiveness of social psychology can be found on p.95 of the same book.) ↑    if you search around, online and in books, you'll find wildly varying estimates saying that vision accounts for anything from 20–90 percent of our brain's activity. why such different answers they don't all refer to exactly the same thing. some are referring to the size of the visual cortex, some count any part of the brain involved in vision, others refer to numbers of neurons, and so on. and what, in any case, do we mean by "vision" ↑    mirror neurons are reviewed at length in what we know currently about mirror neurons by j.m. kilner and r.n. lemon, current biology, december 2, 2013. ↑    a milestone in the recognition that phrenology wasn't all bad was the publication of jerry fodor's 1983 book the modularity of mind . ↑     there is no left brain/right brain divide by stephen m. kosslyn and g. wayne miller, time, november 29, 2013. ↑     the man who mistook his wife for a hat by oliver sacks. simon & schuster, 1998, is a wonderful, very accessible introduction to the idea that highly specific kinds of brain damage produce equally specific behavioral abnormalities. ↑     causes—parkinson's disease , nhs uk, 30 april 2019. ↑     schizophrenia , mind uk, november 2020. please do not copy our articles onto blogs and other websites articles from this website are registered at the us copyright office. copying or otherwise using registered works without permission, removing this or other copyright notices, and/or infringing related rights could make you liable to severe civil or criminal penalties. text copyright © chris woodford 2012, 2023. all rights reserved. full copyright notice and terms of use . follow us, rate this page, tell your friends, cite this page, more to explore on our website....

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Essay Samples on Psychology

The majority of college students who have to deal with essays about Psychology are not necessarily future specialists in Psychology or Healthcare. Just think about modern business studies or marketing where leadership qualities must be studied. The same relates to Criminology or Forensic Research assignments where the use of psychology becomes essential. It provides modern learners with a plethora of ideas that can be explored. If you are stuck and need inspiration, focus on the free psychology essay examples that we provide for you. The list of subjects that are presented ranges from the theorists to case study samples to help you understand the difference between various essay types. Remember that your introduction part will always depend on your target audience and the level of knowledge they have. It means that you should provide statistical data or study reports only to an extent that will be sufficient for your methodology or academic objectives. See how it has been done in the free samples that we offer by reading actual writing. These are only provided as templates that you should use for inspirational and educational purposes. As you compose your own Psychology essay, keep things unique and always provide relevant references.

Why Psychology Major: Understanding the Human Mind

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Body image and its notion of impressing other people through it has become like a general trend amongst the youth. They try to change their body figures, and their characters while trying to impress others. The majority of youths do matters to enhance how they...

Effects Of Growing Up With a Single Parent and How It Can Affect Your Life

Growing up in a single parent household can affect your life in many ways, a few examples includes how you view your relationships, how you carry yourself, and especially your future. Half of my existence I grew up in a single parent household and I...

• Single Parenting

Why Juveniles Should Not Be Tried As Adults

Furthermore, children that commit crimes are products of their environment in which they live. For example, when children constantly get sexually abused, it causes immense amounts of trauma and a false sense of love. Often a traumatic experience for all is an offense punishable by...

• Criminal Behavior

What Was The Environment In Which You Were Raised

I remember myself since I was three years old. I was a lively and inquisitive child. I had many friends and we spent a lot of time together. My parents were very busy at that moment, they were working and building our house. I spent...

Benefits and Importance Of Early Childhood Education

“If school is about learning, and learning starts at birth, then the idea that we expect Kindergarteners to meet their first teachers at age five is all wrong. There is increasing research being facilitated on early education with specific emphasis on the overall benefits it...

• Early Childhood Education
• Importance of Education

The Transition From Childhood To Adulthood

 As human beings, we start off as just a fetus in a mother's womb. However, as time passes, we evolve. Every human being goes through many different phases in life. We go from being babies and eventually we become adults. Each phase is unique and...

Causes and Treatment of Childhood Obesity

'He is just a kid, give him what he wants'. This is the phase that is mostly used by the parents in order to encourage their children from eating what they want as long as it will make them happy. However, the statistic has shown...

• Childhood Obesity
• Eating Disorders

Human Nature in the Lost TV Show: Are Humans Inherently Good or Evil

Throughout humanity, the nature of humankind has been questioned by philosophers, leading them to conclude whether humans are inherently good or evil. Thomas Hobbes, a British philosopher that lived in the 1600s, believes that humans are born selfish and greedy, which leads to violence and...

• Good and Evil
• Human Nature

The Benefits of Video Games Both for Children and Adults

Ever since the 1970s the video game industry has grown quite a lot in popularity and has become the largest market in the world. There have been a lot of changes to how video games are made not only in the different genres for people...

• Development
• Human Development
• Video Games

Why is Early Childhood Education Important

In this essay, I will discuss how strong value operates within the perspective of education and what are main concepts, design of theories from conforming perspective of education. This essay will show some theories which are pedagogy. My explanation will be reflected by nature and...

Problem Solving: Use of Math in Our Everyday Life

What I say about math is that I really don’t like it, but at the end of the day through high school math I have learned how to solve problems and not give up when I don’t fully understand something. I dislike math, but I do need it. The reason why I dislike math is that...

• Mathematics in Everyday Life
• Problem Solving

Why You Should Let Your Kid Play Football

It’s Friday night. Many parents and friends gather around to watch us in our first game of the year. The lights slowly begin to light up the field as we approach the 50-yard line, we toss the coin and the game begins. Down by 7...

• Child Development

Growing A Grit And Growth Mindset

In today's society, there is a belief that intelligence is tied to GPA. There is a stereotype about intelligence. It is the idea that you are either smart or not smart. You either understand it or you do not. What happens if you are between?...

• Personal Growth and Development

Effects Of Violent Video Gaming On Human Behavior

There are many various kinds of games and consoles within the world and vying worldwide. Video play has become a very common trade all over the world and has been growing exceptionally throughout the past twenty years. Gamers that are obsessed with online play are...

• Impact of Video Games
• Violence in Video Games

Why I Want To Be A Teacher: It Isn’t Just A Career, But It's A Calling

Being a teacher isn’t just a career, having the ability to enable a child to further make sense of the world around them and become a honourable and respectful member of society, gives me such a profound sense of pride and happiness. I want to...

• Teaching Philosophy

Bilingual Education In Childhood For Effective Social Communication And Development

Today’s society places a heavy emphasis on the importance of being an effective social communicator, whether it be through verbal or non-verbal skills. Presently, more than half of the world’s population is multilingual and an increasingly larger number of people have been exposed to another...

• Bilingualism
• Educational Psychology

Importance of Reflection and Learning From Past Incidents

To practice competently, reflection is important because it allows one to critically think about past or present events, evaluate situations and then use the knowledge obtained to act accordingly in future situations. All of which improves patient care and helps minimise bad practice in the...

Solution-Focused and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

In this essay I would like to examine three approaches, Gestalt, Solution-focused therapy, and Cognitive Behaviour therapy and how I intend on using them within my practice as an integrative counsellor. In my previous essay I proposed how I would use the person centred, psychodynamic...

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Transition's Impact on a Child’s Mental Health

In this essay I will be discussing and outlining the issues of how the transition can have an impact on a child’s mental health, emotions and their overall academic performance. I will also be discussing how development and puberty can affect a child, as well...

• Child Psychology
• Growth Mindset

Emergency Management and Bystander Behavior Effect

This essay will compare and contrast two approaches to understanding bystander responses to emergencies. The approaches explored in the essay are the experiment approach and discourse analysis, each being explained in further detail later in the essay. Bystander behavior (effect) can be explained as the...

• Emergency Management
• The Bystander Effect

The Impact of Technology on Wealth, Aging, and Lifestyle

Wealth, lifestyle, aging populations, and technological advances are said to be having a major impact on the growth of healthcare demand. This essay considers the impact of each of these factors and discusses how successful the introduction of so called ‘sin-taxes‘ have been in changing...

Individual Differences and Differences in the Functioning of Brain

It is irrefutable that people differ considerably from one another, with this variability arising from a unique combination of hereditary, biological factors and lived environmental experiences. Comprising persistent individual factors differentiating individuals from one another to establish distinctiveness, individual differences (namely those of intelligence and...

• Human Brain

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding byJohn Locke

Psychology was derived from two other disciplines; physiology, the study of how living things work, and philosophy, the theories behind why living things behave the way they do. Philosophy and physiology are intertwined, in that they both have contributed to the study of the other....

The Role of Personal Development Planning Today

The essay deals with the PKSC module experiences that reflect on the academic study. Here, the different lectures are guided regarding the reflection that ensure the personal development. The other skills are mentioned research skills, digital skills, reading skills and MS office skills. Besides, the...

• Personal Development Planning
• Personal Goals

Psychosexual Development Theory and Child’s Personality

In this essay I am going to examine the age group of children 0-5 and how the psychological experience can impact on their transitions, during their life span. To achieve this task, I am going to analyze different theories in relation to all holistic aspects...

• Homosexuality

Influence of Two Key Learning and Development Theories

This essay will discuss the applications and influence of two key learning and development theories to educational practice and policy. The aim is of this essay is to discuss two key development theories to educational practices. The two key theories are 1. Piaget and his...

• Developmental Psychology
• Learning Styles
• Study Skills

Social Phenomena of Individual and External Circumstances in a Society

In todays society scholars all across the world have conflict in the matter which talks about how race and an individual’s identity shapes how we all live our lives. We can all come to a conclusion where we agree that everyone from individuals to a...

Optimism: Perception of Life is a Matter of Perspective

Our perception of life is a matter of perspective. From a young age we are taught to see the glass as half-empty or half-full. This perception is a simple example of optimistic or pessimistic behavior. Optimism is typically viewed as an individual’s ability to see...

• Positive Psychology

The Move “Better Luck Tomorrow” by Justine Lin

The move, illustrates an image hidden behind well-mannered students of Sunny Hills high schools who are trying hard to over achieve. The main characters Ben and Virgil is showed as those over achievers of high schools who are known for their grades and extracurricular activities....

• Social Movement

Swimming as a Hard Skill Necessary for Human Being

Swimming is hard. For non-swimmers swimming is harder than most realise and not easy to take up as a regular sport. All those good swimmers you see have excellent cardio-respiratory fitness and often years of technique training. So don't be discouraged. And... The first step...

The Benefits of Online Dating to Society

“There’s the old saying that you have to kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince”, and I think that really applies to online dating. The growing popularity of online dating sites is significantly remarkable. The dramatic increase in Internet usage, indeed, has spread...

• Online Dating

How Peer Pressure Push an Adolescent to Be a Part of Peer Group

The theoretical framework which is for the complete dissertation inquiry, serves as the guide on which to build and help the study, consists of the selected concept (or theories) that under-builds researcher’s thinking with regards to how they apprehend and design to lookup the topic....

• Peer Pressure

Puberty as The Major Fascinating Transition Throughout Lifespan

A biological process that marks the transition from childhood to adolescence is Puberty. “Puberty is a period of the life span marked by major psychological, endocrine and physical changes that contribute to the metamorphosis of children into reproductively mature adolescents.” Puberty is when your body...

A Deviant Behavior of the Filipino Using the Merton’s Strain

An American Sociologist named Robert K. Merton was born on July 4, 1910 in Philadelphia. This American sociologist developed the Merton’s Strain Theory of Deviance which explains the rising crime rates expression in the United Stated of America (USA) at that time. This theory states...

• Deviant Behavior

Human Behavior on the Example of the History and Culture of the United States of America

 The United States of America is a unique country indeed. Unique, powerful, modern, advanced in so many arenas. Compared to other countries of similar size and population, America easily overshadows in technological advances, education and legal systems. However, because our great nation is relatively young...

• American History

Adult Education and ITS Philosophies

Before pursuing courses on adult education, it had been a while since I had contemplated on educational philosophies and what my actual style might entailed. When assigned this task, I assumed it would be easy to determine, ‘right?’ not so much, given the fact that...

• Adult Education Program

The Concept of a Passive and Active Bystander Effect

Groups willingness to help others can be affected in many ways one specifically being the bystander effect. The bystander effect is the tendency for people be unresponsive in high pressure situations due to the presence of other people (Darley & Latane, 1968). There are two...

Review the Different Hypnotherapy Techniques for Phobias 

This essay will look at what stress and anxiety are and how that can challenge diagnosis and impact treatment. before going on to other limitations of treatment. I will address phobias; the difference between fears and phobia and how that impacts on choices of treatment...

The Expectations of the Stroop Effect

The Stroop effect is an experimental design that analyzes our automatic responses when observing incongruent stimuli. In this study, a short experimental naming test will be performed with both neutral and interference conditions. A picture of fruit was displayed on a screen with either an...

• Stroop Effect

Best topics on Psychology

1. Why Psychology Major: Understanding the Human Mind

2. Why Psychology: Exploring the Fascinating Depths of the Human Mind

3. Why I Chose Psychology: Path to Understanding the Human Mind

4. Sports Psychology: Unleashing the Mental Edge in Athletic Performance

5. The Social Learning Theory in Psychology

6. The Profound Contributions of Sigmund Freud to Psychology

7. Psychological Depths of “Shutter Island”

8. Exploring the Diverse Schools of Psychology

9. Exploring the Depths of Psychology Research

10. Psychology: Illuminating Perspectives in an Argumentative Discourse

11. Exploring Personality Psychology: Unveiling the Complexities Within

12. A Passion for Psychology: Nurturing the Flames Within

13. The History of Abnormal Psychology: Unveiling the Layers of Time

14. Health Psychology: Exploring the Nexus of Mind and Body

15. Free Will vs. Determinism in Psychology: Navigating the Paradox

• Confirmation Bias

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629 Psychology Essay Topics & Examples

Struggle with essay writing on mental health, disorders, or overall well-being? Our team has prepared this list of psychology essay topics for high school and college students.

📃 Aspects to Cover in a Psychology Essay

🏆 best psychology essay examples & topics, 👍 good psychological essay topics, 🎓 simple & easy psychology essay topics, 📌 writing prompts about psychology, 🥇 most interesting psychological essay topics, ✍️ exciting psychology topics to write about, ❓ psychology essay questions.

At the core of every excellent psychology essay are the writer’s comprehensive knowledge and ability to structure it into bite-sized clusters of information.

While it is evident that your topic is your guiding line, you should not limit yourself to focusing only on the information you are including. Instead, you should try to cover all aspects of essay writing in your paper, from facts and their sources to writing strategies.

Psychology Essay Topics

From self-analysis and obedience to nonverbal communication and various mental disorders, most subjects may seem interrelated and reflective of each other.

Your search for an issue that is yours should begin with analyzing psychology essay prompts, such as:

• What branch of psychology interests you most?
• Which theorists have contributed to this branch?
• Which issues and mechanisms have they outlined?
• Is there adequate supplementary research on these problems?
• What is the opinion of contemporary academia on these subjects?
• Do you want to build upon existing arguments or attempt to critique?

After this, you can analyze what resonates with you, for example, a particular theory or a specific personality, and you can begin writing a thesis statement for your paper.

Pre-writing

Doing your research beforehand helps you get an understanding of how to develop your central theme. Your bibliography and your used titles demonstrate not only your credibility but also the approach you have regarding your subject.

A well-versed reader may even draw a correct conclusion regarding which theorists have influenced your work, even if you did not explicitly state them in your paper, judging by your used sources.

Therefore, be selective in choosing what books and journals to use for your essay and include only those that help advance your pre-written thesis statement.

Referencing information from books and journals is an essential aspect of writing an essay, as this demonstrates the soundness of your ideas per the academic viewpoint on your subject.

Psychology Essay Structure

Your essay may only be as good as the outline you create for it. When you divide your work into thematic blocks, you can begin to see which topics are lacking in development and may need extra attention.

Furthermore, when you split your work up, it becomes easier to write and create interconnected paragraphs. Who takes on the role of the appraiser, the used mechanism, and the personal and social implications of it are all examples of dissecting social evaluation into smaller problems.

Addressing each of these blocks in separate paragraphs helps maintain a coherent yet exciting narrative.

• Your introduction should give your audience a brief overview of the issue that you will develop throughout the next pages;
• Your conclusion should summarize your findings, effectively outlining the outcome of your work per your thesis statement;
• The body paragraphs between your introduction and conclusion, as per you outline, should each address a single theme, creating a unique, interflowing narrative.

If you are not sure how to do this, then read an available psychology essay example to gain a better understanding of how to develop your theme.

Sample papers are an excellent way to jump-start your writing, as you can see for yourself, which approaches to essay wiring work and do not, respectively implementing or removing them from your essay.

Need more help before you can get started? Use IvyPanda for all your essay-writing needs!

• Psychological Disorders in “American Psycho” Movie The main character, who will be the basis of this paper’s analysis, is Patrick Bateman, who is a young and successful individual.
• The Silence of the Lambs Psychological Analysis In the movie The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter portrays several traits and behavioral patterns that show he is suffering from a psychological condition.
• Psychological Science: Counseling Essay (Theory of Counseling) Another important aspect is the counseling process; this depends on the individual counselor and client and the urgency of the issue in question.
• Six Major Psychological Theories: Strengths and Weaknesses Behavioral psychology is considered a descendant of the animal psychology, which argues that the environment has a lot of influence in the changes that take place in human beings.
• Psychological Profile of John Wayne Gacy Gacy was born into a family of a homemaker mother and a father veteran of the First World War and a car repair person. In the course of charging, trialing, and convicting he never admitted […]
• Comparing Freud, Adler and Jung Psychology Freud did develop the original theories of the conscious and unconscious and subconscious; the ego, id and superego; the libidinal and aggressive drives; the Oedipus and Electra complexes; the defense mechanisms of the mind being, […]
• The Perception Process Stages – Psychology Perception refers to the process of organizing, identifying, and interpreting sensory information in an effort to understand and make sense of the environment.
• Psychological Impact on Education Therefore, this research examines the impacts of psychology on education, professionals, and relationship success in the education setting. The educational psychology in accordance to the academic description may mean the study of teaching, learning, and […]
• Psychological Testing: Ethical and Legal Issues Two of the cases that have had a major impact on the institution of psychological testing are ‘Larry P.v Riles and Crawford v.
• The Tell-Tale Heart Psychological Analysis & Critique The outstanding character in the tale, who is also the narrator, attracts a lot of attention from the readers. The narrator forms the basis of the tale.
• Psychology and Christianity: “Abnormality” From a Biblical Perspective The Bible as God’s word is right in all religious teachings within the context of Christian setup. How can the Bible’s guidance inform an individual’s notion of abnormality?
• Aileen Wuornos: Biological, Psychological, and Social Control Theories The name of Aileen Wuornos and the story of her life have been popular topics of discussion in mass media and professional literature.
• Technology in Psychological Assessment The speed in conducting tests with the help of technology and the improved data analysis based on the effective use of statistical procedures make the technology play the important role in the sphere of emotional […]
• Language in Cognitive Psychology Adult people can preserve 50,000 words of their first language and thousands of words of the second language in the form of lexicons.
• “Inside Out”: Riley’s Psychological Analysis This genre of cinematography is mainly aimed at the children’s audience, which means that the task of the screenwriters is to create such material that would be able to tell the severe emotional problems of […]
• Girl, Interrupted (1999): Exploring Four Mental Disorders Apart from the dramatic and the entertaining aspect of this movie, it contains a psychological aspect and this is the major purpose of this paper; exploring the psychological disorders in the movie, giving their causes […]
• Definition of Positive Psychology in Psychology Positive psychology is the systematic analysis of the strengths and qualities that permit individuals to thrive. From the above analysis, it is advisable that scholars should engage in extensive research to establish the truth as […]
• Biological Psychology: Development and Theories Therefore, biological psychology is used to examine the behavior of the humans and animals in order to facilitate in the treatment of the brain.
• Psychology of Adolescence Development The strategy allows the examination of the significance of adolescence as a standard stage of development. However, she admits that she experienced a period of anxiety and distress upon the death of her mother when […]
• The Significance of Lifespan Development in the Practice of Counseling Psychology The physical aspect of lifespan development is one of the important ones: it is related to the growth and development of the body and changes in the body and the brain.
• Memory Chart Stages in Psychology For instance, the brain uses the procedural memory to encode procedural skills and tasks that an individual is involved in. The stages of memory are very complex and often pass unrecognized.
• Comparison of Codes of Ethics: The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Both the Psychologist and the counselor abide to the same codes of conduct with regard to terminating their services to a client.
• Attention Regarding Cognitive Psychology That a person only pays attention to the stimulus they are interested in and ignore the rest of the stimuli. The study of attention in cognitive psychology is not a new phenomenon.
• Forensic Psychology: Zodiac Killer Case Analysis By looking at the subject matter of the Zodiac Killer, the present paper aims to identify important characteristics related to serial killers and how the domain of forensic psychology could be applied to solve cases […]
• Common Criticisms of Psychology It is the application of knowledge in the study of human activity such as the day to day lives and mental illness. Psychology is the study of human mind and behavior.
• The Psychology of Serial Killers These are just a fraction of questions that require answers in order to have a complete understanding of the psychology of serial killers.
• Consumer Behaviour and Psychological Motives In this case, it is assumed that the satisfaction of the consumer is dependent on the performance of the product or the perceptions of the consumer in relation to the product, and the motivations that […]
• Psychological Theories of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King One of the greatest tragedies of Sophocles, Oedipus the King touches upon a deep psychological theme of the parents-son relations which lately was called the Oedipus complex and the theme of faith as a main […]
• Physiological and Psychological Needs Differences Both physiological and psychological needs are necessary for the proper development of an individual. However, it is impossible for an individual to survive without satisfying their physiological needs.
• Indian Sex Workers and Psychological Effects of Job The article “Serving The Goddess”: The dangerous life of a sacred sex worker” is a brief account of the life of two devadasis, particularly their experiences as sex workers.
• Mind-Body Debate: Monism and Dualism in Psychology As a result, it is almost impossible to find the answer that can address the views of all philosophers and psychologists who are interested in determining the nature of the mind and body interaction.
• Psychological Concept of Learning This article explores the concept of learning by focusing on learning, the role of behavior in relation to learning, types of learning, and the relationship between learning and cognition.
• Rain Man and Psychological Concepts The concepts of autism, conformity, and trust are described in the movie; and the peculiarity of this story is that one concept is closely connected to another concept, and the consequences of one concept influence […]
• Norms in Psychological Testing Research Paper One of the inherent problems associated with norms and their interpretation in psychological tests is that as time goes on the characteristics by which a particular population/group is defined tends to change and as such […]
• Psychologist William Sheldon: Theories and Methods Sheldon did not belong to the so-called pseudo-scientists, as he put the ancient points of view of the affiliation between the type of body and temperament on sheltered basics. The last type of body and […]
• Psychological and Sociological Theories in Life People tend to behave in a way that is beneficial for the development of the system. This theoretical paradigm explains people’s choice to obtain the higher education as this enables them to contribute to the […]
• Mahler’s and Winnicott’s Contributions to Psychology Their theories are merely concentrated on the methods of disturbed children treatment through the involvement of psychoanalysis; the theorists are focused on the aspect of mother-infant interrelation and stages of infant’s development through the mother’s […]
• Research Methods in Psychology: Pros & Cons The A-B-A-B design is recommended for this study as it helps the researcher to assess the condition of the students before and after the study.
• The Phases of a Crime and Their Importance in Psychological Profiling Attempt and accomplishment, the third and fourth phases of a crime respectively, differ in the sense that an attempt is a failed crime.
• The Core Characteristics of Social Psychology Further, scientific methods form the integral part of social psychology in that they aid the development of theories and their validation in order to provide the scientific understanding of human behavior.
• Criminal Psychology Although the above discussed theories indicate that anyone can be a criminal since the development of the behaviour is determined greatly by the environmental factors,Eysenck’s theory of crime indicate that there are heredity factors that […]
• Positive Psychology in “The Pursuit of Happyness” Film Gardner demonstrates perseverance, hope, and social intelligence and illustrates the importance of effectance motivation and the power of social networks, even though the protagonist’s relationship with his wife could be improved.
• The Theories of Social Psychology Furthermore, a person can bask in the accomplishment of group members and feel very good about it due to their similarity.
• The History Development of Psychology: The Understanding of Human Behavior The aim of the paper is to identify the reasons that have shaped and led to the development of the history of psychology.
• Bipolar Disorder Psychological Assessment She is from a nuclear family, both her parents are alive, and she also has two brothers and three sisters. She is the second child in the family.
• Effective Psychological Counselling Dissemination of new information to the client should be the main focus of any counseling session. Reviews are essential and should be done at agreed dates so as to ensure that the trend of the […]
• Contribution Ancient Great Thinkers to the Growth and Development of Psychology Then, the relationship between the mind and the body perplexed ancient philosophers and this led to the development of psychology as an independent field of knowledge that considers both philosophy of the mind and physiology […]
• Psychology in Everyday life While some individuals may think of psychology as a course that is only important to students, therapists or everyone else that is interested in the field of psychology, knowledge in psychology is actually helpful to […]
• Economic Crisis and Its Social and Psychological Constraint The failure of large businesses, decrease in consumers’ wealth and demand, and a considerable decline of economic activities also led to the social, cultural, and moral crisis due to the rise of unemployment.
• Physiological Psychology Definition The nervous system affects behavior through the brain; it is the signals that are sent via its tendons to the brain that will affect the behavior of an individual.
• Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology: Teen Suicide For young people, suicide continues to be a major problem as thousands of teenagers in the U.S.commit suicide each year. The risk of teen suicide is also seen to increase when they have access to […]
• Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling The author adds that the counselor needs spiritual maturity in a bid to get the client to the same level of maturity.
• The Psychology of Happiness The psychology of happiness is closely related to philosophy, as the science of happiness is based on three major theories, namely “the emotional state theory, the life satisfaction theory, and hedonism”. As far as happiness […]
• “The Black Balloon” From a Psychological Perspective It goes without saying that the health of each individual, in particular, depends not only on them but also on the attitude of the surroundings and the action of the governments in corresponding existing situations.
• Examples of Special Populations in Psychology In professional psychology, particular population defines both children and adults with the following special needs; education, where the majority of the individuals are unable to comprehend and derive full benefits from the curriculum. The special […]
• Children’s Psychological Apperception Test The test was designed to determine children’s personality qualities and psychological issues together with the social or intimate problems that bother them on the stages of their lives and developments when the test is conducted.
• Psychological Tests, Their Types and Users The projective test on the other hand is ambiguous and the respondent has to answer unstructured questions. The use of psychological tests in research is divided into three.
• Expectations From Psychological-Sociological Course In addition, I expect to get an insight into how the system of motivation works and how to implement it in the interaction with the students and keep them interested in the subject.
• The Role of Hypotheses in Psychological Research A hypothesis is a specified concept about a certain concept which can be tested about the anticipation of the outcome in the study.
• Industrial and Organizational Psychology Theory Industrial/organizational psychology is a field that applies psychology principles to the workplace.It can be used to solve issues that occur in the organizational context.
• Educational Psychology in Learning and Teaching Thus, this course has significantly helped me as a teacher in studying and applying modern research methodologies and suppositions, practices and plans which emphasize on the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods in improving […]
• Psychological Assessment Tools for Christian Professionals This enables the specialist gathering the data to have a bigger picture of the assessee and thus employ the most effective methods in therapy or other help.
• Critical Thinking Role in the Clinical Psychology These activities and conducts may lead a psychologist to identify the mental activities in the brain of the individual. Clinical psychologists specialization is founded on the framework the individual takes in training to become a […]
• Astrology as Pseudo-Psychology Astrology is likely to be the most popular form of pseudo-psychology, and it is based on a belief that the arrangement of stars and planets at the time of a person’s birth determines personality traits […]
• Psychology Forces in Wilber’s “Spectrum of Consciousness” Translative spirituality facilitates the creation of meaning and the understanding of the notion or the perception of the separate self. According to Vrinte, the most significant level of the spectrum represents the level of the […]
• Introduction to Psychological Testing Achievement and Aptitude Tests Is commonly practiced in educational as well as employment set ups, since they tend to measure the scope of understanding of a given knowledge.
• Conformity as a Social Psychology Concept In that regard, it can be described as the scientific study of people’s feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in the company of others or the context of society.
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorders: Psychological Assessment PTSD was adopted by experts in the third revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders to replace terms like “shell shock, nervous shock, and combat fatigue” that described the response to traumatic […]
• Human Psychology as a One of the Main Objects of Public and Professional Interest The fact that “psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes” sets the stage for understanding the meaning and significance of other concepts, including the relationship between biology and psychology in Chapter 2 […]
• Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness Positive psychology is a science of positive features of the life of a human being, including happiness, welfare, and prosperity. According to him, happiness is freedom from pain in the body and a disturbance in […]
• Definitions of Intelligence in Psychology In this case, there are various items that can be used to test the emotional and physical aspects of an individual.
• Ethical Issues Associated With Psychological Testing The second case along the line of psychological testing includes the case of Brown V. Reason The above case was used to examine the validity of psychological testing.
• The Psychology of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication On the other hand, one is to keep in mind that the main purpose of the kind of communication is to aid in the formulation of thoughts or ideas, which are expressed through speech.
• Zeitgeist Influences on the Birth of Gestalt Psychology In this context, it can be seen that Thesis: Gestalt psychology as a discipline has to be viewed as the product of the “Zeitgeist” of a large chunk of the Twentieth Century that was impacted […]
• Freud’s Anxiety Neurosis – Psychology The objective of this study is to expose Freud’s anxiety neurosis and to provide a comprehensive approach as to the causes, treatments, and symptoms of the anxiety neurosis.
• Good Parents Traits and Raising Children – Psychology Some of the traits of a good parent include being a good listener, readiness to guide, self-discipline, setting time aside to spend with the children, and meeting the physical needs of children. In addition, good […]
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder – Psychology This paper mainly addresses some of the characteristics of OCD, what contribute it, the kind of people who are likely to attract the disease, types of treatment of the disorder, and how it affects a […]
• Forensic Psychology: Television v. Reality The qualification of a psychologist in the forensic field to qualify as an expert witness is dependent on the reputation as well as the experience that a psychologist has in this field.
• Social Psychology in Clinics In this regard, there are many theories that have been advanced to further explain the concept, practical and the validity of the social psychology in clinics.
• Psychology: Change Blindness Experiment The independent variable was the type of change, and the dependent variable was the response to detecting the changes. Broadly, it was established that change blindness varied with the type of change introduced because incongruent […]
• Adler’s Individual Psychology The paper highlights the most frequent criticisms of Adler’s theory and concludes by reasserting the significance of Adler’s Individual Psychology. This paper will engage in an in-depth review of Alfred Adler and his contributions to […]
• Definition and Theories of Environmental Psychology The human mind is divided into small sections that can be studied to identify the role played by the brain in the interaction between human beings and the environment.
• Humanistic and Sociocultural Psychological Approaches From a sociocultural perspective in psychology, the lack of external influence and the specificity of ethnicity can cause the child’s behavior. In the sociocultural approach, the psychologist has to work with him as a teacher, […]
• Albert Bandura: An Eminent Psychologist At the school, Bandura notes that most of the learning was left to the initiative of the students as there was lack of teachers as well as resources.
• Psychological Traps in the Human Decision Making They include the anchoring trap, the status-quo trap, the sunk cost trap, the confirming evidence trap, the framing trap, the overconfidence trap, the prudence trap, and the recall-ability trap.
• Cognitive Processes – Psychology As a result, memory is seen to be the storage of, and process of recalling what individuals have learned or experienced in the environment.
• Mother-Child Relationship – Psychology In the study, the two researchers established that children explain the nature of the relationship existing between them and their mothers, but girls tend to express concern as opposed to boys.
• “The Black Baloon” (2008) From a Psychological Perspective The main question that the film raises is whether parents and other members of a family have the ability to cope with such challenges and come out victoriou in the end by being unified with […]
• Analysis of the History of Biological Psychology and Its Relationship With Other Psychology Branches Biological psychology is a branch of psychology that applies the principles of biology to the study of behavior that is, the study of psychology in terms of bodily mechanisms.
• Multicultural Psychology as a Subspecialty of Psychology Over the past 30 years, the study of culture minority issues in the field of psychology has grown to what can now be seen as a significant and dynamic subspecialty in the context of American […]
• Industrial-Organizational Psychology The vastness of the field requires a practitioner to have a wider knowledge on industrial psychology itself, and also basic knowledge of the company’s operations as well as the cultural background of its employees.
• Mary Whiton Calkins and Her Impact on Modern Psychology In order to expand her knowledge of psychology, Mary had to take a year’s studies in psychology prior to her teaching in the same field.
• Social Psychology: Definition, Aspects and Theories In contrast, social psychology is the study of the causes of behavior and mental attitudes. Social psychology deals with the study of how different contexts influence human behavior, feelings, thoughts, and other mental states.
• Human Psychology in “The Diving Pool” by Yoko Ogawa In the novel Black Rain, the author narrates the manner in which the life of Yasuko that was altered forever as a result of the Hiroshima bombing.
• “Turns of the Screw”: The Psychology of the Story The author presents the story as a sequence of events that really existed, however, in this paper we will provide the argument that the reliability of the narrator can be argued and that ghost was […]
• Psychological Cognitive Analysis on Movie “Memento” In this case, amnesia is seen as a loss of verbal memory-images and a loss of visual memory-images. In the case of Leonard, memory loss or reduction of memory is a main phenomenon, independent of […]
• Serial Murders Explained by Psychological Theory A serial killer may recognize the law as a deterrent to his or her activities, but not internalize the significance of the ban due to incomplete moral development.
• Integrating Psychology and Christianity The author introduces the topics of the worldview and outlines the four elements of the Christian worldview beliefs, viz.creation, fall, redemption, and the consummation.
• Foolishness: Psychological Perspective Foolishness from a psychological perspective is defined as the inability to evaluate the situation clearly and one of the components that enable it is egocentrism.
• Psychological Test Selection Factors and Tools Therefore, this essay explores the concept of psychological testing and assessment in a bid to find out how counselors select the kind of psychological tests to administer, the factors they consider when doing so, and […]
• Psychological Analysis The importance of free will is one of the key points the humanistic approach studies. These are the fundamentals of the human approach Amy’s behavior is analyzed according to.
• Modern Cognitive Psychology Renaissance philosophers of the seventeenth century attempted to use graphical representations to demonstrate the structure and operations of the human brain.
• Roles and Functions of School Psychologists In addition, school psychologists play a critical role in promoting the personal and social strengths of the students in the institutions they work to enable them to attain a healthier mindset and well-being.
• “On Psychological Oppression” by Sandra Bartky Psychological oppression is to have a harsh dominion exercised over your self-esteem and make the victims their own oppressors.
• Introduction to Clinical Psychology This means that clinical psychology plays a vital role in promoting the development of mental and behavioral health of patients with mental disabilities.
• Maggie’s Character in “The Black Balloon”: Psychological Perspective It is also worth to mention that since Charlie is the centre of attraction in this movie, the title The Black Balloon has been symbolically chosen and used to depict Charlie’s autistic nature that appears […]
• Developmental Theories in Psychology Moreover, it shows the similarities and differences among these theories and how they account for normal and abnormal child and adolescent psychological and physical development in children and adolescents with specific reference to physical, cognitive, […]
• Historical Perspective of Abnormal Psychology The field of abnormal psychology is therefore concerened with the study of abnormal behavior. The challenge that lies in the definition and classification of abnormal psychology is the issue of culture given that our cultural […]
• Socio-Cultural Approach to Psychology This is influenced by a transmission of resources from the care givers to the dependencies. The kind of attention and language the child gets is from the surrounding.
• The Philosophy of Psychology He further shows the distinct nature of the philosophy of psychology since its domain of investigation overlaps by that “domain of inquiry which the philosophers have taken to be their own preserve.
• Psychological Factors Affecting Sex Workers The study will evaluate the strength of the relationship between psychological factors contributing to participating in commercial sex work. Socio-psychological and behavioral theories will guide this study to understand the psychological factors related to participation […]
• Personality Psychology: Cinderella’s Personality A lot of Cinderella time is spent working in the house, and she exhibits a high degree of submission. Cinderella behaviour is not linked to her personality but the immediate environment that she lives in.
• Aspects of Psychology: Theories of Intelligence An important constituent of this theory is that of the ‘g’s theory or the general theory of intelligence. This theory is suggestive of the fact that intelligence is not based on one or two elements, […]
• Women in Psychology: Karen Horney Many traditionalists were incensed and the principle to instruct boys and girls on the same level, with the same method, with the hope of reaching the same goal, is generally viewed as a psychological and […]
• Attitudes and Behavior in Social Psychology In the light of the social psychology theory, attitudes and behaviors are reciprocally related. Thus, attitudes, under the condition that they are already formed, guide the behavior of a person in a certain direction.
• Psychological Testing in Employee Screening The HRI is designed to examine relationships between the supervisor and the employees he/she is in charge of supervising. The instrument is designed to cover the philosophy, principles, and approaches related to the effective performance […]
• Psychology: Factors of Success in Life and Career One of the most researched elements about success is the factors that drive people to pursue it. Success is often associated with a positive mental attitude, which triggers the desire to be successful in whatever […]
• Developmental Psychology: Franz Kafka and Social Learning It is true that the writer’s life was not particularly eventful, and the majority of defining events took place in his psyche.
• The Mind-Body Problem in the History of Psychology The crux of the problem is evident from its name: what is the relationship between the mind and the body? A prominent medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas ties the issue of the body and the soul […]
• Love and Memory From a Psychological Point of View The commonly known love types include affection, passionate love, friendship, infatuation, puppy love, sexual love, platonic love, romantic love and many other terms that could be coined out to basically describe love.
• The Relationship Between Religion and Abnormal Psychology But whose judgment will we use to separate the two contrasting elements of the psychology of normal and abnormal behaviors? Some religious beliefs permit the use of alcohol and it’s considered normal, yet others find […]
• Fetishism: Psychological Sexual Disorder To some, however, the use of a fetish object comes once in a while and they are not compelled to do so.
• Psychological vs. Physical Continuity Theory In the analysis of psychological continuity theory, there is a variety of views on the roles of the soul and body in a person’s development.
• Psychology of Anakin and Padme From “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” The couple selected for this psychological analysis is Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala from the film Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
• Atychiphobia, or the Fear of Failure in Psychology Putting it simply, the fear of failure is the incapability to suppress the anxious and irrational feeling of fear that, as a result, affects one’s life.
• Bowen Family Systems Theory – Psychology In this context, the theory is relevant in demonstrating that the level of stress prevalent in the family due to alcoholism and irresponsible behavior of the family head is directly responsible for the development of […]
• Paraphilias in Men and Women From Psychological Perspective The psychoanalytic theory clearly indicates that paraphilic disorder is a function of psychological abuse and other factors that are yet to be established.
• Psychology of Happiness in the World Psychology of happiness touches on various fields of social and cultural life and seeks to interfere with the lives of individuals for improving their talents and endowing their normal existence with greater meaning.
• Theory of Multiple Intelligences – Psychology Binet and Simon later revised their work in 1916 to incorporate the concept of mental age and concluded that intelligence varies depending on mental age.
• Ethical Issues in Psychology If such requirements cannot be followed, the psychologists have to document the specifics of the conducted assessment and indicate the possible impact of the limitations on the results of the study.
• Biological Psychology In the process, there has been a special role of biological psychology that as emerged as a result of these new discipline.
• Roles of Ethics in Psychological Research Risk analysis on the intended research activity is necessary to weigh the total benefits and risks of the proposed study to the subjects in terms of privacy and nurturing the reputation psychology as a profession.
• Catching a Train That Leads Nowhere: The Psychology of the Inevitable However, it is important to note that most of Hume’s theories are based on the idea that a man’s previous experience is not to be taken into consideration.
• Culturally Informed Psychological Assessment They do not posit a single culture, requiring the assessor to discern these cultures and their influence on a person’s psychological behavior.
• Psychologists’ Role in Criminal Justice In addition to research, the accumulation, and application of knowledge, psychologists can also participate in assessing the effectiveness of legislation. In this setting, basic scientists conduct theoretical research on the effectiveness of police and court […]
• History of Ethical Principles in Psychology The APA’s principles of ethics inspire psychologists towards considering high ethical standards in the conduct of their research. The little Albert experiment is an example of historical research that failed to comply with ethical standards […]
• Development of Structuralism as a Systemic Movement in Psychology However, in his attempts to expand the ideology, Titchener deviated from some of his mentor’s teachings and misrepresented some parts of it.
• Environmental Design Psychology Theory The scientific approach of this sphere is aimed at developing the multidisciplinary focus, which will involve the aspects of human behavior, perception of colors and elements of design, and how people will develop the approaches […]
• Personal Development: Psychological Difficulties, Sexuality In my opinion the period of adolescence is the most difficult in human life and I think that it would be interesting to discuss the attitude to sexuality with the help of personal development theories.
• Health Psychology: Going Through a Breast Cancer Diagnosis He is unaware that she has been diagnosed with depression and that she is going for breast screening Stress from work is also a contributing factor to her condition.
• Prescientific Psychology Research Naturally, the experiment was based on the wrong assumption of the innate knowledge of the human language, but the fact that the king came up with a hypothesis and a way to test it shows […]
• Research Methodologies in Industrial Psychology Also, the matrix clearly illustrates that the choice of a particular methodology is shaped by the type of the research to be undertaken.
• Psychology in Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” The reading of Gilman story’s few initial lines suggests that the reason why the narrator and her husband John decided to spend the summer in a secluded mansion is that this was supposed to help […]
• Saddam Hussein Psychological Analysis The following paper provides a summary of some of the relevant points in Post’s political profile of the leader during three periods of crisis in Hussein’s life and in the history of Iraq.
• Positive Psychology and Academic Stress With the rising cases of academic stress among students in the United States, the federal government has introduced positive psychology programs in schools across the country.
• Cognitive Psychology Definition and Concept These methods have been used by psychologists to determine the functionality of the human brain and account for some of the mental processes behind human behavior. It is through studying behavior that psychologists have been […]
• Dual Relationships in Psychological Counselling In this scenario, the dual relationship is seen when the psychotherapist acts as a protector of life and involves the police.
• Justine’s Psychological State in “Melancholia” The planet is representation of the anger. The planet is representation of Justine’s anger and the Earth is Justine’s ego.
• Positive Examples of Conformity and Obedience Psychology Social influence refers to the ability of an individual to influence another person or a group of people in according to one’s own will.
• The Midlife Crisis in Developmental Psychology The midlife crisis exists, and it is associated with an awareness of the limitations of youth and the transience of the time allotted for life.
• Combatants: Psychology and Christianity Disciplines Moreover, I can learn from the Secular combatants how to defend the opinion I hold, and this can extend to values as well.
• Relationship Between Psychology and Christian Faith Truly, I have realized that sincerity is found in Jesus discipleship and the study of persona, but the varying aspects guiding the honesty are the belief in Christ and analytical thinking.
• Cognitive Psychology – A Concept of Attention To illustrate this, when an individual is at the railway station to meet one’s relative, he or she is seeing the faces of many passengers from the train in which the person is going to […]
• Application of Psychology in Workplace Environment According to Adrian, psychology is the study of the science of mind and behavior of animals and humans. There is also the kind of people who are flamboyant and loud, jovial and entertaining who charm […]
• Google Inc.’s Organizational Psychology Organizational psychology plays a critical role in the effectiveness of a firm to find candidates which are able to demonstrate high performance on the job while fitting into the workplace culture, thus a complex talent […]
• The Movie “Blue Velvet”: Psychological Criticism The gist of this paper, therefore, is to offer psychological criticism of the Movie as regards its screenplay, plot, direction, and general presentation, and this is done by applying the Freudian Theory of Psychological Analysis […]
• Forensic Psychology: Media and Crime Relationship Consequently, it is arguable that exposure to stimuli involving violence such as the one found in a violent video game and some TV programs including cartoons may cause activation of aggressive scripts among children.
• Clinical Psychology vs. Psychiatry Campo is a child and adolescent psychiatrist with expertise in anxiety disorders, ADD, ADHD, child behavior disorders, mental disorders, psychiatry, and psychosomatic medicine among others.Dr.
• Martin Luther King’s Psychological Portrait Martin Luther King is one of the most prominent figures in the history of the United States who had a profound impact on the development of the country.
• Psychological and Psychosocial Support in Disaster Nursing The paper reviews the presently available literature on the topic, covering the aspects of the significance of psychological and psychosocial support and related education, as well as the perceptions of nursing, existing problems in the […]
• Inevitable Prejudice in Social Psychology
• Biology and Psychology in Behavior Explanation
• Psychological First Aid for Disaster Victims
• Margaret Floy Washburn: Life and Contributions to Psychology
• Infants’ Psychology and Development
• Developmental Psychology: Designing Educational Toys
• Importance of Sleep – Psychology
• David Kolb and Adult Learning Theory – Psychology
• Anger Management Educational Model – Psychology
• “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg – Psychology
• Psychological Foundation of Human Resource Development
• Definition Creative Thinking in Psychology
• Abraham Maslow, the Father of Humanistic Psychology
• Drawing Ability Development as a Reflection of the Overall Psychological Development of a Child
• Environmental Psychology: The Impact of Interior Spaces on Childhood Development
• Psychologists and Assessments Related to Death Sentence
• Dimensions of Psychology and Its Specialty Areas
• Definition of Five Perspectives in Psychology
• Adolescence and Adulthood Developmental Stages – Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology: Fetishism, Transvestic Fetishism, Sadomasochism, Voyeurism, Exhibitionism, and Pedophilia
• Childhood Friendship and Psychology
• Application of Cognitive Psychology
• Socio-Psychological Trust Issues in Youth
• Developmental Psychology Analysis
• Abnormal Psychology Case Study: General Anxiety Disorder
• Leadership and Organizational Psychology of Vince Lombardi
• Deprogramming Cult Members: Religious and Psychological Analysis
• Psychology of Conflict Communication
• Psychology: Health Behavior Change & Reflection
• A Clinical Psychologist – Dr. Na’im Akbar
• Practitioner-Scholar Model in Psychology
• The Psychology of Addictive Behavior
• Structuralism, Functionalism and Cognitive Theory in Psychology
• Functionalism School of Psychology
• Decision-Making in Cognitive Psychology
• Research in Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory – Psychology
• Psychology of Fathers and Daughters Relationships
• Social Psychology Concepts
• Vision as a Psychology Practitioner-Scholar
• Government Regulation of Psychology Profession
• Abraham Maslow’s Biography and Contribution to Psychology
• Psychology And Society
• Definition of Cognitive Psychology
• Theories of Developmental Psychology
• Psychology of Sleep: Article Study
• Kohut and Self Psychology and the Freudian Classical Model
• Written and Psychological Contracts of Employment
• Psychological Tests in Employee Selection Process
• Obesity: Psychological/ Sociological Issue
• Psychology in Movies: Stephen Chbosky’s Wonder
• Psychology in Human Resource Management
• The Relevance of Relational Self-Psychology
• Psychological Wellness and Mental Health
• Sensation and Perception Studies in Psychology
• The Dying Person: Physical, Psychological, and Social Care
• Socialization of Adolescents in Modern Psychology
• Generosity and Psychological Well-Being
• Clinical Psychology, Its Issues and Purposes
• B. F. Skinner’s Development Theory
• Forensic Psychology, Its Tasks and Importance
• Abnormal Psychology as a Scientific Discipline
• Labeling in Psychology: Pros and Cons
• Noam Chomsky’s Contribution to Cognitive Psychology
• Forensic Psychology in the Criminal Justice System
• Positive Psychology: Subjective Well-Being
• Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Psychological View
• Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development – Psychology
• Social Psychological Concepts in “The Hangover”
• History of Psychological Assessment: Wundt’s Laboratory
• Buddhism Psychology in Changing Negative Behaviors
• Abnormal Psychology Essentials
• The Real Father of Psychology
• The Theory of Psychological Egoism
• Bernard Williams The Self and the Future and Psychological Continuity Theory of Personal Identity
• Comparison and Contrast of Biological, Psychological, and Social Perspectives of Human Sexuality
• Psychological Testing in the Workplace
• Statistics and Psychology
• Psychology of Personality: Theories
• Psychology of the Superheroes
• Experimental and Correlational Psychological Studies
• The Obsessive-Compulsive Psychological Disorder
• Some Basic Propositions of a Growth and Self-Actualization Psychology
• Psychological Approaches: Applying to Personal Life
• Violations of Psychological Code of Conduct
• Sexting and Its Psychological Consequences
• Psychology: The Little Albert Experiment
• “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” by C. Dweck
• The Psychological Perceptions of Pain
• History and Evolving Nature of Clinical Psychology
• William James and His Contributions to Psychology
• Reflection of Personal Learning Style in Psychology
• Psychological Development of the Teens
• The Psychological Aspects of Human Development
• The Psychological and Social Problems in Students
• Developmental Psychology. “Erik Erikson” by McLeod
• Cognitive Psychology: Clarkston Industries Company’ Case
• Automaticity in Psychology and Personal Life
• ANOVA Test on the Level of Psychological Aggression
• Social Psychology: Attitude Change Approaches
• The Psychology of Thinking and Intelligence
• Psychological Safety in a Team Environment
• Psychological Reasoning, Decision-Making, Thinking
• Math and Psychological Tasks Analysis
• Psychological Testing and Assessments Concepts
• Psychological Measures: The Beck Depression Inventory
• Psychological Counseling Using Behavioral Theory
• Psychological Techniques of Interrogation and Their Results
• The Psychology of Personality: Maya Angelou’s Case
• Family Relationships: Psychological Inquiry
• Malingering and Denial in Psychology
• Social Psychological Concepts of Bullying and Its Types
• TV Cartoons and Children’s Behavior – Psychology
• Human Emotions Psychology: Rooting in Biology or Culture
• Psychological Issues: Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Positive Living Skills by Terry Orlick
• ‘Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling’ by Mark McMinn
• Definition of Developmental Psychology
• The Effect of HRM Practices on Psychological Contract in Organisation
• Transition to Higher Education for Psychology Students
• Correctional Psychology and Its Procedures
• Comparison of Normal and Abnormal Psychology
• Happiness and Its Social Psychological Aspects
• Psychological Trauma: Treatment Planning
• Military Master Resilience Training Verses Positive Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology: Mental Disorders
• Social Psychology as It Applies in Education
• Psychology Aspects in Spearman’s, Stenberg’s and Gardner’s Models of Intelligence
• Contemporary Issues in Cultural & Cross-Cultural Psychology
• Introduction to the Environmental Psychology
• Abraham Maslow and Humanistic Psychology
• Psychology of Personality: Role Models
• Psychological Concepts in “A Child Called “It” by Pelzer
• Behaviorism and Its Impact on Psychology
• Psychological Imbalance: Mental Health Issues
• Psychology Development in Mexico
• Forensic Psychology and Behavioral Analysis
• Psychological Disorders: Classification
• The Hand – The Psychological Personality
• Comparing the Psychological Challenges Facing Tom and Laura Wingfield
• Interview Research Profile: Psychological Profile
• Genograms in Family Assessment
• Skills Development: Psychological Domains
• Cognitive Psychology: Culture and Cognition
• Romantic Rejection and Its Psychological Impacts
• Emotional Psychology: James-Lange Theory
• Analytical Psychology of Carl Jung
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology as Career Fields
• The Death Scenario: Positive Psychology
• Psychological Testing of Intellectual Disabilities
• Lifespan Development and Its Stages in Psychology
• Forensic Psychology: Validating Eyewitness Testimony
• Social Psychology Principles in American Movies
• Forensic Psychology: Death Notifications Importance
• Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori’s Psychology
• Correlational and Longitudinal Study in Psychology
• Academic Dishonesty in Psychologist’s Ethics
• Beck Depression Inventory in Psychological Practice
• Psychological Testing: Measuring Personality
• Psychological Trauma, Development and Spirituality
• Cognitive Psychology: Scientists Contributions
• Selling Illegal Drugs: Psychological Reasons
• Humans Behavior: Physical and Psychological Needs
• Evolutionary Psychology: Cognition and Culture
• Neuroscience and Child Development – Psychology
• Psychology Issues: Group Survival in Extreme Situations
• Psychology: Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder Causes and Symptoms
• Evolutionary Psychology: Definition and Key Concepts
• Social Identity in Social Psychology
• Psychological Testing Tools: Intelligence Tests
• Is Homosexuality a Psychological Condition?
• The Principles and Theories of Organizational Psychology
• How the Jungian Theory has Contributed to the History and Systems of Psychology
• Employees’ Psychological Resistance
• Influence of Heavy Metal Music on Adolescence (Behavior, Identity, Mood, Regulation, Psychology)
• Historical Perspectives of Abnormal Psychology
• Serial Killer Psychology: Eileen Wuornos
• Women in Psychology: Assessing the Contributions of Margaret Floy Washburn
• Freud and Jung Psychology
• Psychology in the Media: Extrasensory Perception (ESP)
• Hello, Mr. Freud: The Psychology of a Sitcom
• Contemporary Issues in Clinical Psychology: The Future of Clinical Psychology
• Retrieval Learning in Cognitive Psychology
• The Use of Creativity in Psychology
• Cross-Cultural Psychology in Contemporary Psychiatry
• Psychology in the Episode of Dr. Phil’s Show
• Benefits of Learning Psychosomatics as Branches of Clinical Psychology
• Modern Psychological Counseling
• Evolutionary Psychology and Christian Worldview
• Psychological Concept of Processing Stimuli
• Psychological Analysis of Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper
• Introducing the World of Psychology
• The Organizational Project: Psychological Needs Application Development
• Amundson on Hedonic Psychology, Disability, and Life Quality
• Biological Psychology: Lesion Studies and Depression Detection
• “Researching and Practicing Positive Psychology…” by Wang
• Drug Abuse and Its Psychological Effects
• Psychology: Areas of Application
• Social Psychology and Personality: Lessons Learnt
• Positive Psychology Intervention for Ageing Population
• Effects of Different Music on Psychological State
• Psychological Conditions in Addition to Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
• Post-Fordism: Industrial and Organizational Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology: The Effects of Memory Conformity
• Correctional Psychology’s Impact on the Penitentiary System
• Psychological Concepts: Nature vs. Nurture
• Human Psychology: Fulfilling Internal Needs
• Developmental Psychology of an Immigrant Family
• Psychological Traits in Consumer Spending Habits
• Social Justice in Counseling Psychology
• Adulthood and Puberty Psychology
• Psychology: Proposed Implementation and Evaluation Plan
• Forensic Psychologist’s Role in Homicide Investigation
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology
• Psychology: The Aftermath of a Death
• Psychological Testing and Assessment
• Ethics: Informational and Psychological Security of the Individuals
• Test (Gender) Bias in Psychology
• The Via Classification Test as a Psychological Tool
• The Role of Technology in the Psychology Profession
• Psychological Counseling and Psychotherapy
• Anorexia as Social and Psychological Disease
• Psychological Perspectives: Jason’s Life Case
• The Impact of Technology Development on the Adolescence Psychology
• Psychological Determinants of Adolescent Predisposition to Deviant Behavior
• SOAP Case-Notes: Psychological Rehabilitation
• Testing and Evaluation in Psychological Research
• Psychological Theories of Grandfather’s Development
• Psychological Interventions: Becoming a Helper
• Screening Survey in Psychological Science
• Causes of Premature Termination of Psychological Treatment
• Celebrities’ Psychological States: Diagnoses Are Not Cut and Dry
• Bipolar Disorder: A Major Psychological Issue in America
• The Psychological and Physiological Effects of Cannabis
• Researching of Abnormal Psychology
• Culture, Emotions, and Psychology Relationships
• Developmental Psychology as Scientific Study
• Exam Anxiety as Psychological Disorder
• Child Psychology Research and Ethics
• Historical Impact of Psychology on Human Resource Management
• Psychological and Psychiatric Diagnoses in a Patient with Multiple Symptoms
• Psychology Powered HRM Practice: Meteor Cargo Limited
• Psychological Health Issues Among Veterans
• The Psychological Well-Being of Nurses During COVID-19
• Sports Can Improve the Psychological Well-Being of People with Disability
• Psychology and the Nature of Human Conduct
• Biological and Psychological Factors Influencing Drug Experiences
• Adolescent Development: Adolescent Psychology
• Childhood Trauma Long-Term Psychological Outcomes
• Psychology of Type A and Type B Personalities
• Controversial Experiment in Psychology History
• Applications of Positive Psychology in Healthcare
• Developing a Psychology-Related Career Plan
• Stress as an Important Psychological Issue
• The Eye-to-Eye Project’s Importance for Psychology
• Psychological Health Disparities in Children
• Psychologists and Interrogations
• The Consciousness of the Psychological and Physical Effects of Nursing
• Stigma and Psychological Distress in HIV Caregivers
• Rising Interest in Psychology and Psychology Degree
• Urie Bronfenbrenner, a Psychological Researcher
• Socio-Psychological Factors of Abortion in Women of Different Age Groups
• Psychological Experiments on Videogames and Theater
• Psychology and Personality: The Main Theories
• Misconducts and Self-Care in Psychology Professionals’ Activities
• Device Use and Psychological Disorders: Regression Model
• Human Consciousness in Philosophy of Psychology
• Jury Psychology and Decision Criticism
• Psychological Issues of Independent Living
• Future Ways for Helping People With Psychology
• The Psychological Impacts of Rape and Potential Interventions
• Evolutionary Psychology and Psychological Anthropology
• The Psychology of Evil Analysis
• Self-Assessment Test in Psychology
• The Psychological Nature of Memory
• The Discrepancy Between an Original Psychological Article and Its Representation
• Environmental Issues, Psychology, and Economics
• Humanistic Psychology and Its Main Ideas
• Japanese Psychology as World-Renowned School of Thought
• Group Influence as a Social Psychology Issue
• Using Psychological Tests in the Employer’s Decision-Making Process
• Psychology in Sports: Tradition of Stoicism in Sports
• Researching of Criminal Psychology
• Ethical and Psychological Egoism
• Abortion and Its Physical and Psychological Effects
• Psychological Practice in Health Centers
• Sports Psychologists and Chaplains
• Mental Disorders: Biological-Psychological Perspectives and Psychotropic Medications
• Christian Spirituality: Integration Into Sports Psychological Practices
• Emotional and Psychological Impact on Illness Outcomes
• Sports Chaplaincy and Psychology Collaboration
• Physical Health Problems and Psychological State
• Criminology and Psychological Profiling Approaches
• Sex Offence: The Role of Psychological Disorder
• Discussion of Psychological Imbalance
• Consequences of Pandemic COVID-19: The Psychological Climate in the Family
• My Lot in Life: Psychological Aspects of Education
• Vincent van Gogh: A Brilliant Psychologist and Poet of Art
• Community Psychologists as Agents of a Social Change
• Changing Racial Identity: A Psychological Aspect
• Architectural Development Design: Environmental Psychological Implications
• “The Social Psychology of Compassion” by Radey and Figley
• Psychological Therapy: Borderline Personality Disorder
• Psychological Foundations of Criminal Behavior
• Adolescence and Young Adulthood in Educational Psychology
• Positive Psychology’s Influence on the Self
• Psychological Disorders: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment
• How Psychological Science Aligns With Biblical Truth About Self-Handicapping?
• Hewlett-Packard: Application of Cross-Cultural Psychology
• A Career in Counseling Psychology
• Understanding Human Psychology: Brain Stimulation
• Career Field in Psychology: Counselor
• The Influence of Positive Psychology
• Sensation and Perception: Psychological Science
• God of the Bible From a Psychological Perspective
• Psychological Considerations and Sociological Effects of Drones
• The Elderly Abuse: Physical and Psychological Aspects
• Is “Candide” Positively Influenced by Psychological Factors
• Psychology: Emotional Regulation
• Character’s Psychology in “Jazz” by Toni Morrison
• Renee Baillargeon Biography and Her Contribution to the Developmental Psychology
• Implications of Theological and Psychological Reflections on Human Behavior
• Psychological Lens Narrative: Personal Experience
• Influence of Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of the Individual on Exposure to Herd Investing
• Writing Proposal in Psychology
• Investigation: Psychology of Sport Fans
• Professional Psychology: Importance of Confidentiality and Code of Conduct
• Personality Psychology Overview
• Psychological Profile of Vladimir Putin
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Psychological Problems
• Analysis of Plays: Psychological Critical Perspectives
• Child Development: Psychological Factors and Theories
• Theories of Psychology: Behavioral, Cognitive, Developmental
• Research Design in Psychology
• A Child’s Psychological Development
• Childhood and Adolescence Psychology
• Changes in Life and Psychological Stress Assessment
• Psychology Integration: Healthcare Industry
• Stuttering Management: Psychological Therapy Effectiveness
• Stroke Analysis: Psychology and Causes
• A Psychological Perspective on Death and Mourning
• Psychological Factors After Officer-Involved Shootings: Officer Needs and Agency Responsibilities
• Cyber-Bullying vs. Traditional Bullying: Its Psychological Effects
• Ecstasy Unveiled: The Journey from Therapeutic Compound to Street Drug
• Careers in Industrial-Organizational Psychology
• Child Pornography: Legal and Psychological Implications
• Data Analysis in Psychological Wellbeing Research
• Relationship Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being Among Greek People With Physical Disabilities
• Sports Psychology: Zen in the Martial Arts
• Aspects of Sport Psychology Overview
• Nature of Health and Illness: Biological Psychology
• Psychological Aspects of Weightlifting
• The Concepts of Nature and Nurture in Modern Psychologist to Explain Juvenile Delinquency
• Biological Psychology: Memory
• The Impact of Culture on Aging: Psychological and Sociological Analysis
• The Psychological Aspect of Logical Fallacies of Technology
• The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships
• Psychological Health and Social Environment Correlation
• Goal Setting in Sport Psychology: Enhancing Athletes’ Performance and Building New Skills
• Psychology: Social Media and Bullying
• Psychology and Enduring Relationships
• Understanding the Psychological Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Society
• Psychological Aftermath of Illnesses and Injuries
• Impact of the Internet on Psychological Wellbeing
• Violence and Aggression Between People as Psychological Phenomena
• The American Psychological Association: Referencing Style
• Neuropsychological and Psychological Disorders
• Apple’s Popularity: Consumers’ Psychology
• Psychological Theories and Tests of Motivation
• Doctoral Program Educational Psychology
• Physical and Psychological Trauma in Women
• Ethical Practices in Psychological Assessment
• Traumatic Brain Injury: Psychological Manifestations
• The Horrific Consequences That Result From Inaccurate Psychological Diagnosis
• Management of HR Talent and Teams: Psychological-Contract Perspective
• Motivation Theories in Fulfillment of Psychological Needs
• Psychological Processes Which Affect Various Techniques and Approaches
• Environmental Psychology: Contemporary Educational Institutions
• Teenage Depression: Psychology-Based Treatment
• Industrial Psychology in Explaining Corporate Behaviors
• The Psychology Concepts Review
• The Evolutionary Psychology Key Points
• Evaluating Psychological Information on the Web
• The Psychological Contract and Motivation
• Victims of Disasters: Psychological Traumas
• Psychological First Aid: Connection With Social Support
• What Is Environmental Psychology?
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• Why Are Men More Depressed Than Women in Psychology?
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• How Both Sociology and Social Psychology Can Help Us to Understand Anti-social Behavior?
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• What Have Psychologists Found Out About the Psychology of Testimony?
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• Why Do Psychologists Consider Psychology to Be a Science?
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• Does Positive Psychology Ease Symptoms of Depression?
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Human Psychology Essays

Echoes of humanity: an anthology on motivation across time and war’s enduring impact, the effect of social media on human psychology, popular essay topics.

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8 Psychology Basics You Need to Know

Start your study with these key psychology facts and concepts

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• The Study of the Mind and Behavior
• Scientific Methods
• Multiple Perspectives
• Psychology Subfields
• Beyond Mental Health
• Wide Influence
• Career Paths
• Making Human Lives Better

Psychology can be fun and fascinating, but it can also be a little bit daunting if you have no background in the subject. If you want to start studying this social science, it can be helpful to start with the basics. It's not required (or even offered) in many high schools, so your college Intro to Psych class might be your first experience learning about psychology.

Psychology encompasses the scientific study of the human mind and behavior as well as the application of these principles to help prevent, treat, and diagnose mental health conditions. Psychologists explore both typical and atypical behavior to understand the human experience fully.

Psychologists also play a vital role in health care by caring for individuals experiencing mental health issues, performing psychotherapy , investigating treatment options, and teaching patients how to manage their symptoms effectively.

At a Glance

Psychology plays an important role in helping people live better lives. By learning about the basics of behavior and the human mind , people can better understand themselves and others. It may seem a vast and daunting topic initially, but understanding a few basic facts can make it easier to start. Once you understand the basics, you will be better prepared to explore ways psychology may help improve your everyday life, health, and well-being. So, let's take a closer look at the science of psychology, how it studies the human mind and other key facts, you should know.

Psychology Is the Study of the Mind and Behavior

Psychology can be defined as the study of mental processes and behavior. The term comes from the Greek words psyche, meaning "breath, spirit, soul," and logia, meaning "study of."

Psychology has not always existed as it has today. In fact, it is considered a relatively young discipline, although, as the eminent psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus explained, it has a short past but a long history .

Psychology emerged from biology and philosophy and is closely linked to other disciplines including sociology, medicine, linguistics, and anthropology.

Psychology has quickly grown to play a tremendous role in the world today. Psychologists are employed in hospitals, mental health clinics, schools, colleges and universities, government agencies, private businesses, and private practices.

They perform a wide variety of tasks and roles ranging from treating mental illness to performing research to influencing public health policy.

Psychology Relies on Scientific Methods

One of the most common myths about psychology is that it is just "common sense." The problem with this is that psychological research has helped demonstrate that many of the things that we believe are just common sense are actually not true at all.

For instance, it's become "common sense" that smoking cigarettes is dangerous. However, people continue to smoke anyway. Psychology helps us go deeper than common sense and understand why human behavior occurs, as well as how to change it.

By challenging some of our misconceptions about how and why people behave as they do, psychologists are able to provide answers that help solve real-world problems.

Psychology relies on scientific methods to investigate questions and arrive at conclusions. Using empirical methods, researchers are able to discover relationships between different variables.

Psychologists use a range of techniques to study the human mind and behavior, including naturalistic observation , experiments, case studies , and questionnaires.

Psychologists Take Multiple Perspectives

Topics and questions in psychology can be looked at in a number of different ways. Each perspective helps contribute a new level of understanding to a topic. Some of the major perspectives in psychology include:

• Biological perspective
• Cognitive perspective
• Behavioral perspective
• Evolutionary perspective
• Humanistic perspective

Imagine, for example, that psychologists are trying to understand the different factors that contribute to bullying.

One researcher might take a biological perspective and look at the role of genetics and the brain. Another might take a behavioral perspective and look at how bullying behaviors are reinforced by the environment. Another might take a social perspective and analyze the impact of group pressure.

No single perspective is the only way of looking at or thinking about a problem. Each one contributes to our understanding of a topic and allows researchers to analyze the myriad influences that contribute to certain actions.

Then, they can come up with multi-faceted solutions to combat problematic actions and encourage better outcomes and healthier behaviors. Looking at the problem from different perspectives allows psychologists to come up with better solutions.

Psychology Has Subfields

In addition to many different perspectives, there are many branches of psychology . Psychologists often opt to specialize in a particular area. Some of the biggest subfields within psychology include the following areas:

• Clinical psychology : Clinical psychologists provide mental and behavioral health care and often provide consultation to communities, as well as training and education. If you are experiencing emotional or psychological symptoms, you might need a clinical or counseling psychologist.
• Cognitive psychology : This subfield focuses on mental processes such as attention, thinking, language, and memory.
• Developmental psychology : Developmental psychologists study human behavior over a lifespan. If you have a question about whether your child is developing normally, then you might want to ask a developmental psychologist.
• Forensic psychology : Sometimes referred to as "legal psychology," forensic psychology is a branch that focuses on psychological assessment of people who are involved in the legal system. Forensic psychologists must have strong clinical skills.
• Industrial-organizational psychology : This branch of psychology addresses the workplace as well as human performance and motivation.
• Personality psychology : This subfield of psychology addresses personality and its development, traits, variations, and maladaptive forms (such as personality disorders).
• Social psychology : Social psychologists focus on human behavior in a group setting. They study group behaviors such as prejudice, bias, bullying, criminal behavior, and substance use.

Psychology Is More Than Mental Health

When you think of psychology, do you envision a therapist jotting down notes as a client recounts childhood experiences?

While therapy is certainly a big part of psychology, it is not the only thing that psychologists do.

In fact, many psychologists don't work in the field of mental health at all. Psychology encompasses other areas including teaching, research, and consulting.

Mental health is certainly a major area of interest in psychology, but psychologists also do things such as help athletes hone their motivation and mental focus , help design products that are safe and useful, and help businesses understand how to influence consumers.

Psychology Is All Around You

Psychology is not just an academic subject that exists only in classrooms, research labs, and mental health offices. The principles of psychology can be seen all around you in everyday situations.

The television commercials and print ads you see every day rely on psychology to develop marketing messages that influence and persuade people to purchase the advertised products. The websites you visit on a regular basis utilize psychology to understand how people read, use, and interpret online information.

Psychology can also play a role in improving your health and well-being. For example, understanding some of the basic principles of behavioral psychology might come in handy if you are trying to break a bad habit and establish new routines.

Knowing more about some of the things that motivate behavior can be useful if you are trying to stick to a weight loss plan or exercise regimen. Overcoming phobias, managing stress, improving communication skills, and making better decisions are just a few of the things with which psychology can help.

Psychology Has Many Career Paths

For some people, an interest in psychology is fueled by a desire to pursue a career in the field . Others may want to learn more out of curiosity or because they are thinking about consulting a psychologist for help with a health concern.

No matter the reason, building a better understanding of emotion , motivation , cognition, love , communication, and research methods will serve you well.

Understanding Career Paths Can Help You Choose the Right Professional

For example, if your child is experiencing problems at school, you might seek advice from a school psychologist specializing in helping kids deal with academic, social, emotional, and other issues.

Suppose you are concerned about an elderly parent or grandparent. In that case, you might want to consult with a developmental psychologist who is specially trained and knowledgeable in issues related to the aging process.

It Can Also Help You Choose Your Own Career

Understanding the different training and licensing requirements for different specialty areas can help you determine which professional is right for your needs. If you are trying to select a psychotherapist, it may also be helpful to learn more about which professionals can provide therapy services .

If you are thinking about majoring in psychology, there are many career paths to choose from. These depend largely on your educational level and work experience, so it is important to research the training and licensing requirements of your chosen specialty area.

Psychology Career Options

Just a few of the possible career options include:

• Clinical psychology
• Forensic psychology
• Health psychology
• Industrial-organizational psychology
• Experimental psychology
• School psychology

Psychologists Make Human Lives Better

Among the major goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and improve human behavior. Some psychologists accomplish this by contributing to our basic understanding of how people think, feel, and behave. Others work in applied settings to solve real-world problems that have an impact on everyday life.

And finally, many psychologists devote their lives to helping people who are struggling with psychological issues.

You may find these professionals working in hospitals, mental health clinics, private practices, and other settings to diagnose psychological disorders and provide psychotherapy to people from all walks of life.

While the work of psychologists may be highly varied, they all share one overriding goal: to help people live better lives.

Psychology is a rich and fascinating subject that has practical applications in many areas of life. If you have ever wanted to learn more about why people think and act the way they do, then studying psychology is a great way to gain greater insight into the human experience.

Psychology has a powerful impact on the world today. Our daily lives are deeply impacted by the interaction of biology, relationships, and mental processes. Psychologists are skilled at understanding the role these factors play in influencing health, happiness , and overall well-being.

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By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Psychology Discussion

Essay on human behaviour: top 5 essays | psychology.

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Here is an essay on ‘Human Behaviour’ for class 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Human Behaviour’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Human Behaviour

Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Controversies in the Study of Human Behaviour

1. Essay on the Introduction to Human Behaviour:

After all, Homo sapiens has a science all its own, namely anthropology, and the other “social sciences” are almost exclusively concerned with this one species too. Nevertheless, many animal behaviour researchers, undaunted by all these specialists, have made Homo sapiens one of their study species, a choice justified by the fact that theories and methods developed by students of nonhuman animals can often illuminate human affairs in ways that escape scientists whose training and focus is exclusively anthropocentric.

The continuity of anatomy, physiology, brain, and human behaviour between people and other animals clearly implies that nonhuman research can shed light on human nature. Medical researchers rely on this continuity, using “animal models” whenever human research would be premature, too intrusive, or too risky. The same is true in basic behavioural research.

Consider, for example, the study of hormonal influences on human behaviour. The “activating” effects of circulating steroid hormones on sexual motivation aggression, persistence, and other behavioural phenomena were first established in other species and only then investigated in human beings.

Similarly, non-human research on the “organizing” (developmental) effects of these same gonadal hormones has motivated and guided human research on the behavioural consequences of endocrine disorders. In a more recent example, discoveries concerning the role of androgens in mediating tradeoffs between mating effort and male parental effort in animals with biparental care have inspired studies of the same phenomena in human fathers.

The situation is similar, but much more richly developed, in behavioural neuroscience, where virtually everything now known about the human brain was discovered with crucial inspiration and support from experimental research on homologous structures and processes that serve similar perceptual and cognitive functions in other species.

The fact that Homo sapiens is a member of the animal kingdom also means that it is both possible and enlightening to include our species in comparative analysis. A famous example is the association between testis size and mating systems. If a female mates polyandrously, i.e., with more than one male, and if she does so within a sufficiently short interval, then the different males ejaculates must “compete” for the paternity of her offspring.

Thus, although human testes are smaller than those of the most promiscuous primates, they are nevertheless larger than would be expected under monogamy; this observation has substantially bolstered the notion that ancestral women were not strictly monogamous in their sexual behaviour and hence that selection may have equipped the human female with facultative inclinations to cuckold their primary partners by clandestine adultery, or maintain multiple simultaneous sexual relationships, or both.

These ideas, which run contrary to the previous notion that only males would be expected to possess adaptive tendencies to mate polygamously, have had substantial impact on recent research into women’s sexuality.

2. Essay on the Research of Human Behaviour:

Getting involved in human research appears to be an occupational hazard for animal behaviour researchers. In his 1973 Nobel Prize autobiography, Niko Tinbergen revealed that he had long harbored a “dormant desire to make ethology apply its methods to human behaviour,” a desire that he acted upon, late in his research career, by studying autistic children.

Others made the move earlier in their careers, with greater impact. The British ethologist Nicholas Blurton Jones, one of the founders of “human ethology” and now a major figure in hunter-gatherer studies, did his PhD work on threat displays in the great tit (Parus major) but then began almost immediately to study human children.

He writes: “I studied at Oxford with Niko Tinbergen [who] shared the Nobel Prize with Konrad Lorenz for their demonstration that human behaviour should be studied in the same way as any other feature of an animal – as a product of evolution by natural selection.”

Just as they had done in their studies of other animals, Blurton Jones, Eibl-Eibesfeldt, and others who had begun to call their field of research human ethology initially concentrated on categorizing overt motor patterns and counting how often each behavioural act was executed.

Indeed, other scientists without animal behaviour training were coming to similar views about the need for a more objective observational approach at about this time, and a few even turned to Darwin for inspiration. An interesting example is the work of Paul Ekman, an American psychologist who traveled to highland New Guinea and other remote places to prove that facial expressions of emotion and their interpretations by observers is cross- culturally universal rather than exhibiting arbitrary cultural variation from place to place, as many anthropologists had supposed.

This research program was akin to that of Eibl- Eibesfeldt in its questions, its theoretical foundations, and its results, but perhaps because Ekman was trained in psychology, he was less reluctant than the ethologist to use elicited verbal data as his test of universality.

Of course, one might say that the classical ethological approach has withered in nonhuman research too, with the ascendancy of behavioural ecology, but the hallmark of classical ethology, namely observational study of human behaviour in its natural context, has not been forsaken.

3. Essay on the Uniqueness of Human Behaviour:

Another reason why treating human beings as “just another animal” can be problematic is that in many ways we are very exceptional animals indeed. Although other creatures can learn from conspecifics and may even have local traditions, human cultural transmission and the diversity of practices that it has engendered are unique, and how we should approach the study of human behaviour from an evolutionary adaptationist perspective is therefore controversial.

One approach to the issue of cultural diversity is to attempt to make sense of the distinct practices of people in different parts of the world as representing facultative adaptation to the diversity in local ecological circumstances.

A nice example is provided by demonstrations that cross- cultural variation in the use of spices is partly to be understood as response to variation in local and foodstuff- specific rates at which unrefrigerated foods spoil and in the antimicrobial effectiveness of particular spices.

Presumably, such cultural adaptations are usually the product of an “evolutionary” process that does not entail cumulative change in gene pools but only in socially transmitted information and practices, although there are certainly some cases in which there has been gene-culture coevolution. The best-known example of the coevolution of human genes and human culture concerns the variable prevalence of genes that permit people to digest milk and milk products beyond early childhood.

In populations that lack dairying traditions, most adults are lactose-intolerant and suffer indigestion if they drink milk, because they no longer produce lactase, the enzyme that permits us to metabolize lactose. But in populations with a long history of dairying, genotypes that engender persistent lactase production into adulthood predominate, apparently as a result of natural selection favouring those able to derive nutrition from their herds.

Enlightening as such approaches may be, however, they can never make functional sense of every particular cultural phenomenon, for it is certain that a great deal of cultural variability is functionally arbitrary in its details, and at least a few culturally prescribed practices have disastrous fitness consequences.

A famous example, of such a disastrous cultural practice is the transmission of kuru, a fatal prion- induced brain disease akin to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, among the Fore people of highland New Guinea. Like other prion-induced diseases, kuru is not easily transmitted under most circumstances, but as a result of funerary practices that included intimate handling of corpses and ritual cannibalism of parts of deceased kinsmen, the Fore suffered an epidemic resulting in high levels of mortality.

4. Essay on the Measurement of Human Behaviour

It is true that over the decades psychology has moved towards becoming a quantitative science which tries to introduce measurements with precision and accuracy comparable to measurements in exact sciences such as physics, chemistry, etc. There is no doubt that the acceptance of model of the exact sciences has contributed very much to the growth and development of scientific psychology.

It must be stated that modern psychologists have gone far ahead of other social and behavioural sciences. In fact other social sciences such as sociology and political science have tried to adopt the tools and techniques of psychology for their own research and study.

However, the particular problem of quantifying and measuring behaviour still has its own peculiarities. While we may accept the standards and norms of accuracy and prediction set by the exact sciences, nevertheless, psychologists have had and will have to develop their own approaches to measurement and quantification of behaviour because of the very nature and characteristics of human behaviour.

Some of the peculiarities of human behaviour are given below:

Firstly all types of human behaviour are not explicit or visible. Only some aspects of behaviour are capable of being measured with instruments and gadgets directly. Thus, the inner needs and motives are difficult to measure directly.

Secondly, the individuals themselves would not be willing or ready to reveal certain aspects of human behaviour such as inner conflicts, problems of adjustments etc.

Thirdly the psycho-analytic school demonstrated the importance of unconscious processes which are not open to the awareness of the behaving individuals themselves. Such aspects have to be mostly inferred or measured through indirect methods. Thus, we may broadly categories measurements in psychology into indirect and direct measures.

Early attempts at measurement in psychology were simple and direct and were concerned with those aspects of human behaviour that could be directly measured. Later, with the enthusiasm of psychologists to measure other aspects of human behaviour, indirect approaches were developed.

By and large, sensations, learning, remembering, perception and similar variables are measured through direct means whereas indirect measures are largely used in studying motivational, personality and attitudinal variables.

Most intelligence tests are direct measures of intelligence while all the projective tests are indirect measures. Direct measures have the advantage in that they are simpler or more objective and are easy to handle, whereas indirect measures, to a large extent, depend on the interpretation of the individual’s behaviour and inference based on certain guidelines.

Yet another point that may be borne in mind is that direct measures are largely independent of specific theories of behaviour or personality. In fact, psychologists with different theoretical approaches and biases employed the same direct measures.

Indirect measures are largely associated with specific theories. Thus, projective tests such as the Rorschach test and TAT rest on certain basic assumptions about human behaviour and personality. Therefore, it can be said that direct measures give us measures of behaviour as they occur, while indirect measures give us scores which are arrived at on the basis of inferences and interpretations based on particular theories. Indirect measures are based on particular rationales.

It is also possible to consider psychological measures as empirical measures and rational measures. Empirical measures are based on the occurrence of certain behavioural patterns and are statistically arrived at. They are not based on any theory. Logical measures are based on certain theories. The best instance of convergence of the two traditions is found in the construction of attitude scales.

Errors in Measurement of Human Behaviour:

It is apparent that there are many instances where behavioural measures can be contaminated by errors. The requisites of accuracy, validity and reliability were explained. Naturally, when a number of errors creep in, the characteristics are affected adversely.

Errors in psychological measures are of two types; systematic errors and random errors. Systematic errors are those which occur repeatedly and are constant. For example, if while measuring the intelligence of a person, we employ a test which is too easy, then the individual’s intelligence is overestimated. Such an error is called a systematic error.

On the other hand, even if we employ a proper test and measure the individual’s intelligence on different occasions it is possible that the measured IQ on these different occasions will not be the same. Such variations are occasional examples of random errors which result from factors such as the subject’s mood, motivation, skills of the tests, etc.

Whenever we measure human behaviour we should be aware of the presence of such errors. Systematic errors are avoided by a very careful choice and usage of the test.

Random errors are taken care of by making repeated measurements and taking the average of all these scores. Errors in measurement, therefore, result from the defects in the measuring tools, defects in the measuring conditions and also certain factors in the subject as well as the experimenter.

5. Essay on the Controversies in the Study of Human Behaviour:

There are a number of current controversies in the study of human behaviour from an evolutionary perspective, and most of them closely parallel ongoing controversies in animal behaviour more generally.

One perennial point of discussion is whether measures of reproductive success are essential for testing adaptationist hypotheses. Evolutionary anthropologists who reported that wealth and/or status is positively related to reproductive success in certain societies presented these correlations as testimony to the relevance of Darwinism for the human sciences, and this invited the rejoinder that a failure to find such a correlation in modern industrialized societies must then constitute evidence of Darwinism’s irrelevance.

Anthropologist Donald Symons then entered the fray with a forceful counterargument to the effect that measures of reproductive attainment are virtually useless for testing adaptationist hypotheses, which should instead be tested on the basis of “design” criteria.

These arguments are sometimes read as if the issue applies only to the cultural animal Homo sapiens but, as Thornhill has pointed out, the same debate can be found in the nonhuman literature, with writers like Wade and Reeve and Sherman arguing that fitness consequences provide the best test of adaptationist hypotheses, whereas Thornhill and Williams defend the opposing view.

A related point of contention concerns the characterization of the human behaviour “environment of evolutionary adaptedness” (EEA). This concept is often invoked in attempts to understand the prevalence of some unhealthy or otherwise unfit practice in the modern world, such as damaging levels of consumption of refined sugar or psychoactive drugs.

The point is simply that these substances did not exist in the selective environment that shaped the human adaptations they now exploit, and that this is why we lack defenses against their harmful effects.

Essentially the same point can be made about more benign modern novelties, such as effective contraceptive devices, telephones, and erotica- there is little reason to expect that we will use these inventions in ways that promote our fitness, since they have, in a sense, been designed to “parasitize” our adaptations, and there has not been sufficient time for natural selection to have crafted countermeasures to their effects.

The EEA concept has become controversial because several writers believe that it entails untestable assumptions about the past; presupposes that human evolution stopped in the Pleistocene; and is invoked in a pseudo-explanatory post-hoc fashion to dispose of puzzling failures of adaptation.

Yet it is surely not controversial that a world with novel chemical pollutants, televised violence, internet pornography, and exogenous opiates is very different from that in which the characteristic features of human psychophysiology evolved.

Once again, these debates about the utility of the EEA concept are read as if the issue were peculiar to the human case. But in fact, any adaptation in any species has its “environment of evolutionary adaptedness,” and the notion that some adaptations are tuned to aspects of past environments which no longer exist is as relevant to the behaviour of other animals as it is to our own.

Byers, for example, has argued that various aspects of the human behaviour of the pronghorn, a social ungulate of North American grasslands, can only be understood as adaptations to predators that are now extinct.

Similarly, Coss et al. have demonstrated that California ground squirrels from different populations, none of which presently live in sympatry with rattlesnakes, may or may not exhibit adaptive anti-predator responses to introduced snakes and that the difference reflects how many millennia have passed since the squirrel populations lost contact with the rattlesnakes.

Yet another issue of current controversy concerns the reasons why there is so much genetic diversity affecting behavioural diversity within human populations. Personality dimensions in which there are stable individual differences consistently prove to have heritabilities of around 0.5, which means that about half the variability among individuals in things like extroversion, shyness, and willingness to take risks can be attributed to differences in genotype.

The puzzle is why selection “tolerates” this variability- if selection works by weeding out suboptimal variants and thereby optimizing quantitative traits, how can all this heritable diversity persist? One possibility is that the diversity is a functionless byproduct of the fact that selection on many traits is weak relative to mutation pressure; in finite populations, not all attributes can be optimized by selection simultaneously.

Another possibility is that heritable diversity in personality represents the expression of formerly neutral, variants in evolutionary novel environments. Still another view, argued by Tooby and Cosmides, is that heritable personality diversity is indeed functionless “noise” but is nevertheless maintained by frequency-dependent selection favouring rare genotypes in a never-ending “arms race” with polymorphic rapidly evolving pathogen strains.

Finally, Wilson has defended the possibility that there is a substantial prevalence of adaptive behavioural polymorphisms maintained by selection on the behavioural phenotypes themselves.

The “evolutionarily stable” state in game-theory models of social behaviour is often a mix of different types. If most individuals are honest reciprocators, for example, this creates a niche for exploitative “cheaters” whose success is maximal when they are extremely rare and declines as they become more prevalent.

Once again, this is obviously an issue of relevance in other species as well as human beings, and it is not an easy issue to resolve. However, the right answer will influence how we should look at matters ranging from sexual selection to psychopathology. Gangestad has argued that there is an evolutionarily stable mix of women with distinct sexualities such that some are inclined to long-term monogamy and others are not.

Lalumière et al. present evidence that “psychopaths,” socially exploitative people who are lacking in empathy for others, are not suffering from pathology but are instead a discrete type of person that is maintained at low frequencies by selection. How such ideas will fare in the light of future theorizing and research is an open question.

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Essay , Psychology , Human Behaviour , Essay on Human Behaviour

Developmental Psychology

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Journal scope statement

Developmental Psychology ® publishes articles that significantly advance knowledge and theory about development across the life span. The journal focuses on seminal empirical contributions. The journal occasionally publishes exceptionally strong scholarly reviews and theoretical or methodological articles. Studies of any aspect of psychological development are appropriate, as are studies of the biological, social, and cultural factors that affect development.

The journal welcomes not only laboratory-based experimental studies but studies employing other rigorous methodologies, such as ethnographies, field research, and secondary analyses of large data sets. We especially seek submissions in new areas of inquiry and submissions that will address contradictory findings or controversies in the field as well as the generalizability of extant findings in new populations.

Although most articles in this journal address human development, studies of other species are appropriate if they have important implications for human development.

Submissions can consist of single manuscripts, proposed sections, or short reports.

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Developmental Psychology supports equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in its practices. More information on these initiatives is available under EDI Efforts .

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The APA Journals Program is committed to publishing transparent, rigorous research; improving reproducibility in science; and aiding research discovery. Open science practices vary per editor discretion. View the initiatives implemented by this journal .

Editor’s Choice

Each issue of Developmental Psychology will highlight one manuscript with the designation as an “ Editor’s Choice ” paper. Selection is based on the recommendations of the associate editors, based on the paper’s potential impact to the field, the distinction of expanding the contributors to, or the focus of, our science, or its discussion of an important future direction for science.

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Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.

Submissions

Please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal in Microsoft Word (.docx) or LaTex (.tex) as a zip file with an accompanied Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the manuscript file.

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7 th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7 th edition are available.

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Koraly Pérez-Edgar The Pennsylvania State University

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Manuscripts should be the appropriate length for the material being presented. Manuscripts can vary from a maximum of 4,500 words for a brief report to 10,500 words for a larger research report to 15,000 words for a report containing multiple studies or comprehensive longitudinal studies. Please note that the total length includes the cover page, abstract, main manuscript text, references section, tables, and figures. Editors will decide on the appropriate length and may return a manuscript for revision before reviews if they think the paper is too long. Please make manuscripts as brief as possible. We have a strong preference for shorter papers.

Author contribution statements using CRediT

The APA Publication Manual (7th ed.) stipulates that “authorship encompasses…not only persons who do the writing but also those who have made substantial scientific contributions to a study.” In the spirit of transparency and openness, Developmental Psychology has adopted the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to describe each author's individual contributions to the work. CRediT offers authors the opportunity to share an accurate and detailed description of their diverse contributions to a manuscript.

Submitting authors will be asked to identify the contributions of all authors at initial submission according to this taxonomy. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the CRediT designations will be published as an author contributions statement in the author note of the final article. All authors should have reviewed and agreed to their individual contribution(s) before submission.

CRediT includes 14 contributor roles, as described below:

• Conceptualization: Ideas; formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.
• Data curation: Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data, and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later reuse.
• Formal analysis: Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data.
• Funding acquisition: Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication.
• Investigation: Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.
• Methodology: Development or design of methodology; creation of models.
• Project administration: Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.
• Resources: Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools.
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• Supervision: Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team.
• Validation: Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs.
• Visualization: Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/data presentation.
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• Writing—review and editing: Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary, or revision—including pre- or post-publication stages.

Authors can claim credit for more than one contributor role, and the same role can be attributed to more than one author.

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Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal Developmental Psychology are now required to provide 2–3 brief sentences regarding the relevance or public health significance of their study or review described in their manuscript. This description should be included within the manuscript on the abstract/keywords page.

The public significance statement (similar to the Relevance section of NIH grant submissions) summarizes the significance of the study's findings for a public audience in one to three sentences (approximately 30–70 words long). It should be written in language that is easily understood by both professionals and members of the lay public. Please refer to the Guidance for Translational Abstracts and Public Significance Statements page to help you write these statements. This statement supports efforts to increase dissemination and usage of research findings by larger and more diverse audiences.

When an accepted paper is published, these sentences will be boxed beneath the abstract for easy accessibility. All such descriptions will also be published as part of the table of contents, as well as on the journal's web page. This policy is in keeping with efforts to increase dissemination and usage by larger and diverse audiences.

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Authors should be sure to report the procedures for sample selection and recruitment. Major demographic characteristics should be reported, such as sex, age, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and, when possible and appropriate, disability status and sexual orientation. Even when such demographic characteristics are not analytic variables, they provide a more complete understanding of the sample and of the generalizability of the findings and are useful in future meta-analytic studies.

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For all study results, measures of both practical and statistical significance should be reported. The latter can involve either a standard error or an appropriate confidence interval. Practical significance can be reported using an effect size, a standardized regression coefficient, a factor loading, or an odds ratio.

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APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines developed by a community working group in conjunction with the Center for Open Science ( Nosek et al. 2015 ). Empirical research, including meta-analyses, submitted to Developmental Psychology  must at least meet the “requirement” level for all aspects of research planning and reporting. Authors should include a subsection in the method section titled “Transparency and Openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP Guidelines. 

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• We report how we determined our sample size, all data exclusions (if any), all manipulations, and all measures in the study, and we follow JARS (Appelbaum et al., 2018). All data, analysis code, and research materials are available at [stable link to repository]. Data were analyzed using R, version 4.0.0 (R Core Team, 2020) and the package ggplot , version 3.2.1 (Wickham, 2016). This study’s design and its analysis were not pre-registered.

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In a subsection titled “Transparency and Openness” at the end of the method section, specify whether and where the data and material will be available or note the legal or ethical reasons for not doing so. For submissions with quantitative or simulation analytic methods, state whether the study analysis code is posted to a trusted repository, and, if so, how to access it (or the legal or ethical reason why it is not available).

• All data have been made publicly available at the [trusted repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].
• Materials and analysis code for this study are not available because [legal or ethical reason].
• The code behind this analysis/simulation has been made publicly available at the [trusted repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].

Preregistration of studies and analysis plans

Preregistration of studies and specific hypotheses can be a useful tool for making strong theoretical claims. Likewise, preregistration of analysis plans can be useful for distinguishing confirmatory and exploratory analyses. Investigators are encouraged to preregister their studies and analysis plans prior to conducting the research via a publicly accessible registry system (e.g., OSF , ClinicalTrials.gov, or other trial registries in the WHO Registry Network). There are many available templates; for example, APA, the British Psychological Society, and the German Psychological Society partnered with the Leibniz Institute for Psychology and Center for Open Science to create Preregistration Standards for Quantitative Research in Psychology (Bosnjak et al., 2022).

Articles must state whether or not any work was preregistered and, if so, where to access the preregistration. If any aspect of the study is preregistered, include the registry link in the method section. Preregistrations must be available to reviewers; authors may submit a masked copy via stable link or supplemental material. Links in the method section should be replaced with an identifiable copy on acceptance.

• This study’s design was preregistered; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study’s design and hypotheses were preregistered; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study’s analysis plan was preregistered; see [STABLE LINK OR DOI].
• This study was not preregistered.

Replications and Registered Reports

Developmental Psychology publishes direct replications. Submissions should include “A Replication of XX Study” in the subtitle of the manuscript as well as in the abstract.

Developmental Psychology also publishes Registered Reports. Registered Reports require a two-step review process. The first step is the submission of the registration manuscript. This is a partial manuscript that includes hypotheses, rationale for the study, experimental design, and methods. The partial manuscript will be reviewed for rigor and methodological approach.

If the partial manuscript is accepted, this amounts to provisional acceptance of the full report regardless of the outcome of the study. The full manuscript will be reviewed for adherence to the preregistered design (deviations should be reported in the manuscript).

Manuscript preparation

Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ).

Review APA's Journal Manuscript Preparation Guidelines before submitting your article.

Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual . Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website .

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We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.

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Journal article

McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review , 126 (1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126

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Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000

Chapter in an edited book

Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012

Software/Code citation

Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package.  Journal of Statistical Software , 36(3), 1–48. https://www.jstatsoft.org/v36/i03/

Wickham, H. et al., (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4 (43), 1686, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686

All data, program code, and other methods must be cited in the text and listed in the references section.

Data set citation

Alegria, M., Jackson, J. S., Kessler, R. C., & Takeuchi, D. (2016). Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003 [Data set]. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20240.v8

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Koraly Pérez-Edgar, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, United States

Associate editors

Irma Arteaga, PhD University of Missouri, United States

Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes, PhD Washington University in St. Louis, United States

Christopher Beam, PhD University of Southern California, United States

Peter Bos, PhD University of Leiden, The Netherlands 

Natalie Brito, PhD New York University, United States 

Lucas Butler, PhD University of Maryland, United States

Gustavo Carlo, PhD University of California, Irvine, United States

Elisabeth Conradt, PhD University of Utah, United States

Timothy Curby, PhD George Mason University, United States

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John Franchak, PhD University of California, Riverside, United States

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Melinda Gonzales Backen, PhD Florida State University, United States

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Amanda Guyer, PhD University of California, Davis, United States

Larisa Solomon, PhD Columbia University, United States

Lana Karasik, PhD City University of New York, United States

Melissa Kibbe, PhD Boston University, United States

Elizabeth Kiel, PhD Miami University of Ohio, United States

Su Yeong Kim, PhD University of Texas, Austin, United States

Diana Leyva, PhD University of Pittsburgh, United States

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Kristine Marceau, PhD Purdue University, United States

Julie Markant, PhD Tulane University, United States

Kalina Michalska, PhD University of California, Riverside, United States

Francisco Palermo, PhD University of Missouri, United States

Carlomagno Panlilio, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, United States

Mikko Peltola, PhD Tampere University, Finland

Gavin Price, PhD Exeter University, United Kingdom

Joanna Williams, PhD Rutgers University, United States

Qing Zhou, PhD University of California, Berkeley, United States

Consulting editors

Melissa Barnett, PhD University of Arizona, United States

Martha Ann Bell, PhD Virginia Tech, United States

Deon Benton, PhD Vanderbilt University, United States

Tashauna Blankenship, PhD University of Massachusetts, Boston, United States

David Bridgett, PhD Northern Illinois University, United States

Rebecca Brooker, PhD Texas A&M University, United States

Samantha Brown, PhD Colorado State University, United States

Claire Cameron, PhD University at Buffalo, United States

Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez, PhD University of Southern California, United States

Rona Carter, PhD, LLP, RYT University of Michigan, United States

Stephen Chen, PhD Wellesley College, United States

Elizabeth Davis, PhD University of California, Riverside, United States

Leah Doane, PhD Arizona State University, United States

Jessica Dollar, PhD University of North Carolina, Greensboro, United States

Robert Duncan, PhD Purdue University, United States

Ari Eason, PhD University of California, Berkeley, United States

Katie Ehrlich, PhD University of Georgia, United States

Paola Escudero, PhD Western Sydney University, Australia

Caitlin Fausey, PhD University of Oregon, United States

Gregory M. Fosco, PhD The Pennsylvania State University, United States

Nicole Gardner-Neblett, PhD University of Michigan, United States

Erica Glasper, PhD Ohio State University, United States

Selin Gulgoz, PhD Fordham University, United States

Ernest Hodges, PhD St. John’s University, United States

Adam Hoffman, PhD Cornell University, United States

Stefanie Höhl, PhD University of Vienna, Austria

Caroline Hornburg, PhD Virginia Tech, United States

Yang Hou, PhD University of Kentucky, United States

Marina Kalashnikova, PhD Basque Center on Cognition, Brain, and Language, Spain

Heather Kirkorian, PhD University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States

Olga Kornienko, PhD George Mason University, United States

Deborah Laible, PhD Lehigh University, United States

Jonathan Lane, PhD Vanderbilt University, United States

Tessa Lansu, PhD Radboud University, Netherlands

Kathryn Leech, PhD University of North Carolina, United States

Ryan Lei, PhD Haverford College, United States

Jeffrey Liew, PhD Texas A&M University, United States

Betty Lin, PhD University at Albany, United States

Eric Lindsey, PhD Penn State Berks, United States

Jessica Lougheed, PhD University of British Columbia, Okanagan, Canada

Alexandra Main, PhD University of California, Merced, United States

Henrike Moll, PhD University of Southern California, United States

Santiago Morales, PhD University of Southern California, United States

Dianna Murray-Close, PhD University of Vermont, United States

Shaylene Nancekivell, PhD University of Manitoba, Canada

Justin Parent, PhD Brown University, United States

Livio Provenzi, PhD IRCCS Mondino Foundation, Italy

Laura Quiñones-Camacho, PhD University of Texas, Austin, United States

Rachel Romeo, PhD, CCC-SLP University of Maryland, United States

Samuel Ronfard, EdD University of Toronto, Canada

Kathleen Rudasill, PhD Virginia Commonwealth University, United States

Adena Schachner, PhD University of California, San Diego, United States

Yishan Shen, PhD Texas State University, United States

Cara Streit, PhD University of New Mexico, United States

Cin Cin Tan, PhD University of Toledo, United States

Rachel Thibodeau-Nielson, PhD University of Missouri, United States

Sho Tsuji, PhD University of Tokyo, Japan

Yuuko Uchikoshi, EdD University of California, Davis, United States

Carlos Valiente, PhD Arizona State University, United States

Nicholas Wagner, PhD Boston University, United States

Jinjing Wang, PhD Rutgers University, United States

Jun Wang, PhD Texas A&M University, United States

Christina Weiland, EdD University of Michigan, United States

Eric Wilkey, PhD Louisiana State University, United States

Peer review coordinator

Emily Densmore American Psychological Association

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Special issue of the APA journal Developmental Psychology, Vol. 56, No. 3, March 2020. Articles discuss the impact of emotion-related socialization behaviors on children’s emotion, self-regulation, and developmental outcomes.

Special issue of the APA journal Developmental Psychology, Vol. 55, No. 9, September 2019. The issue is intended to present and highlight examples of innovative recent approaches and thinking to a range of questions about emotional development and to inspire new directions for future research.

Special issue of the APA journal Developmental Psychology, Vol. 53, No. 11, November 2017. The articles examine identity in developmental stages ranging from early childhood to young adulthood, and represent samples from 5 different countries.

Special issue of the APA journal Developmental Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 3, March 2013. The articles pose important questions concerning how children learn from others, what the characteristic signatures of social learning might be, and how this learning changes over time.

Transparency and Openness Promotion

APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines by a community working group in conjunction with the Center for Open Science ( Nosek et al. 2015 ). The TOP Guidelines cover eight fundamental aspects of research planning and reporting that can be followed by journals and authors at three levels of compliance.

• Level 1: Disclosure—The article must disclose whether or not the materials are posted to a trusted repository.
• Level 2: Requirement—The article must share materials via a trusted repository when legally and ethically permitted (or disclose the legal and/or ethical restriction when not permitted).
• Level 3: Verification—A third party must verify that the standard is met.

At a minimum, empirical research, including meta-analyses, submitted to Developmental Psychology must, at a minimum, meet Level 2 (Requirement) for all aspects of research planning and reporting. Authors should include a subsection in their methods description titled “Transparency and Openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP Guidelines.

The list below summarizes the minimal TOP requirements of the journal. Please refer to the TOP guidelines for details, and contact the editor (Koraly Pérez-Edgar, PhD) with any further questions. Authors must share data, materials, and code via trusted repositories (e.g., APA’s repository on the Open Science Framework (OSF)). Trusted repositories adhere to policies that make data discoverable, accessible, usable, and preserved for the long term. Trusted repositories also assign unique and persistent identifiers.

We encourage investigators to preregister their studies and to share protocols and analysis plans prior to conducting their research. Clinical trials are studies that prospectively evaluate the effects of interventions on health outcomes, including psychological health. Clinical trials must be registered before enrolling participants on ClinicalTrials.gov or another primary register of the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) . There are many available preregistration forms (e.g., the APA Preregistration for Quantitative Research in Psychology template, ClininalTrials.gov , or other preregistration templates available via OSF ). Completed preregistration forms should be posted on a publicly accessible registry system (e.g., OSF , ClinicalTrials.gov, or other trial registries in the WHO Registry Network).

The following list presents the eight fundamental aspects of research planning and reporting, the TOP level required by  Developmental Psychology , and a brief description of the journal's policy.

• Citation: Level 2, Requirement—All data, program code, and other methods developed by others must be cited in the text and listed in the references section.
• Data Transparency: Level 2, Requirement—Article states whether the raw and/or processed data on which study conclusions are based are available and either where to access them or the legal or ethical reasons why they are not available.
• Analytic Methods (Code) Transparency: Level 2, Requirement—Article states whether computer code or syntax needed to reproduce analyses in an article is posted to a trusted repository and either how to access it or the legal or ethical reasons why it is not available
• Research Materials Transparency: Level 2, Requirement—Article states whether materials described in the method section are posted to a trusted repository and either how to access them or the legal or ethical reasons why they are not available.
• Design and Analysis Transparency (Reporting Standards): Level 2, Requirement—Article must comply with APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS-Quant, JARS-Qual, and/or MARS).
• Study Preregistration: Level 2, Requirement—Article states whether the study design and (if applicable) hypotheses of any of the work reported was preregistered and, if so, how to access it. Authors must submit a masked copy via stable link or supplemental material.
• Analysis Plan Preregistration: Level 2, Requirement—Article states whether any of the work reported preregistered an analysis plan and, if so, how to access it. Authors must submit a masked copy via stable link or supplemental material.
• Replication: Level 3, Verification—The journal publishes replications and Registered Reports.

Other open science initiatives

• Open Science badges: Not offered
• Public significance statements: Offered
• Author contribution statements using CRediT: Required
• Registered Reports: Published
• Replications: Published
• Detailed sample descriptions: Required

Explore open science at APA .

Inclusive study designs

• Registered Reports

Definitions and further details on inclusive study designs are available on the Journals EDI homepage .

Inclusive reporting standards

• Bias-free language and community-driven language guidelines (required)
• Author contribution roles using CRediT (required)
• Data sharing and data availability statements (required)
• Impact statements (required)
• Participant sample descriptions (required)

More information on this journal’s reporting standards is listed under the submission guidelines tab .

Pathways to authorship and editorship

Editorial fellowships.

Editorial fellowships for this journal will begin in 2023.

Other EDI offerings

Orcid reviewer recognition.

Open Research and Contributor ID (ORCID) Reviewer Recognition provides a visible and verifiable way for journals to publicly credit reviewers without compromising the confidentiality of the peer-review process. This journal has implemented the ORCID Reviewer Recognition feature in Editorial Manager, meaning that reviewers can be recognized for their contributions to the peer-review process.

Masked peer review

This journal offers masked peer review (where both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are not known to the other). Research has shown that masked peer review can help reduce implicit bias against traditionally female names or early-career scientists with smaller publication records (Budden et al., 2008; Darling, 2015).

Editor Spotlight

• Read the January 2023 editorial by Editor Koraly Pérez-Edgar
• Read an interview with Editor Koraly Pérez-Edgar, PhD

From APA Journals Article Spotlight ®

• Does children's biological functioning predict parenting behavior?
• New directions in the study of human emotional development

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