What Is Psychology?

As a broad definition, psychology is the study of behavior and the mind. The overall scholarly discipline of psychology can be divided into many different specializations, with the most prominent being the following:

• Clinical — Applying the science and theory of psychology to treat mental illness and disabilities.
• Cognitive — Studying internal mental processes to understand how individuals think, learn, and communicate.
• Developmental — Researching how the human mind develops over the course of an individual’s life.
• Forensic — Applying psychology to investigate criminal behaviors.

The History of Psychology

Although psychology is now a rather distinguished scientific discipline, it has surprisingly humble roots. Psychology only became classified as a true academic discipline in 1875, when Professor William James established the first formal psychology course in the United States at Harvard University. Soon after, in 1878, G. Stanley Hall became the first American to earn a doctoral degree in psychology. Then, Wilhelm Wundt established the first experimental psychology lab in 1879 in Germany, and psychology became studied on an international scale. Before this, psychology was viewed academically as mental philosophy, rather than as its own laboratory science. By 1892, Hall had enough colleagues to establish the American Psychological Association, a professional organization meant to facilitate interactions among American psychologists.

What Does the Future of Psychology Look Like?

Thought leaders in psychology expect neuroscience and molecular biology to become far more important to clinical psychology. While today’s psychological research may involve using neuroimaging technology to observe the brain as it processes thoughts, this technology has not nearly reached its full potential. Though it is unclear exactly what benefit these tools will provide, the future of psychology will likely feature the discovery of more practical applications for neuroimaging equipment in the field of psychology, such as using neuroimaging to gain a better understanding of cognitive disorders.