Foundations of Psychology Identifying the major schools of thought in psychology and examining their major underlining assumptions; has been very interesting in many aspects of my research. In researching the branches of psychology, provided to me were different answers regarding how many branches of psychology there are. Using my sense of reason, I chose to use the answer of 10 for my paper in Foundations of Psychology. 1. Abnormal Psychology ~ the study of particular behavioral abnormalities in a person’s psyche. • A young girl with a twin brother who was very close emotionally. The brother passed away because of a sudden accident. The once vicarious, outgoing and lively girl became very introverted and shy. Her once successful existence was facing fast; from failing grades to no social interaction except with her parents, whom she clung to for dear life. This girl showed early signs of fear of abandonment. 2. Behavioral Psychology ~ the studies in behavior of an individual (human or otherwise) go gage the psychological state of that individual. The most common term used for behavioral neuroscience or biopsychology or psychobiology is Behavioral Psychology. • A normal 18-year-old young man who loved partying and spending time with his boyfriend, the young man was gay. This created much heartache for him because of him experiencing constant insults and arguing with his family. The young man found solace in smoking marijuana that he became addicted to and could not function without it. He lived a very short life and died at the age of 20. This was clearly about addiction. 3. Clinical Psychology ~ the scientific study of the prevention, understanding, and the relieving of psychologically based issues. It also stresses a great deal of research in teaching, consultations, forensic testimony, and program development, and administration. A Clinical Psychologists are compares to the General Practitioners of Psychology. • A mother of two was in a long-term, dysfunctional marriage. After the marriage dissolved, found herself overwhelmed by “single mother-hood.” She started losing her temper with the children and was not performing up to standards in her position with her employer. One of her colleagues suggested she see a Psychotherapist and over a few weeks she was finding some peace-of-mind. 4. Cognitive Psychology ~ deals with the internal mental processes of thought such as visual processing, memory, problem-solving, and language. Along with the concepts of perception, aging memory, emotions, decision-making, etc. • Not able to give a generic example of cognitive psychology because it is usually accompaniment with behavioral or any other branch of psychology. 5. Community Psychology ~ studies the psychology of individuals and the dynamics in a community. It studies the concepts such as diplomacy characteristics to community-oriented behavior. It also studies adaptation, cycling, succession, and interdependence. It helps communities understand empowerment, social justice, and such like citizen participation. Also community psychology also referred to as critical psychology. • Once there were three community psychologists, members of a social service group that facilitated mindset altering in conservative regions. They took on the challenge of reducing occurrences of female infanticide in a small village in India. After a year of educating men and women of the village, they started a project on woman empowerment and later took the steps into stopping female infanticide. It took those men and women five years to change the mindset of the people of the village, thanks to their understanding of the community psychology. 6. Developmental Psychology ~ studies the progression of changes and helps understand the changes, their causes and effects of the systematic changes that occur in a human being and his psyche over the course of life. Developmental psychology also concerned with early child development and care. • A woman had given birth to a happy, healthy baby boy. As time went on, her and her husband noticed a delay in his ability to speak comprehensively. They contacted a developmental psychologist who identified the problem as advanced dyslexia and started a treatment plan for her child. By the time the child was five, he was just as capable as any other five-year-old. 7. Educational Psychology ~ deals with learning disorders, “gifted” students, peer pressure, adolescence, and sex education in children. Known for its label as school psychologist and basically used in educational institutions and concentrates on student life. • A typical bully at a high school. He spent most his week after-school in detention. He used to be a straight “A” student and was good at basketball, yet he never tried out. As of his senior year in high-school, he never had a girlfriend. He had a “gang of peeps,” yet he never called them friends. After sessions with the educational psychologist, she discovered he was suffering from extreme low self-esteem and masked-off by a superiority complex. 8. Evolutionary Psychology ~ studies the most primal psychological stimuli in human beings. Believed by evolutionary scientists is natural for a human being to pick out linguistic skills; the same is not true for adaptive skills such as reading and writing. What is also natural for a human being to gage another’s emotional state of mind, and ability to recognize a kin form another. • Alfa-males techniques to attract and win over females. 9. Legal Psychology ~ is the same as cognitive and clinical psychology; however, they have to assist in the process of a crime investigation. Used to understand and to judge testimonies and statements of witnesses or victims. Along with their perceptions from a legal point of view. • Helping an innocent person from a sentencing to prison. 10. Personality Psychology ~ governs the legitimate IQ and personality tests that one takes to understand themselves better. It also studies specific personality disorders like narcissistic and borderline personality disorders. • A typical teenager that suffered from the typical confusion relating to her image. She was popular and had many friends, yet she was lonely at night. After, she tried to surmise herself she decided to go in for a personality test. She was suffering from the greed of popularity. She has followed her calling and found true happiness. The approaches to psychology are categorized as the following: *Physiological ~ how the brain affects behavior and vice-versa. *Clinical ~ psychoanalysis and other view-points. *Behavioral ~ how behavior is shaped by the environment. *Cognitive ~ how thoughts, memories and problem-solving strategies affect our lives. *Social Cultural ~ how society norms, rolls, and situations influence our actions.