Preview

The Diverse Nature of Psychology

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
927 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Diverse Nature of Psychology
The Diverse Nature of Psychology Psychology, though a young field, is a uniquely successful one, flourishing in the twentieth century through intellectual and social expansion (Darity, 2008). From its philosophical roots to its emergence as a scientific discipline, the field of psychology has been concerned with behavior and mental processes. By its very nature, the field is diverse encompassing many subdisciplines and areas. The American Psychological Association recognizes more than 50 different divisions in the field, marked either by area of study or area of practice. Because of its diverse nature, the field has become widely applicable and valuable in many other fields. Psychology has successfully been applied to fields like education, vocational, medicine, sports, and the corporate world. This paper will discuss the impact of diversity on psychology’s major concepts, give examples of subdisciplines and their implications in other fields, and examine many ways psychology has contributed to society.

Unification

There does exist some discourse regarding the unification of this diverse field. Some early theoretical psychologists and modern experts have criticized the missing unity of psychology (Darity, 2008). In the early twentieth century, there was a movement to unify major concepts in psychology such as psychoanalysis, behaviorism, Gestalt psychology, and structuralism. Later, criticisms involved multiple theoretical approaches and empirical data that were often contradictory (Darity, 2008). Today, the field of psychology is so diverse in its concepts and its positions on theories and so disjointed in its characteristics that multiple psychologies, rather than a unified psychology, remain prevalent (Darity, 2008). Those who advocate unity in the field demand unification for theoretical reasons. Opponents of unification contend that the lack of unity in the field makes for an adaptive discipline applicable in other fields (Darity,



References: Ball, S A (Oct 1, 2003). Psychotherapy Models for Substance Abuse. Psychiatric Times. , 20, 10. p.117. Retrieved March 03, 2011, from Academic OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=AONE&docId=A108613877&source=gale&userGroupName=apollo&version=1.0 Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11. In Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos056.htm. Darity, W. A., (Ed.), (2008). International encyclopedia of the social sciences. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. Pettigrew, T. (1998). Applying social psychology to international social issues. In BNET. Retrieved March 3, 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0341/is_4_54/ai_54422532/?tag=content;col1.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    The diverse nature of psychology is a complex phenomenon. Psychology is a large field encompassing many perspective, theories, and concepts. In this paper, the influence of diversity on psychology’s major concepts will be evaluated. A couple of sub-disciplines including their sub-topics will be identified and the ways in which they can be applied along with their contributions to the world psychology.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    There are a number of professions in the field of criminal justice. These professions include probation officer, public safety dispatcher, and juvenile detention officer. Many professions in the field of criminal justice are associated with helping people. Professionals in this field help to keep society safe from those who commit crimes while helping criminals readjust in society. The responsibilities of these professionals include the apprehension and punishment of criminals, protection of the innocent, the fair treatment of the offender, as well as preserving the integrity of the criminal justice system. This system includes the police, courts and corrections. Criminal justice refers to the aspect of social justice that concern violation of the criminal law. (Schmalleger, 2011 pg. 14)…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Best Essays

    Bureau of labor Statistics, . (2010). Occupational outlook handbook, 2010-11 edition. Retrieved August 25, 2010 from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos083.htm…

    • 2515 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    References: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Training and Development Managers,…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The breadth and diversity of psychology can be seen by looking as some of its best known thinkers. While each theorist may have been part of an overriding school of thought, each brought a unique and individual voice and perspective to the field of psychology. A study that appeared in the July 2002 issue of the “Review of General Psychology” created a ranking of the 99 most influential psychologists. The rankings were mostly based on three factors: the frequency of journal citations, introductory textbook citations, and the survey responses of 1,725 members of the American Psychological Association. (About.com, 2015)…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Psychology is a diverse area of study. Within this paper it will discuss the influence of diversity and it’s major concepts within psychology. It will also discuss subtopics within psychology, as well as how subtopics are identified, and applied to other disciplines within society. As well as, explain how these subtopics affect my personal theoretical perspective. Lastly, it will discuss how my contribution of studying psychology will benefit society within my area of profession in which I hope to achieve in my near future.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Woodstock Research Paper

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Cited: 1. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr.. Vol. 9. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. P120-121. “Darity”…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the world of psychology the have multiple versions experts’ study, today we will talk about to that in my opinion go hand and hand while being two fields that are separate.…

    • 783 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I will concentrate on the need for a Database Management System (DBMS). I feel that by utilizing a database management system it will alleviate all of the unnecessary traveling that Mr. Morgan currently does. Mr. Morgan is in charge of all of the day to day business, as well as the payroll, and recruiting for the company and all of its stores. The main functions of a DBMS are to create the database, insert, read, update, and delete database data, maintain data integrity (i.e., making sure that the data are correct) and security (i.e., making sure that only the right people have access to the data), and prevent data from being lost by providing backup and recovery capabilities (Thite, 2009). DBMS can help eliminate the need for traveling to each individual…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Career Comparison

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Cited: "Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition." U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 17 Aug. 2010. .…

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Hca 340 Final Paper

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Very simply, it is a process by which we look into the future, paint a…

    • 351 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The field of psychology has been in existence for several hundred years. It seeks to define why specific behaviors occur and also to examine mental problems. Over the years psychology has become a discipline that has valuable application in other areas as well. Because it crosses the areas of science, behavior, and mental processes, it has broad implications in other arenas as well. These arenas include learning and cognition, motivation, and personality, to name a few. It is evidenced in the Western countries that the field of psychology comes into play. For example it is used in education, medicine, business, and law. The integration with multiple disciplines combined with advances in learning research has made the field very captivating. This paper will evaluate the influence of diversity on psychology’s major concepts, review subdisciplines and how they can be applied to other disciplined. It will also outline how these contribute to society in multiple areas.…

    • 906 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Segall, M. H., Dasen, P. R., Berry, J. W., & Poortinga, Y. H. (1999). Human behavior in global perspective: An introduction to cross-cultural psychology (2nd…

    • 1639 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hydraulic Fracking

    • 15749 Words
    • 63 Pages

    United States Department of Labor. (2012, August 16). Bureau of Labor Statistics Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject. Retrieved August 2012, 2012, from United States Department of Labor: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000…

    • 15749 Words
    • 63 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    History in the field of psychology has continually grown and tried to become unified. Many psychologists and individuals who have considered themselves to be involved in psychology have discussed unification, whether it is possible, and if it even deserves to be unified as a whole. Christopher D. Green (2015) takes us on a trip through the history of psychology as it concerns to unification, what to be unified even means, and if psychology could ever achieve it, in his a paper "Why psychology isn't unified, and probably never will be." Unification of a academic subject is important in order to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals and understands the breadth of a subject. With an extremely broad topic like psychology, this…

    • 181 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics