Scientific Psychology

Scientific Psychology

Scientific psychology is the study of behavior and mind. The scientific part comes from the observation of behaviors, where in psychologists gather observations and look for their regularities then produce likelihoods based upon what they have observed (Nairne, 2011). By studying these observations psychologists can learn more about the mind and the behaviors of individuals. Mind and behavior are defined separately; the mind is considered to be thoughts, sensations, and emotions, whereas behavior can be defined as movements such as walking or talking but also the activities of brain cells or even thoughts and feelings as long as they can be seen and calculated in an organized way (Nairne, 2011).

There are several different venues under which psychologists' practice they are clinical, applied, and research. It is the obligation of the clinical psychologist to diagnose and assess mental and emotional disorders in individuals. Once a diagnosis is made, the psychologist then prescribes a course of treatment. Clinical psychologists work with their patients rigorously in various settings such as mental health facilities, prisons, hospitals, and clinics (Nairne, 2011).

Applied psychology can be defined as "the use of methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience" (classof1.com). An applied psychologist may work with a various range of individuals from schools where they work with students to ensure that they achieve academic and social success. They also may work in the business and industrial sector to boost morale among associates, train new employees or to train managers to better communicate with their employees. Applied psychologists also work in the field of engineering, helping with the design and implementation of new products marketed for consumer ease. Such as the arrangement of knobs on a kitchen stove, order of colors of traffic lights, or the grouping digits in telephone numbers (Nairne, 2011).

Research psychologist's study not only human behavior, but behavioral characteristics of animals and are a part of the studies led by research psychologists. Business centers, non-profit and government organizations are some of the settings that are involved in a research psychologist job description. This is where the scientist needs an in-depth study on how an individual feels, thinks, learns and acts. After the research data is taken the psychologist deals with perception, attention, memory, and genetic and neurological factors affecting behavior. Some of the different titles that these psychologists hold are bio psychologists, personality psychologists, cognitive psychologists, developmental psychologists, and social psychologists (Nairne, 2011).

Today's church may very well benefit from the added resources of a scientific psychologist. When

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