Career in Psychology
Areas of Specialization

• Health psychologists promote good health through health maintenance counseling programs that are designed to help people achieve goals such as to stop smoking or lose weight.

• Neuropsychologists study the relation between the brain and behavior. They often work in stroke and head injury programs.

• Geropsychologists deal with the special problems faced by the elderly. The emergence and growth of these specialties reflects the increasing participation of psychologists in providing direct services to special patient populations.

• Cognitive psychologists deal with memory, thinking, and perceptions. Some conduct research related to computer programming and artificial intelligence.

• Counseling psychologists use various techniques, including interviewing and testing, to advise people on how to deal with problems of everyday living. They work in settings such as university counseling centers, hospitals, and individual or group practices.

• Developmental psychologists study the physiological development that takes place throughout life. Some specialize in behavior during infancy, childhood, and adolescence, changes that take place during maturity or old age, or developmental disabilities and their effects. Increasingly, research is developing ways to help elderly people stay as independent as possible.

• Experimental or research psychologists work in university and private research centers, and in business, nonprofit, and governmental organizations. They study behavior processes with human beings and animals such as rats, monkeys, and pigeons. Prominent areas of study in experimental research include motivation, thinking, attention, learning and memory, sensory and perceptual processes, effects of substance abuse, and genetic and neurological factors affecting behavior.

• Forensic psychologists: work closely with law enforcement officials to create valid interrogation techniques, lineups and lend their expertise to criminal investigations and criminal profiling.

• Industrial-organizational psychologists (I/O) apply psychological principles and research methods to the workplace in the interest of improving productivity and the quality of work-life. They also are involved in research into management and marketing problems. They conduct applicant screening, training and development, counseling, and organizational development and analysis. An industrial psychologist might work with management to reorganize the work setting to improve productivity or quality of life in the workplace. They frequently act as consultants, brought in by management in order to solve a particular problem.

• School psychologists work in elementary and secondary schools or school district offices with students, teachers, parents, and administrators to resolve students' learning and behavior problems. They collaborate with teachers, parents, and school personnel to improve classroom management strategies or parenting skills, counter substance abuse, work with students with disabilities or gifted and talented students, and improve teaching and learning strategies. They may evaluate the effectiveness of academic programs, behavior management procedures, and other services provided in the school setting.

• Social psychologists & Sport Psychologists examine people's interactions with others and with the social environment. They work in organizational consultation, marketing research, systems design or other applied psychology fields. Prominent areas of study include group behavior, leadership, attitudes, and perception.

Editorial provided by Professor Tom Davis, Chairperson of the Psychology Program at Nichols College, Dudley, MA.