The emergence of what we know as “applied psychology” was fundamental in the development of current psychology . In this article, we will analyze what applied psychology is and what are its most important goals and aspects.
Applied psychology: definition and objectives
Applied psychology consists of the use of the knowledge obtained and the methods developed by basic psychology, with the aim of solving everyday problems, increasing the quality of life or making groups of people function more adequately.
Although applied psychology is a very broad discipline, we can say that this concept refers to the practical aspect of psychology . Unlike applied psychology, psychological science in general does not necessarily deal with intervention, but studies behavior and mental processes.
Thus, while basic psychology includes disciplines such as social, experimental, evolutionary or developmental psychology, applied psychology puts into practice the knowledge obtained by the aforementioned branches, as in the case of clinical and educational psychology. or human resources.
However, the distinction between applied psychology and other aspects of psychology is not always clear, since theory and practice feed each other in a lively and constant way.
How did it come about?
It all started at the beginning of the 20th century, when it was realized that there were already several theories related to psychology, but society lacked the practicality of this knowledge. Therefore, it was necessary to apply the discovered concepts to people’s lives.
The psychologist Hugo Munsterberg was the one who contributed a lot to this transition. He recorded everything that deviated from the pattern observed within an institution. For him, it was possible to improve people’s aptitude, regardless of the complexity of the work environment.
From this, applied psychology has been expanded to numerous application areas. Today, this science brings benefits to work, studies , health and everything that involves the well-being of man in his life in society.
Münsterberg and the foundations of this discipline
The main pioneer of applied psychology is considered to be the German psychophysiologist Hugo Münsterberg . After studying with Wilhelm Wundt and founding a psychological laboratory in Freiburg, Münsterberg met William James, who invited him to work at Harvard University. It was in the United States where he gained more recognition and fame.
Münsterberg’s works contributed to the development of many of the future fields of applied psychology , including clinical, forensic, and organizational psychology.
Münsterberg’s work would be a fundamental reference for the application of psychological knowledge during the following decades, particularly after the creation of the International Association of Applied Psychology and World War II, when the US government began to hire public psychologists to increase their chances of success. win the conflict.
Branches of applied psychology
The concept of “applied psychology” is very broad and therefore fits into a large number of subdisciplines. We will focus on briefly describing the goals of the most well-known and defining branches of applied psychology .
1. Community Psychology
Community psychologists primarily use the knowledge gained from social psychology to improve the quality of life for large groups, such as favela residents. The biggest peculiarity of community psychology is that it focuses on macro-social aspects based on a territorial perspective.
2. Organizational and human resources
Organizational psychology focuses on preventing and solving problems that arise in the context of the company . For its part, the concept “human resources” refers more specifically to the selection, training and management of employees based on the organization’s objectives.
3. Educational
Educational psychology is the application of scientific psychology to learning , fundamentally that carried out by children and adolescents during basic education. Educational psychology draws from theoretical branches, such as developmental or cognitive psychology.
4. Clinic
Clinical psychology, probably the best-known branch of psychological science, deals with the study, prevention, and treatment of dysfunctional behaviors and the improvement of mental well-being . In clinical psychology, behavior modification therapy is the closest theoretical orientation to the goal of applying knowledge gained through scientific research.
5. Environmental
This discipline applies the knowledge of psychology to the relationship of people with their environment , understanding the term in a broad sense; Thus, environmental psychology would include furnishing furniture to improve work performance and the applications of psychology in nature conservation, among many other examples.
6. Health
Health psychology looks at the relationship between behavior and physical disorders, particularly chronic ones such as cardiovascular problems or asthma. This branch of psychology partially overlaps with the clinical and focuses on disease prevention, treatment, and management.
7. Sports
Sport psychology works on the factors that affect sports performance in order to increase it. Among others, sport psychology deals with managing group conflict in team sports and reducing anxiety in high-performance competition.
8. Forensics
Forensic psychology focuses on the application of scientific psychology to legal proceedings. In addition to contributing to the investigation of crimes, forensic psychology can be used to resolve child custody conflicts or analyze the validity of witness testimony, among other uses.
9. Advertising
The application of psychological knowledge to advertising is one of the oldest forms of applied psychology, given its economic potential for private companies. The well-known subliminal images, for example, emerged in the context of psychology applied to advertising.
What are the proposals and premises of applied psychology?
Also known as positive psychology, this science makes analyzes based on scientific methods. The difference between it and basic psychology is that, in this case, the focus is on the positive aspects of life.
Instead of exploring the causes of a patient’s depression, for example, it looks at what gives them pleasure. That’s right. Faced with a negative fact of life, applied psychology helps you focus on aspects of your daily life that are flowing better.
That’s because not everything goes wrong in our life at the same time. We are the ones who tend to focus only on the area that is in trouble and we get depressed about it. When we keep the focus on the positive, the tendency is that, over time, everything will come back into alignment.
This is how the patient changes his way of thinking and, even if he does not realize it, he starts to take more positive attitudes in the face of challenges.
How does this science help in everyday life?
As we said above, applied psychology can help in many walks of life. For you to understand better, we made a summary of how it works in each of them. Follow:
Health
Of course, physical diseases exist, but psychology in this case aims to identify behaviors and addictions that lead to physical and psychological disorders. From there, changing the attitude can promote improvements in health.
sports
An athlete deals with daily pressures regarding their performance. In this case, psychology aims to alleviate anxiety and encourage group work, not competitiveness.
Job
Often, the work environment is contaminated by some behaviors, and employees feel unmotivated or do not have the necessary preparation to act. Applied psychology helps to remedy these situations, based on work that aims to highlight the positive aspects of each employee and the skills of teamwork.
Education
A child who has learning disorders can benefit from this area of psychology. This is because applied psychology plays an important role in education , acting in educational methodologies that help students to assimilate the subjects.
Today, there are professionals who specialize in these specific areas who can help you identify and address the source of a problem. It is also important to remember that they are all interconnected: optimizing one of them has positive effects on all the others.
How to get access to applied psychology?
There are several ways to apply this science. For you to understand better, we list below some examples of treatments that can be performed:
Pedagogy
Some children have learning difficulties , and an applied psychology practitioner is able to delve further into this problem. It is possible to carry out a therapeutic accompaniment that provides the overcoming of difficulties.
gym for the brain
It is a kind of training that involves the patient’s cognitive functions. The main capabilities in this regard are: memory, perception, attention, language and executive functions.
Some mental exercises allow you to create new brain connections that help develop these functions. However, each person has their own characteristics.
The great secret of this treatment is that it considers the characteristics of each patient. The results are obtained from training and brain exercises that promote this development.
Scientifically speaking, this training optimizes brain capacity and provides well-being, increasing self-esteem and mitigating feelings of fear and depression.
Occupational therapy
This treatment works in health, education and the social environment. Not all people find it easy to include themselves in groups, and occupational therapy aims to make them more autonomous, capable of establishing this coexistence without the need for suffering and internal conflicts.
People who have difficulties in studies, work or simply feel unable to perform basic everyday tasks well can benefit from this large-scale treatment;
Psychological and Neuropsychological Expertise
Often, the analysis of the relationship between psyche and behavior is necessary. This aspect consists of a medical analysis, which can be carried out by psychologists, psychiatrists or neurologists. Once the problem has been identified, it is possible to determine the resources to be used in search of positive results.
