“Every person on this earth is full of great possibilities that can be realized through imagination, effort, and perseverance.”
–Scott Barry Kaufmann
By studying psychology, we learn that we can become the best versions of ourselves with some knowledge of the human brain, a little effort, and decisive action. Regardless of our upbringing, tendencies, and deeply ingrained patterns, we have endless possibilities for self-improvement.
Truthfully, aspects of psychology should be studied by all persons, whether you're completing a degree program or not. Because once we start to understand specific psychology topics, we can have healthy relationships with our loved ones.
So, without further ado, in today's article, we'll analyse different types of psychology, such as criminal, cognitive, colour, educational, and social psychology.
Criminal Psychology
In recent years, there's been a keen interest in documentaries and docuseries that deal with real-life crimes committed worldwide. Many Netflix shows have been created to meet the need of people intrigued with criminal activities.
If individuals want to take their love of criminology to the next level, there are many criminal or forensic psychology career opportunities. But what exactly is criminal psychology? Also known as criminological psychology, criminal psychology is the perfect combination of criminal justice and psychology.
Criminal psychology studies the motives, actions, reactions, and behaviour of criminals and other suspects.
To become a working criminal psychologist, you must get above-average grades in the GCSEs and A-Levels, attend a BSc undergraduate program at university, and undergo an internship program. After that, you're ready to join the workforce!
It's worth stating that multiple further education centres in the UK offer brilliant BSc and MSc courses in forensic or criminal psychology.
After a criminal psychology degree has been acquired, the following are some of the potential jobs:
- Crime Analyst,
- Criminal Profiler,
- Victim Advocate,
- Criminal Psychologist,
- Expert Witness,
- Behavioural Therapist,
- Forensic Psychologist.
When starting in criminal psychology, recent graduates can earn anywhere from £27,000 to £42,000 annually; this depends on factors such as location, past work experience, and qualifications.
If you encounter any issues while learning about criminal psychology, we suggest hiring a Superprof!
Cognitive Psychology
Probably one of the most fundamental sectors or types of psychology, cognitive psychology is reviewed by plenty of university students and curious learners. But what exactly is cognitive psychology? Cognitive psychology is the scientific study that deals with mental processes such as attention, language use, memory, perception, problem-solving, creativity, and reasoning.
Cognitive psychology is both scientific and psychological since it dives deep into the human psyche and the science behind how the mind functions.
Since cognitive psychology is broad and covers many aspects of human operations, there are multiple theories. However, the list below features three primary theories of cognitive psychology:
- Dual Coding Theory,
- Cognitive Load Theory,
- Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.
To better understand the previously mentioned theories and other fundamental aspects of cognitive psychology, many books have been published on the subject, and the following are the most highly recommended:
- Cognitive Psychology for Dummies by Dr Peter J. Hills,
- Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman,
- How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker,
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.
All of the previously mentioned books allow learners to process the essential aspects of cognitive psychology and learn about themes such as the following:
- Automatic Processing,
- Top-Down Processing,
- Serial Processing,
- Implicit Memory,
- Connectionism,
- Metacognition,
- Interactivity,
- Conscious Processing.
Students undergoing a three-year undergraduate degree in psychology at a qualified university will be able to completely understand cognitive psychology and implement its methods in their dealings with patients.
But what if you need to help understand cognitive psychology principles? While there are many YouTube channels, textbooks, and well-written blog posts, nothing compares to the personalised guidance and assistance of a private cognitive psychologist from the Superprof site!
You can discover some of the most influential psychology tutors on Superprof here.
Colour Psychology
Do you like pretty colours and avoid bland shades like the plague? Selecting different colours is one thing, but did you know that in terms of psychology, every colour signifies something different? There's even a subgenre of psychology that is known as colour psychology.
Colour psychology was pioneered in the 20th century by famous psychologist Carl Jung. It's been defined as the discipline of psychology that analyses how humans are affected by different colours. By conducting many examinations, psychologists have discovered that colours impact behaviour for the good and the bad.
Also, unlike other psychology subjects, colour psychology varies from place to place since different cultures have different interpretations and meanings of a specific colour.
Colour psychology is genuinely intriguing, and the following are some of the best books on the subject to help readers like us understand its fundamental concepts:
- The Secret Lives of Colour by Kassia St Clair,
- The Little Book of Colour by Karen Haller,
- The Interaction of Colour by Josef Alber.
Also, it's worth stating that since colour psychology theories have proven true, many marketing firms use specific colours to elicit emotions and feelings in people to motivate them to buy certain products.
To continue your exploration of colour psychology, we highly recommend finding and hiring an expert in psychology on the Supeprof site. Happy learning!
Educational Psychology
A fantastic field of study for persons who adore both psychology and education, educational psychology is a subdiscipline of psychology that has become more popular since it analyses how students acquire academic concepts in a traditional learning setting while being introduced to new topics.
Educational psychology stems from other types of psychology, such as developmental, behavioural, and cognitive psychology.
Educational Psychologists (EPs) take the time to learn about multiple perspectives of psychology, such as the behavioural, developmental, and cognitive perspectives, to name a few. Typical subjects of educational psychology include educational psychology, instructional design, special education, curriculum development, and gifted learners.
Educational psychology has become increasingly important in the 2020s to address students with learning disabilities and ensure they can effectively acquire essential concepts at the same rhythm as others without falling behind.
Most Educational Psychologists work in private or public schools with educators and students to create a cohesive environment.
If you're considering a career in educational psychology, you might want to take a closer look at the degree programs offered at the following universities:
- The University of Manchester,
- Leeds Beckett University,
- University College London (UCL).
While the previously mentioned locations offer full-time, long-term courses, if you want to take part-time classes in educational psychology, we recommend hiring a private tutor on the Superprof site.
Most educational psychologists can start their career with a master's, but there are plenty of benefits of an educational psychology PhD to consider. These include access to higher-paying jobs and the chance to use your academic skills.
Social Psychology
Truthfully, human beings are fascinating creatures that are genuinely unique one from the other. Proof of how intriguing people are can be noticed during social interactions. To analyse why people act and react a certain way when dealing with others, there's the topic of social psychology.
Social psychology is one of psychology's most commonly studied disciplines since it reviews social interactions, their origins, and their effects on people.
Students reviewing social psychology at a university level or as a hobby will touch on the following topics:
- Group behaviour,
- Social perception,
- Aggression,
- Prejudice,
- Conformity,
- Nonverbal Behaviour,
- Leadership.
Social psychology is extremely interesting for persons who get a kick out of analysing humans and how they react a certain way in a particular social group and completely different in another.
To effectively review social psychology, we remarkably suggest taking a look at the following books to learn more:
- The Social Animal by Elliot Aronson,
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell,
- Influence: Science and Practice by Robert B. Cialdini,
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell,
- The Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz.
All of the books above can easily be found on Amazon.
But where can you take social psychology courses in the UK? While most BSc or MSc psychology programs at universities touch on social psychology during the three years of study, it's worth pointing out that both Leeds Beckett University and York University offer specialised undergraduate degrees in social psychology.
Also, if you're a part-time, curious learner, we highly recommend seeking the assistance of a private social psychology tutor on Superprof to guide you through the basics of psychology.
In conclusion, since psychology is such a complex subject, it shouldn't surprise us that there are many topics such as the ones discussed in today's article. By acquiring further knowledge of psychology genres, a better comprehension of our minds and those of others is accomplished.
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