Some of the research that is conducted in
the field of psychology is more "fundamental"
than the research conducted in the applied
psychological disciplines, and does not necessarily
have a direct application.
The subdisciplines within psychology that
can be thought to reflect a basic-science
orientation include biological psychology,
cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and
so on.
Research in these subdisciplines is characterized
by methodological rigor.
The concern of psychology as a basic science
is in understanding the laws and processes
that underlie behavior, cognition, and emotion.
Psychology as a basic science provides a foundation
for applied psychology.
Applied psychology, by contrast, involves
the application of psychological principles
and theories yielded up by the basic psychological
sciences; these applications are aimed at
overcoming problems or promoting well-being
in areas such as mental and physical health
and education.
== Abnormal psychology ==
Abnormal psychology is the branch of psychology
devoted to the study unusual patterns of behavior,
emotion, and thought, including that which
can be understood to represent mental disorder.
Abnormal psychology is distinct from clinical
psychology, an applied field of psychology
that seeks to assess, understand, and treat
psychological conditions that are harmful
to the individual.
However, the field of abnormal psychology
provides a backdrop for clinical work.
Psychopathology is a term used in abnormal
psychology that suggests an underlying pathology
== 
Biological psychology ==
Biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience
is the scientific study of the biological
bases of behavior and mental processes.
Biological psychologists view all behavior
as dependent on the nervous system, and study
the neural basis for behavior.
This is the approach taken in behavioral neuroscience,
cognitive neuroscience, and neuropsychology.
The goal of neuropsychology is to understand
how the structure and function of the brain
relate to specific behavioral and psychological
processes.
Neuropsychology is particularly concerned
with brain injury in attempting to understand
normal psychological function.
Cognitive neuroscientists often use neuroimaging
tools, which can help them to observe which
areas of the brain are active during a particular
task.
== Cognitive psychology ==
Cognitive psychology involves the study of
cognition, including mental processes underlying
perception, learning, problem solving, reasoning,
thinking, memory, attention, language, and
emotion.
Classical cognitive psychology has developed
an information processing model of mental
function, and has been informed by functionalism
and experimental psychology.
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary
research enterprise that involves cognitive
psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists,
artificial intelligence, linguists, human–computer
interaction, computational neuroscience, logicians
and social scientists.
Computational models are sometimes used to
simulate phenomena of interest.
Computational models provide a tool for studying
the functional organization of the mind whereas
neuroscience is more concerned with brain
activity.
== Developmental psychology ==
Developmental psychology is concerned with
the development of the human mind and behavior
over the life course.
Developmental psychologists seek to understand
how people come to perceive, understand, and
act within the world and how these processes
change as they age.
They may focus on intellectual, cognitive,
neural, social, or moral development.
Developmental researchers who study children
use a number of unique research methods, including
observations in natural settings and the engaging
of children directly in experimental tasks.
Some experimental tasks resemble specially
designed games and activities that are both
enjoyable for the child and scientifically
useful.
Developmental psychologists have even devised
methods to study the mental processes of infants.
In addition to studying children, developmental
psychologists also study the relation of aging
to mental processes.
== Experimental psychology ==
Experimental psychology represents a methodological
approach to psychology rather than a content
area subject.
Experimental psychology lends itself to a
variety of fields within psychology, including
neuroscience, developmental psychology, sensation,
perception, attention, learning, memory, thinking,
and language.
There is even an experimental social psychology.
Experimental psychologists are researchers
who employ experimental methods to help discover
processes underlying behavior and cognition.
== Evolutionary psychology ==
A goal of evolutionary psychology is to explain
psychological traits and processes such as
memory, perception, or language in terms of
adaptations that arose in the evolutionary
history of humans.
Traits and processes are thought to be functional
products of random mutations and natural selection.
Evolutionary biologists view physiological
mechanisms, such as the heart, lungs, and
immune system, in similar terms.
Evolutionary psychology applies the same thinking
to psychology.
Evolutionary psychologists advance the view
that much of human behavior is the cumulative
result of psychological adaptations that evolved
to solve problems in human ancestral environments.
For example, Steven Pinker hypothesized that
humans have inherited special mental capacities
for acquiring language, making language acquisition
nearly automatic, while inheriting no capacity
specifically for reading and writing.
== Mathematical psychology ==
Mathematical psychology represents an approach
to psychological research that is based on
mathematical modeling of perceptual, cognitive,
and motoric processes.
Mathematical psychology contributes to the
establishment of law-like rules that pertain
to quantifiable stimulus characteristics and
quantifiable behavior.
Because the quantification of behavior is
fundamental to mathematical psychology, measurement
is a central topic in mathematical psychology.
Mathematical psychology is closely related
to psychometric theory.
However, psychometricians are largely concerned
with individual differences in mostly static,
trait-like variables.
By contrast, the focal concern of mathematical
psychology is process models in such areas
as perception and cognition.
Mathematical psychology is intimately involved
in the modeling of data obtained from experimental
paradigms, making it closely related to experimental
psychology and cognitive psychology.
== Neuropsychology ==
Neuropsychology involves the study of the
structure and function of the brain as it
relates to specific psychological processes
and overt behaviors.
Neuropsychological research includes studies
of humans and animals with brain lesions.
Neuropsychologists have also studied electrical
activity in individual brain cells (or groups
of cells) in humans and other primates.
Neuropsychology shares much with neuroscience,
neurology, cognitive psychology, and cognitive
science.
== Personality psychology ==
A goal of personality psychology is to investigate
enduring patterns of behavior, thought, and
emotion in individuals.
Personality psychologists are especially interested
in individual differences.
Within the framework of personality psychology,
trait theorists attempt to analyze personality
in terms of a limited number of key psychological
traits.
This type of research is highly dependent
on statistical methods.
The number of proposed traits has varied;
however, there is some consensus over an empirically
driven theory known as the "Big 5" personality
model.
== Psychophysics ==
Psychophysics is a discipline concerned with
the relation between physical stimuli and
their subjective correlates, or percepts or
sensations.
Psychophysics involves a set of methods that
can be employed in research on perceptual
systems.
Modern applications of psychophysics rely
heavily on ideal observer analyses and signal
detection theory.
== Social psychology ==
Social psychology involves the study of social
behavior and mental processes that pertain
to social behavior.
Social psychology is concerned with how humans
think about each other and how they relate
to each other.
Social psychologists study topics such as
social influences on individual behavior (e.g.
conformity and persuasion), belief formation,
attitudes, and stereotypes.
Social cognition integrates social and cognitive
psychology in order to help discover how people
process, remember, and distort social information.
Research on group dynamics is pertinent to
understanding the nature of leadership and
communication.
== Additional areas ==
Linguistics
Neuroscience
Quantitative psychology
== 
See also ==
Applied psychology
Outline of psychology
Psychology
