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What is Psychology If you are looking for a dictionary-type definition, you could define psychology as ‘the scientific study of behaviour and mental processes’. This simple definition incorporates many important features of modern psychology. First, psychology is a science, and uses the same scientific method as other scientific disciplines such as chemistry, physics and biology; that is, psychologists, like biologists and physicists, formulate hypotheses, carry out experiments and test theories. Psychological experiments can be carried out in a variety of settings. Some take place under controlled laboratory conditions, others are carried out ‘in the field’ in schools, institutions, or other everyday settings. In addition, psychologists use a range of other empirical methods to gather data and test theories. You may have noticed that our definition of psychology does not say, ‘the scientific study of human behaviour and mental processes’. Psychologists study humans and other animals. You have probably heard of the famous laboratory rats and mice, but psychologists study a wide range of animal species, everything from worms to whales. Many psychologists, however, choose to study humans only. Some people think that psychologists study nothing but behaviour. Would you call thinking, problem solving, intelligence, or consciousness ‘behaviours’? What about attitudes and judgements? Are changes in brain chemistry examples of behaviour? As well as directly observable behaviour, a large part of psychology is concerned with studying mental processes, those activities that go on inside our heads. Another way of understanding psychology is to consider what psychologists are interested in. Take a look at this list of chapter headings from a recent psychology textbook:
As you can see, psychologists’ interests range far and wide. You should also notice that psychological disorders and therapy are only two areas of psychology. Many people have the mistaken belief that psychology “means” abnormal psychology and psychotherapy. There is a lot more to psychology than abnormal psychological processes and psychotherapy. What do psychologists do? One reason why you may equate psychology with psychopathology and psychotherapy is because professional psychologists in these areas have a high public profile. If you have ever had any direct or indirect contact with a psychologist, the odds are that he or she was trained in a specific professional branch of psychology, such as clinical psychology. When psychologists appear in the media, they are usually commenting on clinical or health issues. In addition, many television programs and movies portray psychologists as clinicians who are mostly involved in diagnosis and treatment of disorders. However, psychologists work in a very broad range of settings and it is important to remember that psychology is first a science and second a profession. In general, psychologists work in either an academic/research setting or in a professional setting. Many psychologists work mainly in tertiary institutions as teachers and researchers (academics). To become an academic psychologist, normally you need a PhD or other doctorate, which is a postgraduate research degree. The majority of professional psychologists work in some form of clinic or health-related agency, such as a hospital or community centre. Some psychologists work in private practice, and/or have some association with a government department. The distinction is not clear-cut; many psychologists in private practice do some public sector work, while public sector psychologists often maintain some private practice. Most psychologists in private practice have received training in a specialist professional branch of psychology, such as clinical psychology. To get an idea of the services offered by psychologists in private practice, take a look at the listings of Psychologists in the Yellow Pages. You will see in the listings, some psychologists specify what kinds of services they offer. Some psychologists work in private industry (in what are sometimes called “organizational psychology” or “industrial psychology” jobs) and are often concerned with helping people function effectively in their working environments. Psychologists in these settings may have expertise in training, recruitment and selection, vocational guidance and career development, appraisal and review, industrial relations, occupational health and safety, planning technological and organizational change, job redesign, ergonomics, and marketing. Some psychologists work in advertising agencies, in personnel and recruitment companies, and companies that specialize in career re-training. Sport psychologists work with athletes, teams and coaches in sports institutes, tertiary institutions and private practice to help enhance sporting performance, personal development and adjustment. There is a wide range of job opportunities for psychologists in the public sector. Nearly every hospital, and every government department, both state and commonwealth, employs psychologists. In Victoria, many psychologists work in health-related agencies such as hospitals, clinics, and community centres assessing and treating psychological problems, maximizing recovery and promoting good health. Psychologists work in government departments such as intellectual disability, welfare and youth services. Psychologists are employed in prisons, as well as police and defence forces, and in not-for-profit organizations such as the Cancer Council. All of these settings involve a high level of contact with people, many of whom require the research skills, assistance and counselling that psychologists can offer. Regardless of the work setting, it is important to emphasize that many professional psychologists maintain research interests. As you can see, the range of work environments is very diverse, with a wide variety of career options available to those who become professional psychologists. The areas of employment listed above may seem fairly obvious types of jobs for psychologists, but what would a psychologist do at, for example, a government department of agriculture and rural affairs? Even in this kind of setting a psychologist can have a contribution to make. Consider the areas of staff training and development, and organizational behaviour. Such organizations may also employ research psychologists, who use skills in research design, statistics, computing and data analysis, and there are psychologists who have specific training and skills in these areas. If, on the other hand, you decide after completing your basic degree not to continue on and become a professional psychologist, an undergraduate education in psychology equips you with valuable skills in research, statistics, questionnaire design, interviewing, and report writing, all of which are relevant to a wide range of other occupations. You may still expect to undergo some further education in specific areas, but this may well be part of an employer training program. Many large companies recruit psychology graduates and train them in, for example, personnel management, market research, or occupational health issues. What to do to become a psychologist? To call yourself a `psychologist´ in Victoria you are required by law to be registered (in the same way that medical practitioners or solicitors must be registered). The organisation that oversees this process of registration, and keeps a register of psychologists, is the Psychologists Registration Board of Victoria. Other states and territories have similar bodies. When considering whether to register you, the Registration Board will consider all your relevant education, training and work experience. To do this, you will need to have graduated from a Board-accredited four-year undergraduate course majoring in psychology (such as La Trobe’s BBSc Hons), followed by a Board-accredited two year Masters level professional postgraduate degree (such as La Trobe’s Master of Psychology degrees). La Trobe (and other Universities) also offer 3 or 31⁄2-year doctoral level professional postgraduate programs after which graduates can obtain registration. A second route to registration after completion of fourth year is to undertake two years of pre-approved supervised training and experience acceptable to the Board. For further details about registration, visit the Board’s website: http://www.psychreg.vic.gov.au. When looking at job advertisements for psychologists, you may have noticed something like the following: Applicants must be eligible for membership of the Australian Psychological Society’ or APS. The APS is the national professional association that represents the interests of Australian psychologists. Within the APS are a number of colleges, which represent the major areas of professional interest in Australian psychology. There are currently nine colleges: clinical, clinical neuropsychology, community, counselling, educational and developmental, forensic, health, organizational and sport. Sometimes employers advertising psychologist positions will state that eligibility for membership of one of these colleges is desirable or required. Each college sets its own membership criteria which involve additional years of specialist training and experience beyond the minimum required for registration and APS membership. Can you work as a psychologist without being a member of a professional college of the APS? Yes, provided you are registered with the Psychologists Registration Board. Gaining general membership of the APS is desirable for a number of reasons, including the fact that many employers prefer psychologists who are APS members. Many academic psychologists are full members of the APS without being associated with any professional college. Gaining membership to a professional college is a separate process from gaining full membership with the APS. For further information about the APS contact
the National Office of the Australian Psychological Society, at PO Box
38, Flinders Lane Post Office Melbourne, Victoria, 8009. or visit their official website: http://www.psychology.org.au Content Approved by: Head of School |
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