What is psychology?

The more complex and many-sided life, the more interest we show to our inner world, trying to understand and understand its depth, the laws of development and formation of the personality and ways of interaction with the environment, so that our life is more harmonious and successful. Probably, therefore, interest in psychology as a science about a person, his personal characteristics, not only does not subside, but, on the contrary, constantly increases. What is psychology? What kind of science is it trying to unravel the mystery of the human soul?

Studying psychology, some people try to learn more about themselves in this way, others, having assumed the role of "soul healers", try to master the methods and techniques of influencing a person to help him understand his life problems. But to perform these complex tasks, you need deep knowledge, a constant and methodical study of the mechanisms of behavior, the development of scientific methods of cognition of the inner world of man and incentives for his development and improvement. What is psychology? This is a vast theoretical base accumulated by long years of experimental research and empirical observations, which are described, systematized and generalized by psychology scientists of various schools and directions. Psychology is also a practical activity: a psychologist in a consulting room tries to help his advice to people with problems of social, intellectual and emotional plans. In addition, psychological practitioners are increasingly present at enterprises and schools, where they participate in the organization of labor, teaching and management activities. These specialists use accumulated and generalized theoretical knowledge, revealing in practice and in direct interaction with people their weak spots.

When answering the question what is practical psychology, it is necessary to isolate and describe all the applied fields of this science.

The clinical psychologist works with people experiencing various phobias, neurotic states, anxiety that interfere with them in normal daily life. With the help of interviews and psychological techniques, a specialist identifies these problems in order to choose the right psychotherapy.

The main task of a psychologist-consultant is to help people in interpersonal relationships, family, group, in conflict situations. These specialists work in schools and enterprises, and in crisis centers help people who find themselves in difficult life situations. Psychologist-consultants are very much in demand in the legal field, helping with the disclosure of crimes, in advocacy, while working with prisoners.

Military psychology pays attention to improving command methods, strengthening group relations. A special place here is occupied by research related to the post-traumatic syndrome - the severe psychological state of persons who participated in hostilities.

Sports psychology develops recommendations to athletes, helping them to achieve high results in sports. It is known that not only good physical preparation, but also a certain psychological mood is very important for the victory of the athlete.

Another important branch of practical psychology is the psychology of advertising. Its main tasks are to help advertising specialists create the most effective mechanisms for promoting and selling goods and services on the market, where a very important role is played by the psychology of perception of color, form, and sounds.

There are many applied fields of psychology. The more dynamically the society develops, the wider the field of psychological activity becomes. But apart from the applied sciences, there are still a considerable number of theoretical branches of science, each of which has its own methods of comprehension and study of the individual and society, its theoretical basis and its particular view of the model of human behavior. The most basic of them - behaviorism, psychoanalysis, gestalt psychology, cognitive, existential and humanistic psychology , etc. So, what is psychology? It is difficult to answer this question, because a simple definition hides a very large stratum of people who are trying to understand themselves and the world around them.