Psychology is a diverse discipline and has many definitions. For example, the American Psychological Association (APA) defines it as "The study of the mind and behavior. The discipline embraces all aspects of the human experience - from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged." The Collins dictionary definition of psychology is: "the scientific study of all forms of human and animal behaviour, sometimes concerned with the methods through which behaviour can be modified."
At Waikato you can study from a range of areas within Psychology including:
Behaviour Analysis is a scientific approach to understanding why people and animals do what they do. It will teach you about how both animal and human behaviour is affected by events in the social and physical environment and what you can do to help produce behaviour change to help improve lives.
Clinical psychology is the application of abnormal psychology research to the understanding, treatment, and assessment of psychopathology, including behavioural and mental health issues.
Community psychology emphasises the application of Psychological and Social Science knowledge to promoting justice and equity, improving the quality of community life, enhancing health and wellbeing, and preventing psychological or 'life-style' problems.
Organisational psychology is the scientific study of the behaviour and attitudes of people at work. It looks at issues such as recruitment; selection and training; job satisfaction and stress at work.
Physiological psychology is the branch of psychology that studies how physiological processes of the nervous system interact with behaviour (e.g., how drugs affect behaviour).
The Psychology of Cognition and Perception studies internal mental processes (e.g., memory and language) and how the brain interprets and organises sensations (e.g., vision and hearing).
Social psychology studies the interactions between individuals and groups, as well as the effects of groups on the attitudes, opinions, and behaviour of individuals. The field covers such topics as persuasion, conformity, obedience to authority, stereotyping, prejudice, and decision making in social contexts. It includes cross-cultural and Māori perspectives.
Some of our students specialise in Psychology, and they graduate with a BSocSc or BSc (with Psychology as their major subject).
Others take Psychology along with subjects in other Schools, e.g., Humanities, Law, Science and Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Education, Management.
