1.4 Subfields within Psychology
Debbie Magreehan and Odessa College
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Learn about the various professional associations that reflect the diversity of interests and foci within psychology
- Learn about the areas of emphasis within PSU’s Psychology Department
- Appreciate the racial/ethnic diversity of psychologists as reflected in the five APA-recognized Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations
- Identify a number of subfields within the field of psychology
Contemporary psychology is a diverse field that is influenced by all of the historical perspectives described in the preceding section. Reflective of the discipline’s diversity is the diversity seen within the American Psychological Association (APA). The APA is a professional organization representing psychologists in the United States. The APA is the largest organization of psychologists in the world, and its mission is to advance and disseminate psychological knowledge for the betterment of people. There are 54 divisions within the APA, representing a wide variety of specialties that range from Societies for Clinical Psychology to Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology to the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race. Reflecting the diversity of the field of psychology itself, members, affiliate members, and associate members span the spectrum from students to doctoral-level psychologists, and come from a variety of places including educational settings, criminal justice, hospitals, the armed forces, and industry (American Psychological Association, 2014).
Table 1.4.1 highlights the five areas of emphasis within Portland State University’s Psychology Department, the APA divisions with which they affiliate, and a recent research study from a Portland State University faculty member within each field. You can learn more by following the links to each area’s page.
Table 1.4.1: Portland State University Psychological Areas of Emphasis and Affiliated APA Divisions
| Areas of Emphasis | Affiliated APA Divisions | Research Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Applied Social Psychology | Division 8: Society for Personality and Social Psychology | “For minority students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, attending university and succeeding despite social and academic stressors is often considered the ultimate marker of resilience. However, a growing body of work suggests that there may be health costs to upward mobility for such students. This study investigated whether believing that the social system is fair simultaneously promotes psychological health while undermining the physical health of Latinx students experiencing frequent discrimination.”
|
| Community Psychology | Division 27: Society for Community Research and Action: Division of Community Psychology | “In Portland, Oregon, advocates lobbied for a new model of emergency response for 911 calls involving unhoused community members and people experiencin