Psychology2016

B-1

Applied Psychology and

Psychology Careers

Why study applied psychology?

Many different kinds of psychologists study or work in many different fields. Whereas

early psychologists were still discovering the processes that govern the human mind,

today’s psychologists are more often applying information and principles gained from

research to people in the real world. Why study careers in psychology? With so many

different areas of focus, a career in psychology can be varied and exciting. There is much

more to psychology than helping people who have mental health problems.

Professor John Gambon of Ozarks Technical and Community College in Spring-

field, Missouri, begins his class like any other. After a few minutes, two students rush in

and each throw two water balloons at the professor. As they run out, they yell something

about fried eggs. Professor Gambon, soaked from the balloons, asks his students to write

down everything they just saw, including what was said. After a few minutes, he gathers

up the paperwork and invites his two balloon-throwing accomplices back into the room.

As he reads the papers of his students, many realize that they made mistakes in

identifying the perpetrators. Quite often, students mismatch hair color, height, facial fea-

tures, and even the clothes that each was wearing. What’s more, nearly 90 percent claim

that they heard the two men yell, “That was for last Friday!” When students are shown

the truth, many are shocked at their overall inaccuracy at identifying the two men.

Work such as this is not new to Professor Gambon. He has worked as a consultant

in several trials where the issue of accurately identifying someone has been brought into

question. His cases include several homicides, assault, breaking and entering, and armed

robbery.

His demonstrations show the overall unreliability of eyewitness identification,

as outlined by psychologist Elizabeth Loftus. to Learning Objective 6.7. The

kind of issues that influence an eyewitness’s accuracy include the presence of a weapon

( people tend to look at a weapon more than the physical attributes of the assailant), time

of day, fatigue, and the amount of time between the crime and when they are required to

recall it. Clearly, there are flaws inherent in eyewitness identification.

Forensic psychology is just one of many areas in which psychological principles

can be applied to issues and concerns of everyday life. This appendix will look at several

areas of applied psychology, as well as the types of careers that are open to someone who

studies psychology today.

Learning Objectives

B.1 Define applied psychology.

B.2 Describe different types of psychological professionals and

identify their educational background and training.

B.3 List the kinds of careers that are available to someone with a

master’s degree in psychology.

Appendix

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