Subject Guide: Psychology: Fields & Influences

Branch of biology concerned with the study of body structure of various organisms, including humans.

Branch of biology concerned with the study of heredity and variation - inheritance. It aims to explain how characteristics of living organisms are passed on from one generation to the next.

Scientific study of language, covering the structure (morphology and syntax; see grammar), sounds (phonology), and meaning (semantics), as well as the history of the relations of languages to each other and the cultural place of language in human behavior.

The science and art of treating and preventing disease.

A branch of medical science which studies the actions, uses, and undesirable side-effects of drugs. The first descriptions of remedies from plant sources were made by the ancient Greeks and Chinese.

Study of the ultimate reality, causes, and principles underlying being and thinking.

In its broadest sense, the study of all pharmacological agents that affect mental and emotional functions. The term is usually applied more specifically to the study and synthesis of drugs used in the control of psychiatric illnesses, namely the antipsychotic, antianxiety, antidepressant, and antimanic medications.

Scientific study of human social behavior. As the study of humans in their collective aspect, sociology is concerned with all group activities—economic, social, political, and religious.

In anthropology, the integrated system of socially acquired values, beliefs, and rules of conduct which delimit the range of accepted behaviors in any given society.

Process, beginning at birth, of developing intellectual capacity, skills, and social awareness, especially by instruction.

In ecology, the sum of conditions affecting a particular organism, including physical surroundings, climate, and influences of other living organisms. Areas affected by environmental issues include the biosphere and habitat.

Transmission from generation to generation through the process of reproduction in plants and animals of factors which cause the offspring to resemble their parents.

In psychology, the patterns of behavior, thought, and emotion unique to an individual, and the ways they interact to help or hinder the adjustment of a person to other people and situations.

A system of thought, feeling, and action that is shared by a group and that gives the members an object of devotion; a code of behavior by which individuals may judge the personal and social consequences of their actions; and a frame of reference by which individuals may relate to their group and their universe.

Level of consumption that an individual, group, or nation has achieved. The evaluation of a standard of living is relative, depending upon the judgment of the observer as to what constitutes a high or a low scale.