What Is the Purpose of Psychology?
The purpose of psychology is to accurately describe, explain, predict, and change human behavior and mental processes. It strives to achieve these goals within all spheres of human activity. Psychology helps improve learning, job performance, public institutions and relationships.
The ultimate end of psychological research is to promote optimal behavior and mental activity. The first step is to understand how the mind works and why people act the way they do. Psychology strives to explain the relationship between people and their environment. It looks at the different ways people interact with one another under different circumstances, and it studies how people change over time.
An important part of psychology is to predict these tendencies. Psychologists know that their observations are accurate and their theories are correct when they successfully predict human behavior under controlled variables. A proper understanding of what moves people enables efforts to change habits and thought patterns.
Psychologists work for the benefit of humanity and not merely to acquire inapplicable knowledge. Their research has the end goal of improving peoples’ lives. Psychological research, for example, is used to help people better their communications skills, eliminate self-destructive patterns, such as substance abuse, and develop enhanced learning techniques. Psychologists also provide consulting services in the court system to settle cases and determine proper sentences.
