What is the Difference Between Psychology and Educational Psychology

The main difference between psychology and educational psychology is that psychology refers to the overall study of human condition and behaviour while educational psychology specifically studies the psychological issues concerned with human education and learning. Therefore, educational psychology is a part of psychology.

Psychology helps to understand the complexities of human behaviour and mental wellbeing and to overcome these issues. Psychology, therefore, consists of several branches that assist in paying more attention and analysis to the specific fields accordingly. Thus, educational psychology is one such subcategory of psychology, which emphasizes education and acquisition of knowledge.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Psychology 
     – Definition,  Concerns, Emphasis
2. What is Educational Psychology
     – Definition, Concerns, Emphasis
3. What is the Relationship Between Psychology and Educational Psychology
     – Outline of the Association
4. What is the Difference Between Psychology and Educational Psychology
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Education, Educational Psychology, Psychology

What is Psychology

Psychology refers to the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, specifically those that affect human behaviour, and the complexities and issues concerned with them. In brief, psychology studies the human mind and its effect on human behaviour.

The American Psychology Association states that psychology ‘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 theoretical teachings of Lord Buddha, Socrates, Sigmund Freud, William James, and William Wundt had some of the very first revelations of the human mind. These have greatly influenced the development of modern psychology.

With the emergence of psychology as a separate science, two schools of approaches dominated: functionalism (by William James) and structuralism (by William Wundt). Both these schools explained the relationship between human mind and behaviour in a particular context. Moreover, the basis of many theories of psychology is the observation of human behaviour.

Hence, psychology attempts to investigate the causes of behaviour using systematic and objective procedures for observation, measurement, and analysis, backed-up by theoretical interpretations, generalizations, explanations and predictions.

Accordingly, a psychologist is someone who studies the mind and behaviour, and therefore someone who can assist people who suffer from psychological problems to overcome them. Moreover, there are different types of psychology, such as cognitive, forensic, social, educational psychology, and developmental psychology.

What is Educational Psychology

Education psychology is the branch of psychology that studies the psychology of human education. Therefore, educational psychology involves the study of how people learn. It includes topics such as student outcomes, instructional process, individual differences in learning, gifted learners, and learning disabilities. 

Hence, educational psychology is the scientific field that concerns the application of psychological theories and concepts to the understanding and improvement of teaching and learning in an educational setting. Similarly, it analyses how teachers can help their students to improve their learning abilities, specifically, for those who have learning disabilities.

Furthermore, educational psychology combines various psychological theories and principles such as those related to memory, motivation, learning, behaviour management, individual differences, and assessment to improve the conditions of teaching and learning. Thereby, it helps to conceptualize new strategies for learning processes in humans. 

Moreover, this educational psychology uses methods such as quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, counseling, classroom management, and assessment. Eventually, they will serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings.

Relationship Between Psychology and Educational Psychology

• Educational psychology is a part of psychology; it is one of the sub-branch of psychology

Difference Between Psychology and Educational Psychology

Definition

Psychology refers to the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, specifically those that affect human behaviour. Educational psychology is a branch of psychology that studies the issues related to education and acquisition of information by humans. Thus, this is the main difference between psychology and educational psychology.

Emphasis

Emphasis is another difference between psychology and educational psychology. The emphasis in psychology is the overall scientific study of the human mind, its processes, its relationship and impact on human behaviour. Accordingly, it also studies the complexities associated with the human mind that can harm the mental well-being of a person. Educational psychology, being a subcategory of psychology, emphasizes more on the understanding and improvement of teaching and learning in formal educational settings. Therefore, it investigates how students learn and how teachers can help them to learn effectively, especially, with regard to students with learning difficulties.

Concerns

The main concern in psychology is assisting individuals to overcome their psychological issues or issues related to mental health through various psychoanalytical therapies and treatments on the whole. Educational psychology concerns overcoming learning and cognitive difficulties in students as well as in preparing teachers for more effective education. Hence, this is another difference between psychology and educational psychology.

Conclusion

In brief, the main difference between psychology and educational psychology is that psychology is the scientific study of human mind and behaviour. It includes various subfields among which educational psychology is also a distinct and controversial branch of psychology. Accordingly, educational psychology specifically studies the psychological issues concerned with human education and learning.

Reference:

1. Nordqvist, Christian. “What Is Psychology?” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 1 Feb. 2018, Available here.
2. “What Is Psychology?” Psychology Degrees, Available here.
3. Cherry, Kendra. “What Is Educational Psychology?” Verywell Mind, Dotdash, Available here.
4. “Educational Psychology.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Dec. 2018, Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Psi2” By Gdh~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). Own work assumed (based on copyright claims) (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Let’s Talk Mental Health” By Taymaz Valley (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
3. “students-in-class-with-teacher-reading” By Ilmicrofono Oggiono (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
4. “USAID Basic Education Program (8313182096)” By USAID Indonesia – USAID Basic Education Program (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia