Counseling psychologists are employed in academic settings, community mental health centers, and private practice. Recent research tends to indicate that training in counseling and clinical psychology are very similar. Developmental psychologists usually do research and teach in academic settings, but many act as consultants to day-care centers, schools, or social service agencies. Sometimes their research is conducted with animals instead of humans. Most of these psychologists are faculty members at colleges and universities.
Educational psychologists are concerned with the study of human learning.
They attempt to understand the basic aspects of learning and then develop materials and strategies for enhancing the learning process. For example, an educational psychologist might study reading and develop a new technique for teaching reading from the results of the research. Some of the topics of interest to social psychologists are attitudes, aggression, prejudice, love, and interpersonal attraction. Most social psychologists are on the faculty of colleges and universities, but an increasing number are being hired by hospitals, federal agencies, and businesses to perform applied research. They are typically involved in the assessment of children and the recommendation of actions to facilitate students' learning.