Most people think of psychologists as clinicians who test, diagnose, and treat emotional and behavioral problems. Clinical psychology is one of the major areas of psychology, but it is far from the only one. Developmental psychologists study normal patterns of development in children, adolescents, adults, the aged, or other animal species. Experimental psychologists increase our understanding of basic processes such as learning, motivation, emotion, and perception. Industrial and organizational psychologists aid in the selection and development of human resources in business or government.
School psychologists treat social and learning problems of school children.
Forensic psychologists work for the criminal and civil justice systems. An ability to work with people is important for most specialty areas. Curiosity, a strong sense of ethical responsibility, enjoyment of the problem-solving process, and good verbal skills are major characteristics of a good psychologist. Psychology requires creativity along with rigorous study and a desire to expand knowledge as well as apply it. A psychologist should have mathemati-cal and scientific skills as well as an interest in people, behavior, and ideas.