Psychology is the study of the science of mind and behavior. Psychologists are actively involved in the study and understanding of mental processes, brain function, and behavior.
In the early days of psychology there were two theoretical theories about how brain works, structuralism and functionalism.
Structuralism relied on trained assessment, a method of research in which subjects talked about what was going on in their minds while performing a specific task.
However, self-assessment appeared to be an unreliable approach because there were significant differences in individual experiences and reports of research topics.
So, in other words psychology is a broad and varied field that includes the study of human thought, behavior, growth, personality, emotions, inspiration, and more.
List of Psychology Abbreviations and Acronyms
| AIC | Akaike information criterion |
| ANOVA | analysis of variance |
| AO | assertive outreach |
| ASIQ | Adult Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire |
| BABCP | British Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapies |
| BACS | Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia |
| BAI | Beck Anxiety Inventory |
| BD | bipolar disorder |
| BDI | Beck Depression Inventory |
| BHS | Beck Hopelessness Scale |
| BPRS-E | Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale Expanded version |
| BRQ | Bipolar Recovery Questionnaire |
| BSS | Beck Suicidal Ideation Scale |
| CBT | cognitive–behavioural therapy |
| CBTP | cognitive–behavioural therapy for psychosis |
| CFA | confirmatory factor analysis |
| CFI | Cumulative Fit Index |
| CI | confidence interval |
| CMHT | community mental health team |
| DF | degrees of freedom |
| DMC | Data Monitoring Committee |
| EFA | exploratory factor analysis |
| EI | early intervention |
| EIS | early intervention service |
| ESM | experience sampling methodology |
| GAF | Global Assessment of Functioning |
| HADS | Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale |
| HDRS | Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression |
| HIQ | Hypomanic Interpretations Questionnaire |
| ICC | intraclass correlation |
| IDQ | Interpretations of Depression Questionnaire |
| IPA | interpretative phenomenological analysis |
| IS | Insight Scale |
| ISS | Internal States Scale |
| MAS | MAS |
| NEET | not in education, employment or training |
| NICE | National Institute for Health and Care Excellence |
| NIHR | National Institute for Health Research |
| PANSS | Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale |
| PCA | principal component analysis |
| PPT | patient preference trial |
| PROM | patient-reported outcome measure |
| PRPT | partially randomised preference trial design |
| PSP | Personal and Social Performance Scale |
| PSYRATS | Psychotic Symptoms Rating Scale |
| PTGI | post-traumatic growth inventory |
| QPR | Questionnaire about the Process of Recovery |
| RAS | Resilience Appraisals Scale |
| RCT | randomised controlled trial |
| RfCBT | recovery-focused cognitive–behavioural therapy |
| SAMS | Schematic Appraisal Model of Suicide |
| SCID | Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Disorders |
| SD | standard deviation |
| SE | standard error |
| SEM | structural equation modelling |
| SEPS | Subjective Experiences of Psychosis Scale |
| SERS | Self-Esteem Rating Scale |
| SHG | self-help and group support |
| SHT | self-help and telephone support |
| SOP | standard operating procedure |
| SPS | Suicide Probability Scale |
| SPSS | Statistical Package for the Social Sciences |
| SRMR | standardized root mean-square residual |
| SURG | service user reference group |
| TAU | treatment as usual |
| WAI | Working Alliance Inventory |
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