Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. Psychologists are actively involved in studying and understanding mental processes, brain functions, and behavior. The field of psychology is considered a "Hub Science" with strong connections to the medical sciences, social sciences, and education (Boyack, Klavans, & Borner, 2005).
At Ohio State, the Department of Psychology is organized into eight areas, working to investigate critical aspects of the brain and human behavior.
Behavioral Neuroscience
- Factors influencing plasticity of brain and behavior through development and into adulthood
- Hippocampal biology and function
- Stress and the brain
- Neurogenesis and brain plasticity across the life span
- Sex-related differences in brain function
- Endocrine and immune regulation of brain and behavior
- The neurobiology of cognitive control
Clinical Psychology
- The treatment of mood and personality disorders using cognitive behavioral therapies
- Biobehavioral responses to cancer diagnosis and treatment
- Testing and dissemination of psychological treatments for cancer patients
- Psychological and behavioral adaptation to chronic health problems
- Effects of exercise on psychological and cognitive functioning
- Neuroplasticity in healthy aging and neurological disorders
- Mindfulness and cognitive functioning in older adults
Cognitive Psychology
- Experimental, brain imaging, and model-based approaches to perception, memory, decision making, action, and language
- Modeling decision processing in memory, perception, numeracy.
- How our visual systems create our stable perception of the world
- Neuroimaging (fMRI) studies examining how we value and choose things
- The creation of biologically plausible network models of human cognition
- How we control our attention in complex tasks
- How the auditory system solves the challenges of understanding spoken language
Decision Science
- How cognitive, affective, and social processes influence judgment and choice
- How numeracy (numeric ability) affects real-world decisions
- How the brain represents subjective values and beliefs
- The role of attitudes in numeric judgment and choice
- How to improve self-control
- How information is interpreted and integrated in decision making
- Modeling decision making in aging and cognitive decline
Developmental Psychology
- Learning and developmental change in cognition, behavior, and the brain
- Genetic and environmental influences on brain and behavior
- Development of memory, categorization, and reasoning
- Development of numerical cognition and mathematical thinking
- How children learn language and use it to understand their world
- How children grow beyond the superficial in their social and moral understanding How children grow beyond the superficial in their social and moral understanding
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- How to improve health and well-being in children and adults with intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and other neurodevelopmental disorders
- How to best support family members of people with disabilities
- How to impact the outcome and course of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and related neurodevelopmental disorders
- How to develop psychological instruments that measure core and associated features of intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and other neurodevelopmental disorders
- How to treat behavior and emotional problems in children and adults who have intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, and related neurodevelopmental disorders
Quantitative Psychology
- Developing, evaluating and applying new quantitative methods for the analysis of psychological data
- The application of statistical models to real world problems
- Bayesean models of human cognition
Social Psychology
- Automatic and deliberative attitudes: Influences on information processing, judgment, and behavior
- Increasing women’s participation in STEM disciplines
- How motivations in social interactions shape relationships, beliefs, well-being, and health
- What motivates social behavior
- Effects of the immune system and common anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g. Tylenol) on emotions, decisions, and social behavior
- How similarity in brain activity across people underlies similarity in thoughts, attitudes and beliefs