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Psychology
The study of the mind and behavior that explores how people think, feel, and act, and the mental processes that influence their experiences.
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Overview
This overview provides a brief introduction to psychology. It also explores the discipline's major subfields, related fields of study, and what to expect when majoring in the field.
What's psychology and what do psychologist do?
What's psychology and what do psychologist do?
Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behavior. It looks at how people perceive the world, process information, experience emotions, learn, develop over time, and interact with others.
By examining both biological factors (the brain) and social influences (family, culture, and environment), psychology helps explain why people think, feel, and behave the way they do in everyday life. Psychology looks at what we can see, like actions and speech, and the mental processes of the mind, such as emotions, thoughts, and motivations.
Psychologists use research and experiments to better understand how the brain, personal experiences, and the environment all work together to shape behavior.
For an in-depth description of the field of psychology, read Section 1.1, What is Psychology? from the peer-reviewed OpenStax textbook Psychology 2e.
What are the main fields of psychology?
What are the main fields of psychology?
Psychology is a broad field with many subfields, each focusing on different aspects of behavior and mental processes. Listed below are the main subfields of psychology traditionally taught in most universities. Links to in-depth descriptions of each subfield and their concepts are provided by the American Psychological Association.
- Clinical Psychology – Studies the assessment and treatment of mental illness, emotional disturbances, and behavioral problems.
- Cognitive Psychology – Focuses on thinking, memory, perception, problem-solving, and language.
- Developmental Psychology – Examines how people grow and change over the lifespan, from infancy to old age.
- Educational Psychology – Studies how people learn and retain knowledge, focusing on instructional methods and learning environments.
- Environmental Psychology – The study of our environmental surroundings, natural and developed, and how they affect our well-being.
- Experimental Psychology – Using scientific methods to study the mind and behavior.
- Forensic Psychology – Applies psychological principles in legal and criminal justice settings.
- Industrial and Organizational Psychology – Applies psychology to workplace settings.
- Social Psychology – Studies how people influence and relate to one another.
- Sport and Performance Psychology – Understanding and applying psychological principles to enhance athletic performance.
What other subjects are important to psychology?
What other subjects are important to psychology?
Psychology is an interdisciplinary field that draws on knowledge and insights from many other academic disciplines. These include neuroscience, sociology, anthropology, education, health sciences, philosophy, law, criminal justice, business, and economics.
Resources for new psychology majors.
Resources for new psychology majors.
If you’re thinking about majoring in psychology, these resources can provide useful background information and help guide your next steps. They explain what to expect from the major and the wide variety of career paths available to you:
- What You Need to Know About Becoming a Psychology Major – U.S. News & World Report
- A Psychology Major Opens Doors – American Psychological Association
- The Superpowers of the Psychology Major – American Psychological Association
Literature Reviews
After selecting a topic, conducting a literature review is an essential step in the research and writing process. Writing a literature review helps you:
- Understand how scholars have approached your topic
- Identify key debates and theoretical perspectives
- Recognize gaps in the existing research
- Situate your own work within the broader academic conversation.
If you would like to know more about finding resources for a literature review, go to “How to Locate Resources for a Literature Review.” The following databases will help you locate major publications and relevant scholarship in psychology.
Oxford Bibliographies provides scholarly bibliographies in most social science disciplines, including psychology. Each bibliography includes authoritative books, journal articles, websites, and other materials selected and organized by academic scholars. These bibliographies can also help researchers begin building literature reviews by identifying important authors, major debates, foundational studies, and key publications on different psychology topics.
The Annual Review of Psychology provides authoritative literature review articles that summarize and interpret major developments happening in the field of psychology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship in the scientific study of behavior.
When searching for literature reviews, don’t overlook dissertations found in ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. Doctoral students are typically required to write extensive literature reviews. Each review will examine major debates, theories, methods, and key publications related to their research topic, which can help you identify important authors, major studies, useful keywords, and gaps in the existing research.
Psychology Reference
Reference sources can help researchers quickly learn about psychological theories, concepts, methods, disorders, and major areas of research. They provide reliable background information, explain unfamiliar topics, define key terms, and identify important scholars, studies, and debates within the discipline.
Bibliographies
Bibliographies
A bibliography lists sources cited in research papers, such as books, articles, documents, websites, and other academic materials.
Oxford Bibliographies is a leading scholarly source for expert-curated bibliographies, providing scholarly bibliographies in most social science disciplines, including anthropology, communication, criminology, economics, international relations, political science, psychology, and sociology. Each bibliography provides a list of authoritative books, journal articles, websites, and other materials, all organized by academic scholars.
Companions
Companions
Companions offer concise yet comprehensive introductions to a subject. Written by experts, introductions present key ideas, theories, and debates clearly and understandably. The following books are ideal for readers new to anthropology, providing foundational knowledge without requiring prior expertise.
Dictionaries
Dictionaries
Dictionaries are important for understanding words, concepts, and terminology. Anthropology dictionaries provide clarity when exploring complex concepts or theories, offering clear definitions of key anthropological terms.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias
Subject encyclopedias are specialized reference works that provide in-depth information on specific discipline topics. Unlike general encyclopedias, which cover a wide range of topics, subject encyclopedias focus exclusively on one field, offering detailed and comprehensive entries written by experts. For a list of general and specialized encyclopedia databases, go to Getting Started—Reference Resources.
Handbooks
Handbooks
Handbooks provide authoritative overviews, in-depth analyses, and critical discussions of a particular academic field, discipline, or topic. The most important series of handbooks in the field of psychology is the APA Handbooks in Psychology® — a major multivolume reference series published by the American Psychological Association. It provides comprehensive coverage of key psychology subfields, methods, theories, and applications in psychology. View the entire list of APA Handbooks in Psychology® here.
Listed below are other important handbooks in psychology.
Introductions
Introductions
Introductions explain the fundamentals of psychology and its subfields, including its concepts, methods, and major fields, in a clear, accessible way. They are especially helpful for students who are new to psychology and need background knowledge.
General Databases
Academic libraries subscribe to a wide range of research databases. EBSCO and ProQuest are the largest and most widely used subscription-based academic research databases. Most colleges and universities offer access to one or both platforms which provide multiple subject-specific databases. Although each has unique features, they share several key characteristics:
- Both are multidisciplinary research platforms that cover a broad range of academic disciplines.
- Both provide a single search interface for accessing dozens of subject-specific databases.
- Both offer access to diverse content, including e-books, scholarly and peer-reviewed journals, trade publications, magazines, newspapers, and images.
EBSCO is a major research database platform that allows users to search multiple EBSCO databases simultaneously. The difference between EBSCOhost and Academic Search is that Academic Search can be searched as part of the EBSCOhost platform or searched separately if your institution has a subscription. To check if your institution subscribes to EBSCOhost, use EBSCO’s Find your institution page.
ProQuest is a major database vendor and platform that provides access to hundreds of database collections. The ProQuest platform provides a multidisciplinary search with access to scholarly ebooks, journals, video and audio, newspapers, and more, all searchable simultaneously. ProQuest is unique in providing dissertations and theses, historical newspapers, and other primary sources.
Scholarly Databases
Scholarly research databases provide peer-reviewed academic journal articles, book reviews, and other scholarly resources authored by scholars, researchers, or academics who are experts in their fields. Unlike magazines which focus on current events and general-interest stories, articles in scholarly journals undergo rigorous peer-review before publication. The following is a list of the most important multidisciplinary scholarly research databases.
Google Scholar is a free academic search engine that helps researchers and students find scholarly literature across disciplines. It indexes journal articles, books, conference papers, theses, patents, and other resources from academic publishers, universities, and professional organizations.
- Unlike subscription databases, which publish lists of journals in their collections, Google Scholar does not provide a list of the journals, books, repositories, or conference proceedings it indexes.
- General databases such as EBSCO and ProQuest allow you to limit your results to peer-reviewed articles only. Google Scholar does not filter results for peer-reviewed articles.
- When off your school’s network, you must enable your institution’s Google Scholar library links (review process) to see full-text articles available in your institution. If Library Links are not enabled, you’ll only see paywalls, publisher links, and what’s available open-access in the public domain.
The International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), compiled by the British Library of Political and Economic Science at the London School of Economics, provides access to a vast collection of scholarly literature in the social sciences. Covering multiple disciplines, IBSS includes references to journal articles, books, newspapers, and dissertations, with records dating back to 1951.
JSTOR is an important scholarly research database for the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. It provides the full text of articles from thousands of influential academic journals. In addition to journal articles, users can access eBooks, book chapters, images, and primary source documents. JSTOR also provides an AI research tool that provides key points and arguments of articles.
JSTOR contains the full text of more than 2,000 journals from 1,000 publishers, with publication dates ranging from 1665 to 2015 (for certain titles). JSTOR also provides:
- Free access to Early Journal Content published before the last 95 years in the United States or before the last 143 years if initially published internationally.
- A collection of nearly 150 open-access journals covering the humanities, social sciences, and sciences.
- JSTOR allows anyone to register for a free personal JSTOR account and provides access to 100 free monthly articles.
Project MUSE offers online access to a vast collection of scholarly journals, books, and academic resources in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. As a leading provider of digital humanities content, it features high-quality, peer-reviewed publications from prestigious university presses, scholarly societies, and academic publishers.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is a database of dissertations and theses from universities worldwide. It provides access to millions of full-text works across many disciplines, including the social sciences, humanities, sciences, and business. Each dissertation includes an abstract or summary that provides a concise overview of the research, its methodology, and key findings.
ScienceDirect is a leading full-text scholarly scientific database that provides journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. It covers over 24 major subjects in the physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, health sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
Social Sciences Full Text provides access to a wide range of scholarly literature in the social sciences. It covers many disciplines, including sociology, psychology, international relations, political science, anthropology, economics, and education.
Web of Science is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary research and citation index that provides access to a wide range of scientific, technical, social science, and humanities research. It maintains rigorous criteria for the journals and publications it indexes, ensuring that only high-quality, peer-reviewed content is included. Web of Science includes 98 million papers dating back to 1900.
Psychology Databases
Searching general or multi-disciplinary databases can sometimes give you too many results. To narrow your focus, try using a database dedicated to psychology research. The list below highlights the core databases for finding psychology journals and articles.
The Annual Review of Psychology provides authoritative literature review articles that summarize and interpret major developments happening in the field of psychology. Each year, a new volume is released, consisting of articles written by leading experts in the field, providing overviews of the most important and influential research and scholarship in the scientific study of behavior.
APA PsycArticles® is a research database from the American Psychological Association (APA). It provides full-text, peer-reviewed articles from scholarly journals in psychology and related fields. Provides access to 119 journals back to 1894.
APA PsycBooks is a research database from the American Psychological Association (APA) that provides full-text access to books published by APA and its partners. It includes classic works, handbooks, reference titles, and scholarly books covering many areas of psychology.
APA PsycExtra is a research database from the American Psychological Association that focuses on psychology-related material you usually won’t find in academic journals. It includes reports, newsletters, conference papers, fact sheets, standards, and other practical documents produced by organizations, researchers, and practitioners.
APA PsycInfo is a comprehensive research database produced by the American Psychological Association (APA). It focuses on psychology and related fields, including psychiatry, education, social work, sociology, and more. PsycInfo indexes journal articles, books, chapters, dissertations, and reports in psychology and behavioral sciences. It contains citations, abstracts, and some full text, depending on your library’s subscription level. PsycInfo is available through multiple academic platforms, including EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and OVID.
PsychiatryOnline is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides access to key psychiatry resources. It includes scholarly journals, reference books, and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in one search interface.
PTSDpubs (from the National Center for PTSD) is a free, online research database that focuses on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health effects of trauma. It’s produced by the National Center for PTSD, part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and was formerly known as PILOTS (Published International Literature On Traumatic Stress).
PubMed® is a free, open-access online database from the National Library of Medicine providing research articles about medicine, health, and related fields like biology and psychology. PubMed® provides over 38 million citations and abstracts for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) main bibliographic database.
Although PubMed® is free to search, it does not own or publish most of the articles. It simply indexes articles found in scientific journals. Some articles link to publisher websites that require payment or institutional access. Check your library’s database resources to see if PubMed is listed and search from there. PubMed will recognize your institution and display “Full Text” buttons if your library subscribes to the journal in which your article is located.
Psychological Tests
Psychological (or psychometric) tests are central to how the field measures, studies, and applies knowledge. It's important to note that while some tests may be found through your school, not all tests are readily available. Further, many are only available for purchase through a test instrument publisher to credentialed or licensed individuals.
NOTE: The American Psychological Association does not sale or provide psychological tests or instruments. However, it does provide a helpful FAQ that provides a full overview of how to locate tests measurements, directing users to both print and online resources.
Core test measurement resources
There is no single database that has every test measurement. However, we’ve listed the main databases people rely on for locating psychology tests, instruments, and measurement scales.
APA PsycTests is a database of psychological tests, measures, and assessment instruments. It includes descriptive records for thousands of tests and provides the full text of many research instruments, along with information on administration, scoring, reliability, validity, and supporting literature. 75% of the tests in APA PsycTESTS include the actual test instrument in full text.
ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) is an internet-based digital library of education research and information sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education, providing access to journal and non-journal literature from 1966 to the present. We link to the free public version; however, subscription versions are available through EBSCO (EBSCOhost), ProQuest, and Ovid.
Although ERIC is not a dedicated test database like APA PsycTests or Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI), it is an excellent resource for finding information about educational and psychological assessments, particularly those used in schools and educational settings.
Health and Psychosocial Instruments (HaPI) produced by Behavioral Measurement Database Services (BMDS), is an index-only database of non-commercial behavioral instruments in the health and social sciences. It helps researchers identify and evaluate health and psychosocial measurement instruments. It generally does not provide the full text of the instruments themselves. Instruments include questionnaires, rating scales, surveys, interview schedules, checklists, coding schemes, tests, and other measurements. HaPI is available on two platforms: EBSCO and OvidSP.
Mental Measurements Yearbook is a comprehensive reference resource for evaluating commercially published psychological, educational, and occupational tests. It includes full-text, expert reviews of tests, but it does not provide the full text of the tests themselves. Available through the EBSCO platform.
ProQuest Dissertations & Theses is a database of published dissertations and theses from universities worldwide. Graduate researchers are required to fully document their methodology, which may include test instruments. To locate test instruments, search the instrument’s full name in quotes.
If the dissertation is available in full text, the instrument may appear:
- In an appendix
- Within the methodology chapter
- Embedded in the text
Core test measurements organized by category
Knowing the different types of test measurements available to you while studying psychology is an essential skill you should have, especially for graduate research. Below, we've listed the most commonly used psychology-specific tests and measurements with links to their descriptions found in the APA Dictionary of Psychology.
Intelligence Tests
Intelligence Tests
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV/V) — Most important standard adult IQ test.
- Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) — Child equivalent of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.
- Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales — The original IQ test, still used today.
Personality Assessments
Personality Assessments
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2/MMPI-3) — Clinical personality/psychopathology measure of mental disorders and the selection of appropriate treatment methods.
- Big Five Inventory (BFI) / NEO-PI-R — Measurements of individual differences in personality.
- Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) — A personality assessment that categorizes people into 16 personality types based on four preference pairs.
- Rorschach Inkblot Test —A projective psychological test in which individuals are shown a series of ten standardized inkblot images and asked to describe what they see.
- Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) — A projective personality assessment in which individuals are shown a series of ambiguous pictures and asked to tell stories.
Clinical/Diagnostic Screening Tools
Clinical/Diagnostic Screening Tools
- Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) — Measures the severity of depression in adolescents and adults
- Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) — Measures anxiety in psychiatric populations
- PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire) — Screens for common mental health disorders.
- GAD-7 — Identifies and measures the severity of probable cases of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
- Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) — Measures the severity of depression.
Developmental Assessments
Developmental Assessments
- Bayley Scales of Infant Development — Measures the development of infants and young children ages 1 month to 42 months.
- Strange Situation — Measures attachment in infants and young children.
Social/Attitude Measures
Social/Attitude Measures
- Implicit Association Test (IAT) — Measures implicit bias.
- Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale — Measures self-esteem.
Psychology Journals
Scholarly journals are essential for academic research. However, not all scholarly journals are of the same quality. While peer review is a good starting point, researchers should also consider a journal's reputation and impact within its discipline. Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is considered one of the best tools to help researchers identify leading journals within a discipline.
Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is widely regarded as the leading subscription-based resource for identifying high-quality, peer-reviewed journals and assessing the impact, influence, and quality of scholarly journals across all academic disciplines. To learn more about JCR and journal impact, go to Journal Databases.
To review the entire JCR list of highly cited psychology journals, go to Journal Citation Reports (JCR) and choose Categories > Social Sciences, General > Psychology. Below are the ten most-cited psychology journals of the last year.
Psychological Bulletin is an academic journal that publishes reviews of existing research in psychology rather than new experiments. It brings together findings from many studies to explain what is already known about a topic and where research is still needed.
Psychological Medicine is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes research on mental health, psychiatry, and clinical psychology. It contains studies on topics such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and treatments for mental disorders. It covers a mix of biological, psychological, and social aspects of mental illness, including studies on causes, treatments, and how disorders affect the brain and behavior.
Psychological Review is a scholarly journal focused on major theories about how the mind works. It publishes articles on broad ideas and frameworks that advance psychological science. It publishes theories rather than experiments, and new ideas, models, or frameworks that help explain how the mind works, instead of reporting fresh data from studies.
The Annual Review of Psychology is a journal that summarizes and explains important developments in psychology, providing clear overviews of research findings and trends across different areas of the field. It covers major areas such as the biological bases of behavior, cognition, human development, clinical psychology, and social psychology. It comes out once a year, giving researchers a yearly snapshot of where the field stands.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience is an open-access journal that publishes research how the brain and nervous system influence human thoughts, emotions, perception, and behavior. It covers topics such as cognition, memory, language, and brain function, including how these processes develop, mature, and decline with age.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research and clinical studies on the mental health, development, and behavior of children and adolescents. Topics covered include emotional disorders, learning difficulties, neurodevelopmental conditions, and the factors that influence psychological well-being, helping to improve understanding and care for young people.
Psychophysiology is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on how the brain and body work together to influence thoughts, emotions, and behavior. It features studies using methods such as brain imaging, physiological measurements, and cognitive experiments to better understand the biological processes underlying human experience and mental functioning.
The Journals of Gerontology: Series B is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on the psychological and social aspects of aging. It has two sections: one on psychology and one on social sciences. The psychology section covers topics such as cognition, emotion, neuropsychology, and personality as they relate to aging, while the social sciences section looks at topics like caregiving, retirement, and social relationships among older adults.
Psycho-Oncology is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on the psychological, social, and emotional aspects of cancer. It looks at how patients, their families, and caregivers respond psychologically to cancer, and how psychological, behavioral, and social factors might influence the disease itself. It examines how cancer affects patients, families, and caregivers, as well as ways to improve mental health, quality of life, and supportive care throughout the cancer experience.
Vision Research is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes research on how humans and animals see and process visual information. It covers topics such as perception, eye movements, color vision, visual attention, and the neural mechanisms of sight, helping researchers better understand how the visual system supports behavior and everyday experience.
Psychology in the News
Psychology news and magazine sources highlight emerging research topics and trends, sparking ideas for research.
- Major Newspapers
- Psychology Magazines
- University Psychology News
Major Newspapers
Most U.S. newspapers do not have a standalone “Psychology News” section; however, many major city newspapers publish psychology-related reporting under health sections. Here are links to some of the best-known news sources you will likely already be familiar with. While some of the articles will be free to read, each requires a subscription for full access to most articles. Do a title search in your library’s catalog to see if your institution has a subscription.
- Boston Globe – Health – Features articles on psychology and psychiatry, including issues such as mental health, child psychology, and behavioral medicine.
- Los Angeles Times – Science & Medicine – Features articles on psychology and neuroscience covering cognition, behavior, and mental health.
- Philadelphia Inquirer – Health – Features articles on mental health and behavior.
- New York Times – Psychology and Psychologists – Provides regular coverage of psychological issues such as anxiety, depression, relationships, cognition, addiction, sleep, and behavioral science.
- Wall Street Journal – Health Wellness – Covers primarily work-related psychology issues, including decision-making, brain health, behavioral economics, workplace psychology, aging, and cognitive health.
- Washington Post – Well+Being Mind – Provides coverage of mental health and psychology issues, including articles on emotions, relationships, stress, happiness, and psychological research.
Psychology Magazines
In most cases, online magazine articles are free to read. However, some of the following resources have a subscription icon, which indicates that you will need a subscription to read most of the articles on the site (although a few articles may be initially free). Check your library catalog to see if the titles are available through your institution.
Monitor on Psychology is the magazine of the American Psychological Association, the largest professional organization for psychologists in the United States. It reports on developments across the field, including new research, trends in mental health care, workplace and education issues, ethics, and news about the association and its policies. It’s available in print and online at the APA’s website.
Behavioral Scientist is a digital magazine started in 2017 that publishes original reports on behavioral science and human behavior. Its content is largely written by academic and applied behavioral scientists who write columns and commentaries on social, political, economic, and technological challenges.
Big Think is a digital magazine that provides articles on science, technology, business, and philosophy accessible to general readers. Big Think also explores psychology topics such as human behavior, decision-making, mental health, and the science of the mind.
BrainFacts.org is a free website about the brain and nervous system, run by the Society for Neuroscience with support from the Dana Foundation. Developed specifically for the general public, students, and teachers, it publishes articles on how the brain works, including topics like memory, sleep, emotions, addiction, Alzheimer’s, and brain development.
Dana.org is the official website of the Dana Foundation, a nonprofit organization working in the field of neuroscience and brain research. It provides news articles and resources about the role of brain research in everyday life, including topics like addiction, the aging brain, neuroethics, law, and education.
Knowable Magazine is a free, nonprofit digital publication from Annual Reviews that translates scholarly research into engaging, accessible journalism. It explores what researchers know—and are still discovering—across science, health, technology, psychology, society, and the environment.
Nature – Psychology provides psychology-related research, news, commentary, and reviews published on Nature.com, one of the most authoritative online sources for scientific research and news. Coverage includes topics such as cognition, behavior, memory, mental health, social interaction, and emerging developments in psychological and behavioral science.
Nautilus is an award-winning popular science and culture magazine known for combining serious scientific ideas with unusually strong narrative writing, illustration, philosophy, and the humanities. As an interdisciplinary magazine, its articles range from physics, astronomy, and biology to neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, geology, ecology, technology, and mathematics.
The Observer is the member magazine of the Association for Psychological Science, a US-based organization for researchers in psychology. Published since 1988, it provides new research findings, profiles of scientists, teaching tips, career advice, and updates on the organization itself. It’s available both in print and online at the APS website.
Psych Central is an evidence-based consumer mental health and psychology website, owned by Healthline Media since 2020. It publishes articles on psychological conditions such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, and PTSD, along with content on therapy, relationships, and everyday coping.
Psychology Today is a well-known magazine and popular website that provides articles on the psychology of everyday life. It includes coverage of issues such as personal relationships, mental health, parenting, personality, and personal growth. Most of its content is written by contributing psychologists, therapists, and academics who write short, easy-to-read articles.
Scientific American – Mind & Brain is the brain research section of Scientific American, the well-known popular science magazine available in print and online. It provides articles on the latest discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, cognition, and mental health. Research-based articles focus on explaining how the brain works and why people think and behave as they do.
Verywell Mind is a mental health and psychology website that provides expert-reviewed articles, practical wellness advice, and the latest research on topics such as emotional health, relationships, stress, therapy, personality, and psychological science. Content is written by journalists and mental health professionals and reviewed by a board of clinicians.
University Psychology Departments
We’ve listed the best quality online university psychology department news pages from major universities. Each features easy-to-read articles on psychology research, discoveries, and human behavior.
The Psychology and Neuroscience page of Duke Today provides coverage related to the mind, brain, and behavior. Stories feature faculty from the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience and related units, including research announcements, expert advice pieces, videos, and other features.
The News section of Harvard’s Department of Psychology website is the department’s news archive. Like UChicago’s and Duke’s psychology department pages, it’s department-specific, providing a searchable, filterable archive showcasing the academics, communities, research, events, history, and people of the Harvard Department of Psychology.
The Mental Health topic page on Northwestern Now is a section of Northwestern University’s official news site that collects campus-wide stories on mental and behavioral health. It features research announcements, expert commentary, and features from across Northwestern’s schools — covering topics like depression, anxiety, adolescent development, trauma, and health disparities.
The News & Events page of Princeton’s Department of Psychology serves as the department’s center for research highlights, announcements, and event listings. Its research news currently spotlights work at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and AI.
The Stanford Report is Stanford University’s official news publication, covering research, scholarship, campus life, and university news across all of Stanford’s schools and disciplines. Its psychology coverage highlights the work of Stanford’s psychologists and behavioral scientists for a general audience. Recent stories reflect a strong emphasis on the intersection of psychology and AI.
The psychology section of Berkeley News collects the site’s coverage of psychology-related stories from across the UC Berkeley campus. It features articles on faculty research, including topics like emotions, relationships, child development, cognition, mental health, and the aging brain, along with stories about the Psychology Department.
The News Page of the University of Chicago’s Department of Psychology is the department’s own news hub, hosted on its website within the Division of the Social Sciences. Unlike Berkeley News (a campus-wide publication), this page is department-specific: it aggregates stories about the research, faculty, students, and alumni of UChicago Psychology.
Research Methods
Research methods are the specific strategies, tools, and techniques researchers use to collect and analyze information to answer questions or solve problems. Research methods can be qualitative ( interviews or observations), quantitative (numerical and statistical), or mixed methods (a mixture of both).
Sage Research Methods is a major subscription database that guides users in understanding research methodologies across different academic disciplines. It provides electronic access to reference books, journal articles, instructional videos, and other research methods resources.
Psychology Research Methods
The following books offer clear, in-depth explanations of research design concepts, methods, and techniques used in psychology.
The icons next to each resource indicate its access requirements.
Open source/ Free
Subscription required
The famous dogs in Ivan Pavlov’s experiments were not originally studied for psychology. Pavlov was actually researching digestion in the late 1800s when he noticed the dogs began salivating before food arrived. This discovery became one of the most famous demonstrations of Classical Conditioning, showing how animals and humans can learn to associate one stimulus with another.
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