The Psychological Domains: Learn It 1—The 5 Pillars

  • Identify the 5 major domains within psychology
  • Describe the biological domain
  • Describe the cognitive domain
  • Describe the developmental domain
  • Describe the social and personality psychology domain
  • Describe the abnormal, clinical, and health psychology domain

Introduction to Contemporary Psychology

Contemporary psychology is a diverse field shaped by the many historical perspectives you just learned about. Today, psychologists specialize in a wide range of areas, reflecting the profession’s growth and diversity.

The American Psychological Association (APA)—the largest professional organization of psychologists in the world—represents this diversity. The APA has 56 divisions, covering specialties from Religion and Spirituality to Exercise and Sport Psychology to Behavioral Neuroscience. Members include students, educators, clinicians, researchers, and professionals working in schools, hospitals, criminal justice, the armed forces, and private industry (APA, 2014).

Please visit this APA divisions website to see a list of all the divisions and to learn more about them. Student resources are also available through the APA.

Perspectives vs. Domains

  • Psychological perspectives are lenses—theoretical approaches for interpreting behavior (e.g., behavioral, cognitive, sociocultural).
  • Psychological domains are areas of specialization—the broad categories of research and practice within psychology.

This course is organized around the five major domains, sometimes called the five pillars of psychology.

The 5 Psychological Domains

  • Domain 1: Biological

    • Includes neuroscience, sensation, and consciousness.

    • Explores how brain activity, genetics, hormones, and the nervous system influence thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

  • Domain 2: Cognitive

    • Covers perception, memory, learning, intelligence, and decision-making.

    • Focuses on mental processes and how we acquire, organize, and use knowledge.

  • Domain 3: Developmental

    • Encompasses learning, conditioning, language, and lifespan development.

    • Studies growth and change across the entire human life cycle, from infancy through old age.

  • Domain 4: Social and Personality

    • Includes personality, motivation, emotion, gender, and culture.

    • Examines how individuals differ and how people are influenced by groups, relationships, and society.

  • Domain 5: Mental and Physical Health

    • Covers abnormal psychology, therapy, and health psychology.

    • Focuses on psychological disorders, treatment approaches, and how psychological factors affect physical health and wellness.

Image of five pillars, showing the biological, cognitive, developmental, social and personality, and mental and physical health.

Figure 1. The five pillars, or domains, of psychology. Image adapted from Gurung, R. A. R., Hackathorn, J., Enns, C., Frantz, S., Cacioppo, J. T., Loop, T., & Freeman, J. E. (2016) article “Strengthening introductory psychology: A new model for teaching the introductory course” from American Psychologist.

Why These Domains Matter

While these domains overlap, they provide a useful way to organize psychology’s many specialties. Together, they give psychologists multiple tools for understanding human behavior. Throughout this course, you’ll explore topcics within each domain, seeing how they connect to one another and how they can be applied in real-world contexts.