Health ministry of republic of moldova the university of medicine and pharmacy nicolae testemiţanu

 
clinical psychology; psychothe-
rapy.
 
 
1. Psychology as a science. Research methods in psychology. 
Psychology
is the scientific study of behavior and mental proces-
ses. The term
psychology
 
comes from the Greek words: 
psyche 
(soul) 
and 
logos
(word or discourse) and reveals the original definition as 
discourse about the soul (later, about the mind). The psychological re-
search
 
is a systematic course of investigation intended to describe beha-
vior, explain its causes and predict the circumstances under which it mi-
ght recur. 
Psychology is a multifaceted science. Psychologists study many as-
pects of behavior and mental processes that have practical implications 
for the life of all of us. They study topics like these: how do individuals 
use their senses of sight, hearing, and touch to make sense of the world, 
why some people like doing something; what personality factors influ-
ence career choices; how we remember and forget and which is the bio-
logical basis for memory; how do people remember what has happened 
to them or know how to plan for the future; what kind of psychological 
changes occur during old age; how we choose our spouses and become 

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attached to our parents and children – and many other issues that affect 
our day to day life. But psychologists are not content with merely descri-
bing behavior. They go beyond this to try explaining, predicting and 
sometimes modifying behavior to enhance the lives of individuals and to 
improve society in general. Thus, the main goals of psychology are: 
–
Description,
which implies information about what is actually 
occurring. 
–