Cross Disciplinarity in Psychology

The growing emphasis on a holistic understanding of mind in psychology gives new authority to approaches that integrate perspectives from multiple subdivisions of the field. Many divisions now seek corroboration for their theories regarding behavior, cognition, and personality in the biological perspectives of neuroscience. For example, research by Douyon, Franco, and Hervey-Jumper (2008) revealed that children who suffer from attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) fare best when provided with a combination of medication and psychosocial treatment. Similarly, Biederman et al. (2004) found that screening children with ADHD for deficits in executive functioning could be used to prevent poor academic performance, demonstrating the utility of psychology in fields such as education.

The aforementioned theories also see much interplay, and clinical psychologists (who study aspects of behavior and personality), cognitive psychologists (whose focus is on constructs involving learning, memory, and communication), and social psychologists (not to be confused with sociologists; social psychologists' work lies in the observation of behavior as it relates to the presence of others) tend to inform the research of the other divisions with the broad implications of findings that may, at first glance, appear particular to their areas of study. Psychologists who work in corporate or non-for-profit settings (industrial/organizational, or "I/O," psychologists) often incorporate multiple views from the other disciplines as they work to improve the functioning of a business or organization. As is the case with interdisciplinarity in general, however, the efficacy and quality of such work is dependent on the support and motivation for it provided by the institutions that employ these researchers.