The medical doctors cannot confirm diabetes without doing a blood test, in a similar manner the psychologists also cannot give you an insight into what’s happening in the mind just by scanning the face. They do not read or claim to read minds. They analyze behavior and then conclude by following a scientific and standardized procedure. They study the human mind, behavior, and experience with the help of experiments.

There are five major goals of psychological inquiry which are reflecting the job duties of a psychologist. These goals are discussed below: –

• Description – It involves recording, observing, and describing the behavior as accurately as possible.

• Prediction – Once the behavior is noted carefully, the psychologist can see the relationships between two variables or events and hence can predict how the individual will behave in specific conditions.

• Explanation – This involves finding out the causal factors of the behavior or the situation under which a particular behavior will occur.

• Control – This involves modifying, eliminating, and reducing unwanted behavior or developing a new desirable behavior.

• Application – It solving practical problems and developing new

There are similar misconceptions about psychology and psychologists which are discussed below:-

Psychology is not a science

Psychology is a form of natural science. A psychologist never claims something because of their hindsight, past learning, or biases. They either themselves carry out research or claim something based on research done earlier by some other researcher. They form a hypothesis, carry out a review of the literature and start evaluating the hypothesis.

During their research, they collect the data through questionnaires, observation, standardized tests, case studies, etc from the relevant sample, and then with the help of statistics they drive meaning out of the data collected. After the analysis of the data, they finally concluded. In short, psychologists follow standardized procedures to make accurate predictions.

Psychology and common sense are alike

Psychology and common sense are not similar. Common sense is not tested in a laboratory or through experiments hence it proves to be wrong in many instances whereas in psychology proper research is done and post that it is concluded whether a particular hypothesis is accepted or rejected.

Psychologist only treats mentally ill people  

Psychologists are the need of the hour. They not only treat psychological disorders but also counsel for many other everyday problems. People consult psychologists to keep their mental health stable. Events like a break–up, divorce, over the burden of responsibility, the workload at the office, death of a loved one, unwanted crisis, single parenting etc. are stressful so they consult a psychologist to get a direction to cope up with their stress.

The organization psychologists are hired by an organization to enhance the organization’s recruitment process, increase the efficiency of the employees, etc. For increasing the performance and efficacy in work the individuals refer to a psychologist. To know and understand more about their personality, interests, intelligence, aptitude, and various other psychological attributes the individual refers psychologist.