Psychology Research Topics Divided into Separate Categories

The research paper is a written multi-page text-report that includes a statement of a problem, substantiation of the basic idea, and a description of the study results. Writing a paper is quite complicated, so you need to approach the task as responsibly as possible. The first thing to do is to choose a theme. And here, the early difficulties may already arise.

In this review, you will find valuable information on choosing a good idea and writing a paper in general. Try to read it carefully.

General Structure of the Paper

The research paper usually has a standard structure and consists of several interrelated parts:

• Title page;
• Table of contents;
• Introduction. The introduction presents the main attributes of the paper: substantiation of the relevance of the problem to which the scrutiny is directed; description of the object and subject of analysis, its goals, objectives, and hypotheses; argumentation of scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance; a brief substantiation of the theoretical methods and techniques used for collecting, processing and interpreting empirical data;
• Theoretical section (it includes subsections containing an overview of scientific knowledge in the chosen field, substantiation of the relevance of the issue and hypotheses);
• Empirical section (includes subsections that provide a detailed account of the empirical analysis conducted);
• Conclusion. The conclusion contains a brief overall assessment of the basic results of the conducted analysis. In terms of its content, the conclusion is usually ‘symmetrical’ to the introduction. In it, the writer recalls the meaning and content of the completed work and determines its place among other studies of the same kind. In conclusion, as a rule, the basic directions of further exploration are outlined, and the theoretical and practical significance is emphasized;
• Bibliographic list. When compiling a list of used literature, one should adhere to bibliographic description standards;
• Applications.

Characteristics of the Research Work and the Main Stages of its Implementation

The study presupposes an analysis of the theory and history of the issue: the theory constitutes the justification for the actual practical part. With a few exceptions, the obtained results do not differ in high scientific novelty since they have subjective novelty, i.e., they are new for the person involved in active work and gained them. The purpose is not to gain new skills and knowledge but to master the methods of scrutiny activities and solve several typical and creative tasks.

In terms of content, this type of work cannot be considered a purely scientific study. On the one hand, it is connected with the training of a person, and on the other hand, with the growth of his creative potential. Nevertheless, the organization of activity should more or less fully reproduce the structure of the survey. In this aspect, it is as close as possible to scientific study, i.e., carried out under its logic.

When doing research, the logic of presenting the material is very important, as a result of which the work takes place in several stages:

• The primary stage – setting one – consists of choosing a theme and selecting the study’s methodological apparatus. After completing the first stage, the writer draws up two important documents: a plan for analysis and a presentation plan, which is close to the list of contents;
• The actual search work is carried out at the second stage. The developed plan and selected methods, techniques, and technologies create the basis for active work done at the theoretical and practical levels. The main results are categorized and summarized;
• The third stage is the systematization of materials, writing the text, and formatting the work and the analysis results.

All stages are interconnected; the previous stage determines the content and success of the subsequent stage. Therefore, it is more correct to carry them out in the specified sequence.

Basic Categories and Examples of Psychology Research Topics 

As we have noted at the beginning of this article, before starting to write a paper, you first need to consider various themes and choose the most interesting one. Below we will provide you with relevant themes and categorize them to optimize your search. Read them carefully. You will find a good idea here.

Social Psychology Research Topics

Consider the issues below:

• Behavior in conflict and individual-typological characteristics;
• Mismatch of thoughts about the mutual needs of spouses as the basis of family conflicts;
• Features of the formation of self-concept as the basis of conflict behavior in adolescence;
• The key ways of preventing and resolving conflicts in the activities of teachers;
• Conflict management;
• Forms of manifestation and methods of resolving intrapersonal conflicts of students during the period of study;
• The influence of active teaching methods on the growth of communicative competence;
• Influence of the teacher-class interaction style on the socio-psychological climate in the classroom;
• The influence of psychological compatibility of group members on the social climate of the group;
• The gender aspect of the value orientations of senior schoolchildren.

Physiological Psychology Research Topics

Pay attention to the following issues:

• Subject and tasks of psychophysiology. Key issues of psychophysiology;
• The place of psychophysiology in the system of sciences. The structure of psychophysiology;
• Psychophysiological problem and its aspects. The boundaries between physiological phenomena;
• Organization of psychophysiological survey. Its stages, principles, methods;
• The problem of interpreting physiological data in psychological terms;
• Core sources of knowledge about the activity of the nervous system and behavior;
• Basic approaches to the classification of the structure of the nervous system. Three divisions (functional blocks) of the nervous system and psyche;
• The autonomic nervous system and its reactions;
• The nervous motor system and its reactions;
• “Mental brain” and its influence on the psyche. The bioelectric activity of the brain.

Neuropsychology Research Ideas

Select one of the following themes:

• Definition of neuropsychology as a science that has developed at the intersection of psychology, neurosurgery, anatomy, etc.;
• The role of a neuropsychological survey in the study of general psychological problems;
• Syndromic (systemic, factorial) analysis. Major neuropsychological syndromes;
• Scheme of neuropsychological conclusion;
• Analysis levels of neuropsychological factors;
• Classification of neuropsychological factors;
• Hemispheric factors or factors associated with the work of the left and right hemisphere;
• Functional asymmetry of the brain and psychopathology;
• Movement and action disorders. Types of apraxia;
• Thinking disorders with damage to the brain’s frontal lobes (the breakdown of planning and control with the safety of mental operations).

Mental Health Research Themes

Interesting themes are provided below:

• The basics of good nutrition;
• The concept and factors of physical health;
• Adaptive reserves of the body;
• Prevention and methods of dealing with stress;
• Body defense mechanisms;
• The concept of mental well-being, spiritual and moral qualities of a person;
• Methodological aspects of the study of stress;
• Components of psychological stability.

Developmental Psychology Research Topics

The following themes seem rather relevant:

• Socio-psychological prerequisites and factors for the development of empathy and altruism in adolescence;
• The role of play in the progress of the emotional sphere of primary schoolchildren;
• The development of cognitive processes at different age stages;
• Psychological mechanisms of abnormal personality development;
• Sex-role aspects of aggressiveness in adolescence;
• Affective sphere of a child from 2 to 6 years old;
• Midlife crisis in men and women;
• Psychological reasons for deviant behavior in adolescents;
• Development of emotional self-awareness in a child of the first year of life;
• The role of illustration in understanding literary text by primary school children.

Health Psychology Research Topics

Consider the ideas below:

• Health psychology: definition, objectives, health factors;
• Theoretical and methodological foundations of health psychology;
• Physical well-being;
• Personal psychological well-being;
• Personal well-being and harmony;
• The dualistic role of psychological defenses in mental health;
• Psychological stability of the personality;
• Mental health optimization approaches;
• Health as a social phenomenon;
• Health and lifestyle – general questions of valeology.

Forensic Psychology Research Topics

We should also allocate several significant themes in this category:

• Attentiveness and observation in the investigation of misconducts;
• Regularities of perception in the investigation of crimes;
• Patterns of sensations and their use in the investigation of offenses;
• The account of the peculiarities of attention in the investigation of corruptions;
• Using the patterns and characteristics of the memory of witnesses and victims in the work of law enforcement agencies;
• Using the patterns and peculiarities of thinking of participants in the criminal investigation process;
• The role of imagination in the work of a lawyer;
• Informational impact in legal socialization;
• The motivation for lawful behavior;
• The peculiarities of obtaining a confession to a committed crime.

Educational Psychology Research Topics

Some actual issues are represented below:

• Education of gifted children;
• The role of play in the development of the emotional sphere of primary schoolchildren;
• Fostering tolerance in the higher education system as a condition;
• Revealing natural inclinations and the development of creative abilities of the individual;
• Problems of adaptation of first-year students to new conditions of educational activity;
• Conditions for successful group activity;
• The self-esteem of a person as a factor in the degree of self-realization of a person;
• Conditions for conflict-free communication in small groups;
• Express diagnostics as one of the professionally significant tools for the activities of a specialist in organizing work with youth;
• Signs of social and psychological maturity for professional activity.

Criminal Psychology Research Topics

Pay attention to the next issues:

• The motivation for the aggressive behavior of women sentenced to imprisonment;
• Characteristics of the position of the individual in relation to participation in the maintenance of law and order;
• Individual characteristics of convicted oligophrenics;
• Features of confidence in oneself and others among juvenile criminals serving a sentence of imprisonment;
• Features of the semantic sphere of the personality of HIV-infected convicts under conditions of imprisonment;
• Preliminary investigation of crimes committed by convicts in a group;
• General characteristics of juvenile participants in group sexual crimes;
• Features of defensive-coping behavior of deviant adolescents;
• Convicts` perceptions of victims of crime: diagnosis and correction;
• Distinctive characteristics of the personality of minors convicted of mercenary and violent crimes.

Clinical Psychology Research Topics

Relevant ideas in this category include the following:

• Perception of chronic pain and its treatment;
• Perception of migraine and its treatment;
• Metacognitive regulation in persons dependent on psychoactive substances;
• Self-disease concept;
• Metacognitive processes in patients with anxiety disorders;
• Emotional schemas and metacognitive processes in mental disorders;
• Internal picture of the disease in patients with chronic skin diseases;
• Perception of pregnancy and pharmacotherapy during pregnancy;
• Perception of illness in palliative medicine;
• Perceptions of illness, treatment, and adherence to hemodialysis therapy;
• Internal picture of the disease in adolescents with cystic fibrosis and myasthenia gravis

Have you already decided on your theme? Then start creative work and achieve your goals. If something does not work out, and there are certain challenges in writing, contact the writers of this online service. Quality assistance is guaranteed to every student!