4th Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets

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Psychologists

By Jennifer Kenny

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Lisa's parents were getting divorced. Lisa felt both angry and sad. Her parents decided she needed to speak with a professional. Who helped Lisa? A psychologist did.

Sam was struggling in school. He was very smart, but he had a lot of trouble reading. He needed special tests to see if he had a learning disability. Who helped Sam? A psychologist did.

Philip was in the hospital. He had had a stroke. He could hardly move his right side. He was very frustrated. He needed help dealing emotionally with this new situation. Who helped Philip? A psychologist did.

Marla was starting up a new company. She wanted to understand the qualities she needed to find in new employees. She needed a consultant who had studied such things. Who helped Marla? A psychologist did.

What exactly is psychology? It is the scientific study of behavior and the mind. The term comes from two Greek words, psyche and logos, meaning study of the soul. Psychology involves observation and experimentation of actions and reactions, both conscious and subconscious. If it sounds like that covers a lot to you, you are right. Psychology covers a great deal. Individually, it can involve help or advice. More globally, it can involve the mysteries of human nature.

Psychologists focus on a wide variety of topics. They focus on learning and memory. They study sensory input and perceptions. They study motivation, thinking, and intelligence. They study child development and mental illnesses. Psychologists work in a wide variety of settings from colleges to hospitals to schools to businesses to private practices. That covers a lot! Perhaps that's why it is the second most popular college major.

Psychologists need an excellent education and many years of training. A person can graduate with a degree in psychology from a four year college. However, that may not be enough. Many of the jobs held by psychologists require a doctorate (often taking 5 or more years of graduate school). They also need years of supervision and a state license to practice (especially in the clinical or counseling fields).

What would the actual job of a psychologist be like? That depends on the field in which the psychologist specializes.

Many psychologists work in research. They spend their days conducting studies and experiments. They study how and why humans behave in certain ways. Many of them also teach at the university level to train graduate students.

Many psychologists work in the health service field. You might find them at hospitals, clinics, schools, and in private practice. As counselors, they advise people. They help people adjust to life or deal with illness, injury, or crisis. As school psychologists, they help children with learning and behavioral problems. They might test students as well. They might develop intervention or behavior modification programs, too. As developmental psychologists, they study the development of humans throughout their lives. As social psychologists, they focus on interactions between people.

Many psychologists work in settings such as businesses or government. They focus on things such as workplace productivity.

Some psychologists help children. They help with problems involving emotions, feelings, and actions. By talking with children and listening to them, they can help them figure out how to deal with situations. They help children with divorce, relationships, death, and abuse. They can help children develop skills to get along with others. They can help children with learning or behavioral problems. They can also help children who may feel very shy or anxious.

Psychologists try to make all people, including children, feel comfortable. They work with them for varying

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times - maybe for a day, maybe for years. They might see their patients once in a while or very frequently. Children need help in very special ways to open up. Psychologists working with children might encourage them to talk, play, draw, or write in a journal.

Do you enjoy working with people? Do you like to help others? Are you intelligent? Do you like to focus on human behavior? If you do, perhaps a career as a psychologist might be in your future.

Psychologists

Questions

1. Psychology comes from the ______ language. A. Greek B. German C. Latin D. French

2. Psychologists can focus on ______. A. motivation B. mental illnesses C. learning D. all of the above

3. Some psychologists conduct experiments. A. false B. true

4. Which kind of psychologist might diagnose a learning disability? A. school psychologist B. industrial psychologist C. research psychologist D. social psychologist

5. Which technique would a child psychologist NOT use when dealing with a patient? A. talking B. writing in a journal C. drawing pictures D. yelling

6. What might an industrial psychologist focus on? A. helping someone deal with divorce B. motivating workers C. teaching graduate students D. testing for learning disability

7. To become a psychologist, you only need a high school diploma. A. true B. false

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