The 5 Differences Between A Psychologist And A Psychopedagogue

Education is much more than what we do in schools when we go through the vital stage of our childhood and adolescence. Learning is a process that lasts a lifetime and that, due to its complexity, has been approached from the different disciplines that investigate and intervene on the human mind.

Psychology and psychopedagogy are two of these disciplines, and both allow us to have a global vision of both the learning process itself and the effectiveness of educational strategies.

But… What are the differences between a psychologist and a psychopedagogue? In what characteristics do they differ?

The differences between psychology and psychopedagogy

It is easy to confuse the tasks carried out by the psychologist with those of the educational psychologist. Ultimately, both psychology and psychopedagogy use observation and empirical contrast to study some aspects of human behavior and their mental processes and develop strategies to promote forms of learning that benefit human beings.

However, beyond these superficial similarities, There are many characteristics that allow us to distinguish these two disciplines Let’s see what the main differences between them are and how they relate to each other.

1. The specific character of psychopedagogy

Psychology is the science that studies behavior and mental processes in general. For years it has been an incredibly extensive discipline that has belonged in part to both the social sciences and the world of biology-based sciences, and in recent times it has strengthened ties with neuroscience to better understand who we are and why we act as we do. and how we do it.

Psychopedagogy, for its part, is much more specific and focuses on a very specific area of ​​human experience: learning and education, both in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. This means that it considers secondary topics, for example, the study of consciousness, decision making or clinical intervention on psychopathologies; They are only addressed from the implications they have for the educational process.

2. The importance of intervention in childhood

From psychopedagogy it is understood that learning is something that goes far beyond school and that occurs at all ages, but, in practice, more importance is given to education aimed at boys and girls and adolescents, since It is understood that youth is a stage in which one is especially sensitive to the environment and that what happens during this time will greatly influence the educational level one will have.

Psychology also gives a lot of importance to the first two decades of life, but not in all cases, since There are certain psychological phenomena that become more relevant in adulthood For example, the purchasing decision process, the work environment or the effect of electoral propaganda have much more to do with adult life than with childhood or adolescence.

3. The importance of adaptation and context

This is one of the most obvious differences between psychology and psychopedagogy. From the second discipline, much emphasis is placed on that facet of behavior that is due to learning, that is, the way in which interaction with the environment affects us and transforms us.

Psychology also gives a lot of importance to what is learned, but it is not the only thing it takes into account. For example, certain branches of this science, such as basic psychology or neuropsychology, give great importance to genetics, that which cannot be modified by interaction with the environment. This facet of psychology more focused on biological processes does not deny the transformative power of our experiences, but decides to focus his efforts on studying what always remains latent in the individual

4. One can focus on the individual, the other does not

Psychopedagogy does not study the individual in isolation, but rather the subject of study is considered to be bio-psycho-social, that is, each person is inseparable from the physical and social environment in which they live.

Something similar happens with psychology and it also tends to consider people as bio-psycho-social subjects, but not in all cases. One facet of this science studies only the individual, considering the contents of learning and social interaction as secondary. These branches of psychology are usually the same ones that take genetic inheritance into account, although this is not the case in all cases.

For example, in the behaviorist movement of the mid-20th century, research focused on individuals and, at the same time, much more emphasis was placed on learning than on what was biologically inherited.

5. The type of training

In Spain, Psychology is a 4-year university degree, while Psychopedagogy only exists as postgraduate training and is considered a form of specialization. This means that psychopedagogues can be people trained in different areas such as psychology, pedagogy or any career that has been complemented with training to be a teacher.