Behavioral psychologist vs psychologist

The differences between behavioral psychologists and psychologists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a psychologist has an average salary of $97,803, which is higher than the $79,767 average annual salary of a behavioral psychologist.

The top three skills for a behavioral psychologist include behavioral health, crisis intervention and mental illness. The most important skills for a psychologist are patients, crisis intervention, and rehabilitation.

Behavioral psychologist vs psychologist overview

	Behavioral Psychologist	Psychologist
Yearly salary	$79,767	$97,803
Hourly rate	$38.35	$47.02
Growth rate	14%	6%
Number of jobs	15,955	12,516
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Average age	43	47
Years of experience	2	-

Behavioral psychologist vs psychologist salary

Behavioral psychologists and psychologists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Behavioral Psychologist	Psychologist
Average salary	$79,767	$97,803
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $116,000	Between $68,000 And $139,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Sierra Corporation
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between behavioral psychologist and psychologist education

There are a few differences between a behavioral psychologist and a psychologist in terms of educational background:

	Behavioral Psychologist	Psychologist
Most common degree	Master's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 47%
Most common major	Psychology	Psychology
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Northwestern University

Behavioral psychologist vs psychologist demographics

Here are the differences between behavioral psychologists' and psychologists' demographics:

	Behavioral Psychologist	Psychologist
Average age	43	47
Gender ratio	Male, 57.1% Female, 42.9%	Male, 35.2% Female, 64.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 3.4% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 3.3% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 5.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 4.2% White, 75.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	12%	20%

Differences between behavioral psychologist and psychologist duties and responsibilities

Behavioral psychologist example responsibilities.

Provide psychological therapy for children with autism spectrum disorder, deficit/hyperactive disorder, specific learning disorder and others mental diagnosis.
Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Psychologist example responsibilities.

Supervise mental health staff, including the overseeing of the provision of mental health services in a correctional facility.
Provide EMDR therapy for clients with trauma and anxiety.
Perform tests to diagnose autism in children or tests for the detection of autism at an early age.
Provide supervision and mentoring for APA Pre-Doctoral interns.
Supervise clinical activities of doctoral level psychology interns in APA accredit internship program.
Evaluate veterans for psychological disorders that may have resulted secondary to their military service for compensation purposes.

Behavioral psychologist vs psychologist skills

Common behavioral psychologist skills

Behavioral Health, 37%
Crisis Intervention, 14%
Mental Illness, 14%
Psychological Services, 8%
Psychological Evaluations, 6%
Psychological Assessments, 5%

Common psychologist skills

Patients, 18%
Crisis Intervention, 7%
Rehabilitation, 6%
Mental Illness, 5%
Clinical Supervision, 5%
APA, 4%

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Behavioral Psychologist vs Psychologist

Updated January 8, 2025

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