The Institute is part of the Section of philosophy, psychology, sociology and law in the Department of social sciences RAS, established in 1971.

Seventeen scientific subdivisions carry out fundamental, and applied, investigations in the following spheres:

1. general psychology;
2. the psychology of personality;
3. history of psychology;
4. differential psychology;
5. psychophysiology;
6. neuropsychological basis of psychics;
7. social, economic and ethnic psychology;
8. engineering and workplace psychology;
9. developmental and cognitive psychology;
10. the psychology of talent;
11. the psychology of speech and psycholinguistics;
12. statistical psychology;
13. post-traumatic syndrome and disorder;
14. the psychology of advertising;
15. environmental psychology.