3 answers
Beth
Student
Miami Gardens, Florida
19
Questions
Asked
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Once you got into the major, how did your opinion of Psychology evolve?
#Opinion #Psychology
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3 answers
Dr. Carolyn Cowl-Witherspoon
Social Psychologist, Executive Director, Psychological Coach, Consultant
16
Answers
Richmond, Texas
Updated
Dr. Carolyn’s Answer
Thank you for asking such a thought-provoking question! It shows great insight and maturity. No matter how any of us might think about a proposed major in college, it can often be difficult to really understand what it’s like until you’re actually taking a class in it.
The great thing about psychology as a major in college is that it is a springboard into almost any career that you can imagine. What students need to do to make an informed decision about selecting a major in college, whether psychology or anything else, is take an unflinching look at what kind of student they are, what kind of finances for a college education they have, and what they think they might enjoy doing as a career.
I decided to major in psychology during my master’s program. I did not get a bachelor’s degree in psychology, even though I had always been interested in it. My bachelor’s degree is in English literature, which I loved, but I realized that it didn’t have a lot of employment opportunities for me. I explored a little bit about what psychology is and what you can do with the degree in psychology and decided that it was a better fit for my professional goals and personal preferences.
From the very first class I took in psychology, I knew that I was hooked. I liked it so much that I didn’t even care about what kind of career I might be able have after completing my degree. I was fascinated to learn about human interaction in all its forms, from a psychological perspective. I loved doing the reading, and I loved doing the writing. I loved exploring the past and current research, and I loved discovering the gaps in current research, which I’ve always felt were opportunities for others to come along and literally change the direction of our understanding of psychology or of human behavior.
Studying psychology will change how you understand yourself and everyone around you. Whether you want to help others, conduct research, work in organizations, the government, the entertainment industry, create new theories of understanding, explore communication, help groups heal rifts, teach, work in religious organizations, work in the medical profession, work with people who have special needs, enrich the lives of the elderly, or create programs and curricula that could positively change the lives of students, psychology has something for everyone.
The best way to find out if psychology is a good fit for you is to take a class, or read a book written by one of the famous psychologists. You could explore some of the current theories in psychology, or research all the different ways a degree in psychology might help you in a career path. This is certainly not an inclusive list of ideas for exploration, but it may help you get started.
Good luck!
Dr. Carolyn Cowl-Witherspoon
Ph.D. in psychology
The great thing about psychology as a major in college is that it is a springboard into almost any career that you can imagine. What students need to do to make an informed decision about selecting a major in college, whether psychology or anything else, is take an unflinching look at what kind of student they are, what kind of finances for a college education they have, and what they think they might enjoy doing as a career.
I decided to major in psychology during my master’s program. I did not get a bachelor’s degree in psychology, even though I had always been interested in it. My bachelor’s degree is in English literature, which I loved, but I realized that it didn’t have a lot of employment opportunities for me. I explored a little bit about what psychology is and what you can do with the degree in psychology and decided that it was a better fit for my professional goals and personal preferences.
From the very first class I took in psychology, I knew that I was hooked. I liked it so much that I didn’t even care about what kind of career I might be able have after completing my degree. I was fascinated to learn about human interaction in all its forms, from a psychological perspective. I loved doing the reading, and I loved doing the writing. I loved exploring the past and current research, and I loved discovering the gaps in current research, which I’ve always felt were opportunities for others to come along and literally change the direction of our understanding of psychology or of human behavior.
Studying psychology will change how you understand yourself and everyone around you. Whether you want to help others, conduct research, work in organizations, the government, the entertainment industry, create new theories of understanding, explore communication, help groups heal rifts, teach, work in religious organizations, work in the medical profession, work with people who have special needs, enrich the lives of the elderly, or create programs and curricula that could positively change the lives of students, psychology has something for everyone.
The best way to find out if psychology is a good fit for you is to take a class, or read a book written by one of the famous psychologists. You could explore some of the current theories in psychology, or research all the different ways a degree in psychology might help you in a career path. This is certainly not an inclusive list of ideas for exploration, but it may help you get started.
Good luck!
Dr. Carolyn Cowl-Witherspoon
Ph.D. in psychology
De'andra Glass, HCS
Employee Engagement Relationship Manager
14
Answers
San Tan Valley, Arizona
Updated
De'andra’s Answer
I began studying psychology with the goal of becoming a counselor. After a few semesters and working at a counseling office part time, I quickly realized that wasn't the route for me. I didn't want to deal with the debate with insurance companies over what a patient needs, and saw the level of stress therapists encountered from being unable to do their job effectively. I pivoted my course to Org Psych/HR and after 15+ years have no regrets.
Everyone is different so I recommend exploring your path first hand, with a mentor, via an internship or part time job before you get too far down the rabbit hole. What are you good at, and what do you LOVE to do?
Everyone is different so I recommend exploring your path first hand, with a mentor, via an internship or part time job before you get too far down the rabbit hole. What are you good at, and what do you LOVE to do?
Katherine Avery
Run a music studio and teach private music lessons; teach college-level religion classes
222
Answers
Spanish Fork, Utah
Updated
Katherine’s Answer
As children and a spouse of my mother, who likely has an undiagnosed Cluster B personality disorder, all my siblings and I, and to some extent my dad, have always been interested in psychology and relational skills and how to navigate the world and be helpful to people around us, without using the manipulation and other tactics that my mom always used to control and emotionally abuse. We needed to deal with our own traumas, and know the best ways to attempt to deal with her when we were minors and she was an adult who really couldn't be worked with, and know how to relate to others better than she did, and we have cared about her and hoped for a long time that if we did things right, she might be able to make some changes and learn some more skills herself...
As a music teacher and coach, who wanted to be part of a "new generation" of music teachers who wasn't any kind of a tyrant as some teachers in the past have been, I also was interested to study psychology in college for purposes of being more encouraging and motivating, etc.
Also, because of having had some depression as a teen because of my family situation and not having anyone outside the family to whom I could talk, I spent years looking for treatments and skills I could use for my depression that would be effective. And since finally learning what would work the best for me, I can treat my depression when occasionally it comes back, and I have been super interested in getting the information I learned (which seemed to be just coming out at the time I finally found it) into more people's hands so their mental health can be a lot better a lot faster than mine has been.
Having said all that, I know that "traditional," "clinical," etc. psychology is interesting and useful for certain things, and "alternative" psychological things are interesting and useful for certain other things, and that more is being learned all the time, and so I would think the students who study psychology now may be getting a whole lot more for their money than people in past generations. At the same time, psychology isn't omniscient, and I feel that in some areas, it works for people's particular issues well and in other areas, it hasn't worked well at all. It was discouraging when I was a teen to begin to learn that other people dealt with a difficult person in their life like I dealt with my parent, and that the particular things I needed specific help with are those that psychology and psychologists have to look at and say the likelihood of improvement or cure or anything like that is slim, because of the very nature of the actions and thought processes of the person who has the condition.
I've spent some time looking more into 12-step programs for various things that exist over the years too, and as people say, who have been both on the outside and on the inside of those groups, they have varying results also.
Overall, my opinion of psychology has really always been, and continues to be, that if you have interest in some narrow or wide area of psychology, by all means study it, but know that it has its limits, and that no matter how much we keep learning and no matter how many people can be helped by it, it will continue to have some limits. Use it for how it can be used and don't expect ultimate miracles...but expect great, important, life-changing, joy-bringing miracles! Because they definitely happen!
As a music teacher and coach, who wanted to be part of a "new generation" of music teachers who wasn't any kind of a tyrant as some teachers in the past have been, I also was interested to study psychology in college for purposes of being more encouraging and motivating, etc.
Also, because of having had some depression as a teen because of my family situation and not having anyone outside the family to whom I could talk, I spent years looking for treatments and skills I could use for my depression that would be effective. And since finally learning what would work the best for me, I can treat my depression when occasionally it comes back, and I have been super interested in getting the information I learned (which seemed to be just coming out at the time I finally found it) into more people's hands so their mental health can be a lot better a lot faster than mine has been.
Having said all that, I know that "traditional," "clinical," etc. psychology is interesting and useful for certain things, and "alternative" psychological things are interesting and useful for certain other things, and that more is being learned all the time, and so I would think the students who study psychology now may be getting a whole lot more for their money than people in past generations. At the same time, psychology isn't omniscient, and I feel that in some areas, it works for people's particular issues well and in other areas, it hasn't worked well at all. It was discouraging when I was a teen to begin to learn that other people dealt with a difficult person in their life like I dealt with my parent, and that the particular things I needed specific help with are those that psychology and psychologists have to look at and say the likelihood of improvement or cure or anything like that is slim, because of the very nature of the actions and thought processes of the person who has the condition.
I've spent some time looking more into 12-step programs for various things that exist over the years too, and as people say, who have been both on the outside and on the inside of those groups, they have varying results also.
Overall, my opinion of psychology has really always been, and continues to be, that if you have interest in some narrow or wide area of psychology, by all means study it, but know that it has its limits, and that no matter how much we keep learning and no matter how many people can be helped by it, it will continue to have some limits. Use it for how it can be used and don't expect ultimate miracles...but expect great, important, life-changing, joy-bringing miracles! Because they definitely happen!