10 Reasons To Study Psychology
We can give you a thousand reasons why we think it’s worth studying psychology. However, there is one that sums them all up – it’s exciting! Few disciplines go beyond just professional development and enrich us as human beings, so that we can grow and have a much broader view of our reality. Although it is not an easy subject to study, it is an adventure that is definitely worth it.
When you go to your first lecture at the university and find out what a wide range of subjects make up the psychology degree, you can ask yourself if you made the right choice when you chose to study psychology. You may experience quite a shock when you have dozens of books to read, all with different theories and approaches that you need to understand and know how to distinguish between.
Some people feel tense and even despair when they come face to face with the always complex but interesting world of statistics and experimental design. A world where mathematics is still necessary – bad news for those who have bad memories of this subject. However, it is the daily work and contact with each of the fields that make up this science that ultimately awakens us to its fascinating universe and helps to set us on our path.
On the other hand, it is fair to say that studying psychology will not make us rich or guarantee us a job right after we have completed the degree. Current societies and labor market conditions are what they are, and sometimes we have to combine talent with ingenuity, motivation with opportunity and perseverance with patience. However, it must also be said that there are so many facets to branch into, and that if we choose a good specialization, we can build a rich and exceptional professional future.
10 reasons to study psychology
Whether we are at the crucial moment in our lives when we have to choose what we want to work on, or if we think it’s time for change and learning something else, studying psychology will always be a good option. Everyone should of course reflect on two important points: what they are looking for and what they want to offer to others. Psychology is a topic where we can grow as we immerse ourselves, in order to offer the best of ourselves for the benefit of others. Now, let’s look at what benefits a degree in psychology can offer us.
1. Psychology helps us to understand ourselves better
As we delve deeper into all of the above theories, the different approaches to personality, human development or how culture affects our behavior, we are forced to look at our own lives and those of other people as well.
Studying psychology will make us ask ourselves many questions. Questions that do not always have an answer. But those who will help us to constantly search and discover. It will be an adventure where we know ourselves and other people a little better every day, and where we can leave certain attitudes and ideas that used to be so important to us.
2. We will learn to value scientific methods
Psychology is not magical. We are not mind readers, nor do we have a radar in our head that allows us to capture what traumas the person in front of us is suffering from in 5 seconds, what they are afraid of, or what their strengths are. We will also almost certainly be accused by friends, relatives or acquaintances of “analyzing them”.
Psychology, as we know, has many false myths attached to it, and we have to confront them in many contexts, whether we like it or not. But there is an aspect that we need to be clear about when it comes to part of the word, logi – Psychology is a social science that is based on scientific method.
We must understand that in order to reach certain conclusions, certain data and insights, we must go through a lot of laborious, objective and patient work. This work is always based on a number of research methods, and this is the way to succeed as a professional psychologist. On the other hand is “pop psychology” which the general public loves so much, and which we see daily in magazines or social networks. However, this has little or nothing to do with reality.
3. You will develop critical thinking
Much of the material, theories, approaches, and areas that make up psychology studies help us develop critical thinking. Whether we like it or not, it is an important requirement if we want to be good professionals, and if we really want to be useful to people without losing our integrity and honor. Only then will we separate the bark from the wood, the clarity from betrayal, the reality from manipulation.
4. Greater understanding of human relationships
Studying psychology will not spontaneously convert us into psychologically healthier, more successful or happy people (at least not the majority). Psychologists also suffer from depression and anxiety. They are not immune to faults in their emotional relationships and even have their little phobias and limitations.
Having all this knowledge makes them much more aware of what is happening to them and around them. It makes them understand relationship dynamics much better. It helps them to ask for help on how to best help themselves or others.
5. You will appreciate human development in all its stages
Understanding how we evolve and how we as humans change through our lives not only gives us valuable knowledge. As a rule, it also makes us more sensitive and open to the problems of others and their sufferings or doubts as well.
It is also the fact that psychology reveals characteristics associated with certain stages of our development, such as childhood or old age. We can also become passionate about these stages of life, and decide to spend our time on a specific group.
6. You will develop a new perspective on mental illness
Studying psychology will allow you to tear down many of the myths that people believe about mental illness. For example, you will understand the differences between what is a syndrome, a disorder and a disease. You will realize that medication does not cure certain diseases, it only “treats” them. You will discover the complexity of making a diagnosis and the many nuances that there are in depression, an anxiety disorder or in schizophrenia.
7. It is a specialty of any passion
Not all psychologists are psychoanalysts or follow Freud’s principles. Furthermore, there are many more who do not follow them than those who do. Not everyone practices hypnosis or has clinics. Studying psychology gives us the opportunity to later immerse ourselves in a wide range of specialties, so that we can choose which one we like best. The options are many:
- Clinical psychology
- Educational psychology
- Sports Psychology
- Forensic psychology
- Health psychology
- Organizational Psychology
- Child and adolescent psychology
- Social or social psychology
8. Psychology – a perfect complement to other disciplines
Not many study areas complement other disciplines as much as psychology does. One can, for example, have a degree in journalism, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, philology, anthropology, art or economics and at the same time decide to start a degree in psychology to obtain a much richer and more complete education, which is fascinating at the same time.
Much more than having a good resume, studying psychology enriches us in that it allows us to understand human behavior much better, with all its social interactions, language, communication, motivation, emotions and decision making. These processes are often crucial to gain a more complete view of the other subjects.
9. You learn to communicate much better
This is an aspect we do not always talk about. But something that psychology students discover in their daily studies is that acquiring skills in dealing with emotions or understanding body language much better along with all its nuances, actually gives them a greater ability in interpersonal communication.
We are not just talking about improving our ability to speak in public, but also how to start communicating better with our fellow human beings. We understand the person in front of us through their non-verbal communication, their voice and expression, and we will be able to have a more empathetic and effective dialogue with them.
10. Studying psychology can be the first step towards the best stage in your life
We said at the beginning that we could give you 1000 reasons to study psychology, but it is one that surpasses all others – it is a fascinating science and it can open a whole new stage in our lives. We will always find something that at a given moment touches us in such a way that we say to ourselves: “this is me”, this is what I want to immerse myself in, this is the area I want to help people in.
Sometimes it will be neuroscience and all its mysteries. In other cases, it will be a specific type of therapy. Sometimes it is the desire to help children or to focus on a more experimental area of research. The world of the psychologist is so extensive that at some point everyone will find which specific aspect they want to work with. And it is in that moment that everything changes and everything makes sense.
So, if you are considering the possibility of studying psychology, we would like to encourage you to embark on this wonderful adventure that almost never disappoints.
Bibliography
Triglia, A, Regader, Bertrand, and García-Allen Jonnatahn, (2016). Psychologically speaking.
Paidós.Sheena Iyengar, (2006). The Art of Choosing. Psychology Press.
Pink, Daniel (2010). The amazing truth about what motivates us. Management 2000.
Butler-Bowdon, Tom (2004). 50 Psychology Classics: Who We Are, How We Think, What We Do: Insight and Inspiration from 50 Key Books. New York: H. Books.
