Should I Major in Psychology?

Studying this field sounds exciting, but there’s more to choosing a career path than fascination alone. Before you decide to pursue a psychology major, spend some time reflecting on and researching the degree.

Understand Majoring in Psychology

Put simply, psychology is the scientific study of behavior, cognition, and emotion. According to the American Psychological Association, this field examines the relationships between brain function, behavior, and the environment to illuminate our understanding and improve the world around us. The four main goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change the behavior and mental processes of others.

Several specialties within the field of psychology address specific subjects or areas of research, including:

• Clinical psychology
• School psychology
• Marriage and family psychology
• Industrial/organizational psychology
• Child psychology
• Clinical child psychology
• Addiction psychology
• Clinical health psychology
• Rehabilitation psychology
• Clinical neuropsychology
• Forensic psychology
• Sport psychology

What Courses are Required for a Psychology Major?

Students enrolled in a psychology program will begin by learning the basics of physiology and cognition and the many factors that affect mental health. Gradually, they’ll advance through theories about particular behaviors and disorders, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Core bachelor’s in psychology courses often include:

• History and Systems of Psychology
• Research Methods for Behavioral Science
• Scientific Writing
• Abnormal Psychology
• Human Development
• Introduction to Statistics

7 Signs You Should Major in Psychology

There is no single test or list of qualities that will guarantee a person will excel as a psychology major, but there are some common traits that successful psychologists share. Read through the following characteristics to see if they resonate with you.

1. You Are an Empathetic People Person

Anyone working in this field should enjoy working with people in some capacity. Many choose to major in psychology because they want to help others live healthy and fulfilling lives. While not all jobs in the field deal directly with patients or clients, the overall goal of psychology is to study human behavior and apply those insights to build a healthier society.

You don’t have to be an extrovert or a social butterfly to be successful in the field of psychology. But you must have a desire or interest to understand, connect with, and learn from other people. Being empathetic and able to relate to experiences outside of your own is crucial for a career as a psychologist.

2. You Enjoy Solving Problems

Problem-solving skills are useful for every facet of life. But much of psychology is applying empirically based theories to real-life problems, which can be very rewarding. If you enjoy tackling complicated problems, trying to view situations from different perspectives, and searching for relevant information to inform your approach, you could have a bright future in psychology.

3. You Love Learning

The beauty of studying the secrets of the mind is knowing your work is never done. The brain and human behavior are some of the most scrutinized subjects in the history of science, but our collective knowledge is still far surpassed by our remaining questions. In the world of psychology, there is always something new to discover. If you’re always looking to learn new things, you’ll enjoy evolving in your psychology career.

4. You’re a Trusted Source for Advice

Do your friends and family always come to you for advice, knowing they can trust you with their deepest secrets? If so, you’re well suited for the professional world of psychology.

Psychologists need to make patients feel safe, accepted, and secure in their commitments to confidentiality. It takes a lot of mutual trust for people to confide in each other or to ask for help when they need it.

5. You Are Patient and a Good Listener

Much of psychology is focused on understanding and treating mental and behavioral disorders. In a clinical setting, this means spending time with patients one-on-one, asking questions, and holding space for all of the emotions and feelings the patient shares. A successful psychologist must learn that being a good listener means listening to understand instead of listening to respond.

6. You Strive to be Open-Minded and Nonjudgmental

As you spend increasingly more time trying to understand human behavior, you’ll realize that it is always complicated. While it is much simpler to ascribe our actions to either nature or nurture, our behavior is influenced by genetic, environmental, social, cultural, and institutional factors.

Throughout your classes as a psychology major, you’ll encounter information, ideas, and theories that challenge your worldview. The ability to develop your opinion and change your mind based on new information is a strength, not a weakness. Maintaining an open mind takes practice and exposure to competing or opposing perspectives.

7. You’re Acutely Aware of Details Around You

With its emphasis on intangible things like thoughts and feelings, it can be easy to forget that psychology is indeed a science. Keen observation skills are essential. For a psychologist to properly study attitudes and behavior, he or she must be capable of noticing and interpreting possible meanings of actions, interactions, expressions, verbal cues, and body language.

Being perceptive and paying close attention to detail will serve you well in this field. If those are qualities you possess, you’re already well suited to find success as a psychology student.

Common Jobs for Psychology Majors

There’s much more to a psychologist’s job than the cinematic portrayal of a professional listening to patients' troubles as they lie on the office couch. In reality, a psychology major can find employment in many diverse professions.

Common jobs for majors in psychology include:

• School psychologist
• Mental health therapist
• Substance abuse counselor
• Child psychologist
• Behavior analyst
• Marriage and family therapist
• Field researcher

The Benefits of Majoring in Psychology

The four main goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and positively impact the behavior and mental processes of others. The following seven psychology skills can benefit professionals in all sectors of social science.

Diverse Thinking Skills

The APA highlights several competencies a quality psychology program should cover — among them are important cognitive skills. Students don’t just acquire the core critical-thinking abilities many professionals expect to learn in college. They also gain valuable expertise in analytical thinking, creativity, information management, judgment, and decision-making.

Whether researchers are filling the role of subjective participant or objective observer, fieldwork also relies heavily on applying diverse thinking abilities, with observational and interpretive skills coming to the foreground.

Research Skills

Students majoring in psychology know to expect courses about human development, systems of psychology, and the like. But in addition to exploring those fundamental subjects, students will encounter topics that will help enhance their practical research abilities.

Course offerings will vary by school, but students in the psychology program at UMass Global, for example, are given opportunities to focus on subjects such as scientific writing, social research design, statistics, and research methods for the behavioral sciences.

Collaboration

Whether a professional is playing an interactive or observational role, collaboration with patients or subjects is often heavily involved. Practitioners’ knowledge, competencies, and skills are continuously expanding through collaborative work with other professionals.

In addition to learning how to work collaboratively with classmates, psychology scholars study interactive family, community, and other group dynamics through a social science lens. Courses on subjects such as family systems and dynamics, organizational psychology, and community mental health can help enhance the understanding of the contextual nature of their work.

Adaptability

The APA has also highlighted some personal skills that contribute to any professional’s career trajectory. Qualities such as integrity and self-regulation may be more inherent, but one thing psychology programs can help you build is your ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Adaptability is important for field researchers because the entire methodology operates in the absence of a controlled environment. With so much subject to change, it’s crucial to remain level-headed, thoughtful, and motivated throughout the process. Psychology programs can help teach students how to adjust successfully to change by responding in a flexible, proactive, and civil manner.

Data Analysis

Field research can involve a massive intake of information. Collection methods carry obvious importance, but the researcher’s ability to analyze the data is just as critical. Professionals conducting this kind of research must know how to apply graphical, statistical, and quantitative techniques to a set of observations or measurements to locate patterns and anomalies.

Statistical analysis is a fairly prominent element of psychological practice. Undergraduate programs will help students learn how to think carefully about the variables and measurements in their data collection so that they can deduce the most accurate interpretations of the information.

Application of Theory

It’s one thing to learn about effective research practices and methods of data interpretation, but it won’t do much good without a keen ability to apply those theories to the material at hand. All proper research should consider the theoretical basis for their studies very early on in the planning stage. In qualitative research efforts specifically, there are several different theoretical approaches professionals will need to master.

The study of theory from a psychological perspective has helped contribute to our understanding of prominent health problems and related behaviors that may provide potential avenues for development. Psychology students don’t just learn how to examine the principles of human behavior — they also learn how to deconstruct the methodology and statistical techniques related to behavioral science research.

Interpersonal Communication

Strong oral and written communication skills are useful in any industry. However, they are particularly important for researchers who are tasked with conveying their findings in clear and concise ways.

The APA also highlights several social skills students gain from psychology programs that can help improve their interpersonal communication abilities. In addition to gaining an aptitude for communicating scientific information to diverse audiences, psychology graduates become well-versed in leadership, inclusivity, and service. Social skills of this nature help professionals establish respectful and fruitful interactions with the people they work with, whether they’re fellow team members or research subjects.

Begin Your Path in Psychology at UMass Global

Should you major in psychology? Only you can answer that question. Hopefully, the information above has helped you get one step closer to making a confident decision. If you’ve confirmed your interest in pursuing a psychology major, learn more about the educational path. Explore UMass Global’s Bachelor of Arts in Psychology program to see if our dynamic and flexible training is right for you.