5 Skills That You Gain From Studying

Psychology
Disclaimer: This is from my own experience and the responses are evidently biased and possibly
unrepresentative. However, hope they can still give those who are aspiring in psychology some
ideas. Furthermore, thanks to those who replied on my question about ‘what do you learn from
studying psychology.’ If anyone is interested in reading more after reading this article, here is a
link to those responses: http://neurolove.me/post/30993472317/what-do-you-learn-from-
studying-psychology

. 1. Research Methods 

A core aspect of studying psychology is to learn the research methods. In research methods
class, you learn what kind of methods are used to conduct studies and the flaws or problems
associated with each. You are also taught about how to review articles, how to look up authentic
sources of information, and how to write your own research paper. In the research methods
class I took, we had to pair up in groups and conduct a study together, collecting actual data
from class, and writing a full report. Above this are also opportunities to volunteer in research
labs where you can further apply these skills to a real/supervised study. 

Beyond research methods are courses in behavioral statistics. In statistics course, you learn how
to construct a study so that you can achieve some kind of real effect /significance. 

I personally believe that having a lot of knowledge in research methods and statistics is the most
important for psychology students. Furthermore, when applying to grad school, your grades in
these related courses are usually one of the most important. 

2. You Learn To See The World Differently

Studying psychology, you learn a lot of topics that you can relate to your own life. This leads to
reflective thinking and self-insights. When you gain awareness of yourself, you’re more in
control of who you are and what you want to be. Furthermore, you also gain awareness about
others and maybe why they behave the way they do. This also gives you a more open
minded views about things and sometimes take the blames off yourself. 

3. You Meet A lot Of Caring People 

I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seemed like a lot of students studying psychology were more
friendlier and understanding. I think it may have to do with people going into the field to help
others, but you do really meet a lot of people with similar intentions. And somehow, you do
really bond with people on that closer level. None the less, the atmosphere in a psychology class
is a lot nicer. 

4. Critical Thinking Skills 

This skill sort of stems from learning about research methods. When you acquire critical
thinking skills, you really do doubt all sources of information you acquire. You fully understand
the different steps of conducting studies, the problems that can occur at any step, and how each
methods are problematic in their own ways. Hence, you do really become a careful consumer of
information. 

5. You Know Almost A lot About Everything 

Psychology is one of the most broadest field. There are psychology courses on almost any topics
you can think of. And taking a degree in psychology, the program encourages you to take a few
courses from each area. This obviously leads you to know a lot about different things. However,
to fully specialize, you will usually have to go to grad school.