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Asked by anon-282388 on 5 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by anon-283682.
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Alex Baxendale answered on 5 Mar 2021:
You should be patient and forgive yourself for mistakes. People get the idea that you have to be perfect, and produce amazing results every time, all of the time – and it’s just not possible. We all make mistakes, and it’s the ability to get yourself back up and go at it again that really matters!
I failed my Psychology A-Level first time, but I got myself back up and resat my exam, and this is where it has gotten me!
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Ellen Smith answered on 5 Mar 2021:
Be open minded and if you can try to find out some information about lots of different areas of psychology that you think you might be interested in. When I studied Psychology as my undergraduate degree there was some parts which I really didn’t enjoy and found super dull. But I picked a course where I could choose lots of option modules and could tailor the kind of thing I learnt about. I particularly enjoyed learning about eating disorders, criminal and health psychology, but realised I was most interested in nutritional psychology, which is what I ended up specialising in.
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Lisa Orchard answered on 9 Mar 2021:
Hi Erin. I would advise to keep asking questions about everything! Especially when you get to university level. It’s important to challenge ideas and think about alternative explanations. I would also say, it is completely OK to not like everything in psychology. Psychology is very diverse so don’t worry if you don’t enjoy all of it. I used to really dislike the biopsychology side. Some people struggle with research methods. Don’t beat yourself up if you find things difficult. 🙂
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Dennis Relojo-Howell answered on 9 Mar 2021:
Hi ErinC. Expose yourself to interesting psychology resources. Read books and watch psychology videos on YouTube. The British Psychological Society has some interesting videos on their channel. There are also psychology programmes you can listen to on the radio such as ‘All in the Mind’ which is in partnership with the Open University.
Good luck with your psychology journey! -
Anon answered on 9 Mar 2021: last edited 9 Mar 2021 3:42 pm
Definitely keep an open mind about everything! The one thing you learn as a psychologist is that there are no simple or straightforward answers when it comes to studying people. Every answer comes with a “but…” It’s really important to try and develop a questioning mindset, and make peace with the fact that you may get messy answers. Be suspicious of anything that seems too simple! Part of what makes psychology amazing is that it keeps you constantly questioning and learning and re-visiting what you thought you knew.
On a more practical note – choose a psychology degree that is approved by the BPS, because it will make it more straightforward for you if you want to train as a practising psychologist in the future.
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Harry Piper answered on 25 Mar 2021:
For students studying psychology I would say be prepared for the world of psychology! It’s huge and impressive and something will grab your attention! In terms of generally being a student, remember its ok to fail, things go wrong and that’s fine. Learn to forgive yourself for this. Learn to manage your time because as a student, you can feel like there isn’t enough time. Mostly, I would advise you to look after yourself. Keep up with hobbies, take breaks and whatever else you might do to take care (eat well, exercise, sleep well)! Good luck!
Comments
Helena commented on :
Hello, I’m often asked this at Open Days and the first thing is to realise that Psychology encompasses many different kinds of skills and knowledge. so you need to be flexible in understanding the subject. Perhaps you think of counselling when you think of a psychologist, but really the basis of most psychology degrees is an understanding of research methods and also how to communicate research. An important part of your training will be in data analysis so my best advice is to get to grips with numbers and statistics a little. Psychology is a science so you need to be comfortable with scientific language. However, Psychologists also need to be good a written and spoken communication and we working teams all the time so communication in general is important.