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Asked by anon-287297 on 8 Mar 2021. This question was also asked by anon-287524.
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Alex Baxendale answered on 8 Mar 2021:
It can be a little tricky, but very rewarding! In some sciences and math we know that a specific question will result in a specific answer (2 + 2 is always 4), but in Psychology our answers can vary quite a lot! Everybody is different, their brains can grow differently from one another, they can learn different things, and so much more! This makes Psychology a little tricky, because a treatment that works for one person might not work for another, or research using university students in the UK might not apply to elderly people in China.
But! When we find the answers out, it can be really rewarding because even though our answer might not be able to apply to everyone it can still help a number of people
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Lisa Orchard answered on 9 Mar 2021:
Hi Callum! I’d say the life of a psychologist is going to be very different depending on what field they are in. For example, a clinical psychologist is going to have a very different day to a forensic psychologist or educational psychologist. From my point of view as a psychology lecturer and researcher, every day brings its own challenges. You are always questioning things and learning new things every day. Teaching is one of the best ways to learn something, so I love putting together lectures. I will often have lightbulb moments where everything suddenly starts to come together. To answer your question in a nutshell – it is great! 🙂
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Dennis Relojo-Howell answered on 9 Mar 2021:
Hi CallumW. My area is clinical psychology and positive psychology. In my line of research, I will do bits of qualitative methods (e.g., interview, action research, grounded theory – please look them up when you’ve got the time).
So for my PhD project, I will travel to the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia to invite adolescents to co-design a blog intervention while also exploring how they conceptualise resilience (in relation to their identities, lived experience, and aspirations). – It’s also just an excuse for me to travel! 😀 😀
I see being a psychologist as a privilege to listen to people’s narratives and how I can use this data to design an evidence-based intervention.
As you can see here on IAS, we’re a mixed bag of psychologists with different orientations. But one consistent theme that surfaces is that we all love exploring human behaviour and do our bits to make the slightest difference in improving our chosen field.
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anon answered on 10 Mar 2021:
Hi CallumW,
I have never been anything else so I can’t compare! Everyday is a new challenge when it comes to psychology, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! -
Amrita Bains answered on 10 Mar 2021:
This is a great question and I think it depends on what kind of psychologist you are! This is also what I think makes psychology quite unique as a science, there are many things that a psychologist can do depending on where they are what they are interested in! I think a psychologist wanted to ask a question, they want to hypothesise what they believe the answer is and then create an experiment which can involve a task, a questionnaire or even brain imaging to find an answer to that question and then share it with the world. I think psychologists want to understand human behaviour.
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Anon answered on 10 Mar 2021: last edited 10 Mar 2021 10:20 pm
Great question! From the perspective of an educational psychologist, it’s a job where you have to think a lot. You can’t really daydream at work, you always need to be paying attention to what you’re doing.
Communicating with people is a huge part of it. Most of the day is spent talking, listening, reading or writing. When there isn’t a pandemic, sometimes we get to play too, which is fun!Educational psychologists need to enjoy working with other people, because most of our work is planned and carried out as part of a team – e.g. with children, teachers and parents. We also need to be able to work independently, because even though there will be lots of people in the meetings we go to, we are usually the only educational psychologist there.
Sometimes we need to talk about difficult subjects, particularly if the children, families or schools we are working with are going through a sad time. There is lots of fun too, especially when we get to meet young people and children!
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Harry Piper answered on 11 Mar 2021:
This is a great question! Lots of other scientists have already said about how it could differ depending on your field (for example, clinical vs forensic), but it also depends on the day!
Sometimes we are conducting research, sometimes we are teaching! Other times we are at conferences and sometimes we are doing something else entirely!!
Being a psychologist brings a whole range of things you get to do, and loads of ways to make a difference! It can be challenging, but it is also really rewarding and exciting to go to work and learn new things!
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