My Major

As an undecided major, the hardest part of this assignment was picking which major to focus on for this class. In the end, I decided to write about my top choice; psychology.

Photo by de Castro, Angelica. "Like this..." posted 12/10/2013 via Flickr.
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.
 

1. The four goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change human behavior. Simply put, this requires a deep understanding of the human mind. Psychology is one of the broadest fields of study because so many sub-topics can be grouped under this umbrella. For example, observing an autistic savant is considered psychology as much as conducting surveys on sleep patterns.

2. Just as psychology is incredibly broad, a psych degree can be taken almost any direction.  The obvious career choice for a psychology major is to become some sort of psychologist. I personally am not sure what I want to do with my degree, but the topic itself has always fascinated me. The most important thing for me is that I study and find a career in a field that I love. 

3. I'm fascinated with knowing what makes people do the things that they do. Every action, choice, and thought boils down to the individual's past experiences, brain chemistry, and personality. The way that two people can look at exactly the same situation and have completely different takeaways is amazing. 

4. Sadly, my favorite modern psychologist (actually neurologist who was fascinated with psychology), Oliver Sacks, passed away this past Sunday.

It's difficult to say who is at the front of modern psychology because there are thousands of individuals and groups that are doing incredible work in the field. And each person or group is focusing on a different aspect or sub-discipline.

5. The Journal of Psychology and Social Personality is published monthly by the American Psychological Association. The APA is based in Washington D.C, and publishes 12 other journals that are considered the best in the field. 

Cambridge University Press publishes the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences from their base in Cambridge, England. 

One of the best sources for information on developmental psychology is the series of Handbooks published by Wiley-Blackwell. Unfortunately, these books are not free, but they are the most relevant, modern source. They're located in Hoboken, New Jersey. 

Reflection:

I learned from Emma's post exactly what a physiology major is required to know, and the list is pretty extensive. Pursuing a career in the medical field is demanding because students have to be well rounded and take a huge variety of different classes.

Nick is an engineering major who is trying to find what field he want's to specialize in. Engineering is similar to psychology in that it has so many different sub-disciplines to choose from.

Both Nick and Emma are choosing careers that are much more hands-on and physical. It's possible to see a broken bone or a deep sea oil rig, where it is impossible to see depression from just looking at a person.