Choosing the right Psychology class for you!

If you’ve never taken a Psychology class before, you likely find the topic interesting – who doesn’t want to learn more about how their mind works? Psychology has a reputation as an “easy” major, but some classes are far easier than others, and what it really comes down to is finding the right Psychology class that fits your skills.

For the hard science lovers: 

Mind, Brain, & Behavior/Biological Psychology

This is an introductory course on the hard science foundations of Psychology. You will learn about the different areas of the brain and what they are responsible for, and will need to memorize them (e.g. Which brain region is most associated with memory? With hearing? With seeing?).

Sensation & Perception

This class focuses on the 5 senses. Expect to learn about the biological structure of the ears and eyes and the brain regions visual and sound signals travel to.

Neuropsychology

This class focuses on the brain and the nervous system. You will learn about how your brain regions communicate with one another and how each of the billions of neurons in our brain functions as the messenger. Prepare to learn how diseases and disorders - for instance, Parkinson’s disease - are explained at the neuropsychological level.

For the existential philosophers: 

Developmental Psychology

Are you fascinated by the nature vs. nurture debate? (Hint: it’s no longer a debate - it’s both) Do you want to learn all the ways your parents messed you up? Are you interested in what the research says about how to raise a child and how our upbringing affects us?

Social Psychology

Expect to learn about how society affects us, in groups as large as a country’s population and as small as between two friends. You’ll learn about how and why people to do things they wouldn’t normally - how our brains are wired to conform and feel like we belong, and how difficult it is to be outcasts.

For the data and research driven (and grad school hopefuls):

Statistics

Statistics does not require extensive math knowledge; instead, it requires an understanding of the “numbers” part of a Psychological research. You’ll learn which situation to use a t-test and which to use an ANOVA. You’ll have to understand each formula conceptually and what the numbers represent. You may or may not have to memorize a few formulas, but the main skill being tested here is the ability to think about math critically.

Research Methods

Research Methods is similar to statistics in its focus on Psychological research, but you won’t be working with formulas (an online program like SPSS or R would do the math for you). Instead, you’ll be asked to think about research critically and for the first time, write your own research reports. This class should be taken with easier classes during the semester, because it requires a lot of work and practicing very new skills - academic writing, thinking about research critically, thinking about issues that can come up with research (e.g. bias, unreliable data).

For the animal lovers: 

Comparative Psychology

The study of animal behavior. Animals are capable of extraordinary things (sometimes beyond our capabilities) and deserve attention in their own right. As a mentor once told me, “animals are bad at human things and humans are bad at animal things”. Take this class if you’ve always wanted to understand evolution - what it is and how it works.

Learning

Learning (not to be confused with Educational Psychology!) looks at the way we pick up on information, both consciously and subconsciously. Two huge areas of research under learning theory are classical conditioning (i.e. we learn to associate things together - like when its 5pm, we’re relieved because we know we get to go home from work) and operant conditioning (i.e. we do things that maximize our rewards and minimize our punishments). Learning theory often uses animal models and research to understand how we learn behaviors.

If you like my writing style, and feel like you'd benefit from one-on-one tutoring to help you reach your academic goals in any area of psychology, please contact me. From aiding you in succeeding in class, prepping for a major exam, or teaching you the ins-and-outs of research methods, I'm here to help!