Is studying psychology as a degree just a good excuse for a holiday?

Answer 1

hah, only if you want it to be. I truly enjoy Psychology, and I take it seriously. I plan on going to grad school in Psychology so for me it isn't a holiday.

Furtunato, I wouldn't say psychology is exclusively a soft science. Things like Math are a huge part of psychology when it comes to research and interpreting it. There's a whole field dedicated to all the math that goes with Psychology (Quantitative Psychology). I'm considering applying for Quant Psych PhD programs because it blends the soft qualitative aspects of Psychology with the math and statistics that I also enjoy. Plus, there's a big demand for people like that.

Answer 2

I don't think any four-year program is a cakewalk per se.

Psychology always does sound like an interesting subject to the average person, but it's a "soft-science" so it's generally used to buttress a profession focused in other areas. (It's hard to give a quantative measure to psychology in general, as opposed to other scienes like engineering or medicine.)

Sure, you have research psychologists (among a few other types), as well as social workers and psychiatrists, all who deal with people and how they think/change/develop, and who actually need to learn valid research methods or the prescription of medications (both of those are well-defined).

But being a professional research psychologist or shrink takes at least a Masters if not a PhD to have access to the most lines of work and the best salaries, and many people are not willing to go that far with their education. So for some people, taking psychology as an undergraduate major could be a wash simply because they don't know what they'll do with it, or don't know what else to take.

(Ironically, I love psychology and have probably learned more in the years since college than my wife learned while at school, where she took psychology as a major to prep for elementary school teaching. Now she does clerical work, which she loves, while I study personality theory and psych texts in my spare time when I'm not technical-writing. What a weird world.)

Answer 3

No, I've been studying psychology for 9 years- none of it easy. Ask anyone who is taking statistics and research design, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, tests and measures, or clinical psychology. Contrary to popular belief, psychology doesn't just teach people how to say, "Hmmm...interesting" or "Tell me about your mother". If it was such an easy subject, you wouldn't need to take a comprehensive exam before graduating and another exam after obtaining a doctorate in psychology.
If psychology was "a holiday", then psychologists wouldn't need to be licensed and anyone could open up their own practice.

Answer 4

If you think you are going on a holiday forget it. I studied it for 3 years and can assure you it is hard work, especially the exams. The flip side is much better though. You will get a better understanding of life in general, not just individuals. I would ask myself what I want in the Future before persuing this course of action. Your motives suggest you are looking for an excuse, now thats psycology. Regards .Steve

Answer 5

Not if you want to get past your first year it isnt! It is actually a complex subject to learn and understand because people are so diverse. In terms of theories alone there are hundreds of terms, theories and research for every type of behaviour that you can think of. Not only do you have to learn the theories etc, but you have to understand them, be able to contrast and compare conflicting ideas and critically analyse everything you read as well as learn the ins and outs of research methods. Throughout the degree you also have to use these theories to formulate your own research which you have to then write up and discuss.

Contrary to popular belief (or just uninformed opinion!) very little of psychology is about listening to problems and tracing them back to childhood. Most psychology degrees these days contain ALOT of biology in terms of brain structure/regions and development, brain injury, neural networks, neurotransmitters and hormones to name a few of the more prominent areas to crop up. There is also a hell of a lot of statistics to master for the analyses of any research you do, and so that you can understand the results of the research of others. Its also a common occurence to find yourself studying for days trying to understand the theories on an aspect of behaviour that many people will take for granted, for example how we recognise that a word is a word. Sounds daft but you wouldnt believe the complex computer models that exist just to try to explain how we recognise a four letter word as being familiar or nonsense.

Throughout my degree Ive had to do about 12 assignments per 9 months of study which are a mix of essays and research reports, and obviously the reports cannot be written without the reasearch being formulated and carried out beforehand. You would also expect to have to read alot of prescribed texts as well as read further texts off your own back to include evidence or conflicting ideas to formulate arguments in essays. In your final year you will likely be required to do a dissertation which is usually expected to be about 15,000 words based on a major study you conduct yourself.

Hopefully this will help you see that ANY honours degree is no picnic in the park and that universities try to be sure that all undergraduate degrees of the same kind (such as a BA/MA/BSc) carry the same workload regardless of their subject content.

Answer 6

The undergraduate course are the same as everyone else's. There are also a lot more math courses than you'd think. I had to take statistics and methods of social research. Those were difficult for my right-brained personality. My degree took a lot of dedication and effort and I gain an immense amount of knowledge I use everyday.

Answer 7

No way! I am going to be starting a psycholoogy degree in Sept/Oct, and if A Level anything to go by then you can forget the holiday!! Ive just got in from my A Level exam actually, and it was bloody hard! So many names to remember! But still, is quite interesting!

Answer 8

Holiday because psychology is a puzzle and only people who love to do puzzles want to study it. Therefore, it must be fun for them in a weird sort of way.

Answer 9

It seems like I half to figure out myself before a psychologist can even start to wounder whats in my head. So yes, It is a holiday for me because I am going to grab a beer and head to the beach and study psycology today.

Answer 10

it depends y u are you doing this,is it because you want a degree or because you want to study psychology and want a decent job as a psychologist or some other related job, i studied this and loved every minute of it and it isnt as easy as some people might say