Psychology

[bagandcoat]

If your dc did psychology A-Level, did they enjoy it on the whole?

And if they studied Psychology at uni, did the course meet the expectations and what sort of profession or further study did they go onto?

He went to Newcastle. More importantly though since sixth form he has sought out relevant work experience and volunteering opportunities. He picked up various research assistant roles while still at uni and got his name on research papers. He obviously has an aptitude for this field but he's had to work extremely hard for it and has always had back up plans at every stage.

Did you study medicine to become a psychiatrist?

When I did A Level psychology there was a requirement to present a critical argument in your exams. It definitely wasn’t a case of regurgitating facts. The very essence of the subject lends itself to questioning scientific methodology and then challenging the results presented.

For example, in educational psychology there’s been many theories put forward around intelligence and whether it can be measured. On my course we examined the theories of Cyril Burt who, through his studies, found that you can measure intelligence and make predictions about future academic achievement. Indeed our tripartite educational system with an 11+ was based on Burt’s work. It was subsequently found that Burt had made up some of his findings to fit in with his theories and he had lied about the existence of his assistants. Subsequently his work was completely discredited.

Agree this was my experience as well.

Psych A level is often given up tho as it’s not what ppl think, much more dull.

Spot on @clary

So many of DD's peers dropped it within the first couple of weeks. DD dropped it after AS level as she was doing three other subjects as well.

The second year might have been more interesting, but the first year just concentrated on research methods and was very dull. It is also extremely content heavy.

Not as academically rigorous at A-level

It's interesting that you should say this @bagandcoat as DD found it unchallenging and just so boring. It was mostly memorising a load of experimental case studies (in year 12 before she dropped it). Her other subjects were biology, chemistry and geography which she found more interesting and more academically challenging.

I did it alongside bio & chem. I found it interesting and challenging, but i think like anything it is horses for courses. We had great teachers that were psychology specialists
It is the second most popular a level so some people stick with it. It certainly shouldnt be just about memorising - although there is a lot of content you need to know so you can analyse it and develop arguments.
I think because it isnt commonly taught at KS4, students are not always clear about what it involves. This can lead to a clash between expectations & reality.

This thread makes interesting reading. I found psychology A level academically challenging and absolutely fascinating.

Social psychology is particularly interesting. I well remember being interested and horrified in equal measures by the research by Milgram into obedience.

How the Study Worked:
The Setup: Volunteers believed they were giving electric shocks to a "learner" for getting answers wrong in a memory game.
The Truth: The shocks were fake, and the learner was an actor who only pretended to feel pain.
The Pressure: As the game went on, the "shocks" got stronger. The actor screamed and begged to stop. If the volunteer wanted to quit, a man in a lab coat told them they must keep going.
What Milgram Found:
Shocking Results: 65% of the volunteers gave the highest, most dangerous shock.
Why It Happened: People are highly obedient to authority figures. When a person believes someone else is in charge, they often let the leader take responsibility for their actions.

How could anyone find studies like that boring?

Milgram’s hypothesis was “the Germans are different”. He theorised that Americans wouldn’t inflict the electric shocks but the Germans would. He planned to take the study around the world to prove his hypothesis but he soon abandoned his plans.

& both Milgram & Zimbardo's (his prison study also caused similar disquiet &controversy) have be subject to more recent criticism (in the scientific sense of the word). Psychology evolves. Even though students might find studying research methods boring it is essential to not only do research properly, but to understand what conclusions we can and cant draw frim empirical studies.
Psychology is like anything it engages some students & others find it deathly dull.

A grounding in statistics and research methods was extremely useful for me when I did my degree in public health. Understanding and questioning research is useful in many academic spheres.

@LaBelleSauvage123 I do think being proactive matters and in fact matters for many careers.

How can anyone find chemistry or biology boring? DD found them both challenging and interesting.

It's horses for courses

I’ve not said chemistry and biology are boring. I don’t know why you’re quoting me.

I really enjoyed both those subjects, especially biology.

I know you didn't but I wanted to make a point that not everyone finds the same things interesting, and you were astonished that lots of young people, including DD, found psychology and those horrible experiments rather boring.

It’s very hard to get a decent psychology career out of a psychology degree. You need to do further studies including a doctorate to be a clinical or educational psychologist and the demand is very very high to get into the doctorate programmes once the degree is finished .

@Snufkin88 My Friend is doing her doctorate. She has done all her study as a mature adult. Between her masters and doctorate, she’s worked as a councillor. I don’t know what her specialism is, but as she had to do an access course before her degree, it’s been a very long process. I’m full of admiration for her though. I think younger people would not necessarily be able to do the work she’s been able to do.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner it is a long process and it sounds like your friend has worked hard . I agree and I think a lot of young people interested in psychology don’t realise it’s quite a long road

To be fair, you don't need to do much research to work out that it's a long haul and very competitive. Dd has been interested since year 10 and knows exactly what's required - whether she'll get there is another matter, but she's under no illusions. Not many of her Psychology coursemates are interested in professional psychology though, so it's not necessarily a reason not to pick the A Level, or degree. Obviously, if that was the career the OP's child was interested in, then she'd have to do a Psychology degree, but I don't get that impression from her posts. So pointing out that it's one career option, albeit a very competitive one, is probably sufficient!

@Snufkin88 Yes, she’s amazing, I see autocorrect got me. Counsellor not councillor.

I think it’s a good, general degree to do if, as pps have said, the student is capable of doing a large chunk of statistics. It is not a vocational degree in that no one becomes a psychologist (e.g. clinical, forensic, chartered) after their undergraduate degree- it takes a Masters, then a PhD plus a big chunk of training. But for many of my cohort/ students it did lead to generic graduate trainee posts, civil service etc in different specialties, if post grad study isn’t an ambition. What a psychology degree isn’t made up of however ( much to the disappointment of younger me) is pop psychology: serial killers, diagnosing personality disorders, body language and dream analysis. I still found it fascinating and made a career out of it as an academic.

My friends son is an assistant psychologist and is currently doing a PhD. Lots of hard work!

Someone else I know with a psychology degree works in HR. She got on a graduate scheme initially and earns well now, 10 ish years on.

DD1 was in a specialist care home. The staff told us a third of their care staff were psychology graduates. (Presumably getting experience)

The specialist care home where she is now, had a psychology graduate getting experience, because she wanted to be a clinical psychologist.

I’m an academic psychologist at a UK university. As a discipline I think psychology is often misunderstood; students take the A level and/or the degree with little valid knowledge of what it entails. But, part of the problem is that too many think they know what it involves so don’t do their research - they’ve seen Tv shows and think it’s all catching serials killers and analysing people (and their dreams). Then they find it’s not and become disillusioned. I think other subjects that aren’t often studied until A level (economics springs to mind as an example) aren’t as misrepresented in the mass media so people go into them with a more open mind and/or do a bit more research.

Even within this thread I’ve seen a rather narrow and sometimes misrepresented view. Most people here have talked about becoming a psychologist, mainly in terms of clinical psychology. But there are many other types of chartered psychologists (forensic, occupational, educational, counselling, health, sports). These do require further training and the vast majority of psychology graduates don’t go on to become chartered psychologists, but that isn’t particularly different to plenty of other degrees (e.g law). Our graduates do go on to lots of inter-related careers though, that don’t specifically have psychologist in their title but for which their degree has laid the groundwork. So in that sense it’s not a wasted degree - a psychology degree isn’t only worth it to become a chartered psychologist. I’m just thinking about our recent graduates and where they’ve gone - civil service, data analysis, social work, charities/not-for-profit sector, education from primary through to HE, NHS non-clinical roles, NHS mental health practitioner roles, sports coaching, police officers or civilian staff roles, HR, project management, a plethora of graduate training schemes...and lots more! An interest in psychology tends to mean our students are interested in people, understanding how they think and behave, and possibly helping in some way. So they often look for roles that suit this interest and maybe they’re often not the highest paid. So if salary is what you mean by prospects then maybe psychology doesn’t lead to the same prospects as, say, economics. But, our graduates are very employable - they have worked with spreadsheets and numbers, delivered presentations, been taught to think compassionately, written reports, encouraged to think critically etc!

I have also heard that the graduate statistics aren’t always kind to psychology graduates - partly for what I’ve just mentioned but also because it’s collected at a point when a reasonable proportion of psychology graduates (who do want to take the chartered psychologist route) are still doing the junior/adjacent roles to help them get onto their postgrad training courses. So, you end up sampling the salary of assistant psychologist or care home assistant as if that’s their final destination, but give that person another year and they’re on a DClin with a trainee salary of nearly £40k that is only going to rise from there.

I think @MostlyGhostly and @mojobrojo have hit the nail on the head. A level psychology is an untried subject in most schools and so many students do find it boring and unchallenging because it isn't about body language and serial killers. That certainly was the case for DD and her friends.

They also found the workload much higher than their other A level subjects. The parent of one of DD's friends was a clinical psychologist and even he was astonished at the workload.

Good post @mojobrojo ! As far as I know, DD’s Psychology friends all have jobs. She was offered three - 2 different ones with Mind and one at a special school. None earning huge salaries but they’re roles that will provide experience towards the DClinPsy. Plus the one she’s accepted (and started today) sounds very interesting, not to mention worthwhile.