1. Why study psychology?
Psychology is a vast field with over 100 years of modern scientific history. Students of psychology study various problems related to human behavior and cognition. There are several sub-branches in psychology emerging from independent approaches to study the mind/behavior. Applications of psychology can be seen in advertising, marketing, finance, education, politics and many other fields. Moreover the study of psychology also teaches you the art of making inferences from observations using systematic methods and procedures. These problem solving techniques can be very useful in a role where data collection and analysis are needed.
2. What are the various programs related to psychology?
Studying psychology may involve very different kind of programs. Popular programs in India tend to be BA or BSc courses. They can cover psychology, counselling or forensics. One can also pursue a BSc in Cognitive science or related field. Branches such as psychiatry and counselling involve a lot of clinical work and practice. Branches such as organizational psychology, social psychology, cognitive psychology rely on specific types of experimental methods and techniques. Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary field where psychology is a major component along with philosophy, neuroscience, computation and AI.
3. Psychology and Commerce
Typical commerce subjects include finance, economics and accounts. Economists and finance professionals always think of human behavior when building models of reality. Branches like Behavioral Finance and Behavioral Economics have evolved to make use of psychological findings in studying consumer behavior, trading behavior etc. Principles from psychology are extensively used in every aspect of business ranging from sales to advertising to marketing and finance.
4. Psychology and Natural Science
Natural science typically includes the study of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and/or Biology. Modern psychology evolved on the back of progresses made in the natural sciences. Thinking like a scientist definitely helps with sub-branches like experimental psychology, cognitive psychology, behavioral psychology etc. Moreover, modern neuroscience can be seen as a biologist’s approach to study the foundations of human behavior. Studying science is a great way to step into psychology as it keep all the options open.
5. Should psychology students study math or dropout?
As long as possible psychology students should study basic mathematics at high school level. In India, students scared of math tend to opt for psychology hoping that they can make a career in something where math is not needed. At ConceptsPro we specifically help such students overcome the fear of Math so they don’t make a career choice out of fear. Our curriculum is designed for the average student.
6. What are the most important skills needed for psychology?
Psychologists need to integrate information from multiple theories and/or empirical studies. Depending on the specific need the literature can span different disciplines. Most important skills for psychologists include the ability to critically read and analyze large number of ideas, theories and findings. They also need to know how to think rationally, design appropriate experiments and use data analysis methods whenever needed.
7. Should you take commerce or science in 11 th ?
If you want to study psychology in college you can do so by taking either science or commerce but
there may be some trade-offs. The ideal choice will depend on what your core interests are and how
prior coursework can influence future choices.
If you study science and are interested in clinical work you can pursue psychiatry by giving the
appropriate entrance test. Studying science with bio and math opens the door for studying
neuroscience as a pure discipline in the future. Data analysis in Neuroscience relies on advanced
mathematical techniques whose foundation are covered in 11 th and 12 th grade math. Forensic
psychology is another sub-discipline that requires science background.
If you take commerce for 11 th -12 th standard, you can pursue psychology by enrolling in a BA
psychology program or B.Com in Applied psychology. Taking commerce is recommended if you are
interested in applying the knowledge of psychology to commercial subjects like Marketing,
Advertising or Organizational Behavior.
If you have a genuine scholarly interest and want to pursue a PhD in the future then taking science
at 11 th and 12 th is highly recommended.