As someone who studies psychology, I have been asked a lot of questions. Questions varying from, "Can you read my mind??" to "That is a pointless degree, you can't do anything with it." So hopefully, this article with help clear up some of the grey areas about some of the misconceptions about psychology majors.
Misconception #1
Psychology majors can read your mind.
You are thinking about a psychic. Psychics read minds, and psychologists study the mind. Yes, psychologists may be able to draw some conclusions about what you are thinking based on your behavior, but we cannot guess what you had for lunch unless we were there with you.
Misconception #2
There is nothing that you can do with a psychology degree unless you have a masters.
While you may not be able to do specific research projects or work with patients until you achieve a higher degree, you are still able to have careers with your psychology bachelor’s degree. Some of the careers vary from Human Resources to even a police officer. When you study psychology, you learn a lot of transferable skills that can be applied to many career paths. In fact, some companies will specifically hire someone because they are a psychology major, especially if it is a position where decision making is crucial.
Misconception #3
Psychology is an easy major.
No one major is easier than other major. It’s as simple as that. I mean, I have a strong passion for psychology, so naturally I want to learn as much as possible, so there are some things that come easy to me. My fiancé on the other hand majored in engineering, and I can hardly understand it. It comes super easy to him, but psychology is like Latin to him. The term easy is an arbitrary term, because not everyone sees things the same way.
Misconception #4
Psychology is only about helping people.
The stereotype of psychology majors is that they just sit an office, see clients, nod their head and ask “How does that make you feel?” This is an inaccurate portrayal of all psychology majors. Some people with their degree decide to go into teaching, become researchers, work in a business place, provide social services, and many other options.
Misconception #5
Psychology is not a real science.
While the stereotypical depiction of a psychologist is the portrayal of a therapist, there is another section of psychology that is the pre-definition of science. Research is done, experiments are done, data is collected and analyzed, and future experiments can be derived from those results.
