Psychology is the study of human behaviour that investigates why we act the way we do. The discipline offers insights into our experiences and helps us find the difference between a life well-lived and a life wasted.
Studying psychology can help you gain valuable analytical and communication skills that can do wonders in facing the challenges of everyday life. It would be vital to remember the words of Chris Cleave who said, “Studying psychology is fun because you’re always looking for the same things that I think a writer should be looking for which is the story behind the story.”
A degree in psychology not only helps you become a psychologist but also lays down a good foundation for several other career options. If you are someone who loves to spend your free time reading and discussing psychology topics, then maybe opting for psychology as a career path can benefit your life in more than one way.
From self-actualization to knowing your surroundings, studying psychology will let you understand and communicate better with your family, friends, and even strangers.
Psychology touches every aspect of our daily life day, so, gaining the knowledge on the working of a human mind will only help you lead a more fulfilled life. There might be a few benefits that you already are aware of but here are some you might have overlooked.
Benefits of studying psychology: Improve your quality of life
Critical thinking and analytical skills: Starting from analyzing psychology as a pure discipline you come across topics such as scientific methods of decision-making and problem-solving that motivate you to think deeply and critically about convoluted issues. As part of this field, you will have to keep ensuring that the knowledge you apply is backed up by research. In doing so you end up mastering research methods, and statistics and somewhere contribute to the body of knowledge of helping others. Even if you aren’t particularly looking to make a career in psychology the skill of gathering information, analyzing and interpreting is going to help you in many vocational choices.
Self-understanding: The most challenging aspect of psychology on a personal level is understanding why we behave and act in certain ways. Psychology will help you understand your personality and the factors that affect your behaviour leading you to gain a deeper understanding of your own influences and drawbacks that have contributed to your problem. If you often find yourself wondering about your own emotions and actions then studying psychology is an excellent way to gain a better understanding of self. Only through self-understanding will you be able to focus on your aspirations and avoid feeling helpless in tough situations.
Become a better communicator: We often tend to judge a book by its cover in the sense that while communicating to people we only consider the words coming out of their mouths and overlook key aspects like language, emotion, tonality, and body language. With an understanding of these subjects, you can sharpen your interpersonal communication skills and gain a better understanding of what other people are trying to say. Good communication is not just speaking and writing but catching on to those non-verbal cues that play an important role in our interpersonal interactions. Psychology will help you to communicate in a manner that leaves both parties feeling understood and acknowledged. Little things like the tone of your voice, eye contact, leaning-in observing silences, etc are covered in studying psychology.
Excel at conflict resolution: Thomas Crumb once said, “The quality of our lives depends not on whether or not we have conflicts but on how we respond to them”. It essentially means that conflict is an inevitable part of our lives be it personal or professional. Psychology will help you investigate the reasons behind behaviour leading you to the motivation of the conflict. Once you understand the story behind the conflict finding a solution becomes easy. In psychology it is all about having different perspectives and takes on things, this innate practice in the field will let you be more open to varied opinions. When faced with adversity we often react rather than respond, well, psychology will encourage you towards a solution rather
Helps you understanding people and your surroundings: Have you ever felt like you wanted to understand why a person behaved in a certain way? If you have been intrigued by what motivates people to behave in a particular manner then psychology seems the right fit for you. When you understand the influences and motivations behind their actions, your response and behaviour are more refined and sensitive towards others. It is very important to know the people that surround you to have harmonious communication channels between your family and friends.
Gives insight into mental illness and awareness: For those who have a genuine interest in becoming a psychologist or a therapist, understanding the true nature of psychological pathology is one of the main motivating factors. However, even as someone not planning to become a psychologist, studying psychology will widen your awareness of the mental illness, the kind of knowledge that will not go to waste. You might know someone who is suffering from some mental illness and by knowing how to handle mental issues and lead a happier life, you can help yourself and many others along with it.
Compliments other career paths: Psychology, just like every other discipline does not act in isolation, and encompasses a wide range of topics within its ambit namely, philosophy biology, and sociology, giving you a richer understanding of the related areas. As we discussed before psychology is not only for people who want to become a psychologist, so if you want to be a writer, teacher, or even an industrialist, psychology will offer you a great space to start with. As you are well prepared for countless careers even on the professional front studying psychology only has advantages to offer. However, before going for a master's or a doctoral degree make sure this is the field you want to work in. Apart from that, psychology in modern times has great significance and compliments numerous career paths.
Intriguing revelations of human behaviour: At last, come to the most obvious reason- the fascination and curiosity that is rampant among psychology enthusiasts. From patches of ink revealing the inner feelings of our emotions to bizarre experiments that unearth the shocks of the human species, there is nothing boring about the subject that leaves you astonished at every turn.
No matter what your career plans are the use of psychology in daily life is inevitable. The comprehension of social cues and human interaction is a great skill to possess in all kinds of situations, from trying to find the right job to finding your soul mate. Also, psychology helps you become more empathetic, respectful, and genuine towards people, escorting you to a more peaceful and content life.
Are you thinking of starting your career in psychology? Stop your search at Counsel India, a leading psychology ed-tech that envisions a better future for psychology aspirants with practical based courses and trainings. Reach us at to know more about careers in psychology.
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