My Discipline

frankieleon, "discounted therapy," October 14, 2009 via flickr, Attribution Generic 2.0 License

In this blog post, I will be discussing the field of Psychology, including careers in Psychology and current leading researchers and academic journals in Psychology. I will also talk about my own interest in Psychology and what a typical Psychology student learns about.

Psychology is the study of the human mind, cognition, and behavior. Students in Psychology learn how people think and behave in different situations, how psychological research is conducted, and about various mental illnesses and different treatments for them.

People who study Psychology can go on to work as therapists, social workers, doctors (such as Psychiatrists), teachers, and researchers.

I, personally, was drawn to this field because I took an AP Psychology course in high school and loved it. I love learning how people think and why people act the way that they do. I've always loved interacting with people and Psychology is the science behind all of that.

The influential people and leaders in Psychology are predominantly researches. Albert Bandura is one of these very influential researchers. He has worked in different areas of Psychology for over 60 years, and has pioneered theories of social learning (learning through observing others) and self-efficacy (the belief in one's ability to succeed in a particular situation).

Elizabeth Loftus is another influential Psychological researcher who has studied the creation of false memories due to suggestion and how these impact eyewitness testimonies. Because of this, her work has impacted not only Psychological thinking, but also the field of Law.

The current top Psychology Journals include the Annual Review of Psychology, published by Annual Reviews, JAMA Psychiatry, published by the American Medical Association, and Behavioral and Brain Sciences, published by Cambridge University Press.

Update:
After reading Jessi Grossman's and Addie Stansbury's posts, I've come to realize how much our past experiences and the people in our lives can shape what we decide to pursue for careers. Jessi is also majoring in Physiology to become a doctor, but hers stems from her dad's positive influence, where mine comes from my love of Psychology. Addie's post helped me understand how important various and diverse majors are for the real world. I never really considered what a degree in journalism would entail but her post made me very interested in learning about it!