21 Topics You Should Study To Be An Excellent Psychologist
If you are interested in psychology and are thinking about studying the degree not long ago we wrote a post that sought to explain the 10 basic points to opt for a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (you can read it by clicking here).
If you have already made the decision or would like to know what is studied in the psychology degree, you only have to read the following lines. In today’s article, We explain the most important topics studied in the Degree in Psychology
Evidently, Psychology is a broad field in which there are different specialties (clinical psychology, sports psychology, organizational psychology, etc.), so educational needs are not always the same, depending, of course, on the field of specialization.
In short, psychology is a discipline that covers many areas; For example, you can talk about the history of psychology, the discoveries that have been made in this area, the relationship it has with neuroscience, what it teaches us about mental processes and our way of relating and making decisions, etc.
In this article we have collected the most important topics that are studied in the psychology degree in Spain (in Latin American countries there may be differences). In other words, the core and mandatory subjects that must be taken to obtain the title of psychologist. These topics cannot be missing from any introductory psychology manual.
Topics you should study to be a good psychologist
Below you can find the most important topics studied in the psychology degree.
1. Biological bases of behavior
The biological bases of behavior are an essential area of study in the psychology career since it allows us to know how mental processes occur, what is the main unit that propagates the nervous impulse or brain communication or what is the connection between the parts of the brain and our body.
Throughout the psychology degree, it is possible to find subjects such as psychobiology or psychophysiology, because, to be a good psychologist, it is necessary to know how mental processes occur, whether memory, learning or sensations, and to know, among other things, , how neurons act.
Even though many psychology students don’t like numbers, The use of statistics is an important part of science And psychology, as a science, makes use of it to achieve its objectives of predicting and intervening in human behavior. In addition, any psychologist must master psychometrics, a discipline that is responsible for the set of methods, techniques and theories involved in measuring and quantifying psychological variables. Tests are a necessary tool for any psychologist.
3. History of psychology
To be a good psychologist, the first thing you need to have is a good theoretical base. To do this, it is necessary to know the history of this discipline and be very clear about what psychology is, what its field of study is, what are the main problems it addresses and what are the main schools that over the years have allowed psychology is consolidated as a science.
Plato, Descartes, Freud, Skinner, Watson and Bandura are some of the figures that every good psychologist should know to understand the historical contexts in which this discipline has evolved.
4. Social psychology
Social psychology is a branch of psychology that analyzes the psychological processes that influence the way a society functions the way in which social interactions are carried out and how social processes modulate the personality and characteristics of each person.
In the subject of social psychology, topics such as leadership or prejudice are studied, and important research in this field is reviewed, such as the Stanford prison experiment by Philip Zimbardo or the Milgram experiment: the danger of obedience to authority.
5. Clinical psychology
Since the beginning of psychology, clinical psychology has been one of the most important areas of this discipline. In clinical psychology All elements involved in mental disorders and, in general, mental health are studied Therefore, clinical psychology carries out all the tasks of evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and therapeutic intervention in people with some type of mental illness or maladaptive behavior, in order to restore psychological balance and improve their well-being.
6. Developmental psychology
This branch of psychology is responsible for studying the behavioral and psychological changes of people throughout their life cycle that is, from his birth until his death.
When these changes are analyzed, different fields of study are considered: physical, from which stability, biological change and the determinants of physical growth are analyzed; cognitive, from which intellectual abilities and their relationship with the development of the person are analyzed; and social and personality, which focuses on individual differences and social relationships in the different stages of life (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age).
7. Personality psychology
One of the great areas of psychology that arouses the greatest interest is the study of personality From the different currents of psychology, attempts have been made to explain personality taking into account both genetic and environmental aspects. In his study, he delves into the different contributions that many authors have made in this field.
For example, Eysenck’s Personality Theory: the PEN model, Albert Bandura’s Personality Theory or the Theory of the Big 5 or Big Five.
8. Ethics in psychology
In addition to acquiring theoretical and practical knowledge for the correct development of your profession, The psychologist, throughout his career, must know the ethical principles that govern the exercise of his profession as well as being aware of your resources and limitations.
You must respect the dignity of your patients and preserve and ensure the preservation of fundamental human rights. Therefore, some of their obligations are to use their knowledge to promote human well-being or maintain professional secrecy.
9. Psychological evaluation
Regardless of whether someone wants to practice as a clinical, organizational or sports psychologist, psychological evaluation is a necessary requirement for the professional practice of any psychologist. Therefore, a good psychologist must be able to master this aspect whether to know the organizational performance of an organization, the patient’s personality type or make an assessment of a student’s intelligence.
10. Neuropsychology
Neuropsychology is within the neurosciences and is the discipline in charge of studying the relationships between the brain and behavior, not only in individuals with some dysfunction, but also in people with normal behavior. This area of study uses experimental techniques and tests that provide images of the brain area (for example, CT, MRI, PET, fMRI). What functions do neurotransmitters have? or what causes aphasias? These are some questions that neuropsychology answers.
You may be interested in: Neurosciences: the new way of understanding the human mind
11. Differential psychology
While general psychology studies the behavior common to all human subjects, Differential psychology studies this behavior on an individualized basis
Therefore, this branch of psychology is responsible for the description, prediction and explanation of intra-individual, inter-individual or inter-group variability in behavior and psychological processes (for example, intelligence). It includes personality psychology, but also accounts for many other elements, such as IQ or biological characteristics related to the immune system, genes related to all types of physical characteristics, etc.
12. Psychology of groups
Although group psychology was part of the social psychology subject in its beginnings, many universities, aware of its importance, teach mandatory group psychology subjects. Not only that, but currently, many postgraduate studies focus on this topic, as this field of study is gaining more and more prominence. Many human behaviors cannot be understood without the group component.
The study of groups focuses on the understanding and explanation of group processes the relationships between its members and between the different groups, group formation, roles, norms, group cohesion, communication, etc.
The most important kind of human communication is linguistics. With human language it is possible to produce an unlimited number of messages and allows a true dialogue to be established. Psycholinguistics is a discipline in which The object of study is the relationship established between linguistic knowledge and the mental processes involved in it
14. Psychology of learning
Human behavior cannot be understood without learning Through this, habits, skills, values or knowledge are acquired, and it is closely related to the development of individuals. Some of the most important theories of learning are: Jean Piaget’s Learning Theory or Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory,
15. Experimental methodology
The study of experimental methodology is also part of the academic curriculum of a psychologist, since he must know the different research designs and the procedures for formulating and contrasting hypotheses, but, in addition, he must know how to use documentary sources of information in this discipline. , with the capacity for critical analysis and synthesis. This will help you analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data from research, reports and work in psychology.
The previous points have made reference to the different mandatory and core subjects or areas of knowledge in the psychology career. But in psychology there are different specialties and each of them requires specific knowledge to be able to practice the profession in the best possible way. Therefore, Once you finish your degree, there are different master’s degrees to continue growing academically and professionally and obtain a master’s degree in a specific field of behavioral science.
If you want to know more about these specializations, you can read our article: “The 20 best Master’s Degrees in Psychology”
17. Philosophy of science
Is essential to focus any university career based on research Knowing the epistemological bases of theories helps to know if certain hypotheses are well justified or, on the contrary, are not useful for understanding reality.
18. Ethology
Ethology is essential to understand the behavior of animals. It studies basic learning processes in non-human organisms, as well as instincts and the way in which hormones affect these living beings.
19. Forensic psychology
Very useful to understand the way in which expert evaluations based on psychology work in the legal world.
20. Introduction to anthropology
Anthropology is a field of study similar to social psychology, although it focuses more on cultural phenomena. That is why knowing it is useful to apply certain psychological principles to specific societies.
21. Use of specific software
It is essential to learn to use highly used programs, such as R or SPSS, to use them in various subjects. It is also good to use others focused on qualitative research, such as ATLAS.ti.
