By Professor Dr Alvin Ng
Psychology is the science of mind, brain, and behaviour, and it is very relevant in our lives. It uses science as a methodology and language to investigate cognitive, behavioural, and emotional functioning in relation to various factors such as biology, physiology, society, and the environment.
From these investigations, we get to know more about how to improve functioning in various areas of human capabilities, beyond just mental health issues.
Current Myths and Misconceptions
It is common to view psychology as a mysterious and mystical subject.
As a psychologist, I meet many people who comment that psychology is about the ability to read minds, and ‘psycho-ing’ people to manipulate them, and something that is only needed when there is mental health or behavioural problems.
Psychology is not a subject that is a top choice for parents for their emerging adult children to pursue at universities. To most, psychology does not provide clear-cut career pathways as engineering, medicine, law, accountancy, biomedicine, and business administration do.
Parents, students, and employees who see psychology as less than a science tend to misconceive psychology as a fancy but lightweight discipline.
However, it is important to consider that much of human functioning involves cognitive processes that are emotionally moderated, and they result in behaviour.
Neglecting these factors in human functioning would reduce our understanding of many other disciplines such as economics, education, politics, business and marketing, entertainment, accountancy, as well as the hard sciences.
Where there are people, there is a need for applied psychology.
Uniquely Equipped To Add Competitive Advantage For A Wide-Variety of Industries
Psychology majors are uniquely equipped to add tremendous value to a wide variety of industries due to the fundamental and flexible transferable skill sets they acquire during their studies. Psychology students learn that a multitude of factors contributes to human functioning, growth, and performance.
So, if your industry is about addressing these variables, while also seeking to improve attitudes and behaviors, you should consider hiring a psychology graduate.
A niche area of psychology that you do not get in other fields of study is psychological testing and measurements.
Psychology graduates would have learned the basics of how to develop basic psychometric tools to measure human cognitive, emotional and behavioral performances that provide observable feedback to facilitate a better understanding of individual differences in functioning.
Holders of basic psychology degrees are also typically trained to value continued scientific research as a way to understand the factors affecting human behavior, emotions, and mental processes.
So, critical thinking, statistical analyses, and research design for the social sciences are part of the competency that comes with a psychology graduate. If you value evidence-based decision-making, you might want to consider involving a psychology graduate as part of your team.
Other strengths of psychology graduates include applying behavioural principles in analyzing behavioural patterns of individuals and groups to better understand how might variables are put in place to change them. Scholars of psychology are also familiar with social psychology theories that underlie methods of persuasion and social influence, which are key in leadership development. Overall, these strengths add value to any organizational development, as well as facilitate behavioural change.
Tips for Students
When it is time to decide on a degree program at university, I get many questions based on misconceptions about what a degree in psychology is all about.
Here are six corrections I typically make:
- It is not a degree that leads you to become a psychiatrist. You need an actual medical degree for that, and then go on to do a postgraduate qualification in psychiatry.
- You cannot call yourself a psychologist or practice as one with just a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Nothing in the curriculum qualifies you as one because the basic competencies to be a psychotherapist are not part of the syllabus.
- It does not just cover the topic of mental health and mental illness. It looks at factors that contribute to our mental processes, behaviours and individual differences – to understand human nature better.
- Psychology is not an easy subject that you take because you are not good in science and math. It actually involves a lot of science and math!
- It is not a trivial general subject. Everything to do with your adaptation and survival has to do with psychology – your information processing, thinking, decision-making, problem solving and managing emotions, etc. It is very much used to change attitudes and behaviours towards a better quality of life and ultimately – personal, social and global sustainability.
- And no, it is not about hypnosis. You do not become a hypnotist when you graduate. Hypnosis is only a tiny little bit within psychology that is a skill to be learnt and developed separately from the degree itself. This is especially in clinical hypnosis, where hypnosis is applied within the healthcare setting as an adjunct treatment for various conditions where there is available research evidence to support its use.
All in all, psychology is a very holistic discipline that studies all things emotional, behavioural and mental in relation to our internal and external environmental factors.
It is beyond just mental health. It is crucial for our planetary health as it provides evidence-based learning towards improving attitudes and behaviors towards our sustainable development goals.
Professor Dr Alvin Ng is currently the Associate Dean (International) at the School of Medical and Life Sciences, Sunway University. He is a clinical psychologist with special interests in mental health literacy and professional development.
