To make a better world...

Psychology is the study of the human brain, the cognitive processes, and the biological and social factors which influence our behavior. In American culture, the topic is devalued due to reasons in which I will discuss in a future post, but for now, just know that a firm understanding of how people think and interact is a powerful foundation in life whether or not our society is outwardly aware of it. I would even argue that a course in psychology should be included in the required curriculum of high school graduates as it both prepares you for interactions in the business world (for non-collegiate tracks) and provides you with a very applicable knowledge base for social and science majors.

Within the field, psychologists typically choose to specialize in:

• Neuroscience: the cellular, biological and physiological factors influencing behavior
• Social psychology: study of the behavior of individuals in a group and the behavior of the group as a seperate entity
• Cognition: the study of thought processes and the areas of the brain involved in behavior
• Clinical psychology: the therapeutic application of psychology on individuals in ways shown to provide benefit to disorders in thought, development, emotion, and memory

Obviously this list isn't exhaustive, but it gives you a sense of the shear immensity of information that resides within the study of psychology. Understanding even a portion of it would help to benefit society and reduce the errors in behavior that run so rampant in our culture today. Moreover, it would help to reduce the level at which the population is decieved by the media and government bodies that capitalize on psychological manipulation.

In terms of individual benefits, one particlularly useful skill that one often discovers in psychology is the understanding of the self. "Who am I?" is the cliche question asked by all twenty-somethings, and topics such as personality typification help to provide a guide map for the path to self-discovery. For instance, according to the Myers-Briggs Test of Personality, I am an

INTP - "Architect". Greatest precision in thought and language. Can readily discern contradictions and inconsistencies. The world exists primarily to be understood. 3.3% of total population.

Take Free Jung Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

With this knowledge, one can do a quick google search to see what career choices an INTP would perform best within. Furthermore, it provides the weak and strong points of your personality type so as to better interact with people accordingly. Perhaps its just my personal preference for both abstract and practical ideas, but either way, I believe that psychology is an under-valued subject that would do nothing but strengthen us as a society if more individuals were educated in it. OK, I guess that's enough self-promotion for one day!!