For this assignment, you will examine the various associations in psychology as they relate to your interests in psychology. For example, if you are

Deciding on Psychology as a Career Your Interests in Psychology Students choose psychology as a major for a multitude of reasons—from personal to professional. Some students decide to major in psychology after taking the General Psychology course, whereas others have always wanted to help others in some capacity. As college majors go, how popular is psychology? One way to examine its popularity is to look at the number of bachelor degrees awarded based on field of study. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2013) the psychology major ranks 5th in bachelor degrees conferred for 2011-12. Bachelor's degrees conferred by degree-granting

institutions

Field of study 2011-12 1 Business 366,815 2 Social sciences and history 178,543 3 Health professions and related programs 163,440 4 Education 105,785 5 Psychology 108,986 The National Center for Education and Statistics (2013) also shows that psychology has been in the top 10 college majors from 1970–2010. Since 1995, psychology has been in the top 5 majors for bachelor's degree conferred. There are several possible explanations as to why this may be the case. One interesting perspective is personality traits of those choosing psychology as a major. There is evidence that personality type is a factor for choosing psychology as a major. Naydenova, Lounsbury, Levy, and Kim (2012) utilized the Big Five and Narrow personality traits while studying 120 psychology and 1,916 undergraduate non-psychology majors. Their finding demonstrated that there was a difference between psychology and non-psychology majors in regards to certain aspects of personality type. Let's look at these differences in an earlier study Marrs, Barb, and Ruggiero (2007) also found there were some unique personality characteristics for psychology majors as compared to non-psychology majors, such as openness to experience. Marrs, et al. studied 168 students (110 psychology majors and 58 non-majors) and found that psychology majors were likely to report their interest in psychology wasn't due primarily to preparation for a job, salary expectations, or family influence. The latter indicated that psychology as an area of study and career was not as familiar to the general public (i.e., family members) than other academic programs (i.e., business). In conclusion there may be several factors why someone chooses psychology as a major and as a profession. Let's continue with this discussion and look at psychology as a profession

Shared Experiences from some South University Faculty Karen P At the time I “discovered” psychology, I was working in offices doing secretarial and data entry work. I had taken bookkeeping in high school and liked to work with numbers so I was in college working toward a degree in accounting. I took an introductory course in psychology as a general elective and fell in love with it. However, as a single mom back before the advent of online education, I felt that pursuing a degree in psychology, which would require graduate school, was not an option. I believed I needed to attend school full time to do that, and with two children to support, I could not quit my job at that time. I continued one class at a time towards my degree in accounting. Eight years later I was working as an office manager and full-time bookkeeper and finally earned my associate’s degree. Two or three years after that I was remarried and found myself in a position to quit working and attend school full time. I changed my major to psychology, and there was no looking back. The more classes I took in this fascinating subject the more I wanted to learn. Majoring in psychology, I learned that the way we create a theory and learn about people is through research. My naturally analytical nature thus led me in that direction, and rather than continuing on to a counseling or clinical degree in psychology, I decided to pursue an academic course. As a full-time professor of statistics I love to interact with students and see them catch the “bug” and develop an interest in research and the scientific method. Julie D In the third grade, our teacher asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. I stood up and said “I want to be a Ph.D. psychologist.” Keep in mind, I had no idea what a Ph.D. was but my father had just received his and I thought it was cool that he got a hood and special attention. Also important, it was my second grade teacher who told me I should be a psychologist because I liked to help people so much. After that proclamation in class, I went home and told my mother I wanted to be a psychologist and she began cultivating this within me by buying me books and talking with me about the behavior of the characters. As a child, I was fascinated with why people behaved the way they behaved even in books. I incessantly asked my mother why? Why do people do drugs? Why do people hurt each other? Why, why, why!!! Because I knew so early that I wanted to be a psychologist, majoring in psychology was just the next step. Every course that I took just reaffirmed that majoring in psychology was the right fit. I kept my long-term goals in mind throughout my undergraduate degree. Knowing I wanted to make a difference, the difficulty was not about majoring in psychology at the undergraduate

level but which master’s degree would I pursue (clinical, school, or counseling). My mentor at the time felt that I was a great fit for clinical psychology because I did well with research, methodology, and psychopathology classes. As a junior in college I tutored undergraduate and master’s students in statistics. I just loved numbers! But, I was not thrilled with the idea of being a researcher because I wanted to really work with people. So, I decided to pursue a master’s in clinical psychology and eventually a Ph.D. in counseling psychology. Why I chose my profession? I initially chose teaching to pay for my graduate degree. What I learned while pursuing my doctorate is that I love teaching and that teaching allows me to help others become excited about psychology. The other reason that I chose to teach was to make a difference around issues of oppression and difference. When I can help a student recognize how socialization plays a role in how a child develops, I am excited. When I can help a student attain an understanding of how mental illness stigmatizes people in our society, I feel as though I am helping to alleviate the oppression my brother may experience because of his illness. I am a natural born professor and psychologist because I am an analyzer and I am an extrovert. I love to figure out puzzles and because people are so complex I am always amazed by the way in which people walk through life. As an extrovert teaching also puts me in touch with people all the time. I get to help them learn to help others and I get to talk a lot! It has been an adjustment to learn how to be an effective online professor but it has been an amazing journey. One I hope to continue until retirement. Mark F My initial interest was to be a medical doctor. Looking back I am not really sure why I wanted to be a physician, other than to me that was someone that seemed to require many years of education (I never met a Ph.D. at the time), and I did love learning. It may be because of what I learned watching movies and television at the time. Could it have been Quincy M.E. that lured me into the medical profession? I do know it was my first psychology course when I became fascinated with psychology. Looking back my General Psychology textbook it was much different than today, much of the text talked about personality and psychodynamic theories. When I started college in the late 1970s I started out by reading all I could on psychology but at the time that meant mainly books by Freud and Jung. I started out interested in the research aspect of psychology spending most of my undergraduate free time in the rat lab and working as a lab assistant. At the time I was also working in a nursing home as direct care worker serving persons diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and dementia. I was fascinated by their behavior and just as important the interventions needed to help them cope. It wasn't until graduate school that I became interested in the applied side of psychology. Why did I choose my profession? As I mentioned I moved away from research to applied psychology early in my graduate program. I wanted to do something in clinical psychology because of my experiences as a direct care worker. I also worked as a volunteer for a local Alzheimer's Association helping out with support groups. My specific are of interest in psychology came from my work in group homes serving individuals with intellectual disabilities. At the time behavioral treatment was big and utilizing operant conditioning was common practice. My first job as a master's level psychologist was working for a small ICFMR (Immediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded). Looking back at that first position I realize

that much of what I learned regarding learning, behaviorism, and biological psychology came into good use, but I also learned that behavioral treatment wasn't the complete answer for changing behaviors or helping individuals learn new skills, such as coping and social. After about 12 years as a psychologist my interest moved to learning more about organizations, so I went into industrial/organizational psychology. I started teaching as an adjunct instructor while I was completing my doctorate in I/O psychology. It was then that I found my passion. Now I get to share that passion with others through teaching. I didn't wake up one day and decide what I want to be, it has been a life-long journey of choices that keeps me moving toward my continued goals as a life-long learner. Nicole B I decided to major in psychology as an undergraduate because I was interested in understanding more about people. I thought it was interesting how people interacted with each other, how people related to one another, and how development across the lifespan occurred. I also wanted to get experience and education in a discipline that would be broad and allow me to have flexibility in a career path. I like to think about it as my profession choosing me! I really like working with students and helping them to learn. I think teaching on the college level is a great way to help people learn about new things that can shape their careers and life. I also enjoy writing, and having an advanced degree in psychology allows me to be an expert in the field and write about topics of interest. Marty J Originally I did not major in psychology but rather in sociology as I had an interest in viewing the "bigger context" in term of its relationship with human behavior. Also, at the time we were involved in Vietnam and it was a time of heightened social consciousness and rage among college students. Hence, the decision to look at social issues rather than more microscopic ones. Fast forward to the late 1980s I returned to school for the opportunity to pick up on an earlier interest in studying psychology. At that time, the Ohio State University (OSU) was offering courses at the undergrad level so it was easy to transition back into the discipline. After taking many of the new offerings, I was looked and so began the quest to study psychology at the graduate level. Moreover, I had an interest in counseling and Ohio had put into place strict licensure requirements that required certification stemming from the completion of a graduate program in psychology. This was how I made the transition into psychology and from there it was a one-step-at-a-time progression from completing a master’s in counselor education to a doctorate in psychology. Although I changed the direction of my career path from counseling to teaching, I still remained dedicated to the goal of being a psychologist—a choice I have never regretted. Tonia P From the time I was a little kid I wanted to go to law school. When I was in high school, I took a psychology course as an elective and found it interesting. When I got to college, I thought I

would major in something rather than just pre-law and psychology seemed like it would be a good fit. However, once I got into my psychology courses I was hooked!