Why people have it wrong about psychology

Psychology is not based on Freud, or Jung, or attempting to be psychic. (Though, you're one of the lucky few if you study psychology and someone doesn't ask how to read minds.)

Psychology is the study of what we do think, how we think, and what determines our behaviour, emotions and actions. It’s the science of human nature.

And yes, it is a science. By no means is it perfect, but neither are any of the “natural” sciences, and some areas are definitely more of a social science, but psychology is a scientific discipline.  We use experiments, observations, and statistics. We measure heart rate, eye movements, galvanic skin responses, electrical activity in the brain and blood flow. We attempt to find how mechanisms work, to find general laws and exceptions to those laws, to build knowledge in order to help others, understand the world better, and find applications. We learn about physics, chemistry, biology and maths in relation to the body. This is psychology in the twenty-first century, and it is about time people started to take note.

The way that the media uses psychological knowledge is for shock value. Correlational studies told to demonstrate cause and effect when they only show relationships, mild effects blown out of proportion, and studies of little value but less ethical or more thrilling get put into the limelight, whilst some truly excellent ones only get reported in the essays of undergraduates.

I took psychology because I’ve always wanted to help people; to make a difference. But in the three years I’ve been studying it at an academic level, it’s made me rethink the way I think about the world. I’m more critical, more aware, and I understand my behaviour and why others do the things they do.

The thing about it is, we cannot be one hundred per cent objective about our behaviour, and yes, it’s difficult to prove theories even with substantial evidence. These are the cries of critics, and the sorrowful admittances of psychologists. Yet, this is true of everything. As humans, we do the best with the knowledge we currently have, and this is true of the causes of disease and the big bang theory to how life was before Homo sapiens, and in ancient civilisations.

Why do people judge psychology, then? Different reasons, for which I speculate are from a mixture of misinformation about what psychology involves and attempts to achieve, normative and informational influence from others, self-enhancement, and scepticism.

But, before you regretfully accept the scorns and mocks of others for not taking a “proper subject/science”, remember this: psychology is the science that provides knowledge for medicine, biology, sociology, politics and education alike. It is the field which attempts to remedy psychological disorders, provide better well-being, and aid understanding. It helps, and it’s worthwhile.