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I have no knowledge about psychology at all but I want to study it as a degree, what

I have finished my AS levels in English language and literature combined, philosophy, history and ict. I want to start writing my personal statement. I also want to do psychology and English as a sandwich degree course but I have no knowledge of psychology at all. I would like to become a counsellor or psychotherapist in the future which is why I have decided that psychology is what I want to study. So what books can I read on psychology so that I can know what I'm talking about in my personal statement?

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Reply 1
Original post by kemi28
I have finished my AS levels in English language and literature combined, philosophy, history and ict. I want to start writing my personal statement. I also want to do psychology and English as a sandwich degree course but I have no knowledge of psychology at all. I would like to become a counsellor or psychotherapist in the future which is why I have decided that psychology is what I want to study. So what books can I read on psychology so that I can know what I'm talking about in my personal statement?

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I hate psychology, so I cant help you:ashamed:
Reply 2
Its not exactly a difficult or complex subject at A level tbh so you could pick it up some ideas and theories pretty easily just reading through a standard textbook. Look on amazon or ebay or something.
A lot of schools/colleges don't do psychology A level so there will be a lot of people at uni in the same boat as you. Which is why (I heard) that the first year of psychology at uni is getting everyone up to speed and onto the same level so it shouldn't hold you back/put you at a disadvantage. But you might decide it's not what you thought it would be and end up hating it or dropping out. Like the person above me suggested, it would be worth looking over some A level textbooks to see if it interests you.
Reply 4
Don't worry, I heard it's great as a degree:smile:
At a level it's a joke though, they make you memorise 75 essays word for word for the exams (WJEC btw) It basically made me hate the whole subject, even though it's definitely interesting..
I just think they should be testing us on knowledge rather than memory:biggrin:
This isn't relevant to you btw, the degree is very fascinating apparently:yep:
Reply 5
Original post by arfah
Don't worry, I heard it's great as a degree:smile:
At a level it's a joke though, they make you memorise 75 essays word for word for the exams (WJEC btw) It basically made me hate the whole subject, even though it's definitely interesting..
I just think they should be testing us on knowledge rather than memory:biggrin:
This isn't relevant to you btw, the degree is very fascinating apparently:yep:


I agree with that. The exams are a joke. Its an interesting and fairly simple subject but the exams make the subject more difficult and stressful than it should be. With Edexcel you need to use very specific wordings to get the answers correct and even then you may be marked down for simply reproducing an answer from a textbook and not showing your own ideas. Assessment is a joke, 95% memorising and technique yet only 5% actual knowledge.
I've just finishedy second year of Psychology and absolutely love it. I'm a bit busy right now so I'll come back later to give some tips :smile:
Reply 7
Original post by K1996s
I agree with that. The exams are a joke. Its an interesting and fairly simple subject but the exams make the subject more difficult and stressful than it should be. With Edexcel you need to use very specific wordings to get the answers correct and even then you may be marked down for simply reproducing an answer from a textbook and not showing your own ideas. Assessment is a joke, 95% memorising and technique yet only 5% actual knowledge.

Yea, it's even harder, because I wasn't told that we had to memorise essays and stuff, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it.. They made it seem like an easy subject, but tbh I would rather sit and do AS maths, and I really hate maths:mad:I don't understand why they cant test us on scenarios, or something that actually requires skill and knowledge, and like you have to think to answer it, instead of recalling something that makes no sense.
Reply 8
I know that there's a chance I might not like it that's why I want to do English alongside it too just in case I decide to drop psychology in the 2nd year

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Reply 9
Original post by arfah
Yea, it's even harder, because I wasn't told that we had to memorise essays and stuff, otherwise I wouldn't have picked it.. They made it seem like an easy subject, but tbh I would rather sit and do AS maths, and I really hate maths:mad:I don't understand why they cant test us on scenarios, or something that actually requires skill and knowledge, and like you have to think to answer it, instead of recalling something that makes no sense.


Yeah for ours we had to literally memorise a few studies,theories and experiments and then regurgitate the information into an essay in a stupidly specific way. Theres no interpretation,discussion,analysis or anything that requires an academic skill. Literally just a long winded memory test. The content itself is still pretty interesting and for a degree it should be fun just the A level course is iffy :smile:
Reply 10
Original post by purple_panther
A lot of schools/colleges don't do psychology A level so there will be a lot of people at uni in the same boat as you. Which is why (I heard) that the first year of psychology at uni is getting everyone up to speed and onto the same level so it shouldn't hold you back/put you at a disadvantage. But you might decide it's not what you thought it would be and end up hating it or dropping out. Like the person above me suggested, it would be worth looking over some A level textbooks to see if it interests you.


I know that there's a chance I might not like it that's why I want to do English alongside it too just in case I decide to drop psychology in the 2nd year

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Reply 11
Original post by TolerantBeing
I've just finishedy second year of Psychology and absolutely love it. I'm a bit busy right now so I'll come back later to give some tips :smile:


Ok thanks. That would be great :biggrin:

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Reply 12
Original post by K1996s
Yeah for ours we had to literally memorise a few studies,theories and experiments and then regurgitate the information into an essay in a stupidly specific way. Theres no interpretation,discussion,analysis or anything that requires an academic skill. Literally just a long winded memory test. The content itself is still pretty interesting and for a degree it should be fun just the A level course is iffy :smile:

Yes, but I'm completely put off by it, it was a mistake of an AS level, I'm not doing it for A2 nevermind degree:eek:
Original post by kemi28
I know that there's a chance I might not like it that's why I want to do English alongside it too just in case I decide to drop psychology in the 2nd year

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That's a good idea. What are your career plans?
Reply 14
Original post by arfah
Yes, but I'm completely put off by it, it was a mistake of an AS level, I'm not doing it for A2 nevermind degree:eek:


I got an A at AS so made the mistake of carrying it to A2 :frown: Trust me you did the right thing!
Reply 15
Original post by K1996s
I got an A at AS so made the mistake of carrying it to A2 :frown: Trust me you did the right thing!

You got an A so it wasn't a mistake:confused: for you anyway
Reply 16
Original post by purple_panther
That's a good idea. What are your career plans?


If I study psychology, I would like to become a counsellor or psychotherapist. I haven't done research on career options for studying English but I'm really interested in writing but I don't really want to become a writer. I'm kinda confused atm :no:

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Original post by kemi28
If I study psychology, I would like to become a counsellor or psychotherapist. I haven't done research on career options for studying English but I'm really interested in writing but I don't really want to become a writer. I'm kinda confused atm :no:

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You might end up enjoying psychology though and if you're actually interested in the subject you're more likely to put the effort in and do well. But if not you'll always have English to fall back on. You can do pretty much anything with a degree in English not just be a writer!:smile:
Reply 18
you could buy an a level book and do some online research on the topics from that book, safe the information if you find it interesting or useful
Reply 19
Original post by purple_panther
You might end up enjoying psychology though and if you're actually interested in the subject you're more likely to put the effort in and do well. But if not you'll always have English to fall back on. You can do pretty much anything with a degree in English not just be a writer!:smile:


Oh, I didn't know that, I guess English is quite a general degree. I'm definitely interested in it and hopefully I'll enjoy it too. I think it's a big risk for me to study something which I've never done before

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(edited 9 years ago)

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