Personal Statement:Psychology 9

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Psychology Personal Statement

I became interested in applying for a psychology degree after beginning an A-level psychology course. I have enjoyed studying both biopsychologyand ethical issues in psychology as modules over the past year. Reading the psychological perspectives of different famous psychologists such as Freud, Szasz and Pavlov has also greatly interested me

As part of coursework I performed a relication of Piaget's conservation tasks in a primary school. These series of experiments were undertaken by myself and a partner on a group of children aged between four and eight years. The children had to perform the original tasks conducted by Piaget, for example, the conservation of continuous quantity, the conservation of number, the conservation of mass and the naughty teddy experiments

Recording and correlating the results was fascinating as the results we gained compared well with Piaget's conclusion from the original conservation tasks

I enjoy observing human behaviour and performing comparisons of theories purported by different psychologists. Extending my knowledge of the human mind and behaviour would be beneficial as I intend to follow a career in the field of psychology. In reading psychology at university I aim to build upon the knowledge I have begun to learn at college and hopefully to develop my skills in this area

I am most looking forward to studying social and individual psychology to link with both my psychology and sociology A-level interests

I enjoy reading and have an interest in literature. I attend plays at my local theatre, the Octagon, although I recently took a trip to Germany with college where I had the opportunity to see the Oberammergau passion play and the German opera Zar and Simmerman. On this college trip we travelled through both Austria and the Czech Republic and had the chance to see Mozart House in Salzburg, and saw the old town of Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic

I have an interest in music and listen to a variety of different music ranging from rock to jazz and blues. In the past I have played in a Brass Band in my local community and have an interest in other musical instruments. I have had both piano and guitar lessons over the past year

My interest in horses and my experience of horse riding has led me to secure a part-time weekend job at my local equestrian retain store. I have worked as a sales assistant which has given me a sense of independence, a greater self-confidence and has taught me how to handle a role of responsibility

I have also gained work experience in both a primary school and a high school as a classroom assistant. Post degree I would like to work in the community and have as much contact with a variety of people as possible

Comments

One thing that I notice about this statement is that there are no full stops at the end of paragraphs! It is important to show the admissions tutors that you have a good level of literacy and proofread the work for silly spelling/grammar mistakes. Some of the paragraphs are too short as well - one/two sentences does not equal a paragraph. Extra curricular activities should be stuck

It is best to avoid mentioning A Levels in the introduction and say what interests you about psychology in general. Elsewhere, there is not a lot of academic psychology stuff, which is what 2/3 of the PS should be. This can include A Levels, extra reading and relevant work experience. The last paragraph should also be a conclusion, which this one isn't - it should sum up why you want to study psychology and why you are a good candidate for the course

Review

I became interested in applying for a psychology degree after beginning an A-level psychology course. I have enjoyed studying both biopsychology needs a space! and ethical issues in psychology as modules over the past year. the applicant should mention what it is about them that makes them interesting Reading the psychological perspectives of different famous psychologists such as Freud, Szasz and Pavlov has also greatly interested me Freud is generally not covered (except in a 'history of psychology' or similar module, so it's best not to mention it

As part of coursework I performed a replication of Piaget's conservation tasks in a primary school. These series of experiments were undertaken by myself and a partner on a group of children aged between four and eight years. The children had to perform the original tasks conducted by Piaget, for example, the conservation of continuous quantity, the conservation of number, the conservation of mass and the naughty teddy experiments the admissions tutors will know about Piaget's experiment - no need to say what it was, instead what was learned should be mentioned. Also, this sentence is rather long and doesn't flow well

this should be merged with the paragraph above Recording and correlating the results was fascinating overused word in PSs as the results we gained compared well with Piaget's conclusion from the original conservation tasks could comment on why you think this is here - not everyone believes in Piaget's developmental stages. Grammar needs to be checked too

I enjoy observing human behaviour too vague and performing comparisons of theories purported by different psychologists. examples? Extending my knowledge of the human mind and behaviour would be beneficial as I intend to follow a career in the field of psychology. this sentence doesn't really add anything to the PS In reading psychology at university I aim to build upon the knowledge I have begun to learn at college and hopefully to develop my skills in this area these two sentences are rather obvious and not needed really... Instead mention what knowledge you hope to build upon at university, as below but more specifically and say why it is interesting

I am most looking forward to studying social and individual psychology to link with both my psychology and sociology A-level interests one sentence does not equal a paragraph. Why? What particular areas?

I enjoy reading and have an interest in literature. I attend plays at my local theatre, the Octagon, not necessary to mention the name of the theatre although I recently took a trip to Germany with college where I had the opportunity to see the Oberammergau passion play and the German opera Zar and Simmerman. On this college trip we travelled through both Austria and the Czech Republic and had the chance to see Mozart House in Salzburg, and saw the old town of Czesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic if there is enough space after the academics then fine, but otherwise extra-curricular stuff can be condensed

I have an interest in music and listen to a variety of different music ranging from rock to jazz and blues. In the past I have played in a brass band in my local community and have an interest in other musical instruments. I have had both piano and guitar lessons over the past year to make it flow better, these two sentences could be merged to say something like 'other musical instruments, including piano and guitar.

My interest in horses and my experience of horse riding has led me to secure a part-time weekend job at my local equestrian retain store. I have worked as a sales assistant,which has given me a sense of independence, a greater self-confidence and has taught me how to handle a role of responsibility these three paragraphs should be merged as they are all extra-curricular stuff. However, in total they should be no more than half of their current size

I have also gained work experience in both a primary school and a high school as a classroom assistant. Post degree I would like to work in the community and have as much contact with a variety of people as possible as mentioned above, there is no real conclusion here. School experience is good, but try and relate it to psychology. As for the career aspirations - these are very vague and not really needed if the candidate doesn't really know what they want to do