Is psychology a 'soft' subject?

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It's a pointless subject. Might be hard due to the amount of written work etc.

I had to turn on the laptop to re-read your signature to find out if e^2x differentiated is 2xe^2x or just 2e^x. Thanks for helping me out with my C3 past paper :smile:

Reply 21

nerd123

I would do it if you are considering doing it at uni - cause then you'll know whether you really like it enough to study it at uni :smile:

Reply 22

Retrospect

Original post by Captain92

Personally, I'm really interested in psychology, but I study it in my own time. If there are other A levels that you are interested in doing that are more likely to be important regarding university entry requirements etc, I'd say go for those.

I studied psychology for a term in year 12 before dropping it to focus on my other subjects because I realised I didn't want to do anything to do with psych at uni, and if I remember correctly a lot of the AS course was about attachment, and in A2 you get more into disorders/ mental illness.
Really interesting stuff, but also the sort of thing that you can read around in your own time and still get a full understanding of.

However, I don't think that people should be looked down on or presumed less intelligent just because they do psychology.
I took Government and Politics which a lot of people are snooty about but I loved it.
Just be careful to bear in mind both what you will enjoy when making your choices :smile:

I agree with this post. I personally studied A Level Psychology because at the time I was committed to studying it at degree level. However, looking back I would have chosen another subject because Psychology didn't (personally) provide me with any added benefit as an A Level when applying to university.

Reply 23

adam_zed

Original post by illusionz

Universities beg to differ.

Is there actually any evidence of this please?

Reply 24

Evanesyne

Original post by Xhotas

But I recommend picking something else if you want to do psychology, no uni will accept you if you have an A Level in psychology.

Reply 25

GodspeedGehenna

Original post by Jordyn

but I don't think you even need it at A Level to do it at degree level.

Original post by Retrospect

In fact, at many universities it isn't even a requirement to have Psych A Level to study Psychology at degree level.

Anyone who hadn't studied it at A-level would be massively behind the overwhelming majority that did.

Not studying it, despite it not being a requirement, would leave you having to do serious catch-up in your first year.

Reply 26

ily_em

Original post by illusionz

Universities beg to differ.

OP may want to do psychology at uni so it would be kinda useful there :rolleyes:

OP, you are doing 3 other 'hard' subjects so it doesn't really matter what your fourth is. Do psychology if you want to!

Reply 27

bananaterracottapie

not gonna lie....at as and a2 level( i think never completed it) i found it piss easy.

i think that was more to do with the exam format though...

Reply 28

Retrospect

Original post by GodspeedGehenna

Of course, I was just stating that contrary to what the other poster said, technically it isn't an absolute requirement at a lot of universities.

Saying that, I can see that at the places where it isn't a requirement it would at least be a recommended A Level choice.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 29

rainbowworld

I'd do it, if your considering it at degree then it is important to get a flavour of it as it's not much like a lot of people think it is. Also if you do biology at degree then you might enjoy having done a taster of it at a-level. Also you can always drop it after AS, and with 3 other 'hard' subjects universities won't mind at all. People saying uni's don't like it if you want to study it at degree don't have a clue, universities always ask for a science including psychology and a lot of a-level material is relevant to the degree. It's not a particularly soft subject either, and is a lot more work than people think, it just isn's at 'hard' as say physics might be considered. I hate all this 'hard' and 'soft' rubbish, if it gets you where you want to go then it dosen't matter (my friend got into a good uni for a good course [grade requirement A*AA] with applied bussiness studies, sociology and psychology) and it's really subjective, some people would find psychology hard as they have real trouble with essay writting etc and find biology easy as they just have a natural talent for it :s-smilie:

Reply 30

Fuzzpig

Original post by Jordyn

Yes that's what I was thinking. The reason I want to do psychology is because I think it looks interesting, but I don't think you even need it at A Level to do it at degree level. If that's the case then it seems pointless to study it when you don't need it :s-smilie:

It's not required, however you'll be at an extreme disadvantage having not studied it before you go to university. My course at Kent assumed first year students had a solid amount of background knowledge of the most recognisable studies, arguments and methods and began teaching from there. You'll find yourself with a large amount of background reading and extra work.

The A level subject is not soft, however it's a poor example of what Psychology can be.

Don't read 'not required' as meaning 'not extremely useful'.

Other subjects you might consider (along with Biology) are Maths/Stats, and a bulky essay subject like English Literature, History, Classics etc.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 31

amelle

i dont think it is.. i did in at AS and carried it onto A2 and it requires a LOT of work.. i find maths easier than psych but that could just be me :tongue:

Reply 32

Fuzzpig

Original post by Xhotas

You've got 3 "Hard" Subjects and Psychology. You'd be fine.

But I recommend picking something else if you want to do psychology, no uni will accept you if you have an A Level in psychology.

You're confusing that with Law degrees and how they view the Law A level.

It's expected that most students will have a decent mark in their Psychology A level before starting the degree. The degree begins from that point.

Reply 33

patientology

Just because it is difficult or interesting it does not become a non-soft subject.
Best A levels are usually Biology, Chemistry , Math. If you are more humanistic take English instead of Math.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 34

impossible!

Original post by Jordyn

I am in the process of choosing my A Levels for next year and I really want to do psychology but I've heard that it's considered to be a 'soft' subject. Is it? My other subjects are History, Chemistry and Biology and I'm undecided what I want to do at Uni (most likely either Biology or Psychology).

I found it quite interesting, but boring at times. I personally also thought it was very easy. I dont regret taking it. It was an easy A, the one with the least homework and yet I still found it interesting. Shame about the way OCR examines it, basically just learning studies all the time. Oh well.

Really though, if you want to do Bio or Psyc at uni, your not as a disadvantage to take it. My advice; go for it.

Edit: To answer the actual question, yes it's seen as 'soft'. But you want to take it, and with what you want to do at degree it's acceptable.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 35

TheSmithsIndeed

To answer your question, yes it is considered to be a 'soft' subject particularly by the more prestigious universities, I remember reading a list from a top uni about how subjects were regarded in terms of difficulty, why not google it? :tongue:

Thing is, you've got to be interested in what you're studying so why not give it a shot? I've heard that it can be quite a dry subject with LOTS to memorise by some students and they found it quite difficult whilst others have really enjoyed it.

Also, with my subjects; I study lit, history, eng lang and dundundunnnn sociology, I wish someone had told me sociology was a 'soft' subject cos even though I'm still carrying on with all four in yr 13, it can be quite competitive when compared to someone who, say, does a language instead of my sociology. Still, I wouldnt call it easy, you have got to work for the grade but in comparison to history which I find way more interesting, you could learn the amount of information in a shorter period of time...(psychology&sociology were in the same group)

Hey, its up to you though! It can seem snobbish all of this 'soft' subject talk because if you're awful at writing essays then you're pretty much screwed in psychology. One of my friends is fab at sciences and maths but cannot write essays to save her life... :rolleyes:

Oh, and another thing- it might be nice to have an essay-based subject with regards to your other choices :smile:

Reply 36

LouLou92

Apparently the statistics bit of it is meant to be quite hard from what I've heard. Regardless of how others perceive it, if you enjoy it and want to pursue it then go for it. Your other subject choices show you're smart anyway and are a good combination. If you were studying it alongside weaker choices then maybe it would be a problem, but I don't see any problems :smile:

Reply 37

Colour Me Pretty

I don't find it hard, just very tedious. It's not a "soft" subject because there's a lot background reading and trying to remember all the studies is a bit of a nightmare. However if you have a good memory you'll be alright.
It's a middle subject, not deemed difficult but certainly not a doss.

Reply 38

The Cornerstone

Original post by Jordyn

If you want to do psychology then you should do it at A-level, not because it is necessary but because it gives you something to talk about in your personal statement and give you a 'taster' of studying psychology.

From looking at your uni choices your A-levels should be like this:

Biology
Chemistry
Maths
Psychology

But if you still want to take history then you can replace it with Maths or take it as a 5th subject

Reply 39

Interrobang

I think one of the main reasons that it isn't a necessary A Level to do a psychology degree is that not every college offers it, so it would be unfair on those who couldn't study it. Also, because psychology degrees are generally accredited by the BPS, they need to ensure that all the undergrads have a basic grounding they start you off from scratch

With regards to whether it is a soft subject or not, I would say that it's not considered a 'hard' subject like chemistry and maths, but it is by no means a 'soft' subject either. There is a lot of content to memorise tho. However, undergrad is a rather large step up from A Level. The view that psychology is a soft subject comes from people who know nothing about it really - thinking it's all about discussing feelings/finding out about yourself

Certainly none of my offers 6 years ago stipulated psychology as an exception to my offer (4 A Levels) - I had one excluding general studies and another wanting either an A grade in PE or for it to be not included in the offer (with lower grades)