Misconceptions about Psychology
“What do you study?”
“Psychology”
“OH, Cool! So, can you tell what I am thinking right now?”
If you are a psychology student, you have most likely been asked this question. If you are not a psychology student and have met one, I am certain that you have either asked it or thought about it. Either out of genuine curiosity or with playful intentions, this question, in various forms has been asked and as a member of the ‘victimized’ group, I am quite fed up of having to explain or prove that psychology is more than meets the eye.
It is so easy to form stereotypes towards certain professions due to how it is portrayed on television and social media, I too am guilty of it. But ever since I started my degree, I have come to realise that it can be quite annoying. Here are some of the most common misconceptions, clarified.
1. Psychologists and psychiatrists are the same.
Please, do not ever say this to my face because I just might hit you. Just kidding. But, psychologists and psychiatrists are not the same. Psychiatrists are like Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches while psychologists are the Popeyes ones. If you don’t understand that analogy, google it. To put it simply, psychologists, aim to help a patient by using a diverse variety of methods, we study intently about what influences and triggers certain behaviors and irregularity in comparison to the norm. Psychiatrists focus on abnormal mental health and went to med school.
2. Psychology is easy, “It’s common sense”.
Oh, so I thought. If it was, there would be more of us. There is an assumption around the idea of a psychologist, the ‘classic leather chair, sitting and listening to people’ (another misconception, thanks Freud!) and that anyone can do it. The idea that psychology is ‘easy’ and ‘common sense’… if common sense was common the world would be a better place. I think what everyone fails to remember is that, we deal with people directly. We go a mile deeper than the ‘common sense’ everyone thinks of. This is not something only non-psychology students think, a lot of us go into our degree with similar misconceptions.
3. All psychologists end up in clinical psychology.
In continuation with the previous point, psychology is very broad. I was surprised to see how far psychological theories are applied these days. Like many other educational fields, psychology has branched out widely into various areas; sports psychology, industrial psychology, business psychology, and even in areas of design and architecture. And these are only a minor few of the areas we extend to. Not every psychology student is going to sit on a chair with a patient laid out on a couch in front of them pouring out his/her problems.
4. Psychologists read minds or can tell what you are thinking.
I saved the best for the last. The answer to this is a big fat NO. We don’t read minds now, we never did, and I don’t think we ever can, but that’s not my place to say. Our degree teaches us to be observant and study behavioral patterns in order to predict behavior using certain instruments. This is probably why that assumption was birthed. However, it is a skill that takes time to hone. If that is all we are about, then all mothers should be psychologists, ’cause my mum at least, can guess what I am thinking and my facial expressions over the phone just by hearing my voice. It is a skill that helps us in the course of our career, but it is only one part.
Hopefully, now you have gained more insight on what the essence of psychology is, from a bird’s eye view. To all my non-psychology readers, I hope this encourages you to be interested in reading more into different fields of psychology. Psychology is one of the most interesting and discriminated upon fields, especially in the more collectivistic communities. Nonetheless, we will not fail to continue to positively impact our society and prove our worth.
