Here is a deep question for you. Why did you decide to read this article? How did you access this article? What is causing your ability to read this very sentence right now? If your answer to these questions were “sounds interesting,” “through my device,” and “because I always could” respectively, then you and your brain must be complete strangers. While your current answers are not exactly wrong, we can go way deeper and understand the intricate mechanics in our mind on why you’re still reading. This is commonly referred to as “psychology,” the study of the human mind.
What is Psychology?
As stated before, psychology is the study of how the human mind operates. It can give us a new perspective on how human development works and allow for improvement in mental health. We can understand the process that goes in when an action is done. Here’s an example:
Do you know that feeling when you touch, taste, smell, see, or hear? That is known as stimuli in psychology. This is the information that is perceived by your sensory receptors. This information is then transmitted to your brain. Depending on where the information is coming from, the information will be sent to specific parts of your brain. For example, visual stimuli will be sent to the visual cortex, which is in the rear end of your brain. Once the brain receives this information, a response to that stimulus is sent back to the receptors to make the responding action to the stimuli. Sounds quite complicated and long, right? Well, this process actually happens in an instant and you aren’t even aware that it’s happening.
Careers in Psychology
Psychology is playing a major role in helping us understand human thinking and behavior. With this field of study, we can discover how behavior works and what makes a person who they are in the present. We can also study ways to treat individuals with mental disabilities and improve their lives. It’s quite amazing how influential and important psychology can be!
If you happen to be interested in science, then psychology might be a good fit as it requires general knowledge of other scientific fields, like biology. Psychology is a scientific field that is vastly unique from others and the potential it has in improving the lives of everyone and society is certainly convincing enough to invest more time into it. To explore the multitude of topics in the field of psychology, check out the American Psychological Association (APA)’s index of psychology topics.
Interested?
Are you interested? Do you wish to learn more? You’re in luck as Rutherford High School has a dedicated Psychology class, both regular and AP. If those classes don’t fit with your schedule, then there is a psychology club that you can join, so you can still explore the wonders of the mind! If you’re interested, contact Mrs. Moloughney.
