Here's some useful advice if you plan to take the GRE in Psychology. You will be extremely tempted to buy 'cram books' on the test--books that claim they will help you get higher scores. Buying a cram book is a reasonable idea and is probably worth doing. Even if the cram book doesn't help you raise your test score, it will help relieve some anxiety. Okay, spend a couple of bucks on a cram book or two.
BUT be selective.
DO NOT BUY THE THICKEST BOOK or the book or CD or other media that offers the greatest number of questions.
I don't guarantee that the thinner books/media will be more focused or will help you raise your test score. But I guarantee the thinner book/media will confuse you less, will waste less of your time and --most important--will have the fewest irrelevant practice questions.
It is probably safe to say that the thicker the practice test book the more it is stuffed with oddball names and ideas. It is likely to ask about trivial people or studies or ideas that are extremely unlikely to be mentioned in the GRE. In order to fill pages and pages of print or entire CDs of bytes, a test prep book author has to dig deep into the forgotten corners of the field of Psychology. The author will try to scare the living daylights out of you by finding obscure material you never learned.
For the most part the GRE exam focuses on classical material that has stood the test of time and will likely be important in the years ahead. Ninety-eight percent or more of all studies and papers and books written in the field of Psychology will be forgotten in a few years. Very few ideas last a long time. After the papers are written and spread as far as they will go, most studies disappear down the sinkhole of history. The authors of the GRE exam know this. Which is why most of the GRE exam covers classical material and very little of the exam covers recent material. And very, very little of the exam mentions flash-in-the-pan, one-shot studies that don't relate to clasical, fundamental material.
Don't waste your time on cram books that try to catch you in a game of 'gotcha' because you don't know obscure facts and names. Stick to the classical and fundamental.
Friday
Thursday
I Hate To Tell You
Two of the least popular undergrad courses in the Psych Department are Statistics and Experimental Design (or a similar course title about Experimental Psychology). Most students turn up their noses when these courses are mentioned. Nevertheless these are two of the most important courses any undergrad can take. And as far as the GRE is concerned, questions about the material covered in these courses take up a disproportionate number of questions.
Hate these courses if you will, but be aware that GRE test makers love to include lots of questions about statistics and experimental design.
There is also another reason to pay attention to these courses. Of all the undergrad courses offered these two courses contain the greatest amount of information used in the greastest variety of fields outside psychology. Let's put ti another way: if you go on in life and do not become a PhD or PsyD in Psychology--if you work in almost any other field other than Psychology--you are very likely to need the skills and information given you from these courses.
The world outside academia may not pay a lot of attention to college psychology course, but it pays attention to Statistics and Experimental Design. You should too.
Hate these courses if you will, but be aware that GRE test makers love to include lots of questions about statistics and experimental design.
There is also another reason to pay attention to these courses. Of all the undergrad courses offered these two courses contain the greatest amount of information used in the greastest variety of fields outside psychology. Let's put ti another way: if you go on in life and do not become a PhD or PsyD in Psychology--if you work in almost any other field other than Psychology--you are very likely to need the skills and information given you from these courses.
The world outside academia may not pay a lot of attention to college psychology course, but it pays attention to Statistics and Experimental Design. You should too.
Wednesday
Majoring in Psychology
If you are thinking of getting an advanced degree in Psychology it is not necessary to major in the subject as an undergraduate. Depending on the school, different graduate-level programs have different ideas about admitting undergrad majors into their advanced degree programs. Some schools like a wide variety of undergrad majors, some don't make a big deal out of what students majored in.
The attitude of most graduate school faculty members is that psychology is poorly taught at the undergrad level. Grad school professors like to go over and over subjects students might have been exposed to at the undergrad level. The grad school profs would like to erase from their students' minds most of what the students were taught previously. In that case, an undergraduate major in something other than psychology is preferable.
Before they go to college, or before they are exposed to many undergrad college courses, most students think that majoring in Psychology will give them a deep understanding of the human mind and how it works. Students often think that majoring in psych will make them effective junior psychotherapists. Exposure to undergrad courses in Psychology gives them a wake up lesson.
What undergrad psych majors learn is that Psychology is a very broad field. It includes many areas of interest outside of psychoanalysis. Most undergrad psych courses have virtually nothing to do with psychoanalysis in fact. Some of the courses, like statistics and experimental design, appear quite the opposite of psychoanalysis. You will not become a shrink solely on the basis of undergrad psych courses.
Indeed, it is this author's opinion that most undergrad psych courses border on being a waste of time. You might get minimal exposure to some interesting and useful ideas, but you won't get enough exposure to master these ideas. On top of that, in the work world undergrad psych courses alone won't get you very far. There are almost no openings for psychology-related jobs for people who majored in psych at the undergrad level and have no other advanced degrees in Psychology.
If you don't plan to get either a Master's degree or, preferably, a Phd or PsyD degree, an undergrad major in psych won't get you very far.
An undergrad might learn most of the same ideas an undergrad psych major will learn in courses in other liberal arts subjects. They might not learn the formal names used in organized Psychology, but they might learn most of the same ideas. A major in English, for instance, might expose an undergrad to as much of the study of human motivation as a major in Psychology.
There are two minisubjects an undergrad psych major might learn which have use in other job areas: statistics and research design. These two subjects often scare off undergrad majors since they sound so cold and number-related. But knowledge of these subjects could be useful in many other job fields beside psychology. As much as you might hate them, work hard to try to learn them. Once you leave college behind they are the subjects you are most likely to remember and use.
The attitude of most graduate school faculty members is that psychology is poorly taught at the undergrad level. Grad school professors like to go over and over subjects students might have been exposed to at the undergrad level. The grad school profs would like to erase from their students' minds most of what the students were taught previously. In that case, an undergraduate major in something other than psychology is preferable.
Before they go to college, or before they are exposed to many undergrad college courses, most students think that majoring in Psychology will give them a deep understanding of the human mind and how it works. Students often think that majoring in psych will make them effective junior psychotherapists. Exposure to undergrad courses in Psychology gives them a wake up lesson.
What undergrad psych majors learn is that Psychology is a very broad field. It includes many areas of interest outside of psychoanalysis. Most undergrad psych courses have virtually nothing to do with psychoanalysis in fact. Some of the courses, like statistics and experimental design, appear quite the opposite of psychoanalysis. You will not become a shrink solely on the basis of undergrad psych courses.
Indeed, it is this author's opinion that most undergrad psych courses border on being a waste of time. You might get minimal exposure to some interesting and useful ideas, but you won't get enough exposure to master these ideas. On top of that, in the work world undergrad psych courses alone won't get you very far. There are almost no openings for psychology-related jobs for people who majored in psych at the undergrad level and have no other advanced degrees in Psychology.
If you don't plan to get either a Master's degree or, preferably, a Phd or PsyD degree, an undergrad major in psych won't get you very far.
An undergrad might learn most of the same ideas an undergrad psych major will learn in courses in other liberal arts subjects. They might not learn the formal names used in organized Psychology, but they might learn most of the same ideas. A major in English, for instance, might expose an undergrad to as much of the study of human motivation as a major in Psychology.
There are two minisubjects an undergrad psych major might learn which have use in other job areas: statistics and research design. These two subjects often scare off undergrad majors since they sound so cold and number-related. But knowledge of these subjects could be useful in many other job fields beside psychology. As much as you might hate them, work hard to try to learn them. Once you leave college behind they are the subjects you are most likely to remember and use.
Taking the GRE
If you are about to take the GRE Psychology examination, this blog will have some messages for you. I authored one of the major "cram books" on the GRE Psychology examination several years ago. I keep in touch with the topic and have some important things to say. I will say them on this blog, so keep coming back. I will post new messages as my busy time schedule allows. You can comment, give me feedback and ask me questions simply by clicking the "Comments" button below each post. Thanx and see you again soon.
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