More colleges are requiring their students to take humanities classes. There are a number of reasons for this trend, not the least of which is an attempt to foster a sense of understanding between different groups of people. Our world is shrinking because of the explosion in communication, and a wider variety of people from across the globe are in touch with one another than ever before in history.
One humanities class that is increasingly being required across the country is an intro to psychology class. Many college students may not see the reasoning behind taking humanities classes, but a psychology course introduction can be very helpful in a number of ways. Not only can it give a basic understanding of human behavior and thought, but it may also help students choose a major course of study for their degree.
In an introduction to psychology class, students will examine and learn about a number of different areas of study within psychology itself. Many students may be familiar with the typical picture of a psychologist with a patient in an office, but the field of psychology is actually much broader than that. There are dozens of different job types that are included in the field of psychology.
For example, many people may be extremely interested in the sciences, but unsure of which field to enter. In psychology, science is used at all levels of study. For example, neuroscience is the scientific field of psychology in which the physical makeup of the brain is studied in order to understand different processes – such as decision making – or even sleep patterns. Neuroscience connects the physiology of the brain with behavior patterns and actions in our daily lives.
For students who know that they want to work in a job that involves interaction with people, an intro to psychology class might help them to decide to work in human resources or the social sciences. Human resource work involves being able to talk to people regarding a wide variety of issues, including hiring, health care, job loss, and conflict resolution. A psychology introduction class can open the doors for a student to the field of social science, which is the study of human interaction and behavior.
Another topic of interest for students in this class is clinical psychology. Clinical psychology demonstrates the common perception of a psychologist with a patient, but it will also cover areas of mental health issues. Some of the issues that might be studied would include bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, or eating disorders. There are many areas of mental health that a person could specialize in, and an introductory course might help a student choose a specialized area of study.
Many students might take this course simply because they are required to take it for graduation. What they may be surprised to discover is the wide variety of subject matter that may be covered in class. Diverse topics like emotion, thought, and human sexuality may be covered, in addition to many others that all are involved with how human beings communicate, interact, think, and behave.