Should I take Psychology?

[totallyace]

Whats psychology IB all about? is it hard? i have never taken psychology before in iGCSE as it is not available

[blindpet]

Whats psychology IB all about? is it hard? i have never taken psychology before in iGCSE as it is not available

IB Psych emphasises analysis and evaluation of different approaches to psychology. Don't expect to just memorise information if you want to succeed, as you would for science subjects. IB Psychology was not very fun for me, even though I'm studying Psychology at uni. Though this may be cause i'm most interested in the humanistic perspective which is not taught at SL.

You won't learn that much cool stuff, all the interesting things I researched on my own - of course this highly depends on your teacher. If this isn't enough check out the IB Psych syllabus (google it), I'll answer any questions as best I can.

[saya]

In IB, as blindpet has said, Psychology is about the different perspectives (4 at HL and 3 at SL + one option both at HL and SL) in which you can study human behavior.

It would be nice if you could get a copy of the syllabus but what I really recommend you is to talk to people in your school who are doing Psychology and ask them if they love it or not...they will give you a more accurate insight on what psychology is and (very important) how the teacher is.

But I really recommend it to everyone, it is something you can apply in your day to day life and it is very much connected with ToK and Literature (we are reading Oedipus and it is unbelievable the amount of psychological stuff you can find in one simple play). If you like studying human behavior, then go for it. And don't worry if you didn't do it at IGCSE or whatever, I haven't either (only one person in my class has) and we are coping well. No previous knowledge is required for this course I think.

[imaginelifeless]

I wanted to take it, but it wasn't offered in my school. I think you should! psychology is such an interesting subject. i want to do a double degree in psych and something else when i go to uni

[lil_lil]

I am wonddering the same thing too but kind of off topic in the sense that I'm unsure on whether I want to have it either HL or SL. Currently, I'm in year 10 and until the end of this year, I think I can change my subjects around.

I am uncertain on English, Mathematiccs, Psychology and Chemistry. Looking around, the majority gave me an impression that Psychology is really hard and my teacher, a really, nice and honest person said that it's hard to receive over a 5 for it!

Englishstarting to be my worse subjects. I am getting Cs for it and up until now, all my marks have been A. I guess it's partly because of my teacher's fault. I do enjoy reading and want to be highly proficient in the language.

Um, and then there is Maths. Right now I'm in the Advanced Class and feelinmg confident, I thought I might be able to handle the HL. However, apparently, not many people are doing it and again, when looking around, I saw that there are going to have some university-levelled paper in the exams.

As for Chemistry, I know that I have to take it to open up my choices since I am confused on what I want as my career. Anyway, I am doing quite well with Science and therefore hoped to do HL. Nonetheless, I was shocked to discover that Chemistry is quite hard too.

By the way, my school only allow students to take on three higher levels subjects.

Therefore, if anyone is kind enough, please help me! And Totally Ace, I am sorry for using your thread. It is greatly appreciated if anyone out there can tell which parts or areas that they considered as difficult. Even if it is out of my ability to comprehend, I will keep it in mind.

Currently, the two subjects which I am most unclear and hesitating for my HLs are Psychology and Chemistry.

In terms of enjoyment, Psychology preponderates but like I stated previously, it kind of holds higher risks too.

Meanwhile, Chemistry doesn't since I will be getting a tutor as there is like virtually proper tutors for Psychology.

Overall, please help me!!!

Edited September 9, 2008 by lil_lil

[Stereoisomer]

Don't expect to just memorise information if you want to succeed, as you would for science subjects.

Cough Cough Cough Cough.. Blindpet, I see you only chose Biology as your science option. Biology is only a BRANCH of science. Biology IS science, but SCIENCE is not just Biology

If you just memorised the Physics/Chemistry textbook you would not have scored over 3/7.

Im sorry, i am just a science fanatic.. Insulting science is just like insulting me. Apologies

Anyways... I was going to do Psych, but i selected Physics over it my reasons......

1) As I said before, science is my passion and i absolutely physics

2) My cousin who just graduated IB said that Psychology virtually useless and boring, it's nothing like clinical psychology

3) The teacher who teaches Psych at our school is err shall I say not very pleasant. If you sit in his class, you would fully need an umbrella.

Yeah.

Oh and to lil_lil:

I reckon you should do HL Chemistry as it is far more useful in terms of university applications than HL Psychology.

[imbob]

Whats psychology IB all about? is it hard? i have never taken psychology before in iGCSE as it is not available

Dude. I didnt do any kind of psychology in GCSE or Key stage, but im doing it now for IB and its not hard to understand the subject at all. Its a really fun, interesting subject and i recommend it. Yet Im not too sure if universities like it? Maybe someone else can answer that question =)

take care

[saya]

Looking around, the majority gave me an impression that Psychology is really hard and my teacher, a really, nice and honest person said that it's hard to receive over a 5 for it!

Then there may be a problem with the way the teacher is teaching the subject if her students are unable to obtain more than a 5.

If you want to hear the truth, it is difficult to score more than a 5 in any IB subject, because you need to have that extra 'thing' that will make you have 6 and 7, that is, as per my teachers.

In Psychology, you need to be able to remember every framework, how the approach was developed, the good points, the bad ones...and apart and more than just knowing that, you need to be able to relate all the stuff you have studied to a text. If you think you can do that, then take Psychology.

But, since you are choosing your subjects, I really recomend you to choose those subjects which you will want to study, not those you think you will score more. The thing is, there is a lot of workload in ALL the subjects in IB, and you better enjoy doing that courseload. It is going to be hard if you don't like the subject, and easy if you like it. So choose as per your taste and nothing more than that.

[jfire16]

Psychology is a good subject to have no matter what. Whether its IB or just regular. It lets you understand people in ways that people just look over. So in the future it can help with jobs, college applications. It helps increase your communication with people. Or at lest thats what I think it does.

[Vvi]

Psychology is well-accepted by universities, especially in the UK. Psychology is nowadays the 3rd most popular subject being studied in UK universities, according to the Times Good University Guide. Therefore, those people who are worried about it being a "soft" subject, don't be.

Psychology has some biological aspects related to it, such as the activity of neurons and effects of psychoactive drugs on the brain. However, most of it is related to debates like Nature vs. Nurture, and you have to know a lot of scientific case studies to prove your theses in the final exam.

I don't take psychology myself, I took one class and changed to history because I like solid facts more. Everyone in my school who takes it loves it though.

Why don't you take a class or two to start the year off, and change if you don't like it? Unless your school is one of those that doesn't offer that option. We have people changing classes all the time, and it's better to find out by yourself than listen to someone else's view of it.

[humingyay]

I take psychology at HL and I say that if you are interested in psychology then you should go for it. SL covers up the basic perspectives except the humanistic perspective and methodology. It's not difficult, I mean it just demands time like any other subject.

I personally don't like humanistic perspective but still I would definitely recommend taking psychology, HL or SL.

[Guest tahaqarni]

im a grade 10 student who got stuck in ib. Now, i don't know what ib psychology is like, as next year is the first time my school will be offering it. Is it a worthwhile course, or just a waste ot ime. And also, is it a hard couse at the SL level?

[humingyay]

im a grade 10 student who got stuck in ib. Now, i don't know what ib psychology is like, as next year is the first time my school will be offering it. Is it a worthwhile course, or just a waste ot ime. And also, is it a hard couse at the SL level?

I would definitely say it is a worthwhile course but again that depends on how much you are interested in it. Of course, you can change to another subject if you regret your decision. Furthermore, I would say that there isn't much difference between Psych HL and SL regarding the difficulty level because actually, you have to study more in SL (more perspectives) whereas HL has one more perspective plus methodology.

[moneyfaery]

im a grade 10 student who got stuck in ib. Now, i don't know what ib psychology is like, as next year is the first time my school will be offering it. Is it a worthwhile course, or just a waste ot ime. And also, is it a hard couse at the SL level?

What do you mean by "stuck in IB"? You can always back out. I recall filling out the course selection forms later on in the year.

As for how useful it is, I'd reckon it'd be pretty useful and also interesting. It's a pity Econ SL/Math HL are no longer offered but Psych SL sounds fun.

[Stereoisomer]

If you say so.

But Psychology is not accepted as a science subject in the most prestigious UK universities, like say Oxford/Cambridge.

So if you are thinking of doing anything scientific, choose 3 sciences/maths subjects at HL and ditch Psychology or else the university will ditch you.

LOL

but if you are into something like say languages/literature/arts then Psychology is really really really beneficial!!

[humingyay]

If you say so.

But Psychology is not accepted as a science subject in the most prestigious UK universities, like say Oxford/Cambridge.

So if you are thinking of doing anything scientific, choose 3 sciences/maths subjects at HL and ditch Psychology or else the university will ditch you.

LOL

but if you are into something like say languages/literature/arts then Psychology is really really really beneficial!!

I agree but I don't think that the univeristy will ditch you. I mean, of course you will have an advantage if you do choose 3 scientific subjects which are chemistry, biology, physics and maths methods/HL but if you do feel like choosing psychology then go for it. Even prestigious universities can negotiate if you have great grades and great CAS! Also, in interviews you can specify why you took psychology and I personally do not believe that they would want to have students that study something they are not interested in just for the sake for it.

[strawberrypigs]

If you are interested in psychology I would definitely take the course.

My school is really pretty small and the only social studies course they offer is HL history so I would love to psychology. From what I have heard it is a really interesting class, and if you are considering doing anything in similar later on life it would definitely be extremely useful. However if you aren't really interested in that kind of stuff or you don't think it will be useful for what you want to study in college you probably shouldn’t do it because you'll find it dull and tedious.

[d00m5day]

^ same as the person above me.

My school doesn't offer psychology, but I'm not sure if it has anything to do with it being a Catholic school... don't know.

But I would love to take it, as it seems like a great course! Although it might be boring, it beats religion or history any day.

[Aether]

Whats psychology IB all about? is it hard? i have never taken psychology before in iGCSE as it is not available

I take standard level IB psychology and we have seen the learning, cognitive, and biological perspective. We wrapped it all up with abnormal psychology, which is really cool. However I agree with the last reply... you must really learn to analyze everything.... Of course it is important to know the theory really well... but what its mostly important, is the way you make connections between the things you have learnt. I am not trying to be partial here... but compared to other subjects (at least in my school) you can choose like french or art, it is a more demanding subject.

[whispoffrost]

Whats psychology IB all about? is it hard? i have never taken psychology before in iGCSE as it is not available

I would highly recommend psychology as a subject. Yes, it can be a challenging subject but I found it very easy to become interested in the subject matter. It is also very good because it is relevant to other subjects so evern if you don't want to continue psychology at university you have still gained valuable knowledge. It is one of the most interesting courses.

xoxo