Own Your Psychology Major!: A Guide to Student Success

This book provides a roadmap for new psychology majors, and inspiration to help motivate students to make the most of internship, research, and service opportunities during their undergraduate years.

Congratulations on declaring your psychology major! Psychology is among the most popular majors in college today­—yet, it’s possible that you chose it without realizing how very broad and technical the field is. Not to worry. In this book, you’ll get a bird’s eye view of the whole curriculum, from rat mazes and statistics to abnormal psychology and psychotherapy, and you’ll dive into some of the field’s most enduring debates.
 
Beyond the what and why of the psychology major, this book provides you with tips you can put into practice from day one. These include:

• How to maximize your learning inside and outside the classroom
• Advice on landing a solid internship
• Where to find research and service opportunities
• Steps for applying (and paying) for graduate programs

When you finish this book, you’ll have a clear idea of why you’re learning what you’re learning, and how the skills you build in your psychology major will help you solve real-world problems. You’ll be able to take an active hand in your education—and own your psychology major.

Glenn Geher, PhD, is a professor of psychology and founding director of evolutionary studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. Glenn received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire in 1997 and has taught at SUNY New Paltz since 2000. He has won numerous awards for his contributions to the field and is widely published. Glenn is credited as the founder of the NorthEastern Evolutionary Psychology Society and is well known for his evolution-themed blog for Psychology Today (“Darwin’s Subterranean World”). Glenn lives in New Paltz, NY. Visit http://www.glenngeher.com, and follow @glenngeher.
 

Part 1: Ethical and Social Responsibility: How to Use Psychology to Make the World a Better Place
Chapter 1. What the Pros Hope You Will Learn in Your Psychology Major
Chapter 2. Making a Difference
Part 2: Knowledge Base: The Content of Psychology
Chapter 3. The Broad Nature of Psychology Content
Chapter 4. Human Diversity and Human Universality
Chapter 5. Multifactorial Causation of Behavior
Part 3: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking
Chapter 6. Psychology Is a Real Science: Part I. The Many Joys of Statistics
Chapter 7. Psychology Is a Real Science: Part II. Research Methods in the Behavioral Sciences
Part 4: Advanced Research as a Psychology Student
Chapter 8. Rolling Up Your Sleeves: Collaborating on Research Projects
Chapter 9. Telling the World: Presenting Psychological Research Findings
Part 5: Professional Development: Internships, Graduate Programs, and Careers
Chapter 10. How to Land (and Get the Most Out of) an Internship
Chapter 11. Thinking About Careers and Graduate School
Chapter 12. Cheat Sheet for Owning Your Psychology Major