The Psychology Major Career Options and Strategies for Success

Strategies for success for the psychology major

Landrum/Davis provides strategies for success that will allow students to achieve their career goals, whatever they may be. The authors provide fundamental tips and advice that can be useful to all students, but especially useful for psychology majors.

This text standardizes and catalogs much of the practical advice that professors often give to students—providing tips on how to do well in all classes, how to find research ideas, and how to write papers in general APA format. Also, the book contains up-to-date career information that faculty might not normally have at their fingertips, including the latest salary figures for a number of psychology-related jobs and occupations.

Learning Goals

Upon completing this book, readers should be able to:

• Describe why psychology is a practical subject for any student to study.
• Identify career opportunities for holders of a Bachelor’s degree in psychology
• Identify career opportunities for holders of a Master’s or Doctoral degree in psychology.
• Find research ideas and write papers in APA format.

 Note: MySearchLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MySearchLab, please visit www.mysearchlab.com or you can purchase a ValuePack of the text + MySearchLab:  ValuePack ISBN-10: TBD / ValuePack ISBN-13: TBD

Dr. R. Eric Landrum received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology with an emphasis in Quantitative Methodology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in 1989, and joined the Boise State University Psychology Department in 1992. He served as Chair of the Psychology Department from 1996-2000. For the 2005-2006 academic year, he served as the Interim Chair of the Psychology Department. The general trend underlying Dr. Landrum's research centers on college student success. How can we best create a teaching and learning environment that allows students to achieve their academic goals? Much of this work involves the development of survey and questionnaire instruments to measure behavioral outcomes--involving good theoretical design of instruments, establishment of validity and reliability, and other measurement operations.

Stephen F. Davis is Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. Currently he is Visiting Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Texas Wesleyan University and Distinguished Guest Professor at Morningside College. In 2002—2003 he was the Knapp Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences at the University of San Diego. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Southern Methodist University and his PhD in experimental psychology from Texas Christian University. In 2007 he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Morningside College. His research, which always includes student assistants, has investigated such diverse topics as academic dishonesty, learning versus grade orientation of students, Type A personality, the Impostor Phenomenon, and the behavioral effects of ingesting toxic metals. He is the author of more than 300 journal articles, 31 books, and more than 900 convention presentations.

In this Section:
1. Brief Table of Contents

2. Full Table of Contents

1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Why College?

Chapter 2: Why Psychology?

Chapter 3: Careers with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology

Chapter 4: Pursuing Bachelor’s-Level Options

Chapter 5: Career Options with a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree

Chapter 6: The Graduate Admissions Process

Chapter 7: Research and Teaching Assistantships

Chapter 8: Getting Involved: Internships and Organizations

Chapter 9: Sharpening Library and Research Skills

Chapter 10: An APA Format Primer

Chapter 11: Doing Well in Psychology Classes: Study Tips

Chapter 12: Ethical Issues for Psychology Majors

Chapter 13: Psychology and Other Options: Nurturing Your Career

2.   FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Why College?

            Who Goes to College

          Public Expectations Concerning College

          Student Expectations about Going to College

          Desirable Skills and Abilities

          The Covert Curriculum

          The Civic, Liberal Arts Value of a College Education

          The Financial Value of a College Education

          Oh, You Didn’t Have to Go to College…

Chapter 2: Why Psychology?

            Thoughts about the Psychology Major

          Areas of Specialization within Psychology

          Who Majors in Psychology

          Desirable Skills and Abilities for the Psychology Major

          The Importance of Advising and Mentoring

          Why the Psychology Major is a Good Choice

Chapter 3: Careers with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology

            The Undergraduate Curriculum

          What Employers Want, and What They Pay

          Careers with a Bachelor’s Degree

          Career Options, Job Descriptions, and the Amazing O*NET

          What about the Associate’s Degree?

          Becoming a Freshman Again

Chapter 4: Pursuing Bachelor’s-Level Options

            The Complexity of Finding a Job

          Preparing Your Resume, with Samples

          Letters of Recommendation, with a Sample

          Interview Skills, Questions, and Knockout Factors

          What If You Are Not Initially Successful in Your Job Search?

Chapter 5: Career Options with a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree

            Why Graduate Training?

          Types of Graduate Training and Graduate Degrees

          Sample Job Descriptions, Work Locations of Graduate Degree Recipients

          Occupational Opportunities with the Master’s Degree

          Occupational Opportunities with a Doctoral Degree

          What Is a Postdoc?

Chapter 6: The Graduate Admissions Process

            The Popularity and Competitiveness of Graduate Admissions

          Overview: The Application Process

          Primary and Secondary Selection Criteria, with Caveats

          Grades, Transcripts, and the GRE

          Letters of Recommendation, with Faculty Examples

          The Personal Statement, with Student Examples

          Research Experience, and Match and Fit with Your Program of Interest

          Strategies to Consider If You Do Not Get In

Chapter 7: Research and Teaching Assistantships

            What is a Research Assistantship?

          Presenting Research at Conferences

          What is a Senior Thesis?

          Becoming a Teaching Assistant

Chapter 8: Getting Involved: Internships and Organizations

            Field Experiences and Internships

          What Interns Do

          Other Internship Opportunities

          Organizational Involvement

          The American Psychological Association

          The Association for Psychological Science

          Psi Chi

          Regional Associations  

Chapter 9: Sharpening Library and Research Skills

            Generating Research Ideas

          The Literature Review

          The Special Role of References

          Library Research Strategies

          Books

          Journal Articles

          The Internet

          More Literature Search Strategies

          Library Skills Psychology Majors Should Have

Chapter 10: An APA Format Primer

            Writing Psychology Papers

          The Parts: Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion

          Grammar and Vocabulary

          A Brief Note on Plagiarism

          Sample Paper

Chapter 11: Doing Well in Psychology Classes: Study Tips

            General Study Tips

          Developing Effective Study Habits

          Improving Your Reading

          Getting more Out of Lectures

          Improving Test-Taking Strategies

          Math Anxiety

          Behaviors to Avoid

Chapter 12: Ethical Issues for Psychology Majors

            The Ethics of Being a Student

          The Ethics of Research

          The Development and Use of APA Ethical Principles        

          The Role of Informed Consent and the Institutional Review Board

Chapter 13: Psychology and Other Options: Nurturing Your Career

            The Psychology Major, Revisited

          Diversity in Psychology

          Other Related Options

          Self-Reflection, Self-Assessment, and Career Development

          More Resources

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