So what is quantitative psych really...?

[1111password]

I've just very recently opened my eyes to the field of quantitative psych. I'm taking a psych course ("the general linear model") which is more or less the next step after the psychology stat class that all psych majors are required to take, except this class is being taught for the first time ever, which again goes to show how overlooked this field is. I want to know if I would perhaps be a good fit for a quantitative psych program because it seems like a great field in great demand/great prospects etc..not that i'm interested solely for that reason.

1) To be really honest, I'm not that great at math. im attending college in the US and I would actually be above average here (im asian btw) but I have friends and THEY'RE good at math, im just kinda okay/not too bad. im not great is i guess my point although i would fare well above average if i took some sort of standardized test against other students. but in applying to grad school, that pool is already limited to the well performing students so I feel a bit unsure if my math capabilities may not be enough, or just barely enough. For any people that graduated or are in quantitative programs, what do you have to say about necessary math skills?

2) I read through on the apa website where they wrote about quantitative psych and they listed what grad schools might be looking for. again from people already in the field or perhaps know people in the field, what sort of credentials are necessary? I have credit for calc, except that's from high school so I'm a bit unsure about enrolling for a calc class now. as i said, im taking a psych stat course right now. as for research, I'm getting course credit for doing coding stuff for developmental research (e.g. looking at photos/ watching videos and coding). so the research part probably isnt going to help much since it's not very data intensive at all.my gpa is near 3.9 so I think that isn't too bad? I haven't taken the gre yet, but im graduating a year early so Im planning on giving myself a year if grad school is the way i want to go for sure.

Sorry I rambled on so much, but any information from people who are actually already in this would be really helpful thank you.

[neuropsych76]

I would try to find a quant psych lab to work in to obtain research experience in that area.

I'm technically getting my degree in experimental psych with a quantitative focus (albeit quantitative neuroimaging) and all I had for math was calc and stats in undergrad.

A good friend of mine is getting her phd in quant psych and was a math/psych double major but I'm guessing that is more of the exception rather than the norm.

[honkycat1]

I've just very recently opened my eyes to the field of quantitative psych. I'm taking a psych course ("the general linear model") which is more or less the next step after the psychology stat class that all psych majors are required to take, except this class is being taught for the first time ever, which again goes to show how overlooked this field is. I want to know if I would perhaps be a good fit for a quantitative psych program because it seems like a great field in great demand/great prospects etc..not that i'm interested solely for that reason.

1) To be really honest, I'm not that great at math. im attending college in the US and I would actually be above average here (im asian btw) but I have friends and THEY'RE good at math, im just kinda okay/not too bad. im not great is i guess my point although i would fare well above average if i took some sort of standardized test against other students. but in applying to grad school, that pool is already limited to the well performing students so I feel a bit unsure if my math capabilities may not be enough, or just barely enough. For any people that graduated or are in quantitative programs, what do you have to say about necessary math skills?

2) I read through on the apa website where they wrote about quantitative psych and they listed what grad schools might be looking for. again from people already in the field or perhaps know people in the field, what sort of credentials are necessary? I have credit for calc, except that's from high school so I'm a bit unsure about enrolling for a calc class now. as i said, im taking a psych stat course right now. as for research, I'm getting course credit for doing coding stuff for developmental research (e.g. looking at photos/ watching videos and coding). so the research part probably isnt going to help much since it's not very data intensive at all.my gpa is near 3.9 so I think that isn't too bad? I haven't taken the gre yet, but im graduating a year early so Im planning on giving myself a year if grad school is the way i want to go for sure.

Sorry I rambled on so much, but any information from people who are actually already in this would be really helpful thank you.

a general linear model course in UG is probably just ANOVA? maybe some basic regression? but its all very basic stats stuff that every psych student will have to know in grad school. I don't think a UG course on methodology can be "overlooked" in any way. Unless its something different, then please let me know the content. But either way, I can't imagine any UG course resemble anything of a grad level course

also, quant psych isn't really a "field", its really just a focus on quantitatively rigor in terms of methodology... thats my understanding at least, a lot of the "quantitative" psychologists are part of other subfields too that just happens to use rigorous methods in their research.

in terms of actual quant psych, its VERY rigorous and they are generally interested in using formal probability or computation models on various fields of psychology, or in depth analysis or simulation of various research methodologies... you definitely need quite a bit of math like linear algebra, matrix algebra, advanced calc, probability theory, computer programming, etc... Of course you will be trained on a lot of those but just a basic calc course and psych stats will not demonstrate you have the pre-requisites I don't think.

I would go on the society for math psychology website (http://www.mathpsych.org) and look around, as well as look at some papers in the field to get a sense of the rigor of their work. Its really the nerdiest psych subfield there is lol...

ps: I'm not in this field, but my previous lab had 3 people that were all math psych members and do a LOT of formal modeling and bayesian analysis, and they are quite familiar with math psych so I have an idea of the type of work they do.

Edited September 20, 2011 by donnyz89

[honkycat1]

also, if there is a "subfield" that is being overlooked in terms of quantitative psych, its bayesian statistics... so if thats something your interested, you may be able to find a niche within psychology to do that. Look up Michael Lee at UC Irvine, hes is (was?) the president of math psych and hes a big proponent of bayesian statistics... but its a relatively upcoming group of social scientists that do not use traditional NHST methods...

[lewin]

Are you just interested in stats, or are you more interested in developing new methodology?

Others have kind of touched on this, but depending on what exactly your GLM course is, it might be taught by a regular (insert subfield) psychologist, not a quantitative psychologist. I've been taught stats by cognitive, social, and clinical professors. Most graduate-level intermediate statistics (e.g., multiple regression, factorial ANOVA) can be taught by anybody who's an active researcher. My advanced stats (e.g., multilevel modelling, statistical equation modelling) professor was a clinical psychologist who had a secondary interest in methodology. I mean, he publishes articles on methods because he's brilliant and innovative, but his original training was not in quantitative psychology.

All I'm saying is that you can still teach stats--if that's your interest--while specializing in a more traditional subfield.

ETA: What's this GLM course about? If it's ANOVA and regression, I really disagree that it's overlooked generally, even though it may have been overlooked until now at your university. (Sorry.)

Edited September 21, 2011 by lewin00

[gellert]

Given what the OP posted, I think I'm actually in her same class at the same university. It's taught by a quantitative psychologist and the syllabus involves bivariate regression, k-predictor regression, simultaneous vs hierarchical regression, categorical predictors in regression, interactions in regression, curvilinear regression models, and influence analysis + outlier detection. Basically a very detailed look into the basic regression one learns in undergrad psych stats, though our professor is quite good and seems to be making an effort to ensure we know the theory behind it. (For example, we've discussed the calculus that underlies the least squares model already.)

As far as learning more about quant psych, I'll PM you with the names of a couple of good quant professors at our university who are open to having undergrads do research with them. There's a girl who was in my lab up until last year who was really into quant stuff. She did a lot of quant work within our experiments and then also did independent research with the profs I'll PM you about. She's now a quant psych Ph.D. student at our university.

For what it's worth, in my opinion almost anyone can become "good" at math with enough motivation and practice. I used to think I was horrible at math when I was in high school, and I performed poorly in math classes because of it (I'm talking Cs here, even a D). When I got to college I decided that was all in my head and if I worked hard, I could be good at math. Ended up with As in the calc sequence and in diff. EQ. If the passion is there, you'll be surprised just how good you can become at something. I wouldn't give up on exploring quant if that's something you're interested in just because you think you're poor at math. Try it out, get involved in some research. If you like it, you'll find out. And if you do like it, don't let your mindset act as an obstacle for you.

As far as what it takes to get into quant grad school, I asked the girl I mentioned earlier. She recommended a high GPA (which you have) with a lot of courses taken in math subjects. Take classes in the stats department, take the entire calc sequence and maybe even linear algebra (though that's not necessary). She also took a grad stats course and quantitative psych (which isn't being offered this semester, unfortunately, but maybe in the spring!). Get an 800 quant on your GRE as well to be competitive for top programs. However, the biggest factor will be showing that you have experience in quant-heavy research. This doesn't have to be under a quant professor, but it doesn't hurt.

PMing you now!

Edited September 21, 2011 by gellert

[lewin]

Given what the OP posted, I think I'm actually in her same class at the same university. It's taught by a quantitative psychologist and the syllabus involves bivariate regression, k-predictor regression, simultaneous vs hierarchical regression, categorical predictors in regression, interactions in regression, curvilinear regression models, and influence analysis + outlier detection. Basically a very detailed look into the basic regression one learns in undergrad psych stats, though our professor is quite good and seems to be making an effort to ensure we know the theory behind it. (For example, we've discussed the calculus that underlies the least squares model already.)

That's awesome, my undergrad program offered a similar stats class (though less of the theory stuff) but I get the impression that's unusual. Many people only learn multiple regression graduate school, so you'll be well-prepared if you've heard something about it in advance.

[Quant_Liz_Lemon]

I know that this thread is dead, but quant psych is a field. Although a lot of quant psych people have an applied twist, you can work exclusively in the methodological aspects. That's like saying that biostats isn't a "field"