Parmenid Posted May 4, 2012 Posted May 4, 2012 Hello everybody! I have got master degrees in philosophy and Artificial Intelligence (specialization cognitive science). I got no background in psychology (except some general familiarity with issues such as perception, origin of concepts, basic neuroscience), and I have decided to take the Psychology GRE subject. How to you see my chances of success and possibly what books do you recommend? Your comments would be really helpful. Thanks
Engali Posted May 5, 2012 Posted May 5, 2012 I wouldn't take the test lightly, even if you were someone who majored in psychology. You'll need a good refresher across a large range of topics. I followed the advice a reviewer gave on amazon.com. They were reviewing one of the standard study guides and said it was good as a study guide, but not specific enough to be any good by itself. She recommended grabbing an older edition intro to psych book: http://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Seventh-Gleitman-Gross-D-Reisberg/dp/B007ZY6P76/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336223927&sr=1-5 and working through it section by section. She used one of the standard psych subject test GRE prep books for review. I followed her advice and studied for it over 6 weeks. I basically ended up reading most of the textbook in detail and then used the prep book as she suggested. She scored in the 98th percentile I believe. I was in the 95th percentile. lewin and Green bean 2
Parmenid Posted May 5, 2012 Author Posted May 5, 2012 Thanks Engali, I saw that comment in the Amazon too, and now that I see you have done the same with such a great result, I would definitely follow the same study pattern too. That was really helpful. Thanks again.
lewin Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 I basically did what Engali suggested, a combination of a prep book (Princeton or Kaplan, I forget) and my intro psych book. Coincidentally it was an older version of that Gleitman text. Having a psych degree, I studied for two weeks ahead of the exam but, lacking a psych degree, you might need more time. My score was in the same range as those reported up in the thread.
Ennue Posted May 8, 2012 Posted May 8, 2012 I studied based on my old Intro Psych book (by Gray). I didn't buy a Prep book, but I used the Look-inside function on Amazon to get access to a few practice tests in the Kaplan book, I believe. I don't remember my score but it was along the lines of the other posters. If you don't have any psych background just studying the Intro Psych book might not be enough - they will ask more in-depth questions which I knew the answer to just from having studied psychology for years, not my specific test-prep. So if you are absolutely determined to do well you might need to go a bit more in-depth on topics that they often ask questions about (the Prep books will have a rundown of topics). Good luck!
Arcadian Posted May 11, 2012 Posted May 11, 2012 If you have no background in experimental psychology, you'll need to read a textbook on it at least. psychgurl and Arcadian 1 1
ILuvPsych2013 Posted June 5, 2012 Posted June 5, 2012 I seriously underestimated the subject GRE! I assumed that with a solid psych background, good psych grades, and a month of prep I would be good to go...Not so much. I used Kaplan and did not feel that it was the greatest study book. I actually quite pretty well on the Kaplan practice tests and felt confident going into the exam. However, once immersed in the test I felt that the Kaplan book had oversimplified things.
psychgurl Posted June 5, 2012 Posted June 5, 2012 If you have no background in experimental psychology, you'll need to read a textbook on it at least. This is a little excessive, given that the OP has a cognitive science background. I found the most annoying part to be the physiology stuff. I only used Kaplan, and I did well. I think I had a really strong background in psych to start with, though. I think that the other posters are correct in saying to use a variety of prep books and refer to a textbook only when a concept doesn't make sense. good luck...the psych gre is a royal pain in the butt.
crazygirl2012 Posted June 18, 2012 Posted June 18, 2012 (edited) I studied for about 6-8 hours the day before the test and got a 760 (94th percentile). I didn't intend to cram like that-- just got way too busy with other stuff and it snuck up on me! I believe I just worked through practice tests and used my review book to review the parts that gave me trouble. I counted how many I got wrong in each area of psychology after the practice tests so I could identify my weak spots. I always recommend Princeton Review. Edited June 18, 2012 by crazygirl2012
Engali Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 So clearly, from the variety of experiences of people are recounting, your mileage may vary. I majored in psychology in my undergrad, but I had finished 6 years before my psych gre test date. It helped a lot to go over the textbook and review things I haven't read about in over half a decade. I also agree that the physiology stuff was the hardest, which was made apparent to me during my study sessions prior to the test. Know your afferent from your efferent nerves. The Gleitman book I mentioned earlier, IIRC, had a nice mnemonic device to remember this and other pieces of info.
CharlieRae Posted October 1, 2013 Posted October 1, 2013 Hey, I have been looking at that Gleitman text on amazon, looking for this magical review, but I am assuming it is located elsewhere. Any ideas as to where? Or what she prescribed. Thanks! Char
BeingThere Posted October 2, 2013 Posted October 2, 2013 I have an intro to psych textbook from 2010 that I'd be happy to mail someone (no charge) who has been out of school for a while and needs a refresher.Message me if you want it.
Engali Posted October 6, 2013 Posted October 6, 2013 Hey, I have been looking at that Gleitman text on amazon, looking for this magical review, but I am assuming it is located elsewhere. Any ideas as to where? Or what she prescribed. Thanks! Char Hey, I have been looking at that Gleitman text on amazon, looking for this magical review, but I am assuming it is located elsewhere. Any ideas as to where? Or what she prescribed. Thanks! Char Like I said, it was in a review for a study guide where she mentioned Gleitman's book. Here it is (top review): http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-GRE-Subject-Test-Psychology/dp/1419553062/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381054097&sr=1-4&keywords=kaplan+psych+gre
ldspsych Posted October 11, 2013 Posted October 11, 2013 Hello... since we are talking about the psych gre, I have a few questions... I'm taking the exam in a week, I'm a psych major but graduated about 5 years ago but have stayed in touch with everything psych related... I've read word for word the Gleitman textbook, the last edition but I'm not sure what to do next, seems like the real test doesn't cover anything I read! I'm freaking out a little bit cause I took the gre last year and studied only with Kaplan and didn't go so well, not terrible but I can do better... Anyway, what book would you recommend? Princeton? Any online sites that could be helpful? Thanks again!!!
Engali Posted October 11, 2013 Posted October 11, 2013 All I really did was to review and re-review the Gleitman book. I also ran through as many practice tests as I could in the old Kaplan guide I got. I did pretty well.
kjohnson201 Posted June 29, 2015 Posted June 29, 2015 I have an intro to psych textbook from 2010 that I'd be happy to mail someone (no charge) who has been out of school for a while and needs a refresher. Message me if you want it. I'm guessing you don't still have this? As it's now... 2 years later ;-) Thought it was worth checking!
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