Discovering your interests in Psychology?

[raybigs92]

When I see posts on here from people who have specific interests in Psychology I admire them but I am confused as to how they arrived at these areas. I have almost completed my undergrad with a major in Psychology and have taken more classes in Psych than required but I have not undertaken any research and have not felt drawn to any specific areas. I enjoy Psychology in general so it's not that I don't like this area. Does anyone have any advice on what I should be doing or reading or engaging in, in order to uncover my interests?

I am also looking to enter a Masters program in the future but feel without this (area of interest) and with my lack of research experience I will not fare well.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[kaister]

Maybe your true passion is not in psychology specifically? Personally i found my passion in psych research through other fields and psych was the perfect way to pursue my research interests. Psychology is applicable to so many things, which is why i think so many people get into it. Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of psych that get you fired up? Maybe being flexible and exploring areas that are not so psych specific will help you discover an area you're really passionate about. If you ever have a chance to attend a psychology conference...going to talks can really help hearing about certain areas of research. I wouldnt recommend going onto a masters program if you have no idea what you'd like to study, narrow it down a little first.

[JessHooi]

I agree with disillusioned14. I found my interest in psych research (particularly developmental psychology using brain imaging techniques) through my field of practice in occupational therapy where I worked with a specific population of special needs children. Perhaps exploring more about psychology research papers or attending conferences or talks would help you to determine which psych specific areas you are passionate about. Sometimes, volunteering as a psych research lab assistance or talking to some of your psych faculty members would provide you with better insight? It's best to narrow it down first.

[raybigs92]

Thanks for the replies. Conferences sound like a good idea and reading more is certainly on the cards. I feel a little restricted as I can't move on to a masters without knowing what my interests are and I can't find my interests as there are not many places that will accept me as even a volunteer without any qualifications. I am working on trying to get my foot in the door to get experience but it seems as though here (in Sydney, Australia) preference is given to volunteers who are required to do volunteer work as part of their degree or program.

[ILuvPsych2013]

I think that perhaps going into a general psychology program (as opposed to social, cognitive, clinical, etc.) may be a good fit for you. Contrary to what a lot of people think, you don't have to have a specific interest completely nailed down when you enter grad school especially if you are only starting in a masters program. I have even seen on some school websites where they don't actually even assign you to a specific faculty member until your interests are more developed.

I am only speaking for myself here, but my research interests only started becoming clear when I actually started doing research. Up until then, there were things I found interesting, but there would have been no way I could have formulated it into a research question.

Another thing you could look at is apa's list of areas of psychology and check out some of the most researched topics in the various fields to see if anything pops out at you there.

[stereopticons]

I agree with ILuvPsych2013. My research interests became clear as I did research. A lot of people going into my MA program didn't have a clear idea of what they wanted to do, or were generally interested in lots of areas of psychology. I also know a lot of undergrads at my current school who have worked in several different labs that were unrelated to each other to figure out what they wanted to do. Read some articles in several different areas, too. That might help you see what kind of research is going on now and spark some interests. Good luck!

[tauren]

I tried to work in a variety of different labs in order to figure out what I would like. A clinical health lab, developmental lab focusing on adolescents development as well as decision making research, another developmental lab focusing on successful aging. I attempted to get into a behavior analysis lab, but couldn't find any opening. My point is trying different types of research can be very helpful in figuring out what excites you and bores you to tears.

[raybigs92]

Thanks again for the replies! I'm glad to hear that others didn't know exactly what they liked until they started doing research.

[psychgurl]

I just applied to work in a social perception psych lab that I found interesting my junior year of undergrad. I honestly didn't even put much thought into it...I just knew I wanted to be a research assistant ASAP. I switched labs (to a body image lab) once I had to critically think about what I wanted to do for my OWN research project. That might help you...let's say you had to conduct your own research. What questions would you ask?

Finally, after graduation, I naively thought I wanted to do clinical psych (I can't even articulate for you my reasoning.. lol). To test the waters, I worked in a clinical environment full time...I've worked here 3 years now. I learned really quickly that clinical applications of psych weren't my true passions...I applied to social psych programs fall 2012. I also did a TON of research reading manuscripts to get a feel for exactly what my research interests were...after all, in undergrad I kinda jumped around a lot. That's how I pinpointed my research interests for grad apps...just read a lot and see what gets you excited. What kind of articles are you excited to talk about with your friends? What articles make you raise a lot of follow-up questions?