Math + Psychology = ?

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rrratch

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Hi Everyone,

Forgive me in advance for not even knowing what questions to ask but hopefully, with your help, that will resolve itself. :xf:

Some background: I graduated in 2003 with a BS in Math and a minor in Psychology. I started off as a Psych major but changed to Math when everyone told me I wouldn't make any money with a Psychology degree. I was young and short-sighted and I guess very influential so I choose the path of least resistance; that being Math given my natural apptitude for it. But I am still on the search for a fulfilling career and I always think to myself that I should have stuck to my guns with Psychology since those classes were always my favourite.

Can anyone recommend a path I can investigate in terms of a masters programme in Psychology that would position me for a career that would leverage my mathematical apptitude but also incorporate my love for the Psychology field? I recently started reading a book called "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg which got my wheels spinning and has me thinking along the lines of Marketing consultant from the angle of understanding how people behave/make decisions.

Again, sorry for lack of direction in this post.:eek:

Thanks!

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I'm not sure of specific master's programs, but you could certainly look into obtaining a master's in statistics/biostats, which could significantly help you in terms of conducting research down the line. I have no idea of how stats-heavy Industrial/Organizational psych master's programs are, but I believe you get more of it there than in a general experimental psych master's, so that might also be an option. Depending on your interests, an MPH (master's in public health) might also be appropriate, as those programs can also incorporate a higher load of stats courses.

This would all be very dependent on your interests and what you hope to do with your degree(s) down the line, though.
 
First of all, I just wanted to say I read The Power of Habit a couple of weeks ago and LOVED it. It was from a marketing standpoint, like you said, but it's thought provoking and applicable to the psych field in many ways.

Anyway, I definitely think there are ways to use both of your concentrations - like Acronym Allergy said, an MPH may be a good way to do that if you're interested in health. I'm heading to a clinical psych PhD program next year that allows you to get your MPH concurrently. Within the MPH concentration, there are different areas to focus on, and biostatistics is one of them. I am big on stats as well, so that's my plan at the moment. I'm sure there are other masters programs that offer a similar plan, eg maybe a marketing with a specific concentration? I think it might be helpful for you to first decide on specific interests within the psychology field (eg health, school psych, I/O) and see how math/statistics would be applicable to those fields. Maybe find a couple of people who are doing jobs you want to do, and see how they got there. How did Charles Duhigg end up where he did? That might give you some inspiration for paths to take as well.
 
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You could look into programs in psychometrics or quantitative psych. Also, there are a handful of MPH or epidemiology programs that specialize in psychiatric epidemiology you might want to look into. As AA said, these will be more stats heavy than most traditional psych masters programs.
 
Check out neuroscience and cognitive science! Both areas are developing like crazy and many avenues of study utilize computational, and hence mathematical, models of the brain. A strong aptitude for mathematics would be very, very beneficial in you're interested in getting into these areas of psychology.

When it comes to clinical, social, developmental, experimental, etc. a cursory understanding of math is necessary to perform and understand statistics. But let's be serious, statistics is banal, child's play compared to the pure mathematics I'm sure you're used to dealing with.
 
Math + Psychology = a strong psychology applicant. I think my math background did WAY more to make me stand out as a clinical Ph.D. applicant than any of my psych work did (though obviously, having put in a couple of years of psych work to show that it's what I was informed and passionate about the field was essential).

Just try to learn what you can about the various fields in psychology, and find out what really appeals to you. From everything I've heard, being able to say "yes, I really like statistical reasoning, analytic work, and research" and have the math credentials to back it up will help a lot, regardless of what field of psychology you end up deciding to work in.
 
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