Which field is right for me?

[Whitestripes980]

Hey everyone, I am an incoming college student very interested in Psychology. However, I'm not sure which major or field of psychology is right for me. I'll just tell you what things I like and then my thoughts and any information is welcomed!

I love physical behavior and social interaction.
I love finding out why
I love that tv show "Lie to me" I bought lots of books by Dr. Ekman and the general topic of facial expressions/body language
I love the brain and studying it
I love the idea of criminology
I don't like social work or mentally challenged
I don't like counseling or therapy

I'm not sure what major and/or profession fits that list. Any info is greatly appreciated!

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[erg923]

Hey everyone, I am an incoming college student very interested in Psychology. However, I'm not sure which major or field of psychology is right for me. I'll just tell you what things I like and then my thoughts and any information is welcomed!

I love physical behavior and social interaction.
I love finding out why
I love that tv show "Lie to me" I bought lots of books by Dr. Ekman and the general topic of facial expressions/body language
I love the brain and studying it
I love the idea of criminology
I don't like social work or mentally challenged
I don't like counseling or therapy

I'm not sure what major and/or profession fits that list. Any info is greatly appreciated!

Sounds like the last 2 rule out any applied areas of psychology (ie., MFT, clinical or couseling psych). So i guess you are left with criminology (since its on the list) or one the experimental (non-applied) areas of psychology such as social psychology, cognitive psychology, or cogntive neorscience.

 

[lookitssara]

I agree with erg923. Also, I have heard (but am by no means an expert), that criminology is a job with too many people interested and not enough of a need (sort of like CSIs). Experimental programs may give you some breadth in looking into this though, and some PhD programs definitely would.

I recommend reading through titles and maybe some articles from the different fields listed. Since you'll likely be contributing to these bodies of literature in the future, it'd be best to make sure you're really interested.

 

[Ecomaster]

Sounds like a combination of general psychology/criminology/criminal justice would be up your alley. You can focus your course work with more "academic" components rather than the applied clinical aspects of psychology if that what you want to persue. On an undergrad level that doesn't matter much but grad-school choices may make all the difference in the world.

 

[Whitestripes980]

Thanks for the input! After I posted I started thinking, would philosophy be a better fit? I haven't looked much into it so I don't know much about the field. Although, I wouldn't think there would be a big demand for philosophy majors, as far as work goes.