I'm a first year psych major looking at getting my B.S. I'm signing up for classes for next semester and needed some help on choosing which science class would be most beneficial. I went to see and advisor and all they said was, any science class will be fine. After asking a few times they finally said something like bio for allied health or intro to human anatomy and physiology. The allied health didn't fit into my complicated schedule so I chose intro to human anatomy and physiology. I was just wondering if I made the right choice and if this class will in fact help me in getting my B.S. in psych?
Best science class for first year psych major
- Thread starter dlt1277
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Speaking only as someone in Social/Health psych...
The hottest things right now, and will probably be for the foreseeable future, are genetics, and neuropsych. The more we know about the genome, the more we're going to want to apply it to everything from personality disorders to eating disorders to addiction. And behavioral neuroscience seems to be the oncoming wave.
That said, I finished with a BA in Psych, and the only actual science courses I took were Intro to Bio I and II. So, you know... grain of salt and all.
The hottest things right now, and will probably be for the foreseeable future, are genetics, and neuropsych. The more we know about the genome, the more we're going to want to apply it to everything from personality disorders to eating disorders to addiction. And behavioral neuroscience seems to be the oncoming wave.
That said, I finished with a BA in Psych, and the only actual science courses I took were Intro to Bio I and II. So, you know... grain of salt and all.
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Either will help you get to the B.S. For what it's worth, Human A&P or something like it is a prereq for a lot of MSW programs (and some clinical Ph.D. programs).
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that sounds good. especially if you are interested in neurobiological psychology.
Everything that the previous people have said is good. However, you need to decide what you plan on doing with your degree, even with the slightest amount of certainty. If you want to go into the brain and behavior, neuro, etc. fields of psychology take some higher level bio classes, they will do nothing but help. However, if you want to do counseling, I/O, social, stuff like that, then just take your basic biology class.
No need to smash your head up against a wall in a tough bio class (unless you enjoy it/ it's where you want to go) and take the general bio's that are offered, they'll fill your knowledge gap just fine.
No need to smash your head up against a wall in a tough bio class (unless you enjoy it/ it's where you want to go) and take the general bio's that are offered, they'll fill your knowledge gap just fine.
You're adviser probably gave you that answer because by the time you graduate, you will have taken all the science classes you will need.
However, to answer you're question...you'll need them all! The discipline (and most disciplines) seem to be learning toward naturalism. In short, that means everything is rooted in nature. In order to understand this better, and how it relates to psychology, you'll probably need to take some neuroscience classes, which is wonderfully supplemented by biology and anatomy classes, which (surprise surprise) go well with chemistry.
If I had to put a science in the back seat, it would be physics. However, expect to take it if you're interested in pursuing an MD.
However, to answer you're question...you'll need them all! The discipline (and most disciplines) seem to be learning toward naturalism. In short, that means everything is rooted in nature. In order to understand this better, and how it relates to psychology, you'll probably need to take some neuroscience classes, which is wonderfully supplemented by biology and anatomy classes, which (surprise surprise) go well with chemistry.
If I had to put a science in the back seat, it would be physics. However, expect to take it if you're interested in pursuing an MD.
Depends where your career is going. I'm in a clinical psych PhD program and I regret not having more of a physics background...now I'm playing catch up so I can better understand neuroimaging, electrical signals, etc.
On the other hand, its a relatively small percentage of psychologists who do this kind of work, so if you don't like it, you don't have to pursue it.
