Social Psychology

[Glees]

I haven't been able to find much discussion on social psychology, so I had a few questions I wanted to put out there:

1) Does anyone know what the general acceptance rates are like for social psych programs?

2) Is it significantly more difficult to find a job with a Ph.D. in social psychology than it is for someone with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology? Particularly in academia?

3) Why is it that several people I have spoken with have tried to steer me away from the field? My interests span both clinical and social psychology, yet they have urged me to stick to clinical. One explained that social psychology is "too theoretical", but I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion.

Thanks!!

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[Pragma]

I haven't been able to find much discussion on social psychology, so I had a few questions I wanted to put out there:

1) Does anyone know what the general acceptance rates are like for social psych programs?

2) Is it significantly more difficult to find a job with a Ph.D. in social psychology than it is for someone with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology? Particularly in academia?

3) Why is it that several people I have spoken with have tried to steer me away from the field? My interests span both clinical and social psychology, yet they have urged me to stick to clinical. One explained that social psychology is "too theoretical", but I'm not sure how she came to that conclusion.

Thanks!!

1) That I am not certain of, but I don't think it is quite so competitive as clinical. I recommend talking to social psych folks in your department.
2) Yes to both questions, although social psychologists do have some different options with their skillset.
3) The people I know in social psychology are happy, and it's a great field if you love it. I'd imagine that it has something to do with the fact that your job may be fairly different outside of academia than what made you love social psychology, and there aren't many jobs within academia these days.

But perhaps an actual social psychologist could give you better advice about this.

 

[Glees]

1) That I am not certain of, but I don't think it is quite so competitive as clinical. I recommend talking to social psych folks in your department.
2) Yes to both questions, although social psychologists do have some different options with their skillset.
3) The people I know in social psychology are happy, and it's a great field if you love it. I'd imagine that it has something to do with the fact that your job may be fairly different outside of academia than what made you love social psychology, and there aren't many jobs within academia these days.

But perhaps an actual social psychologist could give you better advice about this.

That's helpful! Thank you! Any social psych folks with extra input?

 

[EmotRegulation]

I'm not a social psychologist, but I'm about as social as one can get for a clinical psychologist (I have gone to the big social/personality conference, I teach personality, my research is laboratory-based and based in primarily social psych methods) and I have a lot of social friends, so I'll weigh in here.

Social is not as competitive as clinical, except for perhaps the "top" programs (U of Michigan, Stanford, etc.), though I can't find any data to support this at the moment. Clinical programs are required to put admissions data up (number of applicants to those enrolling), but social programs aren't. Suffice it to say that social programs get fewer applicants; I know that is the case for my department (which has an "experimental" division and a few social faculty within it).

It is harder to get an academic job in social than in clinical. This is primarily because the majority of clinical PhDs take clinically-focused positions, whereas most of social folk look for academic jobs. Not exclusively, of course, I know people with social PhDs who've gone on to work in business or policy, but academia is the desired goal for most people.

I have no idea why people want to steer you away from social, but remember that it may be more about their own interests than about what would be best for you. My bias is that social psychology is awesome! Social psychologists I know have a strong grasp of theory and methodology, and if you love research, it can be a great place to be. There is also considerable overlap between social and clinical, and there are social faculty with clinical interests just as there are clinical faculty with social interests (like myself). That said, if you want the clinical training, and think you might want clinical work as part of your career, then doing clinical from the get-go is easier than re-specializing down the line.

 

[Glees]

I have no idea why people want to steer you away from social, but remember that it may be more about their own interests than about what would be best for you. My bias is that social psychology is awesome! Social psychologists I know have a strong grasp of theory and methodology, and if you love research, it can be a great place to be. There is also considerable overlap between social and clinical, and there are social faculty with clinical interests just as there are clinical faculty with social interests (like myself). That said, if you want the clinical training, and think you might want clinical work as part of your career, then doing clinical from the get-go is easier than re-specializing down the line.

Thank you! I needed this kind of encouragement! Research is definitely where I'm headed, so I'm glad to hear that social would be a good fit!