My name is Emily and I’m a psychology and communications double major. Yes, I may be as ambiguous as the title suggests.
Meeting new people is hard for me. Especially in a college town, one of the first questions people ask is, “What’s your major?”
From there, people already have a clear idea of who I am.
The conversation is pretty much scripted. An interesting approach of “Oh… so a psych major,” followed by, “So you can read my mind, right?”
What comes next is, “Well, are you psychoanalyzing me right now?”
The answer is no, but I am judging kinesics. Also, I don’t bite.
I made many of my friends during freshman year when my degree was “undecided.” It’s interesting though, as I don’t quite get why the degree gets such a bad rep.
It’s hard not to wonder why there is so much backlash in the psychology community.
My first thought — maybe Sigmund Freud is to blame. Pioneering helpful, yet sexist information to the public could earn such a title. Could it have been a famously bad therapist who scared everyone into changing the view of psych educators forever? Maybe it’s just me and my intimidating, self-chosen area of study.
Whatever it may be, psych majors shouldn’t be held accountable for such a bad rep.
First, we’re studying the brain and human behavior. Unless the emphasis is clinical/helping professions, we aren’t going to read minds. Psychoanalyzing is a fun hobby, but it’s too tiring to keep up all the time.
Second, we’re nice to have around, I promise. If there is need for an explanation of the brain or any sort of behavior, we are glad to explain. Most of the time we’re patient and are willing to listen any time of day.
Also, we make good company and are great at comforting. Few decide to be a psych major unless they have a little bit of trauma.
Although I have a hard time seeing why psych majors are shown in a bad light, I do understand why we have such a predisposed stigma.
If ever stuck in a conversation with a psych major, we will happily tear apart and analyze anything thrown our way. It isn’t uncommon to feel picked apart. In any given situation, we always look at both aspects — the big picture and the two sides shown.
Needless to say, with or without the stigma, I am who I am and I love who I am. My mind is like a child, curious about what makes a situation and person the way they are, while inspecting anything that’s shiny or that moves. My readiness to discuss any topic and notice “unnoticeable” things is a quirk in my eyes. It’s always important to feel attentive to one’s own.
Psychology is my niche — what’s yours?
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected]