How to Make the Most of Intro Psychology

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So you just started intro psychology and are excitedly thinking, “I’m going to learn why people are crazy!” (Now don’t ever use that word again—ask your professor why.)

This Isn’t Abnormal/Clinical Psychology

High school AP psychology courses tend to be about half “abnormal” psychology (I prefer “clinical”) and half “all the other psychology stuff.” College intro psychology, however, is much different. In my experience, a majority of students come to class thinking they’re going to take a clinical class. They aren’t. That’s its own class that has intro psychology as a prerequisite. You’ll probably get a lesson on clinical/abnormal psychology in an intro psychology course, but you’ll also get so much more.

Psychology Covers So Much

You’ll figure this out if you look at the table of contents in your textbook. If you don’t do that, you’ll definitely figure it out by about the third or fourth week of class, when you’re like, “Hey! When do we get to talk about depression and schizophrenia?!” That usually comes at the end of most textbooks (in the abnormal/clinical psychology chapter, sometimes “psychological disorders” and “treatment” chapters) if not at the end of most classes (depending on how the instructor organizes class).

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Intro to Psychology a Survey Class

I’ll never forget walking around campus and, as I passed an information table for a local university, I heard the person staffing the table say to a student, “Oh yeah, intro psych was hard! It covered so much.” It’s considered a “survey“ class for a reason.

Here’s how I explain survey classes: They cover a lot of information a little bit. In other words, you’ll cover about a billion and one topics and only scratch the surface of each topic… and there are about a billion more topics out there that you won’t have time to cover. You might think you studied neurons in depth, but just wait for a biopsychology course.

Survey classes are a great introduction to any discipline but they do come with their plusses and minuses. So, here’s some advice on how to get the most out of your intro psychology course:

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Don’t Give Up/Just Wait

In a lot of introductory psychology courses, professors often say, “Don’t like the topic? Just wait! We’ll be moving on to a new one shortly.” That’s because, again, these classes cover a range of topics, but not in depth. So, don’t give up. Make it through that topic you hate, trying to understand why it’s important to the study of psychology, and then you’ll inevitably end up on a topic you love.

Identify Your Interests

Relatedly, in my opinion, there is nothing better than an intro psychology course to help identify and narrow down your interests, especially (but not only) if you are a psychology major. No idea what courses to take next semester? Pick a class based on a chapter/lesson that interested you (in intro psychology, most chapters or topics are full classes themselves). No idea what to specialize or concentrate in within the major? Again, what part of intro psychology was your favorite? What did you want to learn more about?

Participate in Research

If you attend a research university, you’ll likely be required to participate in a certain number of on-campus research studies, as a subject, for points (I was required to be a subject in at least ten on-campus studies). You may also be able to participate in on-campus studies for pay (it’s how I got my pizza money). Then, when you start reading, “Participants were 100 introductory psychology students at a large Midwestern university” in journal articles, you’ll think, “That might have been me!”

Even if you don’t attend a research university and you can’t head down to the basement of the psychology building to check out and participate in some studies, it’s still a good idea to become familiar with research. This will help you both in your research methods class (always a requirement) and in your future career.

Honestly, I never really “got” research until I participated in studies. So ask your professor. Those of us who teach at non-research institutions often enjoy finding ways for our students to become more involved in research… and we love talking about our own research (lucky you!).

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Ask Questions

The more you engage with the material, the more you will learn, so don’t ever hesitate to ask questions. Of course, respect your professor’s lesson plans and time, but professors often appreciate cues and questions from students. We know you have a-billion-and-one concepts to learn and we want to help you get there. We also know, from our own journeys, that you’re probably at that overwhelming “Whoa! Psychology covers so much” point of your journey and, if I can speak for my fellow professors, most of us love nothing more than to help you find your way.

Asking questions may seem like an all-too-common and simple suggestion, but I can’t tell you just how many students hesitate to do so (we actually study this in social psychology). Chances are, if you have a question, someone else has that same question, too. Help out by being the person who actually asks it.

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A Whole New World

This is the start of an exciting journey that just may change your educational path. If you’re not a psychology major, let me tell you, you may become one. In fact, I started out as an English major and changed to psychology during my first semester, while taking intro psychology. That class opened up a whole new world and I hope it does the same for you.