Do you love listening and helping your friends with their problems? You might want to think about being a psychologist - check out these fun facts and learn more!
What is Psychology?
Are you interested in why people do what they do? How they feel? Listening to their fears and problems? If the answer is yes, it sounds like you might psychologist material. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior, it is an applied science using biology, physiology and also what we know about about people. Academics have been studying psychology since the the beginning of civilization it seems, across many cultures: Greece, Egypt, India, China and Persia. The word psychology even means "study of the soul" in Greek.
The word psychology comes from Greek: the study of the soul
Psychologists work to find out basically what makes us tick! Meaning they study:
- emotion
- intelligence
- attention
- perception
- relationships
- motivation
- fears
And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our brains and why we do things! If you'd like to become a psychologist, you'd better hit the books - you need to spend a few years at university before anyone will let you get inside people's minds.
Famous Psychologists in History
These great minds got the study of psychology started!
- Sigmund Freud: Some people call him the modern father of psychology, though sadly most of his theories didn't hold up!
- Charles Darwin: Mostly known for his work on the theory of evolution, which then went on to help with the study of our minds.
- Carl Jung: A student of Freud's, you can thank him for the study of dreams and stories.
- Jean Piaget: This scholar wanted to know more about how kids minds worked.
- Noam Chomsky: Chomsky says that we are all born with the ability for language.
Sigmund Freud
Did You Know
Wondering what good psychology can do? Lots of people think psychology is just common sense, but it actually uses scientific methods to find out what affects our behavior. We're still learning a lot about the brain, but here's a few facts that might make you think twice about studying the mind.
Did you know you forget most of what you dream?
- We forget 90% of what we dream
- Laughing lowers stress and strengthens the immune system
- There are more than 400 phobias fears) recognized by psychologists
- Phobophobia is the fear of having a phobia!
- Crying reduces stress
- Your favorite song is most likely attached to an emotional event
- Spending money on others makes people happier
- More than 50% of Americans believe in psychic phenomena
- Most people experience deja vu about a conversation or a dream
- Most of our decisions are unconscious (meaning you didn't even know you thought about them!)
- People learn better with "bite Sized" chunks of information
- Daydreamer? Never fear, most people's minds wander 30% of the time
Have Your Say
Do you want to become a psychologist? Let us know in the comments section below!
