3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Study Psychology

What is psychology?

On one level, its the study of the mind as it relates to behaviour. But if we think about what that means, we'll see that psychology is ultimately concerned with the factors that motivate a person to take a specific action. It's about the mental states which determine our decision to do anything.

So when we ask why studying psychology is useful, we're really asking why understanding human motivation is useful.

3 reasons:

1 - Human motivation/behaviour applies to everything

Psychology is foundational to Economics, Sociology, Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Education, Criminology and many other subjects. Even in your job, whatever it is, psychological principles will apply. An understanding of human motivation is an understanding of personal wellbeing, relationships, sales, product design, user experience, company culture, strategic planning and so much more.

That matters to you, no matter your job.

2 - Understand yourself

We like to think that we are fully autonomous agents directing all of our thoughts and actions. In reality though, our behaviour is determined by a complex interplay of experience, emotions and biases. As the great philosopher David Hume said, "reason is the slave of the passions".

Psychology allows you to empower reason against the passions.

3 - Understand others

Once your own motivations are understood, it is possible to extrapolate that understanding to the motivations of others. A strong sense of the many factors which drive behaviour in other people will make you a more effective empathiser and thereby a more effective communicator. Understanding how others tick will allow you to adjust your communication for maximum effectiveness.

Speaking of motivation... ready to dip your toes into the fascinating world of psychology yet?

Great! I've linked to a few books that are an excellent starting point 👇