For today I wanted to change up the podcast a little bit instead of focusing on the slightly
“darker” areas of human nature and psychology. Instead I wanted to know how psychology can improve our lives with a subtle message about why learning psychology is amazing for all of us.
This episode has been sponsored by Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it.
5 Ways Psychology Can Change Your Life
Helps Us To Understand Ourselves and Others
There are two major reasons why I utterly love learning about psychology, and this is one of them. Since learning about social, cognitive and all the other subfields of psychology, it helps us to understand why people behave as they do. As well as why there are persist problems in society that are caused by human behaviour.
For example, because of social psychology, we can understand how groups impact our behaviour, cause us to do things we might never do alone and how groups can benefit us and our lives.
Without psychology absolutely none of that would be possible to know, and even if we don’t realise it. There will or have been times in our lives when we’ve been grateful for that knowledge.
Additionally, it helps us to understand ourselves and why we do what we do. I definitely think is an area we need to understand more about. Since as social psychology teaches us, our self-knowledge is basically rubbish, but there are plenty of things we can understand and learn about ourselves for the better.
Understand Goal-setting and Motivation
This is a lot more of a social psychology topic but I remember reading an entire lecture on the topic. Was it interesting at the time?
Of course not.
However, that’s probably because I’m a very goal-orientated person and if I want to do something. Then I do it.
Yet learning about goal-setting and motivation behaviours are still very useful. It allows us to see how these behaviours actually work, instead some Goal-setting and motivational guru just telling people how they think it works. In exchange for money of course.
So this is why I never understand people who talk psychology has no real-world uses, because even in this very simple example. A person can use psychology research to improve themselves by setting goals and increase their motivation.
Becoming A Better Parent
Now when someone mentioned this was a great reason for psychology, I was a bit sceptical. Mainly because developmental psychology is not my favourite area. Therefore, I really don’t try to remember too much about the field unless I have to for an exam or book.
Nonetheless, I went back to my developmental psychology book and I do agree. There is plenty of tips and tricks people can find in the developmental psychology literature. As well as I must confess myself, even though I don’t look into that field too much, I still use the information from time to time.
I still remember about Attachment Theory, children using adults as a secure base and when you get your own children, nephews and more. You really can start to see everything you’ve learnt come out into practice.
Even now I’m really pleasantly surprised by that!
Develops Critical Thinking Skills
I definitely think this is such an underrated skill you develop in psychology, but this is a brilliant benefit of psychology. Since psychology is a science, and as scientists we need to critically evaluate sources, research and methodologies so the field of psychology can always be improving and moving forward.
However, developing critical thinking skills is amazing for you personally. Because as I wrote in Cult Psychology, it actually protects you from being influenced by a cult. As well as being able to critically think means you can evaluate things that actively try to influence you in your everyday life. From politics to social media and friends and family.
Critically thinking about things means you can actually get past all the persuasive techniques and understand what’s really going on.
And this is where bias comes in.
Protecting Ourselves and Overcoming Bias
This is honestly THE reason why I love psychology so much, because it really can help you in everyday life.
Especially with as we know as social psychology, outgroups discrimination, prejudice and in-group favouritism amongst other topics are all major problems in the world that are caused by human behaviour. Therefore, psychology allows us to become aware of these things, and sure it does not make us immune to this. But it helps us to become more likely to catch ourselves, challenge this prejudice and discrimination and it helps us to make the world a better place.
In addition, my personal favourite that psychology has helped me to understand is the Media Bias. That amazing little area of forensic psychology that has helped me to understand how and why the media reports certain stories in certain ways just because it helps them to get more viewers.
Of course I am not talking about fake news here. But I’m talking about the stories that the news just has to report more because they’re the most sensational stories.
And thankfully by learning psychology, I have understood how to overcome that bias and not necessarily fall for that bias.
Conclusion:
I will always love psychology and what it can allow us to learn, understand and overcome in our world. And I really hope that you appreciate how psychology has benefited you too.
In fact, I would love to know how psychology can improve your life. Please let me hear whether it’s here, in an email or on social media.
I really hope you enjoyed today’s psychology podcast episode.
If you want to learn more, please check out:
Social Psychology: A Guide To Social and Cultural Psychology. Available from all major eBook retailers and you can order the paperback and hardback copies from Amazon, your local bookstore and local library, if you request it.
Have a great day!
Psychology Reference:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201612/7-ways-psychology-can-change-your-life
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