How to Discover & Learn Psychology

Psychology is supposed to be an exact form of science, and yet it is the most inexact science known to humans. People have long been fascinated with the way we behave, as well as the mental health conditions that cause malfunctions in otherwise normal people. Behavioral psychologists like Skinner and Pavlov observed many subjects over the course of their careers, and still no exact conclusions have been drawn from some areas of their work. The human mind is still a mystery which is open to further discovery and learning.

Instructions

• 1

  Discover psychology by first doing some basic research. There are numerous genres of psychology, from behavioral, humanistic, existential to cognitive and social psychology. Choose an area you wish to learn about first and begin reading as many books as you can find on the subject.

• 2

  Study renowned psychologists such as B.F. Skinner, Pavlov, Piaget, Milgram, Chomsky, Freud or Jung, depending on your chosen area. All these people were famous in their fields for various works.

• 3

  Read about Milgram's experiment, conducted to ascertain individual levels of obedience, in 1963. Milgram used electric shock simulation to convince his subjects to continue shocking an unseen participant. The results have always courted controversy, but the study is a good source of psychological information.

• 4

  Read about Pavlov's experiments with dogs and how he conducted tests to train dogs to salivate on hearing certain noises or clicks. This will give an insight into conditional training and cognitive training.

• 5

  Buy or collect from the library books by Richard D. Gross. He is a known author of many psychology textbooks. His most well known book is "The Science of Mind and Behavior."

• 6

  Look at alternative types of psychology, such as Louise L. Hay's "You Can Heal Your Life" or Dr. Chuck Spezzano's "Psychology of Vision."

• 7

  Set a reasonable learning pace and do not overreach yourself. Understanding psychology can be a lifetime journey and not something you can pick up in a day. Observe your own behavior in certain situations and ask yourself questions about how you felt or how you handled it. Get a good insight in your own feelings before you try to interpret other people's.