Mar 23, 2014

My University Courses and their Definitions



Do you have a keen thirst for knowledge? Well, I was rather curious in just about everything out there when I was much younger and it wasn't until university that I knew what I wanted to study in depth. I can still remember clearly when I was in primary school, a group of psychologists came to our school to give a talk about the 4 main types of personalities of people (I could still roughly make out the slide that was shown then - it was more than 20 years ago!). That was really interesting and it had aroused my interest to know more about the brain and behaviour. But somehow, things faded out and I ended up studying Electrical Engineering for my diploma. Thank god I studied real hard and was able to get into a university (at a much later age though) and finally studied my favourite subject: Psychology!

So, if you are on the search on what you really want to study, the following definitions of the courses that I've taken may be of help (I majored in Psychology and took various introductory courses on the rest of the below-mentioned subjects). Now go on and decide what you would love to study :) Good luck!



PSYCHOLOGY
The scientific study of human mind and behaviour (Visit this page for more info)


Some of the courses I've taken are:

Abnormal Psychology - A study on abnormal behaviour and a broad range of mental disorders and their cultural, environmental and biological causes, and also their treatment options. This core module covers most of the common mental health problems identified for children and adults, e.g. eating disorders, behavioural problems, attention deficits, learning disabilities, schizophrenia, anxiety, stress, depression, personality disorders, sexual adjustment, substance abuse, suicide, and dementia. (source)

Cognitive Psychology - A study about the internal brain processes like motivation, attention, analyzing, judgement, language, attention, problem solving and decision-making.

Biological Psychology - Focuses on the biochemical processes and physiological aspects of the brain.

Developmental Psychology - Focuses on physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual and personality development of an individual from birth till adulthood.

Social Psychology - Social psychology courses are focused on the scientific study of social influences on behaviour and the interaction between individuals and groups. Topics studied in this class include such things as social pressure, leadership, nonverbal communication, persuasion, obedience and the bystander effect.

Health Psychology - Focuses on how biology, psychology, behaviour and social factors influence health and illness. It also focuses on promoting health as well as the prevention and treatment of disease and illness.

Adolescent Psychology - A subfield of psychology that focuses on children of 12-18 years. Adolescence has commonly been characterized by issues such as rebellious behaviour, lying, cheating, school performance problems, negative attitudes, disobedience and disrespect, sibling rivalry, drug and alcohol abuse, pressures from peers, depression, and issues of sexuality. (source)

Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology - this field focuses on increasing workplace productivity and related issues such as the physical and mental well being of employees. Industrial organizational psychologists perform a wide variety of tasks, including studying worker attitudes (e.g. job satisfaction, motivation) and behaviour, evaluating companies and conducting leadership training.

Memory - Topics range from sensory memory all the way to long-term memory. Evidence for different types of memory systems such as episodic, generic, implicit, and procedural will be discussed. Biological and developmental bases for human memory will also be covered. (source)

Personality - This branch of psychology is focused on the patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviour that make a person unique.

Emotions - An in-depth study of various types of emotions, its nature, functions and consequences.

(main source)

[PS: After finishing my studies, I've since narrowed down my area of interest: to be a counsellor focusing on reducing people's daily stress. Well, this blog sort of fulfils my aspirations by letting me be an "online counsellor", don't you think? :) Yes, I'm bent on making you happier in as many parts of your life as possible! It brings me blissful joy! I can think about this topic day and night without getting tired of it.]


PHILOSOPHY
The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence.


ECONOMICS
The study of how individuals and society choose to use limited resources in an effort to satisfy people's unlimited wants.


GEOGRAPHY
The study of earth, the distribution of life on it, activity on it, and others like the weather and physical features of the earth.


SOCIOLOGY
The study of  human social behaviour, its origins, and others like organisation.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
The integration of science and engineering principles to improve the natural environment, to provide healthy water, air, and land for human habitation and for other organisms, and to clean up pollution sites. (source) [This is one of my favourite subjects of all time. Enjoyed every lecture!]


My crazy uni days