Lesson 1: Mastering Your Life

Lesson Objectives

            The student will learn about...

• Basic Tools: Getting Motivated
• Introductory Plan
• Choices: Selecting Time
• Choices: Selecting Attitude
• Choices: Selecting Strategy
• Choices: Selecting Goals
• Practising Choices
• Choices: Meaningful Relationships
• Final Reminders - Lessons of Life
• Hope
• Exploring Career-Related Abilities, Interests, Skills, and Values
• Jobs Available in Psychology

Introduction

This lesson was created using material from General Psychology 20, Student Module Booklet, Alberta Distance Learning Centre.

Overview

This final lesson offers inspiration for self-improvement without sounding “preachy”. Some of the suggestions presented may not appeal to your personal lifestyle. Other suggestions, you may say, are self-evident. Why waste time repeating them, you ask? You may consider that there is no benefit in knowing these principles for self improvement if you have never applied them. Think about these ideas and how some of them may be useful to you. Throughout the lesson, you will read about some special success stories. Many ordinary people just like you have overcome handicaps to reach outstanding achievements. The lesson concludes with career information related to the field of psychology.

1 - Basic Tools: Getting Motivated

You might believe that motivation is a simple word with just one meaning, but motivation varies in direction, intensity, and results.

Intrinsic motivation means a person is determined to do something based on a natural enjoyment of the activity.  Feelings of self-worth and personal responsibility improve with intrinsic motivation. Surprisingly, the introduction of an external reward to a situation where intrinsic motivation was previously functioning causes a decline in intrinsic motivation. Participating in an activity seems the sole reward for intrinsically motivated tasks.

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation uses external rewards and punishments to control behaviour. An artificial link is established between the individual’s goals and the behaviour he or she follows to reach those goals.

Extrinsic Motivation: Sandra’s father promised her an expensive new coat if she got three A’s on her report card. Therefore, Sandra is motivated to raise her marks by the promise of an external reward—a new coat. How often do parents resort to extrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic Motivation: Patricia was so interested in the topic “Early Canadian Explorers” that she spent many hours on her own researching information in the library. Patricia is intrinsically motivated because she finds the activity itself is directly satisfying; she does not have to be pushed by an outside reward.

You have heard frequently that people seldom function at full capacity. Only a fraction of the human potential is ever used. Lack of intrinsic motivation may be partly the cause. An individual’s degree of enthusiasm has just as great an impact on achievement as aptitude and natural talents. What part does intrinsic motivation have in your life?

2 - Introductory Plan

This lesson takes you through several steps to help you examine your life and think about the direction it is taking. The key word throughout is Choices. That means things are in your hands. You have the power to use your natural abilities and make life a great experience.

As with all people, when you were born, you had unlimited potential. Much of that potential was programmed out of you at a very early age. You may have grown up in an environment that expected less than the best from you. You may have been told what you could not do. You may have been persuaded by your conditioning to become average or less than average. Even if you believe those messages, that does not diminish the potential that was there in the first place.

You can quit believing in the message, “I can’t.” Make a choice. What incredible roadblocks self-doubts can set up in your life if you let them. These negative ideas stop you, hold you back, and convince you that you are incapable. It is not the rest of the world that prevents you from achieving; it is your own disbelief in yourself. A person’s I CAN is more important than I.Q. Your fortitude and determination to succeed can take you farther than the talents of a bright person who is lazy.

First, take responsibility for your own life and abandon the foolish notion that you are a helpless victim of fate. If you feel you are always mistreated or misunderstood, examine the situation fully from within to see how you are at fault. Establish your own identity. Be in charge of yourself and enjoy the feeling it brings. You are strictly accountable for your own life and for your shortcomings. A person does not need permission to start leading a full life; that signal comes from within us.

Many of the positive and negative ideas you have about yourself are rooted in your history. Think about the following questions.

SELF-QUIZ

You may want to write ideas for yourself on a sheet of loose leaf paper. Sometimes a flash of insight comes as you are physically recording an event or describing an emotion in writing.

Who Are You?

1. When and where were you born?

2. Describe your childhood; think about your family life—your parents, siblings, and grandparents.

3. Who and what influenced you the most?

4. How did you picture yourself when you were growing up—smart, happy, serious?

5. If you could change something about your childhood, what would you change?

What Are Your Goals?

1. What do you want to do for a living?

2. Describe the family life you want to have.

3. What do you want your financial status to be?

4. Where do you want to live?

5. How do you want to spend your spare time?

3 - Choices: Selecting Time

Learn by your mistakes.
Live for today.
Save for tomorrow.

“We are always getting ready to live but not really living.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Do those words describe your approach to life? Our whole philosophy of time, and how we organize our lives around what time means to us, will have far-reaching consequences.

“Life for Now” is an expression used by the islanders of Trinidad to sum up their belief that the immediate moment is all any person can count on in life. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet arrived, but you have today. Make the most of today. Seek to be in touch with what you are doing, how you are feeling and acting, and what is happening to you right now.

Now is often forgotten and becomes nothing more than the time you pass through on your way to the future. The expectations and the goals we have take control. One loses one’s personal self and sense of the moment by becoming too entangled with accumulating goods. Life should be focused on people, not on the pursuit of future material goals.

Nothing is wrong with knowing what you want out of life in a material sense nor in dreaming of owning a beautiful new car and a lovely house. However, if these material goals are allowed to become the central focus of your life instead of personal growth, life will pass you by and you might not be able to enjoy your possessions.

Time consumed in looking forward to tomorrow’s achievements or in lamenting about the past is time lost in the vital present. The loss of that present time reduces your awareness of what is happening right now. Past and future are certainly relevant, but asking how relevant they are and giving them no more than the appropriate amount of attention are necessary. Do not plan for the future at the expense of the present.

You can learn from your mistakes. Even if your problems originated from past situations, those problems exist in the present and must be dealt with in the present. They can only be worked out in terms of your day-to-day actions. For example, how you solve your problems now, how you experience joys now, how you share your feelings and the degree to which you share them with your loved ones now will determine the nature of your relationship. Your interaction with others now is what makes for meaningful relationships. If there is no relating now, how can there be in the future?

One man made himself more aware of “today” and the present by having a daily calendar rather than a monthly one. As each day ended, he threw that calendar day in the waste basket and looked forward to the immediate upcoming day that appeared on his calendar. Think about making the most of the present.

Look to this day!
For it is life,
the very life of life...
For yesterday
is already a dream
and tomorrow
is only a vision;
But today, well lived,
makes every yesterday
a dream of happiness,
and every tomorrow
a vision of hope.

4 - Choices: Selecting Attitude

More important than who you are, where you are, or what you possess is how you feel about it. This means attitude. Did you realize that most unhappiness is self-manufactured? Not only do people lack positive attitudes about their daily circumstances, but they lack appropriate attitudes toward themselves. You have two basic choices—either lift yourself up in life or put yourself down. Which pathway will get you the farthest in life’s journey?

What is the self-image and how will it affect your attitude? The self-image is one’s own conception of oneself. One’s self-image depends on past successes and failures. Your emotions, attitudes, goals, and behaviour are all consistent with your self-image. Your everyday experiences, either good or bad, strengthen and reaffirm your self-image. Any ideas consistent with the self-image are accepted; those that are not consistent are rejected. Therefore, if you carry a negative self-image, you may be rejecting many beneficial ideas that come your way.

Your attitude may defeat you before you even begin a project. How can the self fulfilling prophecy be either beneficial or damaging? The self-fulfilling prophecy is a preconceived notion about a situation. This preconceived “hunch” determines your actions, and eventually these strong thoughts about an event actually do come true. Everything falls neatly into place as expected and the person can then say, “I told you so” or “I knew that would happen”. People are guided by a life dream based on their childhood experiences. That means that you map out a pathway for your life around your past experiences. Once the life dream has developed, every experience that follows is seen in such a way to reaffirm the original belief. The self fulfilling prophecy is very dominant in such a situation. People internalize beliefs they have about themselves. If you believe you are good at something, then you begin to act as though you are good, and then it becomes the self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, one of the star players for the Toronto Blue Jays knew he was going to make a key play during the World Series baseball games. Sure enough, he got the winning home run.

Remember, your particular set of circumstances in life is not determined by outward conditions but by your thoughts towards these conditions. Thus, the first step is changing your thoughts or your attitude. Do not accept negative circumstances as inevitable. For example, suppose you have a neighbour with two yappy little dogs that make a lot of noise. You can view them as a nuisance or maybe even an outright disturbance. Or you can see them as “security guards” for your house because burglars avoid houses where they can be detected by dogs who make a lot of racket. Circumstances are the same in both cases—two barking dogs. But your attitude can differ.

Believe in yourself, be true to yourself, and insist that you have a right to be happy. Some people spend a lifetime blaming themselves for their previous mistakes. That erodes positive attitudes.  Many people select a motto that has special personal meaning and inspiration to carry them through the dark points in their lives.

You must build confidence in your abilities, and this can be done by monitoring the quality of thoughts that habitually occupy your mind. Remember that attitudes are more powerful than the facts that act as obstacles.

5 - Choices: Selecting Strategy

Knowing Yourself

Getting in tune with yourself means reaching a deep understanding of yourself. You get to know others by listening to them and talking to them. This is how you get to know yourself too. 

Setting up a constant dialogue with yourself can put you in touch with your innermost feelings and give you reassurance. Being on familiar terms with yourself can lead you to a great fund of inner strength. 

Properly utilized, imagination can build a stronger self-image. Picture yourself successfully functioning in a specific situation. Mental practice can help your real life performance when the time comes. This is especially true for situations that are frightening. Beforehand, mentally outline the step-by-step procedure you will use. See yourself mastering the situation and conquering your doubts and inhibitions. In time, your positive mental image will become a reality. When you believe in yourself, your options are unlimited.

Knowing Your World

Sensory awakening is one of the avenues for greater awareness. Your connection to your environment is through the senses. Unfortunately, much of the time your senses are either dulled or muffled because of inactivity. Your life becomes a smooth mindless connection of one routine habit to another. Much of the time your reactions are automatic; you give little attention or awareness to your rich environment. Under these circumstances, you deny yourself full expression of your inner thoughts and feelings. Make a deliberate decision to be more in touch with your world by saying,
“I will discover new details about this experience that I have ignored previously.”
“I will be more alert and more observant.”

The Master Plan for Success

You can create the state of mind you want that will lead you to success. First, you have to look at life as a great tug-of-war between what you picture as desirable (green light) and what you picture as obstacles or resistance (red light). The illustration that follows shows your positive thoughts on a horizontal plane. Your negative thoughts are opposing forces that you encounter on the same horizontal plane. To make headway as positive and negative thoughts battle back and forth, you must rise above this conflict and take an overview of what life is all about. You balance what is happening between the two opposing forces by searching for the right insights and the right feelings to move forward with the best choices.

If we get carried away with the positive side, we may blunder forward with unrealistic expectations about what can be done. We totally disregard the negative elements that are a natural part of life. On the other hand, if we get bogged down with the negative side, we may become too immersed in the barriers that hinder a project. Then, we become so overwhelmed with what can go wrong that we do not even begin. If we focus too much on either the positive or the negative perspective, we distort reality.

Look above the push-pull dynamics that are happening around you, and retreat to higher ground where you can survey the scene in a calm state of mind. The lessons you learn from your bird’s eye view allow you to think differently. The key question to ask yourself to reach the vertical plane is “What is the worthy thing to do?” The aerial view gives you wisdom. Your mind is receptive to new and creative possibilities. Postpone your important thinking until you are in a high state of mind. Stop turning problems over and over in your mind. Relax, and the right solutions will come to you. You will be able to see lessons you need to learn and see what you need to do next.

Positive Addiction

William Glasser has devoted an entire book to the description of the unique phenomenon known as positive addiction. We can readily offer examples of negative addiction to cigarettes, excessive food, alcohol, and drugs. Positive addiction is a compulsion to engage in a beneficial habit. The two main categories of positive addiction (also commonly abbreviated PA) are mental and physical. For example, mental PA is some activity such as meditation. Physical PA includes activities such as running, walking, bicycling, exercising, and others.

The PA activity itself may be physically strenuous and demanding, but it sets off a mechanism allowing the individual to “spin free in their mind”, entering a trance-like or transcendental state that accompanies the addicting exercise. This is the whole key to positive addiction. The special PA pleasure becomes linked to one specific activity that cannot be easily substituted. For example, if a PA runner sustains afoot injury, he or she may bicycle daily until running can be resumed. However, it will not be as satisfying as running.

Once the PA activity is started, at least six months are necessary to reach the PA state where the mind engages in that special process of heightened awareness. Some people never experience the PA state or may enter it only rarely, but the physical part of the PA exercise will be beneficial nonetheless.

Positive addiction has personal benefits. Positive addiction increases mental strength. When the individual reaches mental freedom through PA, new alternatives and options for solving problems seem easier to find.

An overall feeling of both physical and mental well being is noticed. Your confidence and self-control is improved. PA enables you to shed bad habits because you realize these habits will interfere with the pleasure you get from PA. Greater emotional control is another usual benefit. Because you can enjoy a very complete rest, less sleep is required. Most PA individuals report healthy weight loss and much more energy for their daily tasks. For all those reasons, positive addiction is an extremely beneficial experience.

Finding a State of Calm

When we are too tense or too excited, we are not effective problem solvers. The thought channels of your mind are most productive and creative when in a state of calm. Worry and fear are two natural enemies of peace of mind. Expressing your fears to someone close to you is an ideal way to dissolve them. We acquire the habit of worrying, but because it is an acquired habit, it can be eliminated. Every problem has a solution and, therefore, it is conquerable. A useful aid to problem solving is to list all the facts on paper—both good and bad because there are always two sides to every problem. Then relax and gain insights into the right choices for you.

Use each life experience as a means of learning rather than an end in itself. Learning is an ongoing process, not a finished product. See failure as a step to learning. Decide to master something that is out of character for you. You have your own separate learning curve for each activity you undertake. Realize that anything you are unwilling to learn will haunt you until you master it. Do not see your classmates or coworkers as rivals or critics but rather as resources; they are allies, not enemies.

Start the day right by relaxing in bed a few minutes before you begin your morning routine. Deliberately bring positive thoughts to your conscious mind. Practice imagery to focus on your goals. For example, imagine yourself successfully doing a project that has special meaning to you. Include in your life certain activities that bring you contentment and act as “spiritual tranquillizers”. What do you do to put yourself in a completely relaxed mood? Your chosen outlet will be unique to you.

Choosing a Philosophy

These lessons have used many quotations. Develop a philosophy of life that will help you during the difficult times.

Here are some more good examples:

6 - Choices: Selecting Goals

The first thing to determine is precisely what you want. Ask yourself, “Where am I headed?” “What is my goal?” That you know exactly what you want is vital. You must have a fixed idea before you can obtain what you desire.

People who have unclear goals and unclear pictures of themselves make unclear choices.

For some, growth is not a linear process, but it occurs in a cycle. The growth cycle involves setting a goal, conceiving a plan of action to meet the goal, and mobilizing personal resources to achieve the goal. Often failure to reach a goal will begin a new cycle. Therefore, failure is not necessarily a bad thing.  Presenting new challenges to a person will encourage growth although ultimately he or she must accept the opportunities for self-growth.

Growth means setting goals (both long-term and immediate), reviewing goals, modifying goals, and sometimes even abandoning goals for the prospects of better ones. Periodically review the goals you consider worthwhile for your own growth. Sort through your goals like you sort through your closet from time to time. Any goal that is outdated does not deserve your continued support.

Our number one need is to be liked by others. We must change our focus to finding approval within ourselves by attaining personal excellence, which means being buoyed up by even minor improvements in a variety of tasks. That will give us a sense of achievement. Start with small goals and eventually mastery will increase on many bases. Some people plan to start something new (a new activity for them) at least once a week. Life is full of fresh, new starts.

You probably have not considered the great multitude of choices that are presented to you every day. To get you thinking about it, consider some possibilities of choices of attitude or choices of action. Your feelings at any given moment are always determined or influenced by how you choose to feel at any given moment.

You likely have thousands of choices including:

• Who you spend most of your time with
• The books you read
• Your hobbies
• How much you exercise
• Whether you gossip
• Whether you are a leader o a follower
• How organized you are
• How calm you are
• How often you feel sorry for yourself
• How much patience you have
  
• How often you criticize

All of those are choices. How we handle each of those kinds of choices plays a very important role in how well we get through each day. Many of those choices clearly influence how other people treat us.

Ask yourself three questions:

• “How do I feel about the situation I am facing?”
• “How would I like to feel about this?”
• “How do I choose to feel about it?” Situations are neutral, your attitude is not.

space corrector

7 - Practising Choices

In reviewing your life, give careful consideration to all possibilities and be selective in the choices you make. Without some goals to direct us, we tend to drift aimlessly through life. We must make choices that are important and satisfying to us. Growth means putting fears and doubts aside as we define and attempt new challenges. Remember we experience failure because of our own self-doubt. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? That question can lead us to some exciting possibilities!

Before we begin to practise making choices, consider nurturing the physical part of our being. Exercise helps the body in a variety of ways, which in turn helps the mind and the emotional outlook.

Perhaps you have never given serious thought to this extra “bonuses” of exercise. It is easy to appreciate how exercise keeps the body agile. Exercise is nature’s tranquillizer and antidepressant. For example, most people have experienced a tension headache. Often exercise helps relieve the pain and reduces the general level of anxiety without taking prescription drugs.

Some may say, “I was never good at sports.” So, start with something easy but effective, such as walking. After you do that for a while, you might be ready to get into something more strenuous. Physical activity can increase a person’s sense of power, stimulate creativity, and boost mental performance. Getting into a group activity with a social support system is very valuable.

Now, try another Self-Quiz to start you thinking about who you are, and later to focus on some of the choices you can make. Once again, the self quiz is strictly for your own benefit and enlightenment. You are not expected to share it with anyone unless you choose to do so.

SELF ASSESSMENT QUIZ

8 - Choices: Meaningful Relationships

As a social being, you have a constant interest in the quality and breadth of your relationships with others. Friendship is impossible without inner confidence, your attitude toward the self. A true assessment of one’s self logically precedes a meaningful relationship with others.

Some people are not only interested in establishing friendships but are concerned about popularity as well. However, one will never attain popularity by consciously striving for it. Popularity will come to you in several ways. First, you must project a sense of comfort with others, putting others at ease when they are with you. Show a sincere interest in others without being egotistical yourself. Dale Carnegie once said that in two months a person can launch more friendships by being interested in others than a person can in two years by parading their own interests.

Friendship is a Smooth Connection with Someone Else

The main theme of the social attraction hypothesis (regarding friendship) is that your behaviour toward others is governed by the way you perceive how others feel about you. For example, you have formed the idea that an acquaintance is an unfriendly snob. You treat that person in a cool manner and expect them to be aloof. Your acquaintance reflects back to you those feelings you initially believed were true. People with an inferiority complex or those who are conceited have difficulty making friends because the initial contact begins negatively.

Conflict results from different personalities living or working together. Some techniques will help to resolve constructively emotionally-charged situations.

• Determine why the person is behaving this way. Ask yourself, “How would I feel?” so you can image how this situation feels to the other person.
• If something has gone wrong, do not explain what happened because that often seems to be an excuse. Say, “You’re right”, apologize, and offer to take action.
• If you are puzzled by the argument, ask, “What do you mean?” Then listen actively. Repeat what the other person said to clarify meaning.
• When arguments start, say, “Let’s not argue. What can we do to resolve it?”

These strategies may make a great difference in your relationships with both friends and family.

9 - Final Reminders - Lessons of Life

These ideas will help you to enhance your self-growth.

• Accept yourself as you are. Acknowledge your differences. Rely on your own judgment rather than planning your life around the acceptance of others.
• No one can diminish your self-esteem unless you let that happen.
• Remember your right to personal happiness that comes from within.
• Encourage spontaneity in your life.
• Meet problems decisively; relax when they are over.
• Do not pass up an opportunity to tell people you care about them.
• Be pleasant in your conversations and behaviour. If you are having a bad day, do not make others suffer too.
• Put every effort you can into the present moment to make it emotionally successful.
• Establish a healthy balance in your life. Be realistic but also keep self-critical thoughts in their place.
• Do not be afraid to try something you think you cannot do. Life is full of surprises!
• Live each day fully. Enjoy life today; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow may never come. Be grateful for good health; it is the cornerstone of happiness—more significant than wealth or achievements.
• Laughing at your worries reduces their threat to you. Tell your problems to people you trust. Friends offer valuable networks of support.
• Love yourself first and most.
• Keep your dreams. Personal excellence elevates your mood and increases your confidence.

10 - Hope

Hope is a pleasant word we occasionally inject into our language to suggest we are having positive thoughts about something. Hope is nice, meek, vaguely assuring, and good. But is that all there is to it?

Some psychologists, medical personnel, caregivers, families of critically ill patients, and victims have used hope. People experiencing overpowering tragedies have used the intangible, “wispy” element of hope to help them through some of the most physically challenging and emotionally draining experiences one can imagine. Hope is the key ingredient that lifts the human spirit through the dark passages of illness, financial disasters, and personal family distresses. People who are able to contemplate hope are better prepared to set goals and negotiate the difficulties that attack their well-being.

Hope is as personal as one’s DNA classification. You can hope with others, but you cannot impose, encourage, or cajole anyone else to hope. Hope is a very personal decision made by each individual. It is a determination to survive and to be involved in life. Meeting each new day and each new experience or challenge with hope means being involved in all dimensions of our existence—physical, emotional and spiritual. One of the secondary qualities of hope is a concern for others besides the self.

Hope can change lives. When asked about the psychological factors involved in conquering cancer, over 90% of oncologists rated hope as the most important factor. Science has confirmed its importance in fighting and managing illness.

Hope creates a whole new way of thinking about life. It carries with it a new set of definitions and concepts. Hope requires much trust created when people reach out to others. There are special stories about hope that people must listen to carefully and appreciate. For example, one man was very seriously injured in a farm accident. The only thing that helped him through this agony was hearing gospel songs over and over.

Hope has many special symbols in our society. For example, a cross is a symbol of Hope for the Christian religion; the daffodil is a symbol of Hope for the Cancer Society; the dove is a symbol of Hope for peace; the rainbow is a symbol of Hope that God will not bring another flood to the earth. Sometimes music inspires people to hope by the beautiful melody and the words of the song. Our dreams can provide visions of hope. Certain rituals performed in religious ceremonies or by families watching over someone who is critically ill can bring comfort and hope.

Hope models are people who exemplify hope. Hope models are not necessarily people who are bright, successful, or spiritual. Hope models can be young, innocent children, or even a pet that offers comfort. Hope bridges are experiences from our past that put us on a higher plane and take us to the future with a promise of a better day. Where have you found hope in your life?

11 - Exploring Career-Related Abilities, Interests, Skills, and Values

Before you make a major decision about your career and academic goals, knowing yourself is important so that you make realistic choices. People often suffer from career confusion because they do not know the depth and scope of their capacities and interests so they can be measured against the requirements of various careers.

Abilities

These describe the things at which you are proficient and which come easily to you. Abilities can be intellectual as well as musical, artistic, and/or mechanical. Your intellectual capacity is constantly being measured by tests, assignments, and final examinations. Realistically, you need to look at these results and see whether they meet the requirements of your career choice. If your marks do not match the minimum requirement for your career choice, then looking at another career choice is wise, perhaps in the same area but with lower requirements. For example, if you wanted to become a psychologist, you need certain marks in your Bachelor of Arts (BA) to get you into graduate school. If you do not have the marks, then look at another field such as human resources or corrections work where the academic requirements are not as high.

Interests

Be sure you choose a career that matches well with your interests. Sometimes people are good at something but do not really enjoy it. People are more likely to be satisfied with their jobs if they are allowed to do the things they like.

One way of doing this is to write how you spend your leisure time. Do you read, practice the piano, surf the net, work on old cars, or do volunteer work at a children’s shelter? Another way is to think about long-standing interests. Have you always been drawn to animals, old people, history, or music?

Skills

Skills are specific abilities. You may have good communication skills, good people skills, good research skills. You can also improve skills with practice and learn new ones.

Values

Choose a career path that does not come into conflict with your own personal values – those things individuals believe are desirable or good. Some people place high values on integrity, others value security, independence, power, adventure, or love. Often values are deeply held, and major value conflicts caused by work may be painful.

Self Assessment tools for choosing career paths

Skills, abilities, values. Most people choose careers consistent with their own ability profile. They are motivated to find the kind of work activities which they can do best. The aim of this Skills Profile is to help you assess which of your personal skills are the most important to you and to review the career implications of your skill profile. When you have completed your scores, you can see which group of occupations match your main skills.

This exercise is designed to aid in the process of finding a career that's right for you.  It is not the only means to learning what career might be right for you.

Career Skills Checklist

Interpreting Your Skills

12 - Jobs Available in Psychology

Entry-Level Jobs For Psychology Majors

Although you need a masters or a doctoral degree to be a ‘psychologist’, many entrylevel jobs are open to people with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Entry-level jobs for psychology graduates use people skills. For example, communicating with and relating to people from diverse backgrounds is often required by case workers, sales, marketing, personnel, and management positions. Some entry-level jobs need analytical skills that are useful in the work place because they give the necessary skills for problem solving. Other skill areas include writing, which is useful for logically developed written reports and research that can involve statistical tables and graphs to analyze problems and to communicate relevant findings.

These skills acquired at the undergraduate level can be used in a variety of work settings including human services (counselling, social work), business, criminal justice (probation officer, corrections officer), health and recreation, and education.

Types of Jobs Available for those with a Master’s and/or a PhD in Psychology

Teaching and Research

People who teach undergraduate, master’s level, or doctoral-level students usually work in universities. Most people who teach at the university level are also involved in research. If you do not want to teach and only want to focus on research, then you can work for various government agencies or private research organizations. To work as a psychologist in any of these settings, you most likely require a Ph.D in psychology. You might be able to get a job teaching psychology courses at a community college with a Master’s degree in psychology.

Applied Work

Psychologists, depending on their specialty area, are able to work in different fields . They can teach and share their knowledge, research and generate new knowledge, and work in fields where they can apply their knowledge. These areas include clinical psychology, counselling psychology, forensic psychology, health psychology, industrial and/or organizational psychology, and sports psychology.

• Clinical psychology
People with psychological problems are assessed and treated by clinical psychologists. Some psychologists act as therapists for people who experience normal psychological crises such as the death of a close family member. Psychologists can be generalists who treat patients from a wide variety of the population or they can be specialists who work with specific groups such as children, women, or the elderly. Usually, clinical psychologists work in universities, hospitals, community health centres, or private practice.

• Counselling psychology
Counselling psychologists concentrate more on a person’s adjustment problems instead of working with people who suffer from severe psychological disorders. They are located in universities, counselling centres, community mental health clinics, and private practice.

• Forensic psychology
Forensic psychologists are found in many places including prisons and associated facilities such as halfway houses, working as consultants for trial lawyers, serving as expert witness in jury trials, or formulating public policy on psychology and the law. Some forensic psychologists have both psychology and legal qualifications.

• Health psychology
Health psychologists work for the promotion and maintenance of good health and the prevention and treatment of illness. They can design and run programs that help individuals lose weight, stop smoking, manage stress, and stay fit. Health psychologists work in hospitals, medical schools, rehabilitation centres, public health clinics, university settings, and private practice.

• Industrial/organizational psychology
Often called I/O psychologists, they are interested in the relationship between people and their work environment. They can develop new ways to increase workplace productivity or help in personnel selection. I/O psychologists work in business, government agencies, and academic institutions.

• Sports psychology
Sports psychologists deal with the psychological factors that improve athletic performance. Some look at the effects of exercise and physical activity on psychological adjustment and health. Sports psychologists work in academic institutions and/or are consultants for sports teams.

A sports psychology consultant currently working in the field suggests that three areas of specialization are available:

• Educational sports psychology emphasizes teaching performanceenhancement skills such as goal setting, focusing, imagery, and arousal control in an athletic environment.
• Clinical sports psychology deals with sports-related psychological problems such as depression, substance abuse, and eating disorders among athletes.
• Academic sports psychology focuses on research and teaching. In the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, more than twenty sports psychology consultants worked with the athletes. One-third of the golfers on major tours work with sports psychologists. Until recently, a sports psychologist was considered by athletes as a person one saw with a problem. Now, sports psychologists are viewed as an integral part of many athletes’ lives because their mental health is viewed as just as important as their physical health.

Education

Many counselling-related career options are available in the educational field. If you plan to work in a public school setting, you must also have an education degree.

• Educational psychology
Those involved in this field try to understand the basic aspects of human learning and develop materials and strategies that help the learning process. An educational psychologist might study the reading process and then develop a new technique to teach reading to those who cannot learn in the traditional classroom setting. Educational psychologists are trained in faculties of education not psychology. They in universities and colleges as well as at the school board level.

• School counselling
School counsellors work with children who are troubled. They try to help these children function more effectively with their classmates and their teachers. They also help children deal with family problems. School counsellors are employed at all levels of the educational system.

• School psychologists
If a child is having difficulties in school, school psychologists are asked to test the child. They try to diagnose the problem and sometimes suggest ways of dealing with the problem. School psychologists are usually trained in facilities of education and work in the public education system.

Social work

If you are interested in counselling, you may want to consider social work. Social workers who practice psychotherapy are called clinical social workers or psychiatric social workers. Clinical social workers assess and treat psychological problems. Psychiatric social workers help individuals, families, and small groups. Both are located in mental health centres, counselling centres, sheltered workshops, hospitals, and schools. Some have their own private practices.

Supplemental Information
If you would like to learn more about careers, these web sites have a great deal of information.
Discovering your personality:
http://www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro.asp

The most adventurous careers in the 21st century
http://library.thinkquest.org/3340/INDEX2.HTM

The next step magazine (a magazine for US high school students, but it has a Canadian component):
http://www.uakron.edu/hefe/fam1.html#link/

Career finder: (You must register.)
http://www.cdn.cx.bridges.com

Lesson Review

This lesson provided some interesting perspectives on the roles we perform. Groups have many special characteristics that influence the attitudes and behaviours of people who work together.