Expectations of Psychology Prior to Essay

All of the information I was gaining about a topic I had not previously understood was intriguing to me, and made me excited and ready to learn more. General Psychology I and Abnormal Psychology were my two favorite classes at Bergen, and I wanted to pursue additional psychology classes.

I transferred to Fairleigh Dickinson and enrolled in General Psychology II with the expectation that I would learn even more about psychology. I did not have an expectation as far as what topics would be covered in the course, but I did expect the material to be harder and more complex; I was right. I did not expect to study the biology and physiology of the brain, and I struggled with understanding and memorizing the material. Memorizing and understanding the parts of the brain and their function, such as the thalamus, cerebellum, brain stem, etc. did not appeal to me and it was hard for me to feel motivated to learn the physiology of psychology.

Despite struggling with some of the topics covered in General Psychology II, there was still a massive amount of material that fascinated me. Once again, my lack of prior knowledge of psychology showed itself as more aspects of psychology were presented in class that I had never heard of and did not know existed. For example, I was unaware of all the different areas of psychology, especially the research-only areas that include: cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. I also had no prior knowledge of areas of psychology that were both research and clinically based, such as clinical psychology, counseling, and school psychology.In General Psychology II, the unit on psychological disorders still interested me the most. Learning about the 5 Axis System of diagnosis using the DSM-IV-TR was exciting because I did not know how psychological disorders were diagnosed before taking this class. I enjoyed learning about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and various phobias, and how to use Exposure and Response Prevention as treatment. The examples I have mentioned are only a few out of many aspects, concepts, and principles of psychology that I have learned about and have sparked my interest. The concepts of Abnormal Psychology have interested me the most, and is an area of study that I did not know existed until taking general psychology courses.

After completing Abnormal Psychology and General Psychology I and II courses, I know that I have only begun to learn about the field of psychology. I enrolled in General Psychology I with no expectation for the course, and no previous knowledge of psychology, what it meant or how it worked. The greatest revelation I have had concerning psychology is about its depth. I did not know that the field of psychology was so complex, ranging in specialties, fields, and approaches. The area of Abnormal Psychology interested me the most, and I liked learning about personality disorders, phobias, and diagnostic criteria. My experience in psychology classes have humbled me because I have accepted that there is still a lot that I do not know, and will keep this in mind as an expectation for any….....