What School Subjects Would Help in Psychology?

Psychologists are professionals who use scientific methods to study human social and mental behavior, both of individuals and groups. Psychologists can focus on a variety of psychological sub fields, such as educational psychology, biological psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology or cognitive and experimental psychology. Psychologists can also choose to pursue a professional license that will allow them to counsel clients. If you want to be a psychologist, it's essential to plan your education accordingly.

Psychology is a science and, as a result, uses scientific knowledge and methodology as a keystone of the profession. It's essential to enroll in science and mathematics courses as soon as possible, whether this is in junior high, high school or college. Physics, chemistry and biology will teach you basic scientific life processes, how the brain and body functions and how to employ the scientific method. Mathematics is not only essential to get you through any statistics courses you will have to take in college and any statistics that you may have to engage in in your future career, but will also train you to think analytically, a necessary trait for any psychologist.

Humans are not just biological creatures, they are social creatures, as well. To fully understand how humans behave as they do and why they behave as they do, enroll in social science courses. Anthropology and sociology are two ideal examples--both will teach you the fundamental basics of individual human and societal behaviors within your own culture and throughout the world. History is also a good choice.

To be a good psychologist, it is essential to learn how to communicate effectively, both when speaking and writing. Speech and English classes will teach you how to communicate and the proper methods by which to communicate. Additionally, the ability to write using proper grammatical skills, even basic skills such as knowing how to properly spell and punctuate, are essential. Speech and English classes also teach students how to think analytically and how to organize thoughts. Foreign languages may also be helpful, allowing you to work with people who originate from other countries.

Humanities courses, such as art, literature and religion, provide another insight into how people behave and think. Expressing oneself is an essential part of being human--understanding this and how people involve themselves with art, literature and religion will be a great boon as you study psychology.

Though it may seem obvious, if you want to study psychology, you should study psychology. More and more, high schools and colleges are offering psychology courses so students can study psychology or fulfill general education requirements.