‘Psychology is slightly out of the comfort zone for some boys’

I asked four of my coursemates, who are currently in their second year of studying psychology, five questions regarding their degree. What motivated them to study psychology? Where do they think their journeys in Psychology could take them? How do they feel they could make the greatest change? 

My interviewees were Hannah Smith (pictured, bottom left) and Theo Durkin (top left), both 19, and Erin Heathcote (top right) and Sam Thornton (bottom right), both 20. I chose two boys and two girls even though the course is very female dominated here at the University of Sheffield, with a ratio of 5:1 female to male. In the pages of The Psychologist in 2020, 85 per cent female representation was reported for Russell Group University psychology classes. This prompted me to ask for opinions on this ongoing gender imbalance too.

Why did you choose to study psychology?

Hannah: "I initially decided to study psychology during my A-levels, as I found the content which covered a broad range of areasabout human behaviours and cognition very interesting. I have also felt driven to pursue a career that makes a meaningful impact, which I felt would be possible to do so by choosing to study a degree in psychology. I also think that a psychology degree is very versatile and opens myself up to many career pathways."

Erin: "Psychology is the study of human behaviour, something that will forever be relevant in all aspects of life and society. It is amazing to see the application of a school taught subject on the most prevalent foundation of society, that is people. That's what madepsychology stand out to me in comparison to the other possible subjects I could study."

Theo: "During my A-Level psychology course I realised that those lessons were one of the few times in my entire education wheresomething was taught to me in a classroom setting that I could directly relate to my experiences and those of the people around me. That feeling created a passion for me and made me excited for my future. Psychology was also the career path that presented as having the most equitable balance between financial and personal fulfilment."

Sam: "My A-Level teacher instilled a deep passion for the subject in me, and I think they made me realise the infinite application in all aspects of life. That makes psychology one of the most versatile subjects a student could study."

Why do you think boys are still so underrepresented in psychology?

Hannah: "I think that historically psychology has been perceived as a feminine subject, which may put boys off pursuing a career inthe field. I also think that they may be underrepresented due to society's attitudes towards male mental health. Many people who choose to study psychology are interested in the mental health and clinical field. There is still a lot of stigma around men discussingand opening up about their mental health struggles, which I think may deter them from considering psychology at a degree level, as well as for their career."

Erin: "I think that the subject is less desirable for boys due to it not really being promoted as a common or masculine subject forboys in school, or it wasn't in my school anyway. I'm not sure how many boys felt they have male role models in psychology, as itseemed that most of the teachers were females and the diverse range of career opportunities weren't really promoted."

Theo: "I think people who are interested in psychology are those who are observant of other people and their emotions. The ability to recognise others' emotions has connotations of being empathetic or sensitive; two largely feminine traits. I think this meanspsychology is slightly out of the comfort zone for some boys, especially those influenced by the male members of their family, as it is much easier to conform than to go against the grain, especially at our age."

Sam: "I think that there is an underrepresentation of males in psychology due to the gender stereotypes surrounding psychology as a subject. It has a very feminine stigma that I think can threaten people's masculinity. I think due to this some boys think that there are only very emotional and typically feminine careers in psychology such as the obvious one of therapy, where actually there is such a greater range than people know, for example what interested me, which is sports psychology."

What area of psychology do you want to make the biggest impact upon?

Hannah: "I want to make an impact on child and adolescent mental health. I think over the years there has been an increasingawareness into the rise of mental health issues seen in young people, and I would like to make a difference by contributing to the research and implementation of new interventions, and also educating people about the importance of being able to talk about our feelings and emotions from a young age."

Erin: "I am most interested in working with teenage mental health and depression in particular. It is so important that teenagers,both girls and boys, are encouraged from a young age to talk about their feelings and to be open when needing help and having aplace to reach out for support. This sets children up well for success in all other areas of their life and I want to be a part of that."

Theo: "Research. Where I was previously heavily invested in clinical psychology, I recently realised that the route of the treatments being administered is in research. I want to make the biggest impact on people's daily lives and wellbeing and I don't like the idea of administering treatments as a clinical psychologist unconfident of their assured success. I would rather work at the source by creating new treatments and comparing resources."

Sam: "I want to make the biggest impact on sports psychology in the future. I feel the current under utilisation of the area in day-to-day life is criminal as it has so much untapped potential. I have always been incredibly interested and involved in sports sounderstanding the mechanisms around sporting performance and how to properly harness a players' full potential is a very cool idea to me."

Which do you see as the most important or exciting emerging areas of psychology?

Hannah: "Two areas that stick out to me as particularly important emerging areas within psychology are the influence of the Covid-19 lockdown, and the impact of social media on child development. I think it is important to better understand how these factors have specifically influenced and shaped children's mental health and the development of their social skills."

Erin: "For me I think the emergence of new realms such as environmental psychology are the most interesting. There is a lot to explore when looking at the increasing use of devices, causing people to be inside more, and poor teenage mental health. This isobviously still a very new area of study, but that's why I think it will be so important to have a greater understanding of this stuff.Even the effects of light and air pollution on todays' children and the reduction of time spent getting fresh air."

Theo: "AI is probably the most exciting emerging area of all scientific research at the moment. Using it to analyse and summarise pieces of literature, write essay answers and even offer clinical advice are all very possible and interesting. Whether we allow AI use in certain fields of psychology (such as therapy) should be debated, and how its use can be regulated to ensure it's not exploitedto lessen your workload and maybe at the expense of reducing the quality of psychological work."

Sam: "In my opinion I see the area of neuroscience as prominently emerging. What was previously an area of complete unknown interms of the brain and its relations to behaviour is slowly becoming more and more understood and accessible and I think that is amazing."

What are you most nervous and excited about regarding your future career in psychology?

Hannah: "I am most nervous about the competitiveness of the field of psychology. I think that the popularity of choosing psychology as a degree makes it challenging to stand out amongst others. However, I am excited about reaching my future career goals andpotentially go on to complete a doctorate in clinical psychology."

Erin: "I'm nervous for what comes after finishing my degree. I don't know how to choose if I want to do a masters, what I would want to do that masters in or if I want to do a doctorate. I know that psychology is super competitive and in order to pursue my future career choice I will probably have to continue with learning after university but choosing what to do exactly seems really daunting in case I choose wrong. I am very excited for seeing how our generation impacts the field of psychology though and Ihope to see more and more male representation as we grow up."