Possible Majors

[prplchknz]

Right now I'm a fiction major, but not sure if this is what I want, at the same time not sure if this is not what I want.

I've always enjoyed figuring out how things work, people mostly.

-Like why do they do what they do?
-How people think and why?
-If someone says I have this fear/addiction/I believe this, I want to know why.
-Is their a historical connection to how people think in general today?
-How important are genetics in making up a personality?
-I'm very curious about what makes people what they are
-I want to know about different cultures
-do animals have indivdual personalities? I believe they do, but I want proof.


I thought psychology, but surely their has to be more then just that I'd be interested in.

[Edahn]

Originally Posted by prplchknz

Right now I'm a fiction major, but not sure if this is what I want, at the same time not sure if this is not what I want.

I've always enjoyed figuring out how things work, people mostly.

-Like why do they do what they do?
-How people think and why?
-If someone says I have this fear/addiction/I believe this, I want to know why.
-Is their a historical connection to how people think in general today?
-How important are genetics in making up a personality?
-I'm very curious about what makes people what they are
-I want to know about different cultures
-do animals have indivdual personalities? I believe they do, but I want proof.


I thought psychology, but surely their has to be more then just that I'd be interested in.

Psychology, but maybe Animal Behavior/Primatology/Biology

[nozflubber]

A lot of people are under the impression that psych is about nothing but Freud and therapy. In actuality this is a small minority of what people do with their psych degrees. For example, there's an entire branch of cognitive psych that looks at how people make decisions, game theory, and so on, and that's just a subbranch of a branch.

Sounds to me like you would enjoy Social psych, maybe even sociology.

[Noel]

Anthropology seems right up your alley.

[prplchknz]

I think my problem is, I have broad interests, but I tend to get bored at the same time. It's one month I'm really into one thing then the next I'm not then a few months later I'm once again interested in what I was the first month. I wish I could get a degree by changing majors every month.


but people have suggested social psych, sociology, and anthropology (specifically cultural) in real life. they've also suggested film (didn't fit), television, history, and creative writing.


I really don't know what I want to do with my life. I'm 21 and I feel pressured to make a decision.

[Peguy]

Anthropology and sociology maybe some good choices. I'd say stick to topics related to social sciences and humanities - since they largely deal with human affairs.

Of course like you, I too have broad interests, and sadly the intellectual enviroment of the academic world is characterised more and more by specialisation. The days of the respected generalist(or "Renaisance man") is no longer so.

Of course, I don't wish to say that one should just accept this as some inevitable unalertable fact. I think more should be done to bring the Generalist aspect back to its respectful place. You need both generalists and specialists.

As the old saying goes, "A jack of all trades is often better than a master of one."

[Samuel De Mazarin]

I have the same problem as you... at least very similar... my first love was literature, because it deals with so many issues... what Peguy said is largely true... but I feel like writers can still be Renaissance men when it comes to the breadth of their interests, aggregating all sorts of information into their narratives or whatever it is they're writing.

As others have said, psychology and social psychology are good... biology and, imo, neuroscience... sociology and anthropology... philosophy isn't bad either...

BUT... in the end... the scope of your questions ranges from questions of biology and psychology to questions of anthropology and philosophy. So...

I'd say focus very hard on one or two subjects... like your fiction major... or just take a deep breath and dive into one of the other majors you like... and try to learn as much as you can on the side... I'm a philosophy and linguistics double major, but I'm doing as much physics and mathematics as possible, taking a biology class next semester, and studying psychology on the side... one of the things about being a writer is that you have to mine your own material a lot of the time...

[Evan]

if there's a cognitive science major at your school, you should do that.

i'm not sure how many schools have it though...

(it's my major)

[dnivera]

I'm in a doctoral program in Anthropology right now. I'd recommend taking an introductory course in Anthro, particularly cultural or a 4-field survey course, for some broad ideas about why humans are the way we are. You don't even have to sign up formally for a course - you might want to audit (sit in on) a few lectures, with the instructor's permission, and find out if the course covers ideas you're interested in and is something you'd be interested in taking. The first few weeks of the semester are particularly good for shopping around for classes that pique your interest.

The college bookstore is also good for shopping around for majors/courses at the beginning of the semester. Walk through the aisles and look at the textbooks used in different-level courses for each major. Religious studies, Anthro, Sociology, Psychology, English, History of Science, any kind of Behavioral biology and anything with a humanistic bent in general seems applicable to you.
Check out the books...do they look like something you'd want to read on your own? Do any of them catch your eye? Of course, texts themselves may not be representative of a dynamic professor or may be actually really boring. But this will give you an idea of what kinds of ideas people are talking about in humanities/social science majors.

[prplchknz]

I have decided for now that I'm going to stay in my current major, and maybe major in anthropology or pscych for grad school. Haven't decided totally.