How to prepare for starting your Psychology course
Starting a Psychology course soon? To help you get a head start, we have put together a list of things you can do from home to get prepared and clued up.
Read
If you have not studied psychology before, we would recommend reading a general psychology textbook before you start. Some good options include:
- The Psychology Book.
- Psychology: An Introduction. This is a free alternative to the above.
Some more advanced and specific options include:
- Fake science: The impact of pseudo-psychological demonstrations on people’s beliefs in psychological principles
- Survey of Insomnia and Related Social Psychological Factors Among Medical Staff Involved in the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease Outbreak
You can access many scientific journals for free online, such as Frontiers in Psychology, but with so many, it can be overwhelming. We recommend you start by reading the BPS Research Digest, which is a blog summarising new research in psychology. Find some that interest you, read the digest and then see if you can access the full article.
If you are interested in Health Psychology, the following articles will be useful:
- Health behaviour: Current issues and challenges
- On the Role of Self-compassion and Self-kindness in Weight Regulation and Health Behaviour Change
If you are interested in Forensic Psychology, the following articles will be useful:
- Geographical profiling in a novel context: prioritising the search for New Zealand sex offenders
- Eliciting Reliable Information in Investigative Interviews
- A review of the literature relating to rape victim blaming: An analysis of the impact of observer and victim characteristics on attribution of blame in rape cases
Courses
There are also free online courses you can do to learn about Psychology.
A good example is Psych Boost which creates free, engaging, and interactive content for A-Level Psychology students.
You may also want to look at Coursera for free online programmes. We recommend the free Psychological First Aid course.
Watch
You can also check out some links to a series of short video courses on YouTube that are great for learning 'the basics' of Psychology and preparing for university:
