Advice to Scientists In Training

My blogging will probably be less extensive for the time being, as I am back in school in my final year of working on my bachelor's degree in Experimental Psychology.

I would like to offer some advice based on personal experience for those seeking a career in psychology, though most of this applies to scientists in general.

First, don't underestimate how much you will need to understand math. Do not go into psychology thinking that you can get by with only a minimal understanding of math. I have made this assumption before and have found that to be a grossly mistaken assumption. Just because you are not doing calculus and trigonometry as a physicist or astronomer does not mean you will not need math. So, do take mathematics seriously. You WILL need it.

Secondly, take a course or two in logic. Your ability to think logically and do a logical analysis will be very beneficial to your thinking as a scientist. You will benefit from both understanding deductive and inductive logic. You do not have to master every branch of logic there is, but do obtain a basic understanding of symbolic logic for deductive logic. Also, be sure to look at Mill's methods of causal inference. These are the basic types of inference that underlie any scientific research, and which statistical math elaborates on. It can help to understand statistics better when you understand inductive reasoning.

Thirdly, do not neglect to study other sciences as a psychologist. If you study sensation & perception, or any fields falling under psychophysics (such as psychoacoustics) you will need to understand how physical laws work. Just as well, you cannot understand most modern psychological research without an understanding of biology. Firstly, you are going to need to understand the basic anatomy of the nervous system. Secondly, you will need to understand how a cell works. Thirdly, you will need to understand the theory of evolution. Much research in psychology is nested within an evolutionary framework because it is a well established theory to explain how life changes over time and what propels that change, and can shed light on why we do the things we do.

In summary, do take science and mathematics seriously. You will need to understand it in order to be a good scientist.