Psychology Personal Statement Example 68

For me human beings have always been fascinating, and even mysterious, because, though we are all humans, we all think differently and behave so differently.

I wonder why those impoverished people who live with little can have a happy life, whereas some millionaires who have status, reputation and money choose to commit suicide.

When my relatives developed terminal cancer one by one, I found that material things were not what they wanted. What they wanted was to interact with people they knew and to feel that people cared about them.

I particularly felt that some form of help on a psychological level was crucial for my mother in the period when she got terminal cancer last year.

I feel that psychology plays an important part in understanding how people think and behave and I believe that by studying Psychology I will become better placed to help people come to terms with and appreciate who they are.

My interest in the subject has been fuelled by reading books such as ‘The Mind of Billy Milligan’ which gives me an opportunity to learn more about the disorder such as the Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID).

These have confirmed for me that our minds are complex and people’s outlook, way of thinking and emotional state often change throughout their lifetime.

In my opinion, everything we do involves psychology, so learning more about this subject is crucial to understanding and helping others.

My study of Mathematics has helped me appreciate logic and develop my ability to solve problems. Statistics is required for processing data and analysing psychological tests which rely so much on understanding how the mathematics of percentiles, medians and means should be interpreted when conducting research.

Studying Economics has also improved my problem solving and shown me how to evaluate real-world situations. So often, the behaviour of companies depends as much on underlying psychological principles as on their profit and loss accounts.

The formulation of theories and their testing through experiment is a skill I have developed by studying Physics, which has benefited my ability to think in a scientific and critical way when trying to explain different outcomes and situations.

My fourth subject was Chemistry, a science which has a great bearing on the way the mind works as, on a fundamental level, our minds are governed by the chemistry of the brain.

In the summer holidays when I was in third to fifth form, I participated in various activities in the church in Hong Kong, teaching children school work and also playing games with them. In addition for my work experience, I helped in a primary school in Wales for 2 weeks.

These experiences strengthened my level of communication skills with children and I have noticed that children from different cultural backgrounds have very different personalities and behaviour.

Furthermore, I benefited highly from volunteering for the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service and on a Male Surgical Ward in a Hong Kong hospital for 6 weeks in the last summer holiday.

Every day I met different people and communicated with them. I know more about perception and cognition of children with different intelligence. From I observed how patients of different ages behaved. I also noticed how their minds change when they are facing difficulties and how much they want to stay with their families and friends.

One of my interests outside of college is playing the piano, because it helps me to relax. I passed my grade 8 piano with distinction and I am studying for my diploma. I also enjoy being in the choir and have played drums for the last 4 years. I am very passionate about sports as I am the first team badminton captain in school and also a member in the first team for tennis.

I love playing badminton and tennis because they encourage me to have a healthy lifestyle and enable me to deal with adversity.

Besides this, I gain leadership and team working skills from Duke of Edinburgh. Being a school perfect and a house prefect has helped me gain self confidence as I am focusing more on my contribution to the school and looking after the juniors in the house.

Furthermore, I have shouldered additional responsibility in the role of Sacristan in the Chapel and the Overseas Liaison Prefect in school which build up my communication skills and also help me to develop the ability to learn from and give to others.

I hope to study Psychology in university, learning more about how the mind works, and understanding more why people act a certain way under given circumstances.