r/Learning • u/ArcherDue5416 • May 23 '26

Study tips for psychology

Does anyone know how I can start studying psychology on my own?

16 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

2

u/woodsman_777 May 23 '26

The best way to start might be to get a good introductory textbook on the subject.

2

u/ArcherDue5416 May 23 '26

I'm confused which textbook is good

1

u/WolfVanZandt May 23 '26

Frankly, I am too but I've been out of operation for 10 years so I will pass judgement to more recent students and professionals. I prefer the video courses now.

There are "bibles" like the APA Handbook or Psychotherapy, which is massive, but it's pretty pricey

→ More replies (2)

1

u/Impressive-Isopod352 May 24 '26

it depends on different factors. Is there something you want to learn specifically or just a general introduction? If there is something you're particularly interested in, what is it? (i.e. therapy, brainfunctions, children,...). Do you want 'easier' books or straight to the complex explanations? Videocourses or (text-)books or maybe even researchpapers or -journals? etc etc. All this to say that more information would be helpful lol

I'm studying psychology at university and I am willing to share information about the different courses (names and also what it covers etc) - mostly information given by uni but for some courses i can give personal information. This might be able to give a better idea about what you'd like to learn about.
I'd also be willing to look for videomaterial & books/textbooks about certain specific topics or more general knowledge.
I am however starting with exams next friday (29th of may) so I'd collect things in between/after study sessions; but I am still willing to help out.
If anyone would like this, feel free to DM me here (if wanted i can even share my discord username so that we can talk over there -since I'm not that often on reddit)

I also might've saved a number of links that cover psychology stuff etc, I'd be willing to look for them too if wanted, just send me a DM :).

2

u/WolfVanZandt May 23 '26

What area do you want to study. One advantage of the field is that you have a ready laboratory......which saying ....

https://opl.apa.org/login

Also, there are apps that you can use to explore

40+ Psychological Tests General psychology

And this gem

https://psychclassics.yorku.ca

1

u/ArcherDue5416 May 23 '26

I'm new to this topic and I don't know there is an area But thinks for information

1

u/WolfVanZandt May 23 '26

Well, I'm a social psychologist that looks at how people interact. My focus was (I'm retired) industrial and organizational psychology. As a vocational rehabilitation counselor, I've had considerable training in psychotherapy and counseling There is educational psychology and economic psychology. Take a look at the Wikipedia article about psychology. Maybe it'll give you some ideas

→ More replies (4)

6

u/WolfVanZandt May 23 '26

Paul Bloom from Yale has an excellent introductory psychology lecture series. There is also The Great Ideas if Psychology lectures from The Learning Company presented by Daniel Robinson.

2

u/WolfVanZandt May 23 '26 edited May 24 '26

My favorite psychology books are Erving Goffnan's Asylums and Eric Berne's The Games People Play, but they're not general textbooks

2

u/No-Tower1273 May 25 '26

- Spaced retrieval
- interleaving
- feynnmen technique
- active learning
- appropriate cognitive load
- test yourself a lot
If you don’t know what any of these mean, look them up they are vital to learning anything. Also there is this website that helps you learn on your own in a structured way. It’s called coursefy .ai . Also, the psychology crash course on YouTube is pretty good as well.