1 / 15

Careers in Social Psychology

Learn about the field of Social Psychology, activities, organizations, training, job prospects, salaries, and necessary skills and experience to pursue a career in this rewarding but demanding field.

mozelll
Download Presentation

Careers in Social Psychology

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Careers in Social Psychology Jennifer L. Leo, Ph.D. Florida State University

  2. What is the definition of Social Psychology? • Scientific study of how individuals’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors are affected by other people • Focused on how people think about others, influence others, and relate to one another

  3. What is the definition of Social Psychology? • Sample of topics in Social Psychology • Relationships • Social Influence/Persuasion • Group processes • Prosocial behavior

  4. What are the activities in which Social Psychologists engage? • Research-oriented field • Research process • Collaborate with others • Come up with research ideas • Create methods for testing research questions/hypotheses • Data analysis • Communicate results • Apply for grants • Mentor research assistants

  5. What types of organizations or businesses employ Social Psychologists? • Universities • Researcher • Teaching • Marketing firms • Consulting • Government • Non-profit organizations

  6. How much graduate training is needed to become a Social Psychologist? • To specialize in social psychology a Ph.D. is generally necessary • Few master’s programs specific to social psychology • Ph.D. programs • Heavily research oriented • Some classes • Also likely to teach • Often funded by school or research grants

  7. Are certifications or additional training needed to become a Social Psychologist? • No additional training required • However, some may do a post-doctoral program to be more competitive

  8. How good are employment opportunities for Social Psychologists? • Employment opportunities in academia very limited • Less full-time, tenure track jobs • However, growing number of jobs outside academia • Social psychology has broad applicability Private sector 18.7% Academic50% Self-employed 13.9% Government 10.6% Non-profit 6.5%

  9. What salaries do Social Psychologists earn?

  10. How flexible are working conditions for Social Psychologists? • Jobs in academia tend to be very flexible • Make your own schedule • Decide on topics of research • Work remotely • Jobs outside of academia • Vary by company

  11. What skills & experience should undergrads acquire if interested in Social Psychology? • To be competitive for Social Psychology Ph.D. programs: 1.) GPA • Average incoming graduate GPA: ~3.5 (out 4.0 scale) 2.) Graduate Record Exam (GRE) www.ets.org • General Exam • Average incoming verbal/quantitative total: ~310 (out of 340) • Average incoming analytic score: 4.5 (out of 6) • Subject Exams • Only rarely required by social psych graduate programs

  12. What skills & experience should undergrads acquire if interested in Social Psychology? • To be competitive for Social Psychology Ph.D. programs: 3.) Research experience • Involve yourself in DIS opportunities! • Recommend working with two different labs during undergrad 4.) Letters of Recommendation • Typically need 3 • At least 2 should come from professors/research advisors

  13. What is the most rewarding aspect of being a Social Psychologist? • Exciting, creative field • Numerous aspects to job • Focus on what you’re interested in

  14. What is the biggest drawback of being a Social Psychologist? • Heavy workload • Carve out time for yourself

  15. Website recommendations for students interested in Social Psychology • American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/ • Social Psychology Network http://www.socialpsychology.org/ • Society for Personality and Social Psychology http://www.spsp.org/

More Related