EPTWhy? I've been watching TED videos. I'd like to consider myself a TEDster, I go through periods where I consume a lot of content. Here's a couple, which focus on a lot on education and happiness.
http://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_changing_education_paradigms.html (12 minutes)
The Talk by Ken Robinson (most watched video on TED): http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
I love all this stuff about education, and there are also a lot of talks dealing with the psychology behind it, like the one about grit (number 2 on the list). I lot of this really speaks to me, I look back on my education with fond memories of great teachers. There was also a playlist of videos about Happiness which I went through that has some great talks: http://www.ted.com/playlists/4/what_makes_us_happy.html
The psychology in these was really interesting to me. In addition to all the videos, my best friend also studies Psychology at university and I think it's really cool. The thing is, I don't know if I want to do Psychobiology anymore, I might want to change to just Psychology. I've been telling myself that I'm interested in all the science and biology behind the really technical things, but I'm not sure anymore. I went through Biochemistry last semester and it didn't really do anything for me as far as sparking any interest. I can't imagine Neuroscience courses doing anything differently. As well, I profess I don't really care much for the nitty-gritty details of it all. I've always thought of myself as a big-picture guy ^.^
The two majors themselves, Psychobiology vs Psychology, aren't too different in themselves, except for the elective list you have to choose your electives from. Psychobiology electives feature things like neuroscience, biochemistry, physiological science, psychology and some ecology/evolutionary biology courses. Whereas the Psychology major simply says: pick 4 upper division Psych courses. And I have to say, that sounds mighty appealing, because there are so many damn Psych classes that look interesting to me. And taking Psychobiology, I don't think I'd have time to take them all, since I was going to try and minor as well. The minor I'm interested in is the "History of Science and Medicine" minor, which I think it would be pretty cool. It is 8 classes that I have to take though.
So I guess I have 2 options:
1. Take Psychobiology major and not minor, leaving me time to take all the extra Psych courses that I don't need credit-wise, but are interesting. This leaves with a (maybe?) more impressive degree. I guess it depends on what I'm going to do, but on the face of it, it seems that a Psychobiology degree is more impressive than a flat Psychology degree. Maybe it's because Psychology is THE most popular major at the university, or that there are a million people with a Psychology degree.
2. Take Psychology, leaving the possibility to minor. Pros are I will definitely have time to take all the cool Psych classes I want to take, and maybe even have time for the minor because I don't have to take things like biochem or physiological science.
Option 3: I guess I could always just dabble in the classes the History minor has to offer without completing the whole thing. That means I don't have to dedicate 8 classes to it, leaving more room for other Psych courses. Could do this with either major I suppose.
My end goal is graduate school, most likely in Psychology. I think Psychobiology may be a better major for this, because like I said before, it would differentiate me from the 1000 other Psychology majors applying.
I just don't know right now, TL. I still have time to decide I think, though. I believe I'll be allowed to transfer even after school starts, because it's a major transfer within the department. But these thoughts are weighing on me just because I feel like my life-goals are shifting yet again. They say to follow your heart. I'm trying to figure out which way that is.
