How to Study for Psychology Tests
7 Ways to Get Good Grades in Your Social Science Classes
Aug 27, 2008
If you’re studying psychology in high school or college, you may be wondering how to get good grades. Do you just read the chapters and hope it sinks in? No. Do you practice psychology on your friends, roommates, or pets? Maybe, but you’ll need to do more than that to get good grades in psychology. Once you develop good study habits for this or any social science class, you’ll be getting good grades in no time.
Psychology Study Tips: 7 Ways to Get Good Grades in Social Science Classes
1. Explain the psychological theories or concepts. The best way to learn psychology is to teach it. If you’re trying to memorize Sigmund Freud’s stages of development or the underpinnings of Alfred Adler’s school of Individual Psychology, try explaining what you do know to a fellow psychology student. To study for psychology classes, it helps to work through the concepts verbally.
2. Actively listen in your psychology lectures. “Active listening” means reading the assigned chapters before class, comparing what you read with what the psychology professor is saying, and jotting down or even asking questions in class (or after the lecture is over). This psychology study tip is effective in all your classes.
3. Study in “dribs and drabs.” Instead of tackling all seven psychology chapters the night before the exam, study for an hour a day far in advance. If you study for short periods of time way before the psychology test, you’ll not only recall it easier during the exam, you’ll also remember it longer.
4. Set a study schedule. To study for psychology and all your other classes, create and stick to a study schedule. You may find it effective to study each subject for 30 minutes a day, or you may be more comfortable studying in two or three hour blocks. Experiment with different study schedules until you find what works for you – and then stick with your plan. Again, this psychology study tip works well in other courses.
5. Compare what you’re learning to “real” life. Take Sigmund Freud’s stages of development, for example. Have you found that to be true with your little sister, your own children, or the kids down the block? To get good grades in psychology class, apply what you read and hear to your reality. If it doesn’t fit, discuss it with your fellow psychology students or your professor.
6. Learn to identify key information. This isn’t just a psychology study tip – it works for all your high school and university classes. Practice seeing what’s really important in the chapter. For instance, the case studies that develop certain concepts are interesting, but they’re not necessarily going to be on the exam. Psychology case studies illustrate the concepts so you can understand them, but they’re not usually worth memorizing. An effective way to study for psychology is to train yourself to identify the key concepts and points.
7. Read related material. If you’re in a first year psychology class, the concepts and terms may be foreign and unfamiliar. To get used to psychological theories, read psychology journal articles or magazines such as Psychology Today. The more you’re exposed to psychology, the easier it gets. An even stronger psychology study tip involves reading articles written by or about the psychologist you’re studying (for example, if you’re studying Freud’s theories of development, read a current research article or two about Freud).
If you found How to Study for Psychology Classes: 7 Ways to Get Good Grades in Social Sciences helpful, you might like:
