Psychology Virtual Work Experience (MOOC)
How long is it?
There are over seven hours worth of content.
Is it easy to understand?
It is very accessible and you don’t need to know anything in advance.
Who is it for?
Anyone aged 13 or over
What to expect
Introduction to Psychology
- What is Psychology?
- Life as a psychologist
- Core values and ethics
- A brief history of psychology
- Branches of psychology
- Understanding psychological research
- Psychology vs. psychiatry
- Criticisms of psychology
- Quiz
Forensic Psychology
- What is forensic psychology?
- Forensic psychologists and the criminal justice system
- Offender profiling
- Forensic psychology assessment
- Approaches and treatment
- Careers in forensic psychology
- Quiz
Sport Psychology
- What is sports and exercise psychology?
- Key areas and theory is sport psychology
- Common issues addressed
- Assessment methods
- Approaches and treatment
- Careers in sport psychology
- On-demand sports & exercise psychologist Q&A
- Quiz
- Activity: play the role of a sports psychologist
Health Psychology
- What is health psychology?
- Health psychology and disease
- Common issues addressed within health psychology
- Assessment methods
- Approaches and treatments
- Careers in health psychology
- On-demand health psychologist Q&A
- Quiz
- Activity: play the role of a health psychologist
Clinical Psychology
- What is clinical psychology?
- What does clinical psychology aim to address?
- Clinical psychology assessment
- Approaches and treatments
- Careers in clinical psychology
- Quiz
- Activity: play the role of a clinical psychologist
Career Pathways
- Career pathways
- Qualifications needed and universities to consider
- Activity: create a roadmap for your future
My thoughts…
How useful are personality tests?
In the psychology virtual work experience program, I learnt that clinical psychologists use personality tests to help them understand their patients. I think that personality tests can provide valuable insight into what makes people different from each other. For the person taking the test, it can also boost their confidence to read about their strengths. Some personality tests are certainly more reliable than others, but it seems that there are some scientifically vigorous enough for psychologists to use with their clients.
However, I think that no personality test can tell you precisely who you are because the information it uses is also imperfect. The way that people interpret the questions and their own tendencies is unlikely to be an infallible representation of them as a person. It’s also important to consider that some people may obsess over their result, which could actually hold them back from opportunities to grow, change and learn more about themselves. Therefore, I think personality tests can be a valuable tool, but we should keep in mind that personality is fluid and difficult to pinpoint.