One of your classmates says that she is only taking this class because it is required for her education major. “Psychology is all about understanding mental illness and treatment. I don’t know why I have to learn this stuff when I’m going to be a teacher, not a psychologist.” Why should your friend reconsider her opinion? What subfields of psychology are especially important for a teacher?

One of your friends confesses that he really enjoys his psychology courses, but he has decided not to major in psychology. “You have to get a graduate degree to do anything with a psychology major,” he says, “and I don’t want to stay in school for the rest of my life. I want to get out there and work in the real world.” Based on what you have read in this chapter about careers in psychology, what might you tell him?

On May 6, you spot a news item announcing that it is the birthday of Sigmund Freud, “the father of psychology.” How accurate is it to call Freud the “father of psychology”? Having read about psychology’s subfields, are there other people who are as important, or more important, than Freud?

One of your classmates flipped ahead in the book, and noticed that there is a lot of material—including an entire chapter—on the brain. “I don’t see why we have to learn so much biology,” he says. “I want to be a school counsellor, not a brain surgeon. I don’t need to understand the parts of the brain or chemical reactions in order to help people.” How are the brain and the mind connected? In what specific ways might knowing about the brain help us to understand the mind?

Another classmate is very unsettled after reading about B. F. Skinner’s claim that free will is an illusion. “Psychology always tries to treat human beings like lab rats, whose behaviour can be manipulated. I have free will, and I decide what I’m going to do next.” What would you tell your friend? Does an understanding of the basic principles of psychology allow us to predict every detail of what individual humans will do?