Personal Statement:Psychology 36 - The Student Room

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

Everyone has complex and intriguing mechanisms that can be analysed to explain their behaviour. It is this exploration into people’s minds, feelings and behaviours that grips me. The horrific deaths of PCs Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes shocked me to the core but sparked my curiosity. How can someone bring themself to shoot another in cold blood? I want to know what makes them tick. It is the insight into people’s minds that psychology offers which excites me.

The cognitive processes of different individuals have always interested me, such as the perception of emotional expression, through eye movement tracking. Particularly, as the cognitive approach can often explain the various biological aspects of psychology. The article in “Scientific American Mind” about how subtle multi sensory clues reveal other people’s emotions highlights the difficulties faced by those with schizophrenia or autism, in breaking down and analysing the visible mechanisms, as well as the psychological ones. I want to understand how their brain processes differ from others, whether at birth, or when growing up and how and if they can be treated.

How have your qualifications and studies helped you to prepare for this course or subject?

I have always been enthusiastic about psychology and reading publications like The Psychologist and Scientific American Mind have stimulated this love. My wider reading in Psychology will aid me in writing a psychology column for my school newspaper, covering issues faced by teenagers such as drugs, alcohol and aggression. I found that using the Buss-Perry Scale was extremely useful when writing the column on aggression, as it enabled me to engage the reader.

Seeking a challenge, my Extended Project explores alcoholism and whether it is due to nature or nurture, a complex issue. Exploring elements of the impulsive personality, genes and stress gave me a wide insight into a plethora of theories. I compared many sources from Oxford journals to E.M.Jellinck’s book ‘The disease concept of alcohol’, which introduced the Disease Concept of Alcoholism. Analysing relevance, reliability and validity enabled me to come to a conclusion that it was a mixture of both. The project has developed both my analytical and independent working skills and the depth of research required has helped prepare me for research projects at university.

Doing Biology A-level has helped my understanding of the more complex scientific aspects of Psychology, such as the synapse, neurotransmitter, autonomic nervous systems and stress response. It has furthered my critical thinking and analysis. As a year 7 science helper, I find communicating ideas and information to younger students very important, watching their learning progress has fascinated me as a psychology student. History has given me the essay writing skills to communicate my points efficiently and structure my arguments effectively, and has illustrated how important bias can be when analysing sources, which also applies to psychological studies.

What else have you done to prepare outside of education, and why are these experiences useful?

Outside of psychology I love playing hockey which gives me confidence in making decisions and adapting and evolving in changing situations. I have played since I was 10 and thoroughly enjoy the mental and physical challenge it gives me. Over the past year I have helped to arrange trips with my History class to the Houses of Parliament and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about how our country is governed. I recently started playing the saxophone, inspired by Gerry Rafferty’s ‘Baker Street’ in an attempt to broaden my horizons and undertake a different challenge, as I am in no way naturally gifted in music!

My degree in psychology will help me improve my critical thinking and analysis of people and actions, enabling me to fulfil my potential as a police officer. A Psychology degree is a continuation of my fascination, love and passion for the subject. I look forward to widening my current knowledge and participating in and conducting experiments at university.

Universities applied to:

• Royal Holloway
• Portsmouth
• Surrey
• Southampton
• Aston

Grades achieved:

• Biology - B
• French - C
• History - B
• Psychology - A

How personal statements have changed?

The current personal statement format, with three 'scaffolding' questions, was introduced by Ucas in September 2025. This personal statement was submitted before then, using the old essay-style format. It has been carefully edited into the three-question format, with all of the original wording kept.

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