Personal Statement:Psychology and philosophy 2

Why do you want to study this course or subject?

In Jean Paul Sartre's Nausea, Antoine Roquentin suffers psychological withdrawal and subsequently 'nausea', from the futility of his existence. Sartre portrays the human condition through Roquentin, whose behaviour results from psychological symptoms familiar to many. In this manner, psychology is truly relevant to our experiences. I wish to pursue the study of psychology because it questions mental processes and attempts to critically analyse them. The discipline is aided by philosophy; philosophical theories posit suggestions for our behaviour, and psychology provides scientific evidence.

Since psychology encompasses both the 'mind' and the 'brain', with clear distinction, I wanted to study the latter. I likened the mind to an immaterial, abstract concept, whereas the brain is a concrete, physical mechanism. This echoed the theory of eliminative materialism by Paul Churchland, who stated that concepts of 'folk psychology' can be explained by brain function. To investigate more, I read The Neurotourist by Lone Frank, and Psychology by Henry Gleitman. I realise that understanding the brain fully engages psychological analysis to a deeper level. As well, I was particularly interested in mirror neurons, which explains feelings of empathy or embarrassment when watching another person's misfortune. In this manner, many aspects of behaviour can be reasoned by neurological function.

Another application of empathy I found was in psycholinguistics, that is, 'perspective-taking'; speaker must convey intention while the listener must realise the other's perspective to effectively communicate. This is relevant to our human nature: that people must 'collaborate' to be fully functional. Psycholinguistics interests me greatly as language processing is so fundamental yet incredibly complex.

Psychology encompasses the mind, a physically small yet expansive part of life. I genuinely enjoy learning psychology, from the social aspects taught in school to the neuroscience I learn on my own. As an international student, I prefer the British tutorial system and wish to pursue education abroad. I look forward to studying psychology at a higher level.

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

During my psychology course at school, I examined several studies regarding loneliness in a social setting as research for my final paper. This allowed me to practise critical thinking through analysis of statistics. In addition, I conducted an experiment to test the effects of authority. The aim of the project was to determine the morality of my peers as a result of authoritative pressure. I enjoyed the course because it motivated me to study psychology at a higher level; the process of collecting and critically analysing data appealed to me.

Concepts of psychology were applied in my other courses, particularly biology and philosophy. In biology, I conducted self-designed experiments on the cardiovascular and respiratory effects of various stimuli. Furthermore, learning about genetics and evolution made me recognise the scientific background for our behaviour.

I find that philosophy is relevant to the study of psychology; psychological ideas are more substantial with a background knowledge of fundamental philosophy. Having read How the Mind Works by Steven Pinker, I notice that psychology takes philosophical ideas and expands upon them scientifically. The nature of philosophy is often dependent on our psychological and often neurophysiological capacity.

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

I am the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper and the president of the Writer's Club; both opportunities exercise my leadership and writing skills. I work as a certified ski instructor, which is surprisingly relevant to psychology. During my certification course, I was taught many Piagetian ideas. I find that I draw upon developmental psychology whilst teaching.

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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