Psychology & Mathematics
I have made a few appearances in grade 8 classrooms collecting data for
research. Being a university student in a grade 8 classrooms invites a
lot of questions from these apprehensive students. One of the most
popular questions I get upon the students discovering I am a psychology major
is, “do I have to be good at math to go into psychology?” It seems a
large misconception among younger students is that social sciences involve no
mathematical knowledge, and if someone is bad at math, they should go into
psychology. As it turns out, you DO need math in psychology.
An unfortunate element of most university programs is that you will have
required courses that you must complete for your major. The unfortunate
part is that they may be faculties that are opposite to your program, or worse,
they may be faculties that you attempted to avoid by enrolling in the program
you are in. Although this can happen in any program, it is a very common
problem in psychology.
The problem with required courses in faculties outside of the program
(e.g. statistical science courses required for psychology majors) is that they
cause a great deal of stress for the students in the program. The
transition to university already comes with so many additional stressors such
as deadlines, higher workloads, and the responsibility to now keep yourself on
track in school. University students are already so vulnerable to many
mental health issues because of these stressors, and it’s devastating to see
students stressing out more over challenging courses that are contaminating
their passion for their actual program.
In addition to extra stress on the student, a course such as statistics
in a psychology program can hurt a student’s ability to stay in their
program. Competitive programs typically have very strict requirements for
maintaining status in a faculty. If a person is bad at math but is in
psychology, getting below a 60% could mean they are kicked out of their
program, or put on academic probation at the very least. Not only does
this harm their academic standing, but also contributes to the additional
stresses.
What does the research say?
Unfortunately, many of us are quick to blame the students for their poor
performance in these courses. We might think they should have studied
more, or if they can’t handle the course load or content they shouldn’t be in
the program.
Recent research has shed light on this issue. A study investigated
what predicts performance in a psychological statistics course. They
considered the role of math anxiety and previous math marks (on an algebra
exam). The study found that previous math scores significantly predicted
success in the statistics course. Other variables such as test/class
anxiety, or fear or asking for help did not significant predict how well a
student would do in the course. Another interesting finding was that
women were more likely to succeed in the course than men, which is great for
the “women are bad at math” argument.
The findings of the study are important because it supports that it
isn’t the students fault if they do not succeed in the psychology statistics
course. The most important part in predicting success in statistics was
previous success in math. However, we know this can be an issue because
many psychology students are in psychology because they have avoided math
throughout high school. As suggested in the article, one viable
solution to this issue would be offering multiple levels
of psychological statistics in the psychology program. This
way, students would be able to select a course tailored to their ability, in
order to each them what is necessary, but also encourage their success.
Overall, it is important to remember that psychology is a scientific
study. The scientific aspect of psychology is what makes it feasible and
applicable. As a psychology student, I would still recommend anyone who
is interesting in psychology to try it out. You will be amazed at how
valuable psychology is in so many areas of your own life, but also its
usefulness in society. Just remember that psychology does include
the scientific process, which means it is based on mathematical analyses.
However, according to the study, even if you are apprehensive about
psychological statistics, you are just as likely to succeed as if you aren't. So, give it a try!
Lester, D. (2016). Predicting success in
psychological statistics courses. Psychological
Reports, 118(3), 772-777. doi:10.1177/0033294116647687
