Understanding human behavior and the roots of substance abuse disorders

Psychology

To me, the most interesting thing about psychology is the deeper understanding of people that can be found with it. I know that people are very complex and psychology does not give all the answers, but it gives such insight into human behavior, and that is something that I find very fascinating. Human beings are not only interesting, but they can be charming, frightening, dangerous, confused, and a thousand other things. Because of this, it seems as though it is important to understand why people do what they do. While this does not mean that the problems that people cause for themselves and others can be prevented, it does appear that a greater understanding of humanity would be very beneficial in determining the cause of some behaviors and therefore looking for ways to stop or at least understand the behaviors.

In a beginning psychology course, I would not expect to learn a really in-depth study of people and why they act the way they do. Instead, I would think that learning would be more limited to generalizations, such as the types of disorders that are most common, the signs and symptoms of these disorders, the important people in the history of psychology, and other interesting facts that do not delve too deeply into the human psyche. This does not mean that I do not think I would learn a lot from the introductory course. I just believe that there has to be a foundation for knowledge, and that is what the beginning psychology course is generally designed for. By getting a good foundation it would then be easier to learn about any and all of the important issues that will likely be addressed within more advanced courses as the curriculum becomes more difficult.