psychology should be made compulsory

::The Basics:: My position in this debate is that psychology should not be made compulsory in schools for 14-18 year old students. Unless otherwise specified, my arguments will pertain to the U. S. school system (due solely to familiarity). The following are some necessary primary definitions: Psychology: the study of mind and behavior [1] Compulsory: mandatory, enforced [2] ::The Current State of Affairs:: Though the United States has not established a mandatory high school course set, the most common grouping includes the following (I'll refer to these courses later) [3]: • English – literature, humanities • Mathematics – algebra, geometry, pre-calculus/trigonometry • Science – biology, chemistry, physics • Social Studies – history, government/economics • Physical Education Psychology is most often offered today as a senior-level elective course, often within an advance placement or honors program. Of course, the field of psychology is extremely broad and the provided definition isn't helpful in terms of the field as a school subject. In 2005, the national standard for psychology curricula centered on five aspects of the field: methodology, physiology, development, cognitive processes, and individual/group behavior dynamics [4]. ::Con's Arguments:: 1. Psychology, The Sort-of-Science Given its areas of interest, general psychology focuses on that which cannot be completely quantified or understood. Its endeavors to observe, classify, define, and predict thoughts and behaviors are necessarily rooted in individual interpretation. Such intrinsic biases are amplified by the field's research methods; by depending largely on surveys, questionnaires, correlations, and introspection, even the most trusted psychological theories invite subjectivity. This stance is not meant to discredit psychology, but when the question at hand is compulsory education, any field that can arguably meet the definition of both a science [5] and a pseudoscience [6] must be considered carefully. In this case, the core interest of psychology denies it the possibility of universality, a fundamental characteristic of mandatory school subjects. 2. Relevant Material Found Elsewhere In addition to universality, mandatory subjects are deemed as such because of the unique and necessary information they provide. For example, English courses provide practical linguistic skills and social studies provide cultural and historical facts. Unfortunately, psychology offers few skills and little knowledge not sufficiently found in other subjects. Referring back to the 5 overarching topics of high school psychology courses [4] demonstrates the field's academic overlap with other courses: •Methodology – largely covered in general science classes (with the exception of the more subjective research methods exclusive to psychology) •Physiology – body systems and perception are covered in biology and anatomy, while behavior and emotion are covered in health •Development – physical development is covered in biology and anatomy, while emotional development is covered in health •Cognitive Processes – characteristics of learning and intelligence are integrated into all courses, while thought and memory are key in both English and science •Behavior – English, health, biology, and social studies all focus heavily on both group and individual behavior dynamics That information that is not covered elsewhere can be portioned into two groups: psychology-specific history and theoretical thinking models. While this information is interesting and certainly worthy of an elective course, it is too subjective and unessential to require mandatory study. 3. Limited Usefulness in High School True psychology courses are generally left to college students for numerous reasons. First, given its interpretation-based theories and its continuous attempts to be considered a legitimate science, psychology has spawned over a dozen branches of study [7][8]. Any attempt to form a comprehensive curriculum in a high school environment would suffer from truncated and omitted information. Such editing is especially dangerous in a field like psychology, which requires equal presentation of opposing theories to allow for personal preferences among students. Second, the level of introspection and analysis necessary to comprehend some of psychology's more philosophical views are generally acquired later in our education. Even then, this type of thinking is disliked by many and is best suited within elective courses. By making such teachings mandatory for unprepared and disinterested minds, one not only taxes the students' reasoning skills but also runs the risk of incorrectly presenting psychology as a law-based science. Lastly, information concerning personality or behavior development could potentially be detrimental for those undergoing an important stage of maturing. Just as one would not recommend a medical course for a hypochondriac, a course on psychological disorders and other deviations from a ‘normal' self can work to hinder and confuse natural identity development in teenagers. ::Conclusion:: Believe it or not, I actually love psychology and have a B. S. in the field. However, I still understand that it should not be a mandatory area of study for 14-18 year olds. I have demonstrated that academic psychology does not contain necessary universality, is largely covered in other courses, and is better suited as an elective or college-level course. Thanks again to KadieBobx for letting me go on about psychology. Thanks for reading! ::References:: 1. . http://www.merriam-webster.com... 2. . http://www.merriam-webster.com... 3. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 4. . http://www.apa.org... 5. . http://www.merriam-webster.com... 6. . http://www.merriam-webster.com... 7. . http://en.wikipedia.org... 8. . http://www.bbc.co.uk...