Any other aspie psychology majors (or geeks) out there?

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rjgarn
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17 Feb 2010, 3:58 pm

So after I discovered that high level mathematics was not my cup of tea, I found myself being drawn into the bizarre world of social science, and in particular Psychology and Sociology, and now I'm working on a dual-major BS in both. I've found that studying the human mind from a purely academic point of view has radically changed the way that I view myself and Autism/Aspergers. I guess you could say that I view myself far more objectively, and that I've morphed into a rather extreme Existentialist.

But all of these personal transformations aside, I'm now at kind of a roadblock, and I'm wondering whether any of you might have some advice with overcoming it. In my abnormal Psych class, I am now working on an assignment involving writing up a case study; my instructor has provided us with a brief, one-paragraph, overview of someone who is suffering from X symptoms and stress. From this we are to write up an analysis on what we feel the subject is likely suffering from, what further questions we would like to ask them, and what treatments we would recommend. The problem that I have encountered upon first reading through the assignment is that, while I am as up to par in psychological knowledge as everyone else in my class, I am having some difficulty translating what I know into practice with analyzing the behavior of the subject I am assigned to. I don't think it will affect my ability to get the assignment finished, since several of my friends have been helping me with the specifics and my instructor knows that I have AS and has been providing me with all the necessary assistance. I think the issue is that I am just having a lot of anxiety with how to interpret this person's behavior, much as I do in common everyday situations, though obviously this is a much much much different matter.

What I am really wondering is this: have any of you with a background in Social Science(s) encountered similar problems with interpreting the people you are studying, and if so how did you go about working around them? Also do you continue to have an issues with this, or has experience eased the anxiety?



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17 Feb 2010, 4:38 pm

Assuming you have an interest in psychology, you probably know the subject very well. Probably more than the rest of the class. Those of us with AS have difficulty interacting and interpreting the emotions of others. Despite this problem, I believe we can interpret people well by learning it in an intellectual way rather than intuitively. I realize some of us learn by rote memory so it can be difficult to actually understand what we read. But I think having an extensive amount of knowledge on your subject (psychology) will help you do well on the assignment. Look at it in an objective manner and use your AS strengths. I had problems with certain creative or abstract assignments in school. I could overcome this by doing it in my own way, stating facts rather than ideas. Just use what you know and don't feel like having AS will hold you back. Learn and do things in your own way; you don't have to conform to other peoples' methods. And try not to be too anxious about the assignment, you will probably do well.


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Miyah
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17 Feb 2010, 4:59 pm

Hi,
my name is Miyah and I have Asperger's Syndrome and I am a psychology major and a math minor.



nikki15
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17 Feb 2010, 5:54 pm

I'm techincally a Psychology major, but I'm finishing up at comm. college. So it's too late to change it back to Psychology. But I definitely want a career in the field.



Apera
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17 Feb 2010, 8:07 pm

Though I do have an interest in psychology, I doubt I am suited for working in that profession. Currently IT major, hoping for digital forensics and security.


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mrodd
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17 Feb 2010, 8:17 pm

I had an interest in psychology for almost a year and a half, but now I'm going back to physics, science, music, martial arts, and art in general



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19 Feb 2010, 7:50 am

I'm currently finishing my PhD in experimental psychology, in the discipline of psychophysics 8)


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Autumnsteps
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19 Feb 2010, 10:21 am

Me :) I have an nvq 3 in child psychology and was doing to a psychology degree but changed my mind and am doing childhood and youth studies as it's more relevant to me working at a later date. I'd still like to do the psychology one at some point