Being a psychology student, you may find the task of choosing a topic for your psychology research paper a daunting task. Here is an extensive list of topics that you can refer to before making your final choice.
“Psychology is the Science of Mental Life, both of its phenomenon and their conditions”
– William James
The term ‘psychology’ is derived from a Latin word which means the study of the soul or mind. Psychology is a science based on the study of human psyche, behavior, and mental health. The field of psychology is a vast arena, with a variety of sub fields like child psychology, clinical psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, industrial psychology, etc. With psychology being such an interesting and challenging field, many students are taking it up as a career. To become a psychologist, one has to gain a bachelor’s degree and a postgraduate degree specializing in a particular field. Taking up a Ph.D. also helps. The field of psychology thrives on continuous research and every course requires students to write research papers on different subjects of psychology.
To make a research paper interesting, it is necessary to have a good topic in hand. Since psychology offers a plethora of topics, students may have a difficult time in choosing one. The most important criteria for selecting a research topic is the student’s interest and area of specialization. Writing a research paper in psychology involves a lot of reading as well as field work — therefore, the topic chosen becomes utmost important. Most sub-fields of psychology are broad, like the main subject, and research on a vast topic can become problematic. Hence, it is necessary to opt for a topic that is narrow and concise. For instance, memory is a vast topic and just opting for memory as a research title might be impossible to tackle. The student should narrow down the topic to something on the lines of ‘How does age affect memory?’. Such topics can make the paper interesting as well as specific.
List of Topics for Research Papers in Psychology
The topics listed below cover the varied fields of psychology. These will thus provide a wide range of choices for you to choose from depending on your area of expertise and interest.
Does Gender Affect Depression in Individuals?
How Does Bipolar Disorder Affect the Routine Life of a Person?
The Clinical Uses of Hypnosis – Risks Vs. Benefits
Other Interesting Topics For Psychology Research
– Is Child Obesity a Reflection of Parental Negligence?
– America’s Obsession with Fast Food
– Link Between Television and Obesity
– Narcissistic Mother’s Influence on Child’s Mental Health
– Stress and Preterm Delivery
– Situations Leading to Cutting Yourself Disorder
– Effects of Abortion on Mental Health
– Dating Violence Among Teens
– Teenage Sexting and its Consequences
– Can Stringent Laws Force Morality?
– Effects of Designer Babies on Society
– The Psychology of a Homophobe
– Solitary Confinement and its Emotional Effects
– The Varied Effects of Color on Mental States
– Hyperactive Children – The Role of Environment or Biology?
– The Psychological Profile of a Terrorist
– A Psychological Profile of a Sex Worker
– How are Habits Formed and How Can They Be Changed?
– Gay Adoption and its Legal and Ethical Aspects
– Shyness in Adults: Causes and Consequences
– The Impact of Hate Crimes on Victims and Communities
– Types of Torture and their Psychological Effects
– Change of Perception Based on Attractiveness – Are the Attractive Treated Differently?
– The Homeless and their Psychological Problems
– Promoting Mental Health in the Workplace Through Sports Psychology
– Long-lasting Marriages and the Psychology Behind them
– Should School Uniforms be Banned?
– List of Phobias and their Effect on Personality
– The Rise of Divorces in Society – an Analysis
– Causes and Impact of Emotional, Financial, and Physical Abuse of the Elderly
– Effects of Birth Order on a Person’s Personality and Achievements
– How Does In-store Music Influence Product Selection?
– Teenage Suicide: Why it Happens and What to do About it
– Effects of Postpartum Depression on the Mother and Child
– An Analysis of Harsh and/or Capital Punishment for Sex Offenders
– The Role of Genetics and Environment in Determining Intelligence
– How Does Over Crowding Affect Human Beings?
– Relation between Physical Illness and Stress
– Short Term and Long Term Memory
– Mental Illness and Aging
– Role of Environment in Personality Development
– Influence of Work Environment and Behavior on the Worker’s Self-esteem and Motivation
– Impact of Counseling on Divorced Individuals
– The Involvement of Psychologists in Military Interrogations
– Violent Music and its Impact on Children
– Motivation and its Varied Theories
– Social Interaction
– How Do Individual Differences Affect Stress
– Psychological Reasons for Depression
– Causes and Symptoms of Stress
– How Does Social Anxiety Disorder Affect the Routine Life of a Person?
– Human Development – Conception to Old Age
– Mental Development of Special Children
– Does Gender Affect Memory?
– Different Stages of Human Development
– Why is it Important to Impart Sexual Education to Young Children?
Things to Remember while Choosing a Research Topic
While choosing a research topic, make sure that the subject lies within your area of interest.
Interesting research topics can be easily found on news websites — Read scores of online newspapers and there will be several interesting articles which can be taken up as research topics.
Double check if a strong hypothesis can be made on the subject. Moreover, check if the subject has enough content available online.
Keep three to four research topics in hand before initiating the research. You may encounter unforeseen obstacles and may have to change the topic. That is why it becomes necessary to have some extra topics in hand and be flexible about change at this stage.
Do not hurry with the research, as this can make a mess. First collect secondary data from the Internet about your topic and then head out for primary data, if necessary.
Collecting primary data or first hand information will always give your research a more realistic touch. It will also add value to your paper. So don’t hesitate to go forward and collect your own findings.
The above-mentioned list is just an example of how a student can create their own topic for research. To select a topic, first pick out the area of psychology that interests you the most and then narrow it down to a specific topic. After the final choice of the topic has been made, the research work can be started. To cover all aspects of the topic thoroughly, the student should read up on what the experts have written about the topic; along with that he should also conduct experiments, take interviews, and undertake surveys. Once the research work is complete, the next step is to organize the collected data and begin writing the research paper. While writing a research paper, it is important to keep in mind that only the facts collected have to be listed, and any form of personal opinion or bias should be strictly avoided.
