The poverty and culture which determines our

The foundations to a person’s mind are based on the principles both instilled into and gathered from experiences as a child. As children grow older they soon start interpreting this information to decide for themselves as to which of their actions are right or wrong. What draws me to study psychology is this mental processing and how it affects a person’s current and future disposition. I have always had a zest for a career in psychology. It fascinates me as to how important psychology is in our daily lives and the impact it can have. It has made me be observant of human behaviours around me.

Being the eldest, I have been involved in my younger siblings psychological development and have participated in their observational learning. Bandura’s Social Learning Theory advances that people learn from one another through observation, imitation and modelling. As children are more likely to imitate behaviour with role models of whom they identify, I believe that I have been incorporated to be a role model for my younger sister who has identified with me and has imitated my behaviour. Thus, this has allowed me to use vicarious reinforcement during her development. Due to this fascination, psychology has been a subject that I wish to study further. My prediction of an A in psychology illustrates my commitment to be successful  in the subject.

I chose particularly to study Psychology and Religious Studies and Sociology because they intwine with each other. Sociology has allowed me to understand the latest trends in crime, education, poverty and culture which determines our current government policies which is important to my life. Psychology helps to understand the dynamics of relationships, behaviour and the justifications of these crimes in these trends better. Therefore both subjects go hand in hand. Furthermore, my interest in Religious Studies is due to the fact of the relationship between both Psychology and religion which entails the study of religious behaviour and belief from a psychological perspective.

With these three subjects combined, it has allowed me to gain knowledge of different backgrounds of learning concluding that Psychology which is my passion, is involved in them all.  Due to attraction of additional research, I decided to conduct an Extended Project Qualification with a Psychological aspect developing my analytical skills. It broadly compares attitudes towards mental health in two different cultures. Currently I am a support worker volunteer for Compass Recovery College, which is part of the NHS. The recovery programme allows people who are suffering with mental health issues to  develop skills and confidence to manage their own recovery journey.

This voluntary work has allowed me to get an understanding of people who suffer with mental health issues and help them implement alternative methods of recovery. This has allowed me to enhance my patience, communication and empathy which are key skills required to become a psychologist. My hobbies are socialising, travelling the world and helping others. I have gathered my hobbies and put them towards something beneficial such as being part of a Red Cross Maternity Ward in a rural village in Bangladesh. This has allowed me to socialise with women from deprived backgrounds and help them whilst travelling in Bangladesh encouraging my problem solving skills.

Throughout my time with these women I had to work independently whilst also working alongside a team, allowing me develop exceptional transferable skills. With the use of my pragmatic attitude and commitment I will be able to display this at degree level. Coming from a south asian household with Islamic beliefs, I believe that Psychology has been disregarded and stigmatised.  Given the opportunity, I would like to remove the stigma and take away the  backward looking mind-set from people around me which motivates me to study psychology in as much depth as possible.