Why psychology is a popular choice in upper secondary school in Norway

Abstract

Psychology is a popular subject among students in upper secondary school. There are three hypotheses that try to explain why: 1) The rigour hypothesis, 2) The therapy hypothesis and 3) The sexy subject hypothesis. A total of 196 texts where 157 students had written their response to why they had chosen psychology were collected and analysed. For students who have no previous experience with the subject (n = 103), 83.5% choose the subject out of interest, 4.9% choose the subject because they perceive it as an easy subject, and 8.7% express that they choose the subject due to challenges with their own mental health. 2.9% did not state why they have chosen the subject. For students of one year experience (n = 54), 90.7% explain their choice by interest, while 5.6% choose it because they perceive it as an easy subject 3.7% choose the subject due to own mental health challenges. Interest in psychology varies from a general interest in the subject knowledge content to interest in mental health and perceived relevance for everyday life and for future study or profession. A fourth hypothesis could help to shed light on why psychology is so popular among students: Perception of relevance.