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12 JAMES DEBONO YOUNG people, especially women, may be getting themselves a bigger dose of self-awareness and under- standing of others. Statistics indicating the rise in popularity of psychology at Sixth Form level, show that nearly 2,000 students sat for their exam in the newly-launched subject at Inter- mediate level. Of these, 967 sat for their exam in 2017, which figure went up from 675 in 2014 when the subject was first launched. Psychology also emerges as one of the most popular subjects among female students. In fact while 316 males sat for the May session in 2017, 651 female students made the same choice. Students choose psy- chology from a specific cluster of subjects which includes sociology, reli- gion, philosophy, market- ing, history, geography, economics, accounting and classical studies. The rise of psychology mir- rors a drop in registrations for philosophy and religious studies. The number of students sitting for the religion exam dropped from 405 in 2013 (before psychology was introduced), to 227 in 2017; while the number sitting for the philoso- phy exam declined from 804 in 2013 to 361 in 2017. The popularity of psychology contrasts with the unpopularity of other subjects in the same cluster: history, which is available at both Advanced and Intermediate level but is chosen by just 170 students, and geography, which is only cho- sen by 166 students. Why is psychology popular? Psychology at Intermediate level has been available to students since the 2012/13 academic year but was first assessed in May 2014. Dr Olivia Galea Seychell, a senior lecturer who lectures psychology at Junior College, cited various rea- sons why psychology immediately "sparked an interest" in students. "Psychology is seen as a subject giving students the opportunity for self-development," she told Malta- Today. "It is also seen as a good combi- nation with other subjects irre- spective of whether students have an inclination towards sciences and arts. The syllabus is also ver- satile and it gives the students a very good taster of what psychology entails. "So a student who is interested in furthering her studies in psychol- ogy will gain a clear understanding of the subject. Whereas students who are more interested in other subjects and eventually branch in other professions see psychology as useful to their future career". For example, students interested in becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, accountants, engineers, nurses, social workers, IT experts (to name a few), see that psychol- ogy at Intermediate level can pro- vide them with insights and skills – such as an understanding of communication or psychological disorders – which they will surely use in their future careers. The rising popularity of psychol- ogy is not a Maltese phenomenon. A BBC News survey found psy- chology in the UK had also seen a spiral rise in choice and popular- ity among students. In 2014, more than 100,000 students registered for a UK psychology degree, and demand has been on a steady rise ever since. The prevalence of fe- male students among students is also found in the UK where, at degree level, psychology has the second biggest gender divide after nursing, fol- lowed by social work, education and design. But last year's ex- aminer report is- sued by the Maltese matriculation exam board (MATSEC) still sees room for self- improvement among students, especially in applying what they learn to their own life. "While it is true to say that some candidates managed to assimilate knowledge of psychological theo- ries, fewer candidates manifested the capacity to apply these theo- ries to their own personal lives. Even fewer showed critical think- ing and reflection, analysis, evalu- ation and synthesis of ideas, to unlock the power of psychological awareness for the well-being of one's life." maltatoday SUNDAY 25 FEBRUARY 2018 News Psychology wins young minds sitting for MATSEC exams Top 5 subjects chosen at Intermediate level* Males Females Total Psychology 316 651 967 English 403 440 843 Pure Maths 291 288 579 Physics 250 267 517 Environmental Science 166 231 397 *Psychology is only offered at intermediate level and forms part of a cluster which includes nine other subjects. Students have to sit for two subjects at advanced level and four at intermediate, one of which is the compulsory Systems of Knowledge. Rise of psychology and decline in religion and philosophy Religion Philosophy Psychology 2013 405 804 0 2014 286 593 675 2015 235 402 919 2016 267 330 1028 2017 227 361 967 How psychology compares to subjects in the same cluster Total Total Advanced Intermediate & Intermediate Psychology 967 967 Marketing 276 758 Accounts 54 513 Philosophy 361 471 Sociology 207 397 Religion 227 318 Economics 66 236 History 73 170 Geography 103 166 Classical Studies 39 39 standing of others. Statistics indicating the rise in popularity of psychology at Sixth Form level, show that nearly 2,000 students sat for their exam in the newly-launched subject at Inter- Of these, 967 sat for their exam in 2017, which figure went up from 675 in 2014 when the subject was Psychology also emerges as one of the most popular subjects among female students. In fact while 316 males sat for the May session in 2017, 651 female students made the same choice. Students choose psy- chology from a specific cluster of subjects which includes sociology, reli- gion, philosophy, market- ing, history, geography, economics, accounting and The rise of psychology mir- rors a drop in registrations for philosophy and religious studies. The number of students sitting for the religion exam dropped from 405 in 2013 (before psychology was introduced), to 227 in 2017; while the number sitting for the philoso- phy exam declined from 804 in 2013 to 361 in 2017. an inclination towards sciences and arts. The syllabus is also ver- satile and spiral rise in choice and popular- ity among students. In 2014, more than 100,000 students registered for a UK psychology degree, and demand has been on a steady rise ever since. The prevalence of fe- male students among students is also found in the UK where, at degree level, psychology has the second biggest gender divide after nursing, fol- lowed by social work, education and design. But last year's ex- aminer report is- sued by the Maltese matriculation exam board (MATSEC) still sees room for self- improvement among students, especially in applying what they learn to their own life. Number of students sitting for May 2017 session 2014 675 2015 919 2016 1028 2017 967