Psychology Research Essay - Topics & Examples

The literal definition of psychology says that it is the study of mind and behavior. Well, that’s both interesting and tricky! After all, understanding the human mind is anything but easy. This is one of those fields of study that requires constant research. If you are a psychology student, brace yourself because a lot of research work is about to come your way. But to write a psychology research essay, you need to be prepared. You need to know how the research work is done and how to write it.

This blog will discuss the essentials in a brief yet comprehensive manner. Additionally, the blog give you access to updated lists of the best psychology research topics.

Keep reading to unveil insights.

What is a Psychology Research Essay?

A psychology research essay is the journey to the realm of the human mind. Following are the questions addressed in psychology research essays–

• What do humans think?
• What helps them understand?
• What influences their behavior?
• What makes one person different from another?
• What are the factors triggering specific actions and reactions in human beings?

As a researcher, your main role would be to find answers to these questions. But you would also have to focus on developing principles that can explain them.

Psychology research also plays a great role in its proper application. The range of applications is wide.

For example, certain psychologists may want to know the reasons for ‘forgetful tendency’ in humans. There are several such areas which the psychologists can choose to work on. This gives them a chance to discuss certain human behaviors.

What is the Purpose of a Psychology Research Essay?

Research essays in Psychology are important because –

• First, these studies help you analyze how humans behave in a certain way.
• It will also allow you to understand the several factors that have a severe impact on the human mind.
• These researches allow doctors to curate treatments for different mental disorders.
• Human emotions are influenced by more than one factor. Psychology research helps identify these factors.

A psychology research essays include the following:

• The purpose of the research
• The type of data used
• The method used to collect data
• The method used to analyze the data
• The findings of the research
• The gaps in the research

This structure of the essay help fulfills the purpose of the research. It is important to abide by this structure. The structure makes it easier for the students to complete the research work and document it in a proper logical flow.

Also read - Expository Essay Topics : A Step-by-Step Guide

Tips to Choose Psychology Research Topics

Want to submit an A+ psychology research essay? In the entire process choosing the right topic is the most important thing to do. Below mentioned are the tips that will help you choose the best research topic for your psychology research essay. But before that, let's discuss what makes a topic perfect for psychology research.

Brainstorm ideas and keep a note

Go through the list of topics you have zeroed down and see what interests you the most. Without any further procrastination, go on with that research topic.

Go for a specific topic

For example, you come across the essay topic ‘Ways to fight anxiety.' It is a very relevant topic. But inserting a specific demographic will make it more focused.

So ‘Ways to fight anxiety among women above the age of 40’ will give your research a particular angle and a specific motive.

Frame a research question

Check whether you can frame a research question using the slant. If yes, go for it, or else again restart the selection process. For the example mentioned above, you can easily frame research questions like –

1. What are the reasons for anxiety among women of age 40 and above?
2. Are they being able to fight it?
3. What are their generic symptoms?

If you fail to frame a question out of that topic, there is no point in moving forward with it.

Hunt for sources to support your research

How much data is available on the topic will determine whether or not you can continue with a certain topic. You must gather sufficient resources on a topic before you can write a research report on it. Look up study resources and references on the subject both online and offline. Have a conversation with your lecturer, if necessary, to see if he has any suggestions. Make sure that you have enough materials before you start your study so that you can support all of your statements.

Know how to examine the subject

It's still necessary to move through with this, even though you might need to change the topic now. Asking someone more knowledgeable will help you form an idea in your head of how many different ways you can approach the subject, what data collection techniques you may employ, etc. You had better alter the subject if the resource person suggests it.

Here is a list of relevant psychology research topics for you to choose from for your research essay.

Also read - How To Write An Analytical Essay

The Best Psychology Research Topics

The Psychology research topics mentioned below are divided into categories. This will make it find the best option for you as per your need.

Good Psychology Research Topic

1. Psychology of REM sleep
2. Consequences of continuing to disturb REM sleep at the REM phase of sleep
3. Neurobiology and physiology of lucid dreaming
4. The brain processes that underlie attachment and bonding
5. the workings of a romantic brain
6. Gender-based physiological variations in the brain
7. Physiology of hostility and rage
8. Serotonin and dopamine's part in sensations of joy and pleasure/reward
9. neuronal "layers" involved in visual perception in a hierarchical fashion
10. Individual variations in feeling and perception

 Interesting Psychology Research Topic

1. A neurobiological explanation of synaesthesia: How does red taste?
2. The tempoparietal junction's function in how one perceives oneself
3. types of amnesia after brain injury
4. Analyzing the mental processes involved in memory and cognition in a person with retrograde amnesia
5. What Primary Progressive Aphasia (progressive loss of language skills) reveals about the brain regions involved in language processing
6. Time perception-related brain regions
7. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an autistic brain
8. A Buddhist monk's functional brain scans during various forms of profound meditation
9. Meditation-induced alterations in gene expression and their potential effects on brain function
10. Patients undergoing hemispherectomy (the removal or inactivation of a brain hemisphere) experience cerebral reorganization and neuroplasticity.

 Social Psychology Research Topic

1. The repercussions of racism
2. Describe homophobia.
3. Social problems relating to or affecting culture
4. Social depression: what is it?
5. Who is affected by social anxiety?
6. What impact do violent video games have on children's brain development?
7. Violence in cartoons has an impact on children's behavior and mental health
8. How can divorce impact a child's emotional growth?
9. On an introverted youngster, social anxiety and social sadness
10. How does bullying impact teens in high school or college when it comes to social interaction?

Also read - How To Write Thematic Essay

 Cognitive Psychology Research Topic

1. What impact does attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder have on a child's development?
2. Describe the consequences of autism.
3. How does color psychology work in research on cognitive development?
4. How is attention span measured, and what does it mean?
5. Memory loss and methods for restoring it
6. How do memories impact how people behave?
7. What elements can help kids' problem-solving skills develop?
8. What is speech impairment, and how does it impact the growth of the brain?
9. What exactly is critical thinking, and how does cognitive psychology assess it?
10. How might unconsciousness influence our capacity for decision-making?

 Mental Health Research Topics

1. Circadian rhythm disturbance as a defining sign of depression
2. Sleep paralysis and cataplexy similarities and differences
3. Personality characteristics associated with increased incidence rates of post-traumatic stress disorder
4. Understanding the causes of schizophrenia today
5. , the causes of the beginning of multiple personality disorder
6. The top societal conditions and life circumstances that affect US citizens' mental health
7. ADHD symptoms and their effects on quality of life
8. Environmental variables play a part in depression's onset.
9. Types of dementia and their symptoms
10. Variability in the repetitive behavior that individuals with OCD evoke.

 Psychology Research Topics for College Students

1. How can love affect a person's brain chemistry?
2. Differences between how a male and woman's brains function.
3. How are different types of amnesia harmful to brain function?
4. Can Alzheimer's disease cause PTSD?
5. Yoga's effects on the psychology of people.
6. MRI of an autistic brain.
7. Sleep paralysis: its causes and effects
8. How many multiple personality disorders can be treated?
9. Factors in society that cause panic attacks.
10. dementia signs, causes, and treatments

Also read - What is a Process Essay?

Developmental Psychology Research Topics

1. Children's mirroring behaviour types
2. The role of the amygdala as a change agent in adolescent brains
3. The development of short-term memory from childhood to old age
4. How much discipline is necessary for a child's personality to grow in a healthy way?
5. Men and women's experiences of midlife crisis: similarities and differences
6. Children's primary emotional requirements include care, love, support, independence, safety, acceptance, and understanding.
7. Child abuse is the root cause of numerous psychological disorders in later life
8. Neglecting a child's emotional needs and how it affects adult life
9. Animal and child mirror tests: similarities and differences
10. Examples of Essays that Develop

 A Few Other Ideas on Psychology Research

1. Video games' impact on adolescents' hostility
2. Race and ethnicity's effects on mental health
3. The behavioral repercussions of children's exposure to violence on television
4. Do you think the death penalty should be abolished?
5. Anxiety disorders: causes and consequences
6. How well psychotherapy works to alleviate depression
7. The media's involvement in promoting positive body image Unhappiness among young people
8. Is the environment more important than genes in determining intelligence?
9. Poverty's effects on psychological growth
10. Bullying at work and its effects on staff members' mental health