How To Get a Job as a Consumer Psychologist

Here is a simple how to guide to getting a job as a Consumer Psychologist - if that is you want one.

Personal Acumen

When I was at school I saw a counsellor (Kim Soia - thanks for the excellent advice by the way) to see what I should do with my life. I told him I was interested in brands, money and people. He said straight away I should become a consumer psychologist. If you're curious about these things it's pretty much all you need.

Education

To call yourself a psychologist you have to be registered as a psychologist. This involves either a 3 year under grad degree through either science or arts. However, study hard as you'll have to then qualify for a forth year post-grad year. Once you have the four year degree you can either get registered through professional supervision (i.e. get a government job that includes two years supervision), or do a further 2 years Masters or Doctorate degree. I did both. When doing the final two year degree you can chose what area to do your masters in. To get into Consumer Psychology I would recommend either do your masters (or Doctorate) in Consumer psych (not available in Australia), Clinical Psychology, or Organisational Psychology.

Employment

Market research is the safest way to start as a consumer psychologist. In Australia contact the AMSRS for a list of market research companies. The other way to become a consumer psychologist is to become a strategic planner in an advertising agency, contact The Communications Council for a list of agencies. The final way is to become an academic and start your own consultancy. See Michael Edwardson about this one.

However, even if you achieve all this you may not find yourself doing the job of a consumer psychologist, or working with that title. There are many different ways a consumer psychologist can operate, and many varied jobs they can have.

Some Tips

• Again study hard in your undergraduate - what they don't tell you is that those grades count to see if you qualify for a forth year of study - without it you're screwed.
• Do your thesis in something popular with human interest. Make some noise about it. I did mine in 'Identifying the underlying constructs of cool people'. It was not only interesting, but great fun.
• Get a specialism that makes sense, and gives something to the world of consumer psychology
• Stay on top of research, and back up opinion with said research. This will differentiate you massively in industries that are completely made up.
• Try and maintain a link to an academic institution for as long as possible. They are invaluable for resources, and access to research.
• Avoid the trap of getting into organisational psychology - its very different to consumer psychology (although obviously a worthy career in its own right.

Brunch with ABC's Simon Marnie

Last Sunday morning ABC's Simon Marnie came over to my house as part of his Sunday Brunch series on ABC 702. Here's the link to the podcast, it's 30 minutes long so please find something to entertain yourself with if you chose to listen?

The actual concept of the show is brilliant (as opposed to this particular episode)- Simon goes into peoples houses and asks them to talk about their three favourite books, movies and TV shows. It gives a nice insight into people. Simon has been doing this as a radio host for 10 years. It also parallels what Sam Gosling has been doing at The University of Texas. They look at applied social psychology. Part of their work is captured in Sam's book Snoop, that tells you what your various possessions say about your personality (i.e. if you listen to Celine Dion you're likely to be depressed, and if you have sporting paraphernalia around your house you're likely to vote right wing!

Forensic Shopping Investigation IV: Buying Happy

Ever wondered how hard it is to get some antidepressants from a Doctor? Do you have to be referred to a psychiatrist? Do you have to see the Doctor a few times? Anti-depressants, I always thought were the last line of defence against depression, the most invasive of remedies, only prescribed after careful consultation and assessment. I was wrong - very wrong. It took me just 8 minutes and 32 dollars, with a GP I had never met before. I find this staggering, here’s what happened on Forensic Shopping Investigation IV.

I walk into a bulk-billing doctor at 8.45pm, after a quick wait I'm called into his office. I walk in looking rather dishevelled – my normal self, in my normal clothes, but very unkempt. The Doctor is a skinny, quiet, polite, and somewhat disinterested character. What follows is both hilarious and scary, and best captured in script form. To really understand what actually happened I suggest you mimic the Doctors behaviour, and finger type each of my answers into your computer before asking the next question. Also if you can, imagine the Doctor asking most of the questions whilst looking at his computer - not me.

Dr: What can I do for you?

Adam: I’m depressed. I have been for a few years, and I want to go onto medication.

Dr: (type, type type) Do you cry?

Adam: (Slightly startled, as it's a pretty weird follow up question) Ummm, yes.

Dr: (type, type type) How often, every day?

Adam: Often.

Dr: (type, type type) Is there a reason why….is there a history of mental illness in your family?

Adam: No.

Dr: (type, type) Are you paranoid? Do you hear voices?

Adam: No. I am not crazy.

Dr: (type, type type) Have you received treatment in the past?

Adam: I saw a psychologist a few years ago, but I haven't had medication.

Dr: (type, type type) You definitely need medication.

Adam: And there you have it. I have no idea why he came to that conclusion. I didn't ask, and he didn't tell me. I am stunned and find it incredulous. I don’t say anything and the Dr continues as he prepares the script.

Dr: I want you to take one of these every day and come and see me again in one week. We will then create a mental health plan. We will refer you to a psychologist.

He gave me a script, said a few reassuring nothings and then I was out the door. So if you want to get your hands on some ‘Efexor-XR’ and you’ve got 10 minutes to spare you too can have some. No referral to a psychiatrist. No assessment for self-harm or suicide. No assessment of immediate stressors or immediate action needed. No investigations into possible less invasive treatments. No assessment of social supports in my life. No assessment of another possible diagnosis.(i.e. manic episodes, anxiety). No assessment as to if I needed drugs or not. No challenge to my desire to get drugs. No interest as to why I thoughts drugs were the answer. No explanation how the drugs prescribed work. No explanation as to the impact or side effects of the prescribed drugs (which wiki lists as; Hypertension, Vivid/Abnormal dreams, Akathisia, Decreased libido, Apathy, Constipation, Headache, Nausea, Insomnia, Sexual dysfunction, Dry mouth, Dizziness, Sweating, Decreased Appetite, Abnormal ejaculation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Fatigue, Vertigo). This appears to be utterly crap health care.

I am not against anti-depressants, they help some people, some of the time (although based on this experience it’s likely they are massively over-prescribed). Nor am I against Doctors (of the MBBS kind), although I find it weird that they are the only profession in the world that is not expected to manage their diary properly - why do they always keep us waiting? Further, I have nothing against the individual Doctor I saw – it’s not his fault – he was doing the best he could, and seemed pleasant enough. However, my issue with what happened is simple ‘quality control’. Mental health is a serious, delicate issue, and ideally would be assessed and managed in a professional, respectful manner. What I experienced was totally inadequate. Putting someone on anti-depressant medication so easily, so flippantly, isn’t right. Anti-depressants should be seen closer to a last resort, rather than happy pills given to anyone who asks. Once on anti-depressants it can be difficult to come off them. Further, they may not treat the underlying cause of the depression. Again, it's not that they are all bad, it's just that they can be good, or very, very harmful - and should only be prescribed with utmost care.

Everyone from fast food chains, to banks, to my local café have actions in place to ensure there is a quality service delivered to its clients. They conduct mystery shopping. They conduct market research. They incentivise their staff when they perform the service in the right manner. What does the Australian Medical Association (AMA) do to ensure, once educated, Doctors deliver a quality service – do they do market research? Do they conduct mystery shopping? Do they incentivise Doctors on quality of service? Whatever they do – it wasn’t working when I saw the doctor.

I’m not depressed, and I haven’t been for many years. Based on my experiences tonight I consider myself very lucky.

• Depressed: Beyond Blue here, Inspire Foundation here
• Find a psychologist here
• Note to complain about a Doctor the AMA suggests you contact Choice! or contact your state board of the AMA. Further there is an interesting site called www.ratemp.com

Sexual Fantasies: Rape and Other Unmentionable Things

Above is a pretty gross ad, below is a rational as to why it may work!

In a very mainstream psychology magazine Psychology Today, I cam across an interesting article, Why Do Women Have Erotic Rape Fantasies? It represents the findings of a meta-study on female sexual fantasies and concludes that loads of them are about being raped. Many years ago I remember talking to a female friend at a party and the conversation of sexual fantasies came up. She disclosed that her most recurring sexual fantasy involved being tied up and raped by the captain of a Boing 747 as she was being flown to London!? Why did she (and apparently around 50% of all woman) have a rape fantasy. According to the meta study, the Psychology Today article lists several reasons (in their words), including:

• Masochism - The idea that women desire suffering.
• Sexual Blame Avoidance - Women are socialized to not seek out sex lest they be considered tramps, but if they're having sex against their will they can avoid guilt.
• Openness to Sexual Experience - In some ways this is the opposite of the last one. If you're sexually open, you entertain a greater variety of fantasies.
• Desirability - Many women like to believe that they're so attractive that men cannot resist the urge to overtake them.
• Male Rape Culture - Some have argued that women have been conditioned to buy into men's fantasies of domination. But the prevalence of rape fantasies has not changed much in recent decades, even as gender roles have.
• Biological Predisposition to Surrender - In many mammalian species, the male must pursue and subdue the female in order to mate. Women may be programmed to surrender to the successful dominant male.
• Sympathetic Activation - The sympathetic nervous system becomes engaged in times of stress or danger, activating a fight or flight response marked by increased heart rate, respiration, pupil dilation, and genital arousal. Just like on a roller coaster, fear and excitement go hand in hand

Outing this kind of research is important, as it normalises behaviours that people have that they may think are unusual or maladaptive in some way. Needless to say women who have rape fantasies do not condone rape. Where does this research leave marketers? Do marketers play in the politically sanitised world of women in control or do they consider the riskier, edgier, and some may say more accurate / engaging world of woman as victim - at least in fantasy.

Please read the original article - it's pretty interesting.

The Marketers Responsibility is to Remove Choice

I've heard a lot of marketers talk about wanting to offer choice to consumers. However, a few years ago Barry Schwartz released his best seller 'The Paradox of Choice'. His central premise was that the more choice there was the a) harder it was to make a decision, and b) the less likely it was that someone would be happy with the decision they've made (ever shopped for a house and tried to get all the positive features you've seen into the one house, for a price you can afford)?

Schwartz went as far to say that too much choice retarded action - quoting a famous experiment that shows a store selling 6 flavours of jam will sell more than a store selling 30. Interestingly, the latest meta-study on choice has found that the answer is much more complex than that. Sometimes choice is valued, and sometimes it's not.

Anyway, I always found it curious that marketers say they want to offer choice, as really they should be aiming to remove it. Marketers who create brands for which there is no alternative, no other choice available will win. Create a brand that's truly differentiated, and you'll create a brand that creates its own category - a category of 1. Google and search, Blackberry and PDA's, iPods and MP3's, have all at some stage been a category of one (or close to it).

.... anyone got any brands they work on that fall into a category of 1 - removing all choice.