What does a psychology instructor do?
Psychology Instructors will enjoy a pay rate of $14K to #130 K per year, depending on the location of the work. To qualify for this position, a bachelor's degree in education or psychology, as well as a teaching certification and learning experience in the field. This career calls on those with good skills in reading comprehension, instructing, speaking, critical thinking, active listening and learning, writing, and social perspectives in order to deliver student-based lessons about human behavior and the functions of the human mind for both high school and college level.
Psychology instructor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real psychology instructor resumes:
- Lead creative writing workshops where students are introduced to the craft of creative writing through short stories and poetry.
- Develop curriculum, teach one course weekly during fall/winter semester and conduct class discussions, quizzes and exams on material present.
- Conduct college-level courses in the fields of sociology and psychology including culture, social systems, and social changes.
- Used structured syllabus with visuals, organize notes, and provide learning lessons for students with interactive tasks to apply learning.
- Present lectures to several hundr undergraduate students each semester.
- Present dynamic informative lectures on human anatomy and physiology.
- Develop and implement course syllabus, following establish institutional guidelines.
- Used variety of teaching techniques to encourage student critical thinking and discussion in collegiate anatomy and physiology course.
- Design research skills seminar to provide advanced training in technical laboratory skills to communication within the scientific community and the public.
- Adhere to the school policies and procedures which written in the ASA faculty handbook; attend faculty meetings and school functions.
- Create curricula base on expository and research essays.
- Introduce students to college-level standards for research, writing and argumentation.
Psychology instructor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Psychology Instructors are proficient in Semester, Student Learning, and Research Methods. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.
We break down the percentage of Psychology Instructors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Semester, 12%
Instructed two semesters of Psychology of Adjustment to developmentally challenged young adults.
- Student Learning, 6%
Assessed student learning by designing application activities that required the use of theory and concepts relevant to the class.
- Research Methods, 6%
Graduate Courses Advanced Research Methods Advanced Statistics Qualitative Research
- Syllabus, 5%
Develop and implement course syllabus, following established institutional guidelines.
- Social Work, 5%
Assisted hospital social workers with complex cases.
- Sociology, 5%
Served as Tutoring Center Supervisor, training tutors in specialized areas, such as sociology, psychology and life sciences curriculum.
Common skills that a psychology instructor uses to do their job include "semester," "student learning," and "research methods." You can find details on the most important psychology instructor responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. The most essential soft skill for a psychology instructor to carry out their responsibilities is interpersonal skills. This skill is important for the role because "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." Additionally, a psychology instructor resume shows how their duties depend on interpersonal skills: "empowered students by teaching interpersonal skills, communication skills, developmental skills, work ethics and resume writing. "
Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform psychology instructor duties is speaking skills. Psychology instructors responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." Psychology instructors also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "developed and presented course material in the areas of general and developmental psychology. "
Writing skills. psychology instructors are also known for writing skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to psychology instructor responsibilities, because "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." A psychology instructor resume example shows how writing skills is used in the workplace: "facilitate campus-wide american psychological association (apa) training's offer sound guidance for research-based scholarly writing for many disciplines. "
The three companies that hire the most psychology instructors are:
- State of Georgia: Teachers Retirement System of Georgia2 psychology instructors jobs
- Bryant & Stratton College2 psychology instructors jobs
- Niagara County Community College2 psychology instructors jobs
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Compare different psychology instructors
Psychology instructor vs. Behavioral science chairperson
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between psychology instructors and behavioral science chairperson. For instance, psychology instructor responsibilities require skills such as "semester," "student learning," "research methods," and "social work." Whereas a behavioral science chairperson is skilled in "science curriculum," "chemistry," "bsn," and "course scheduling." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that behavioral science chairpeople earn slightly differ from psychology instructors. In particular, behavioral science chairpeople are 9.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a psychology instructor. Additionally, they're 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Psychology instructor vs. Social studies department chairperson
Each career also uses different skills, according to real psychology instructor resumes. While psychology instructor responsibilities can utilize skills like "semester," "student learning," "research methods," and "social work," social studies department chairpeople use skills like "instructional strategies," "classroom management," "social studies curriculum," and "economics."
Social studies department chairpeople earn similar levels of education than psychology instructors in general. They're 4.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for psychology instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Kathryn Grow Allen
PRODiG Fellow, SUNY Potsdam
Psychology instructor vs. Human relations teacher
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a psychology instructor is likely to be skilled in "semester," "student learning," "research methods," and "syllabus," while a typical human relations teacher is skilled in "classroom management," "mathematics," "subject material," and "iep."
When it comes to education, human relations teachers tend to earn lower degree levels compared to psychology instructors. In fact, they're 30.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Psychology instructor vs. Child development professor
Even though a few skill sets overlap between psychology instructors and child development professors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a psychology instructor might have more use for skills like "semester," "student learning," "research methods," and "syllabus." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of child development professors require skills like "child development," "child care," "class rooms," and "safety standards. "
Child development professors reach lower levels of education compared to psychology instructors, in general. The difference is that they're 23.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 8.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of psychology instructor
Updated January 8, 2025
