Relationships and differences in professional interests among Psychology students

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to investigate the areas of greatest and least interest among students, examine the relationships between interests in areas of Psychology, and test differences in the areas based on sex, age, course period and type of Higher Education Institution. A total of 200 Psychology students participated, most of whom were female (77.5%), with half from a public university and the other half from a private university. Participants completed the Scale of Interests by Areas of Psychology (EIAPsi-55) in person. The results revealed that the Traffic Psychology area was the least preferred, while the Clinical area was the most preferred. Of the 55 items of the EIAPsi-55, only 18 demonstrated differential functioning across some of the variables analyzed, and significant differences were identified in seven of the 11 factors of the instrument. This study contributed to the advancement of scientific evidence regarding the EIAPsi-55 and its practical application.