Amy Garratt, Alumni, School of Psychology

Amy Garratt

I loved learning in my Psychology degree about human behaviours and motivations & the power of persuasion. I knew that I wanted to use Psychology for some form of marketing means before I took the course but doing the course gave me a greater insight and understanding about how people think, act, and ultimately for consumers how we consume (food / drink / products). I went on to get a grounding in business marketing from the University Business School and loved the background psychology gave me.

I moved to London and got into a grad scheme at a marketing agency and worked my way up from there!

A degree from the School of Psychology has benefitted me in the workplace as it has helped me in my strategic awareness of consumer behaviour and ensured that everything from client objectives, design, headlines are questioned to assess the importance of achieving the desired response.

We have also started to test advertising concepts with a psychology research group to give us a greater understanding of what consumers understand and take out from advertising, which adds a whole new level of the degree.

If I could, the advice I would give to myself whilst studying would be to ultimately enjoy it – If you choose a course that you have an interest in and enjoy it, the more you will pay attention and be curious to find out more and progress yourself. And of course, you will learn more and remember these things many years after you graduate.

Pay attention and have a rough plan when you choose your course. I chose Psychology because I had an interest in the subject, but I didn’t really have a plan about what it would lead to. It wasn’t until I partnered with my MA in Advertising and Marketing that I found all the pieces coming together.