Each year, we ask psychology professors a series of questions that we think might provide useful information to current students. 

This issue we asked: What would you do if you weren’t a psychologist?

Keith Maddox, Tufts University

My wife and I joke that I would be a gas station attendant because I love to clean our windshield.  There’s something very satisfying about seeing the immediate products of your efforts.  But I also love the idea of owning a restaurant or some type of business that brings people together to socialize.

Rebecca Shiner, Colgate University

Being a professor is such a strong part of my identity and such a good fit for my personality and interests that it is hard for me to imagine doing anything else! I could imagine being passionate enough about some other field to want to be a professor in that area--for example, in religion, political science, or philosophy. I could also imagine enjoying non-profit work in an area that is important to me--poverty and inequality, mental health, or health care. 

Angela Lagg, Pace University

I would be a horse trainer. But really that’s not so different from being a psychologist – it’s less data crunching and writing, but training horses still requires quite a lot of creative problem-solving and communication skills, a desire to collaborate with others, and the ability to teach.