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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Psychology by Yale University

4.9
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29,069 ratings

About the Course

What are people most afraid of? What do our dreams mean? Are we natural-born racists? What makes us happy? What are the causes and cures of mental illness? This course tries to answer these questions and many others, providing a comprehensive overview of the scientific study of thought and behavior. It explores topics such as perception, communication, learning, memory, decision-making, persuasion, emotions, and social behavior. We will look at how these aspects of the mind develop in children, how they differ across people, how they are wired-up in the brain, and how they break down due to illness and injury....

Top reviews

SS

Aug 4, 2020

Professor Bloom has quite engaging style of teaching and the animations in this course provided nice visual reference.Overall, it's a nice course if you want to learn basic introduction of psychology.

TP

Dec 17, 2021

An excellent course to get a general idea about psychology as well as understanding of what to do next if you are into learning more. Very useful links for extra reading. And very engaging instructor.

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26 - 50 of 6,441 Reviews for Introduction to Psychology

By Tetiana P

Dec 18, 2021

An excellent course to get a general idea about psychology as well as understanding of what to do next if you are into learning more. Very useful links for extra reading. And very engaging instructor.

By Ellie H

Feb 6, 2019

Great introductory class covering a wide range of topics. Videos are engaging and the modules build on each other logically and are easy to follow. I appreciated being able to reset deadlines and work at my own pace. Highly recommended course for anyone with a passing interest in this field. Thanks Coursera & Professor Bloom!

By Arbana P

Jan 26, 2019

I enjoyed this course a lot and prof. Bloom is very easy to follow. Being that I have done my studies on psychology in another language it was very important for me to take this course in English.

By Natalie H

Aug 26, 2019

Absolutely love the way the course is explained, it's very clear and very easy to imagine and picture the situations. The author speaks slowly making space for understanding the content.

By Kamil T

Feb 2, 2019

Excellent introduction to the course. The lectures are delivered in a very clear, engaging way. I loved the readings (Noba) and the animations in the lecture videos were very well done.

By Sophie Z

Feb 10, 2019

Very education and highly engaging. The unique animated lecture style was an absolute pleasure to watch, encouraging me to work far ahead of schedule just so I could keep on watching. Concepts were easy to understand and very well explained, paired with numerous examples and case studies that deepened my understanding of the material. All that, paired with the absolutely marvelous lecture style of the professor, meant that this was hands-down one of my favourite courses on the site.

By Elisa G d A

Dec 19, 2018

Lovely course if you want an overview of the field.

By Laureen S

Feb 11, 2019

This course has provided me a thorough basic understanding of psychology, packaged in an engaging and user-friendly manners in terms of topics and their presentations. The layout of the course is very well put and motivating. Excellent references and very nice lecture-like videos. Professor Bloom and his team are exceptional.

By Brent S

May 28, 2020

More like intro to psychologists. Teach me about the brain, not about theories that don't even hold true in reality.

By Dr.Mohammad K H

Jan 11, 2021

Introduction to Psychology is a journey through all of the major psychological concepts and principles. The knowledge gained from this course will allow students to critically evaluate psychological research and have a more in-depth understanding of human thought and behavior.

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior, according to the American Psychological Association. It is the study of the mind, how it works, and how it affects behavior. ... Psychologists and psychiatrists work together to help people with mental health conditions, but they are not quite the same

Psychology majors develop a broad understanding of human behavior as well as the skills to understand and interpret research findings concerning human behavior. The psychology curriculum includes courses in cognitive, developmental, behavioral and neural studies, learning, personality, social and clinical psychology.

So as you have learned, the four primary goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict, and change behavior

Intro Psych will always be a hard course because the material is complex and broad, but it may be even more difficult for you because you may lack background and experience to tie all this new material to, and because your academic skills may be less-than-perfect.

The three branches are: 1) the basic science of psychology, whose proper subject matter is “mental behavior” which translates into the behavior of the animal as a whole and includes thinking and feeling as well as acting; 2) human psychology, whose proper subject matter is human behavior at the individual level and

Psychology is the study of the mind, its thought, feeling and behaviour. It is an academic discipline which involves the scientific study of mental faculties, functions and behaviours. ... Psychologists attempt to understand the role of mental functions in individual and social behavior.

So, yes, it is possible to learn anything. ... The core of it would be your own passion towards psychology - if you are determined to learn, no one and nothing will stop you from reading materials and educating yourself. You can go on any college website and get a list of books/textbooks for courses and read them yourself.

Psychology is very important especially because it deals with the study of the mental processes and behaviour at the same time. It is also applied in our daily lives and in many things. ... Psychology is also used to better understand and help those with pervasive developmental disorders such as autism.

The five major perspectives in psychology are biological, psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive and humanistic. Each perspective provides its own view on the roots of why you do what you do.

The four main goals of psychology are to describe, explain, predict and control the behaviour and mental processes of others. Describe. Psychology aims to understand the behaviour of others and gather information about the way the brain works in order to better serve humanity.

Define Psychology in your own words. Psychology is the study of the human brain and the scientific factors that follow it such as the behaviors one has. ... It changed from the study of the soul to the study of the mind and the brain.

The Different Types of Psychologists and How Do They Help You

Biopsychologist.

Clinical Psychologists.

Cognitive Psychologists.

Consumer psychologists.

Counseling Psychologists.

Cross-Cultural Psychologists.

Educational Psychologists.

Getting feedback on an assignment is an important part of the learning experience. But sometimes it can be hard to know how to interpret feedback, especially if the comments aren’t what you expected, or if you’re unsure what they mean.

It’s important not to take feedback as personal criticism. Lecturers mark thousands of assignments, and their end goal is not to point out your mistakes, but to suggest ways to improve your writing. Keep an open mind – at the end of the day, your teachers want to see you getting the best marks you can.

In fact, feedback is the ticket to academic success, so think of it as an opportunity, not an obstacle. Here are some tips for reviewing the feedback you receive and using this knowledge to improve your assignment writing.

1. Interpret the feedback

First, try to determine exactly what the marker is commenting on.

Is it the expectations set out in the unit learning outcomes and assignment marking rubric?Or, maybe it’s the structure of your writing or the language you have used?Maybe you need to pay attention to your use of sources, including the way you have referenced them?

If you are unclear about the feedback that you received, make sure you speak to your unit chair, lecturer or tutor to clarify – in class, on the unit discussion forum or via email.

2. Analyse and apply what you have learnt

Then, identify specific areas that you need to address for your next assignment.

How can I improve my sentence structure?Am I showing adequate evidence? Enough analysis?Am I making my paper easily digestible for my reader?Am I providing too much or too little information?

Keep a log of the comments you receive for various assignments – are there common issues that you need to address in your writing? And don’t forget to note any positive comments made by your marker: it’s useful to know your own strengths and build upon them.

3. Talk it out and ask questions

It really helps to discuss your feedback with someone else – it could be a classmate or a friend. The Study Support team can also help you do this. We have Writing Mentors and Language and Learning Advisors who can help you to interpret and review your feedback.

4. Utilise resources to improve your skills

Better planning for your next assignment will help provide a better result. There’s an Academic Skills guide for almost every aspect of your university assignments, from integrating sources to proofreading to note taking.

And, one of the most important things to do when you begin your next assignment is to read the assignment brief carefully to understand what is being asked of you. As one lecturer says, ‘when marking, we ask ourselves: did the student fulfil the task, and how? If not, what was missing from their assignment?’ You should ask yourself the same questions when writing your assignment.

By Indrakant M

Nov 25, 2019

Didn't get what i was looking for. Course is boring at many places with unusual content

By imran s

Nov 5, 2023

A very comprehensive course, giving you the insights into the field of psychology, even with no prior background of psychology, and containing interesting references and examples throughout the course

By Natalia S

Nov 22, 2020

As a source of information it's fine, but quite narrow-minded as it is based exclusively on materialism and it criticizes other approaches to psychology. Besides, it's pretty much offensive, especially towards spiritual and/or religious people as it completely denies the existence of the soul and constantly says that basically we all are just a lump of meat/bag of bones/result of neural activity, etc. So, if you do consider yourself something bigger than a lump of meat, stuffed with bones and acting as a robot according to the chaotic neural activity, probably you'd better not take this course and find another one which is not based on pure materialism.

By Emily V

May 21, 2020

Taking this course during the Covid19 outbreak in the UK, has been a wonderful experience during a difficult period. I have always been passionate about psychology but have never had the opportunity to study it in depth - doing this with the support of Ivy League resources has been an incredibly interesting experience.

During the pandemic, i have been able to dedicate the majority of my time to these modules, therefore when the reading has extended past the suggested '10 minutes' this has not been a problem. i would however recommend reviewing this for participants who will rely on these time frames to be accurate, in order to plan the course into their busy lives.

It has be great to get an insight into American learning culture and I thoroughly enjoyed Prof. Paul Bloom's teaching style combined with the fun animations.

Thank you Yale and Go Bulldogs!

By Cintia C

May 17, 2020

It is impossible to take seriously a course in psychology where Freud is discredited in this radical way...

Although very understandable in the case of catholic university.

By S S

Jun 3, 2020

This course was really very interesting and the way by which lectures was delivered it too awesome.

It was easy to understand and feel connectivity to the Professor.

Thank you Sir and Coursera.

By Scott C

May 7, 2020

I appreciated the animation and breadth of materials, and everything was organized well enough to be easily remembered.

I did have a number of issues with a few areas, like another commentator mentioned there’s a strangely aggressive attack on all forms of spiritualism due to the fact that we think with our brains (?) that’s never really justified in my opinion (declaring atheism true over agnosticism, which seems more scientific to me).

And there is a point later on where a large segment of a lecture is dedicated to Judith Rich Harris’s extreme take on parenting methods, which is that they have 0 psychological impact on adults later in life (even if abusive) and that the only real factors in upbringing are genes and outer social environments. This has been highly contested since it was published in 1998, but we aren’t provided any in-depth legitimate alternate perspectives. It was confusing to see it’s inclusion as it seems to stick out as contradicting large portions of other lectures and raises a number of serious ethical questions that are glossed over.

By Ashley N

Oct 5, 2019

While you do learn the basics of psychology, I felt it was far too rushed to be able to truly learn and memorize anything. Since each section is so short, it is more of a tasting rather than an in-depth introduction to common psychological beliefs, theories, etc. However it was still enjoyable, mostly due to the animations!

By FullElven

Feb 7, 2022

This class is awful and really outdated. It's, at best, offensive for no reason. I can't believe there's a legitimate 'why god why' moment over the urethra going through the prostate when like...there are a million better reasons to argue against creationism. Which also goes into this, Creationism, Duality...sometimes they make sense to bring up. But we were supposed to be learning about emotion, and literally the whole thing was just dunking on Creationism instead lol. Also, I don't know that this guy actually knows Autistic people exist outside of Temple Grandin or Autism Speaks ways of looking at things. I was really looking forward to learning something but it was really jarring how much just didn't make sense. "You can't understand language if you don't speak language...also here's a study I did with my wife asking 6 month olds about morality to see if they understand it" lol. Get all the way out of here. There are far better Intro Psych classes. Don't let the fancy 'Yale' tag tempt you.

By apurva s

Jun 24, 2019

Irrelevant stuff mixed.

I am looking for something which has less stories, is to the point with quality stuff.

By Madalena R D

Dec 16, 2019

Intro to Psychology taught by Dr. Bloom of Yale was a very interesting and informative course. I have always been very interested in the field of psychology and was thrilled to have taken such a great class. Rating this course on a scale of 1-5 stars, I would give it a 4 star review. In my opinion, the most important aspects of an online class include exciting visuals, interesting lectures, and use of outside sources. This class exhibited all three!

This course had plenty of interesting visuals that floated in and out of the screen that kept me entertained and interested. It also helped me to understand certain things that Dr. Bloom was explaining which is important for visual learners.

The lectures were interesting and Professor Bloom used many different real life examples to aid in understanding. I really felt as though he was knowledgeable about his field of study as I took the course and I felt as though I was being taught in a way that I could trust.

One of my favorite parts of the class was when outside videos were played about real life experiments in psychology. I found this extremely interesting. Even the TED talk included somewhere in the middle of the course was excellent because it gave us a different person’s perspective. My only negative about the class would be that I wish more outside videos had been displayed because I feel that they showed us as students how the subjects we were studying could be applied to the real world.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed this course! I can honestly say that I was excited to sit down at my computer and watch the videos every day. Dr. Bloom was an excellent teacher and I feel as though I acquired a good understanding of the basics of psychology.

By Megan G

Feb 20, 2022

This course desperately needs to be updated. It has incredibly outdated language around gender and sexuality - to the point of being offensive - and shockingly detrimental and outdated content with regards to mental health, trauma, and mental illness. Some examples: - In the video lecture on parenting, Bloom talks about the idea that children are to blame for their bad/abusive parents: "So, for instance, children who are spanked tend to be more violent. Now, one possibility is there are genes that make parents likely to spank and children likely to be violent or genes that proposed people say to low impulse control lean both to the spanking of bad behavior. A second possibility maybe the one that most people believe is that parents spanking their kid makes her kid meaner. But a third possibility is if you have an aggressive and violent kid, you're more likely to spank him or her and that will be a child effect." - The comment, again, in the parenting lecture, "Which is that parenting doesn't matter anywhere near as much as people believe it does." This course doesn't have ANY discussion of attachment theory or trauma. Parenting matters HUGELY in terms of its effects on children with regards to so, so many things. It actually changes their brain structure, in the case of emotional neglect or abuse of any kind. I was shocked that none of this was addressed. It ignores a huge portion of psychological findings in the past few years, blames the victims (your parents are spanking you because you're bad/violent). I was absolutely appalled, as were my psychologist friends with whom I shared this information. - In the first lecture in week 5, entitled "Mental Illness," I was once again SHOCKED to hear this statement, "What you find in these pages is a lot of things, this includes some crazy people muttering on the streets as in schizophrenia." In a lecture on mental illness, a psychologist labels someone with schizophrenia as "crazy"? Unbelievable. First of all, there should be compassionate, people-first language. Secondly, to label someone with mental illness as "crazy" is offensive and inaccurate. I was totally shocked to hear that in this course. - Later on, and I have to find it, Bloom talked about "alcoholics and drug addicts" - again, I was shocked to see a complete refusal to use people-first language. I expected to hear "someone with alcoholism or drug addiction." This course, as I mentioned, desperately needs to be updated. It needs: - something that addresses attachment theory & the impact of trauma - people-first language - a more nuanced, scientifically-updated understanding of gender and sexuality This course is far, far behind the times. It's victim-blaming and heteronormative.

By Lyna K

May 16, 2020

Content was interesting and course offers a good overall introduction into psychology. Course was well structured. Some concepts seemed out dated and presentation of materials also seemed bias. Presentation and video animation were absolutely horrible and hard to get through. Speaker's voice was very monotonous, coupled with video styling, was extremely boring. It's a shame because the content is very good and you can see the speaker is very passionate but it just doesn't come through in how it's presented.

By Deniz Ş

Apr 25, 2020

I was excited about having the course with an animation but animation is very distractive and not related what he is explainig most of the time. Also animation have unnecessary movings on the sceen which doesn't need listeners attention to any point.. I was/am very interested learning psycology but this course with that animation is not helping at all. I can not follow what he is saying. It would have been better if the animation was effective and connected with the saying. Watching him and having some slights when necassary would work better than getting distracted by the teachers unnatural hand, head movements and zooming in/out the screen on the animation. I couldn't get into the subject yet...

By WASHINGTON A G B

Jun 14, 2020

I am a teaching student. I am in the last cycle at the National University of Education of Ecuador. I want to thank the wonderful opportunity for accessing this introductory psychology course. This learning helped me strengthen my teaching skills. Now I am aware of the different behaviors of people. Indeed, I will be able to be more accurate in planning for my students. The course reflects the best way to teach psychology. It has innovative elements such as: videos with animated sketches that make learning more satisfying. I want to thank Professor Bloom for his ability to process the information and transmit it. Thank you very much Yale University.