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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Social Psychology by Wesleyan University

4.7
stars
4,731 ratings

About the Course

Ever wonder why people do what they do? This course—which includes more than $1,000 of video and reading materials—offers some answers based on the latest research from social psychology. Students taking the course for a Certificate will also receive free membership in Social Psychology Network (SocialPsychology.org). COURSE DESCRIPTION FROM PROFESSOR PLOUS: Each of us is dealt a different hand in life, but we all face similar questions when it comes to human behavior: What leads us to like one person and dislike another? How do conflicts and prejudices develop, and how can they be reduced? Can psychological research help protect the environment, and if so, how? This course offers a brief introduction to classic and contemporary social psychology, covering topics such as decision making, persuasion, group behavior, personal attraction, and factors that promote health and well-being. Our focus will be on surprising, entertaining, and intriguing research findings that are easy to apply in daily life. The course will also draw from the websites of Social Psychology Network, the world's largest online community devoted to social psychology. I hope you'll join me for this course, have fun, and learn some useful information that enriches your life....

Top reviews

IV

Jun 12, 2020

Very interesting course, tons of great material. Of all the courses I have taken so far in Coursera, this is one of the few that has pushed me to focus on the material we were going over-great course.

JM

Aug 15, 2020

Professor Plous made me understand the lessons because he explained well all the lessons, and he provided enough information about the Social Psychology. More power to Coursera and Professor Plous :)

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1 - 25 of 1,949 Reviews for Social Psychology

By Fahed M A

•

Apr 11, 2020

Unfortunately this course isn't what I expected it to be. First off, there's too much pressure to join Social Psychology Network for a fee. You're constantly reminded of how much better the assignment would be better if you tried it on the network and you'd gain a lot more from the course by joining on there and utilizing the resources available on that website. Secondly, I did think there was way too much emphasis on research methods and findings. Albeit I have only completed 2 weeks of the course, perhaps my comments are a bit premature. Nevertheless, I believe the course description ought to be revised, as there's more emphasis on various researches throughout history and the methods of those researches, as opposed to understanding "why we do what we do" as stated in the course description.

By Danay P P

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Jun 22, 2020

You have to make a profile or upload your cv and post comments in the forum in order to take your certificate. I am not finishing the course because of that. I think these kind of stuff should be optional.

By Jacob N

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Nov 25, 2020

This class was ... not good. I took the entire class and even did the work to get an honors certificate.

There are two things wrong with this class:

The professor is trying to teach this more as a freshman, first college class, blow your mind sort of experience than an actual class where students actually learn things. The issue is that he is so interested in doing that that he gives students so much incorrect information, he presents currently debated subjects in Social Psychology as settled and he lectures on things he is obviously not qualified to.

For instance, he claims that violent video games cause violence. This has been repeatedly debunked since the 1990s and is not thought of as a plausible theory nowadays.

To take another example, Professor Plous declared(without evidence) that sex is just a category that people have made up with no basis in reality. Not only is this obviously incorrect but Professor Plous provided no evidence for this and he is clearly not an expert on that matter(he is a Social Psychologist, not a philosopher, biologist or geneticist).

He is clearly just trying to provoke a reaction by presenting "facts" in an authoritative manner than actually teaching real social psychology.

That is the first large problem. The second large problem is that there is an obvious political bias to this class and the professor is trying to get his students to proselytize it. For the two honors assignments(pick 1 for credit) you could either:

Try to get someone to vote for your political candidate in the 2020 presidential election(it is obvious which candidate the professor was trying to get his students to agitate for) or

2. Try to convince a group of your acquaintances of the realities of certain ideologies taught in the class. Complete with a set of leading questions that were over the line of being ridiculous.

I was shocked when I saw these and now I am appalled at such blatant attempt to use a position of authority(professor) to try to influence politics in a Social Psychology Course. A Psychology Course! That is utterly inappropriate and the professor should be ashamed.

To conclude: If you want to learn about the field of Social Psychology, do not take this course. If you want get fed wrong facts in an authoritative tone, take this course. If you do not want to get proselytized at about various issues the professor cares about, do not take this course. If you want to get ridiculous assignments that include open electioneering in a Social Psychology course, take this class.

By Ian R

•

May 31, 2019

This was the best MOOC I have every done...and I have undertaken quite a number over the past few years. I find that, in many cases with MOOCS, the treatment of the subject is rather superficial. Not so here. The videos were really interesting, there was a substantial amount of reading directly related to each one and both covered the topics in some depth. I feel that I was really challenged in getting to grips with some of the concepts and I enjoyed this. The final exam, I found to be really testing and therefore passing on the first attempt provided a real sense of achievement. Overall the learning was very practical and I will be able to use this effectively in my daily interactions. Scott’s total commitment to his discipline came across loud and clear and this was an extra motivating factor for me. Only one suggestion for improvement. It would have been ideal to have had a short check-up quiz at the end of each week. This would have confirmed understanding of the topic for that week and would have provided some preparation for the final exam.

By Patcharapol K

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May 16, 2020

Asking to pay more. Also, I care about the my privacy. I do not want to make a profile page or sending some of my resumes.

By Flavio C

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May 4, 2020

I'm not specialized in medical or psychological studies, and I found the course and the exam difficult especially because the technical words that are not standard to me, and a little because the language. I had to remember all new words and avoid misunderstanding of the questions (tricky questions to me) and I had to review several times the documentation (especially the lectures) to pass the final exam, but finally is done.

The videos are well done and the teacher is special in keeping the level of attention.

Probably the course is well done for people already in the psychology field and terms, but is very hard for people at zero level for self education.

By Rayika C

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Aug 19, 2019

I loved this course. It covered all the topics I was interested in and was thoroughly engaging and well-organised. Professor Plous is a great teacher and has designed a wonderful course in this MOOC.

By Protik B

•

Jun 22, 2020

Probably one of the best course I have taken! Made me think and question - myself and things around me. Recommended no matter what your background - there is something useful that you'll take away!

By angie r

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Apr 8, 2020

i can´t make the quiz and they always telling you to be part of the Social Psychology Network by making a contibution.

By Jewel M

•

Aug 16, 2020

Professor Plous made me understand the lessons because he explained well all the lessons, and he provided enough information about the Social Psychology. More power to Coursera and Professor Plous :)

By GONUL K K

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Dec 11, 2019

I have taken hundreds of courses over the years of my professional life.. I only remember very few of them which influenced me. However this course has been the only one which makes me remember the different dimentions that the right, the wrongs might have and Life is only beautiful and bearable if we respect different perspectiives and recognize the impacting dimensions. Therefore I thank to all who contributes to deliver it including Prof Plous, Teaching Staff . all mentors and the technical teams behind the scenes.

So I highly recommend this courtse.

By Veronnica K

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May 19, 2020

This has been the most engaging, interesting, and thought-provoking course I have ever taken on Coursera. Thank you Professor Plous and all of your colleagues who helped make this course possible!

By Tanmay P

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May 19, 2019

I feel like taking time to rate this course the deserving 5 Star score. The professor is such a credible person and heads the biggest network of Psychology- SPN. The material provided is worth more than 70,000 Indian rupees. Thank you for making this available for no cost.

By Maanya V

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Feb 18, 2019

Such an amazing course, the professor was brilliant and made lots of effort to help the learners have a fun, interactive time while learning. Would very highly recommend this course.

By CANSU Y C

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Jul 2, 2020

This course is at first good but for final exam it became a disaster. There is no feedback. I couldn't learn the correct or even the wrong answers. Every question had a trick. This is not an educational system. It made me stressed for 3 days. But I just wanted the learn the Social Psychology. As a psychology student I can clearly say that this is unfortunately not enough.

By Edward G

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May 21, 2021

The course is great. There are plenty of study materials provided and the lecturer is very good. Items studied in this course are immensely helpful in understanding group thinking and group behavior.

By Shivangi S

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May 10, 2019

Professor Plous has made this course interesting with a number of additional videos, Ted talks and snapshot quiz. It is one of the best courses that I have taken on Coursera.

By Israel V

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Jun 12, 2020

Very interesting course, tons of great material. Of all the courses I have taken so far in Coursera, this is one of the few that has pushed me to focus on the material we were going over-great course.

By DeNica B

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Feb 18, 2019

I LOVED taking this course! Professor Plous is amazing and I enjoy the way he teaches things that could be very dark or discouraging with such lightheartedness and congeniality. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone and I am sad that it has come to an end. The information that was presented was so intriguing and thought provoking and has already had an impact on my personal relationships and the way that I see people. I wasn't going to join the SPN, but now that the class is over I want to because I am really going to miss this class and the information!

By Jan J

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May 8, 2020

It was my first course, which I took just because of curiosity during my quarantine. I havent expected much, but I gained a lot. Very nice course, with a lot of additional stuff like articles, chapters from interesting books, etc. Everything was explained well. Assesments were really interestings and funny to do. There are a lot of topics covered in this course, with huge amount of materials. I am more curious about social psychology more than before this training. I fully recommend the course, it was really well done. Thx to professor Plous who created this course.

By Mariam A

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Dec 11, 2018

The course is amazing! Professor Plous has created very engaging content. I highly recommend the course for anyone ! I think this material should be taught in schools as a required course.

By Jonathan S

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Jun 29, 2019

The instructor is clearly very motivated! I learned a lot of superinteresting things that actually help in real-life. I have to say that the course is more work than usual on Coursera - but it was more than worth it!

By Linda S

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Jul 25, 2020

Everything was good until the final exam. I tried many times to pass it. Every time I was able to retake the exam, it would give me the same score, a 60. After trying many times, I decided to choose all answer d's. It still gave me a 60. I tried answering all answer a's . . . still same score. The class is over and I cannot get my certificate and it says that it is "still in progress" but when I click on the course it says class is done re-enroll or reset your deadlines. I completed everything in that class on time and passed everything but the final as it must have cliched on me and will not register a new score. You can't get a hold of anyone to help you. This is beyond frustrating. DO NOT RECOMMEND!

By Fotini M K

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Dec 7, 2019

Great course! Very relevant, relatable and applicable in life. Understanding these topics is so important to understand ourselves and the society we live in. I wish schools would incorporate this! It was fun interacting with the other students as well through the discussion forums and the assignments. The snapshot quiz was a great way to realise our thinking at the start and how it changed throughout the course. Well done and thank you for creating this course for people to access and learn. Thank you Professor Plous and everyone who has contributed!

By Jose V

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Feb 26, 2019

It is one of the best courses in Coursera, that is why I give it 5 stars. It is easy to follow and covers a lot of social psychology topics. It is also a very interesting social experiment, as we are evaluated by our peers, and some subjects may tackle some of our nerves :). I really recommend it to EVERYONE. It doesn't matter if you are into Social Psychology or not. Unless you live isolated, this course is for you!