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.
Introduction to Psychology
Instructor: Paul Bloom
Sponsored by New York State Department of Labor
1,429,683 already enrolled
(30,275 reviews)
Skills you'll gain
- Learning Theory
- Behavior Management
- Economics, Policy, and Social Studies
- Education and Training
- Human Learning
- Pedagogy
- Mental Health
- Teaching
- Behavioral Health
- Psychotherapy
- Course Development
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Clinical Psychology
- Positive Behavior Support
- Social Studies
- Mental and Behavioral Health Specialties
- Human Development
- Economics
- Instructional and Curriculum Design
Details to know
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There are 7 modules in this course
Meet Paul Bloom, your instructor.
What's included
1 video3 readings
In this module, you will learn about foundational psychological theories and findings in psychology. We will start with the discovery that our mental lives have a physical basis, introducing the field of neuroscience. And then we will turn to two major psychological theories that have come to shape the world that we now live in—Freud’s psychodynamic theory and Skinner’s theory of behaviorism.
What's included
17 videos3 readings1 assignment
In this module, you will learn about foundational psychological research into development and language. Specifically, you will learn about methods for studying how infants and children think and the core discoveries that they have led to. Then you will learn about the structure of language, how language is learned, and end with a little bit on animal communication, language processing, and relationship between language and thought.
What's included
14 videos2 readings1 assignment
In this module, you will learn about cognitive psychology. Specifically, you will learn about how we perceive the world, how attention works, and we store our experiences in memory.
What's included
12 videos2 readings1 assignment1 plugin
In this module, you will learn about psychology examining the self and others. Specifically, in the first half, you will learn about social and non-social emotions. In the second half, you will learn about how we deal with other people—social psychology.
What's included
15 videos2 readings1 assignment
In this module, you will learn human variation. The focus will focus on personality and intelligence, and the role of genes and environment in explaining individual differences. The second half will focus on clinical psychology by reviewing prominent mental illnesses and therapies.
What's included
13 videos2 readings1 assignment
In the final module, you will learn how psychologists measure happiness and what factors contribute to the good life
What's included
7 videos2 readings1 assignment
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Reviewed on Dec 30, 2020
The lectures were very fun, engaging, and interactive. Taking this course gives you a deeper understanding of life and helps answer questions we have about ourselves, others, and the world we live in.
Reviewed on Oct 21, 2020
With this course i finally experienced what a proper teacher should be like.
Reviewed on May 28, 2020
This course offered me a lot to think about what we are as Human Beings and I'm glad that I took this course and Prof. Paul Bloom is excellent in this course and I find this course thought provoking.
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