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.
Offered By
Introduction to Psychology
Yale UniversityAbout this Course
Learner Career Outcomes
13%
21%
Skills you will gain
- reasoning
- Problem Solving
- abstract thinking
- analytical thinking
- Critical Thinking
Learner Career Outcomes
13%
21%
Offered by
Yale University
For more than 300 years, Yale University has inspired the minds that inspire the world. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale brings people and ideas together for positive impact around the globe. A research university that focuses on students and encourages learning as an essential way of life, Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines.
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Welcome to Introduction to Psychology
Meet Paul Bloom, your instructor.
Foundations
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.
Development and Language
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.
Cognition
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.
Self and others
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.
Reviews
- 5 stars87.09%
- 4 stars11.63%
- 3 stars0.87%
- 2 stars0.15%
- 1 star0.24%
TOP REVIEWS FROM INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY
The course was helpful in gaining the foundation of psychology. It was clearly structured so that a person with any background can understand it. Thanks for helping me to gain knowledge on psychology.
Excellent course for an introduction to the world of psychology. It's a shame there isn't enough time to deepen into some of these topics, such as psychology or mental illness, which are fascinating.
This course is very insightful and I have learned quite a lot. My favourite area though is Clinical Psychology and Positive Psychology. I believe I will be better able to understand persons around me.
The course was easily understood and gave plenty of thought provoking content. The instructor was clear and concise and used real world references to keep interest up. I enjoyed the course, thank you
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