Introduction to Psychology

Open Yale Courses

by Paul Bloom

About the Course

What do your dreams mean? Do men and women differ in the nature and intensity of their sexual desires? Can apes learn sign language? Why can’t we tickle ourselves? 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, religion, persuasion, love, lust, hunger, art, fiction, and dreams. 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. view class sessions >>
Course Structure:

This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2007.

Genres: Psychology

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Bram · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very, very broad introduction to psychology.

I listened to this introduction as an audio book. Professor Paul Bloom does a great job in explaining the topics and he adds jokes in his lectures. The duration is 18.6 hours.
It is amazing that this is freely available from Open Yale Courses by the Yale University.
The course materials, including the transcripts, are available on http://oyc.yale.edu/psychology/psyc-110

[ليـــــــــلة · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6...

سلسلة لطيفة وسهلة عن علم النفس ومتاحه مترجمة أيضًا

[Cav · Rating 1 out of 5]

An abysmal delivery of what could otherwise have been an interesting course.
Paul Bloom is such a horrible lecturer that I almost didn't finish this series.
Bloom fumbles over his words like someone to whom English is a second or third language. He puntuates every second sentence with a pronounced "UMM", or "UHH". He can't seem to pronounce even simple words, like "the", "there", "with", etc. Instead literally saying "da", "dere", and "wiv", respectively. He is incredibly grating and irritating to listen to for long periods, with his numerous pronunciation, syntax, and grammatical failings.
His lecture style is rambling and impromptu. he seems to frequently have trouble voicing even simple concepts with precision or clarity.
That someone of his capacity can become a tenured professor at an institution like Yale is honestly mind-boggling...
Delivery aside, this was not even a well-written course. Although he mentions Freud and Skinner at the start, and goes through most intro psych; including basic neuroscience, mental illnesses, language, and other related concepts of psych, I found the course didn't contain any interesting tidbits of info anyone with even a cursory knowledge of psychology wouldn't already know. I know the course is psych 110, but still. This was just terrible.
Contrast this course and its delivery by Bloom with another free YouTube University-level intro course: "Human Behavioural Biology" by Robert Sapolsky. A shining example of how top-tier professors at elite institutions should communicate detailed course information. Bloom's Intro Psych, a good example of everything to *not* do.
I would most definitely NOT recommend this course to anyone. Newbies curious to learn about psychology would find much better material elsewhere, more advanced learners will already know everything covered, and pretty much everyone will have a tough time getting through his atrocious lecture "style".
One star, and that's being generous...

[Mikey James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a 20 hour lecture on YouTube. It was thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish and I’m sure actually looking back now the listening through one time was definitely not enough. I really enjoyed the lecturer and the way that he gave his presentations. Paragraph we are both on site moment full of humour. This course ranged from all manner of topics within psychology. From memory to child development to language to happiness and more! There is a lot to take in here. Really well done and definitely recommended.

[Temüjin Raizel Ṭayyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lecture series on psychology. As another reviewer said, this is a broad discussion of psychology. However, there is still a lot of interesting information in here that will click into your other readings of self-development, applied psychology, positive psychology, and game. The guest lecture on love and the lectures on sex and the good life are must reads or watches lol.

P.S. this professor is funny as fuck.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed listening to professor Bloom's introductory lectures on psychology. In just 50 minutes each he manages to cover the essence and add a funny touch to the topic where appropriate. Definitely recommend it both to those who are thinking of pursuing a degree/career in psychology (like me) and to those who are just looking for a way to widen their horizons.

[Gerrit G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a book but a very good introduction into psychology, it does not go in-depth but provides directions if you want to dive deeper into some of the topics.

[Ali Zaghmout · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best ever.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. Loved taking this on Coursera.

[Joey Gurzynski]

An excellent intro.

It would be a good idea to pair it up with some reading / an intro psych course book.

This is definitely optimistic and light and doesn't hit you with truth bombs every 30 seconds. A nice chill stroll through the overview of psychology.

I'd recommend starting with this, then move over to Jordan Peterson's University of Toronto's courses for a break down of specific historical psychologists and schools of thought.
"Personality and its transformations."

[Bogdan Liviu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mi-a plăcut la Paul Bloom că a ştiut să ambaleze noţiunile teoretice într-un umor vivant, dând astfel savoare cursurilor. Fiecare curs durează aproximativ 55 de minute, iar în total sunt vreo 20 de clipuri. Ce veţi găsi aici: psihologie socială şi spre sfârşit este atins şi domeniul psihologiei clinice, precum şi un ocean de întrebari bizar-captivante. De asemenea veţi înţelege mai bine şi care este impactul real al lui Sigmund Freud în facultăţile de psihologie (deşi e cel mai popular dintre psihologi, se studiază mai puţin spre deloc în facultăţi). Veţi mai face cunoştinţă şi cu Burrhus Frederic Skinner şi al său "Behaviorism" (concept pe care l-a preluat de la John Watson, perfecţionându-l). Din păcate, din motive de copyright, nu avem acces la materialele din timpul cursurilor, însă există suficientă esenţă în cursuri încât să merite a fi vizionate. Totodată veţi mai face cunoştinţă şi cu diferite experimente din domeniul psihologiei (din păcate nu am văzut nimic despre experimentul din penitenciar al lui Zimbardo), şi cu diferite cazuri stranii precum al lui "Phineas Gage". Există, fireşte, şi un curs despre iubire, chiar de Valentine's day se ţine cursul, s-a discutat extrem de decent, fără acel patetic reprobabil, a fost abordat subiectul cu o seninătate intelectuală aromată de experimente şi sondaje, a fost singurul loc în care am putut să asist la o discuţie pe tema iubirii fără să mi se facă silă de acel amalgam de prost gust, superficial şi mediocritate. Recomand cursurile tuturor oamenilor interesaţi de cum funcţionează, din punct de vedere psihic, omul; le recomand cursurile, deci, tuturor oamenilor interesaţi de ei înşişi.

[Austen Signalz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent lecture series on psychology. As another reviewer said, this is a broad discussion of psychology. However, there is still a lot of interesting information in here that will click into your other readings of self-development, applied psychology, positive psychology, and game. The guest lecture on love and the lectures on sex and the good life are must reads or watches lol.

P.S. this professor is funny as fuck.

[Karl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Bloom is a great teacher. The course keeps a high tempo and covers a lot of material, thanks to Bloom's personality and anecdotes I remember the material well four years after taking the course. If you are the kind of person who reads extensively in popular psychology, you probably know most of what is in the course, but repetition still is good, and this is an entertaining format for doing that.