Learning about psychology has to start somewhere. Here you’ll find introductory and general psychology lectures intended for an audience with little or no experience in the subject. The rating represents the breadth of material available, the effectiveness of the lecturer, and the accessibility of the website and lecture topics in general. If you have comments or suggestions, feel free to email me at eric@psychlectures.com. Enjoy!
Introduction to Psychology
Prof. Paul Bloom, Spring 2007 – Open Yale Courses
“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.”
[syllabus] – [reading requirements] – [transcripts] – [mp3 audio] – [flash video] – [quicktime video] – [powerpoint slides] – [examinations] – [downloadable content]
Psychology
Prof. Victor Ferreira, Spring 2007 – UCSD podcasts
[streaming audio]
Introductory Psychology
Prof. Nancy Woolf, Winter 2007 – UCLA’s OID
[mp3 audio]
General Psychology
John Kihlstrom, Fall 2006 – UC Berkeley Webcasts
“This course will survey the scientific study of mental life and the mental functions that underlie human experience thought, and action. The emphasis is on cognitive processes and social interactions characteristic of adults. However, research on nonhuman animals, as well as biological, developmental, and pathological processes, will be introduced as relevant.“
[streaming video] – [mp3 audio]
Brain Structure and its Origins
Prof. Gerald Schneider, Spring 2005 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This course covers major CNS structures with emphasis on systems being used as models for experimental studies of development and plasticity. Topics include basic patterns of connections in CNS, embryogenesis, PNS anatomy and development, process outgrowth and synaptogenesis, growth factors and cell survival, spinal and hindbrain anatomy, and development of regional specificity with an introduction to comparative anatomy and CNS evolution. A review of lab techniques (anatomy, tissue culture) is also covered as well as the trigeminal system, retinotectal system development, plasticity, regeneration, neocortex anatomy and development, the olfactory system, corpus striatum, brain transplants, the limbic system and hippocampal anatomy and plasticity.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] -[study materials] – [mp3 audio] – [downloadable content]
Animal Behavior
Prof. Gerald Schneider, Fall 2005 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“Most of the major categories of adaptive behavior can be seen in all animals. This course begins with the evolution of behavior, the driver of nervous system evolution, reviewed using concepts developed in ethology, sociobiology, other comparative studies, and in studies of brain evolution. The roles of various types of plasticity are considered, as well as foraging and feeding, defensive and aggressive behavior, courtship and reproduction, migration and navigation, social activities and communication, with contributions of inherited patterns and cognitive abilities. Both field and laboratory based studies are reviewed; and finally, human behavior is considered within the context of primate studies.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] -[study materials] – [mp3 audio] – [downloadable content]
Introduction to Psychology
Prof. Jeremy Wolfe, Fall 2004 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This course surveys questions about human behavior and mental life ranging from how you see to why you fall in love. The great controversies: nature and nurture, free will, consciousness, human differences, self and society. Students are exposed to the range of theoretical perspectives including biological, evolutionary, cognitive, and psychoanalytic. One of the best aspects of Psychology is that you are the subject matter. This makes it possible to do many demonstrations in lecture that allow you to experience the topic under study. Lectures work in tandem with the textbook. The course breaks into small recitations sections to allow discussion, oral presentations, and individual contact with instructors.“
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [reading requirements] – [lecture notes .pdf] – [mp3 audio] – [assignments] – [examinations] – [study material] – [downloadable content]
Introduction to Neuroscience
Prof. Mark Bear & Prof. Sebastian Seung, Fall 2004 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This course begins with the study of nerve cells which includes their structure, the propagation of nerve impulses and transfer of information between nerve cells, the effect of drugs on this process, and the development of nerve cells into the brain and spinal cord. Next, sensory systems such as hearing, vision and touch are covered as well as a discussion on how physical energy such as light is converted into neural signals, where these signals travel in the brain and how they are processed. Other topics include the control of voluntary movement, the neurochemical bases of brain diseases, and those systems which control sleep and consciousness, learning and memory.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] -[study materials] – [examinations] – [related resources] – [downloadable content]
Introduction to Neuroanatomy
Prof. Chris Moore, January 2003 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“This subject will be an intensive introduction to neuroanatomy, involving lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on laboratories, including a brain dissection. The course will not assume any prior knowledge of neuroanatomy, though some general knowledge of brain structures will be helpful.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [lecture notes] – [examinations] – [study materials] – [related resources] – [downloadable content]
Topics in Brain and Cognitive Sciences: Human Ethology
Prof. Gerald Schneider, Fall 2001 – MIT OpenCourseWare
“Survey and special topics designed for students in Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Emphasizes ethological studies of natural behavior patterns and their analysis in laboratory work, with contributions from field biology (mammology, primatology), sociobiology, and comparative psychology. Stresses human behavior but also includes major contributions from studies of other animals.”
[syllabus] – [calendar] – [required readings] – [lecture notes] – [assignments] – [related resources] – [downloadable content]
