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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Psychology by Yale University

4.9
stars
30,053 ratings

About the Course

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....

Top reviews

FJ

Sep 26, 2019

I absolutely enjoyed taking this course! Professor Bloom did an incredible job explaining the course material and providing additional reading materials to further my knowledge throughout this course.

TP

Dec 17, 2021

An excellent course to get a general idea about psychology as well as understanding of what to do next if you are into learning more. Very useful links for extra reading. And very engaging instructor.

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301 - 325 of 6,577 Reviews for Introduction to Psychology

By Susan H

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Feb 20, 2021

An excellent course that makes me want to learn more! The professor is engaging and presents information that is current and applicable to real life. The animations were clever and sometimes humorous. The course is laid-out very well, the additional readings and resources are helpful and I really enjoyed an overview of the whole field of psychology. Above all, the teachings made me question and explore theories on human behavior. I've taken eight courses on Coursera and this was by far the best.

By Tara G

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May 23, 2020

I cannot express how lucky I feel to have stumbled across these courses - a random event triggered by covid, of all things. Professor Bloom is so engaging, that it is frustrating to only have two courses I can take online with him! I completed Moralities of Everyday Life, then completed this course, and both were so inspiring and thought-provoking. I am next enrolling in courses on schizophrenia and effective altruism, through different universities, but largely inspired by Professor Bloom's courses.

By Marek R

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Jun 23, 2023

Wonderful intro to the field. Extraordinarlily well made, in my view: Paul Bloom is one of a kind, and the mixture of his calm voice and the funny animations was great for keeping my attention at all times. The length of the sections and the overall course fit my schedule really well, and the NOBA readings are a fantasic resource to refer back to. I have done this course as sort of a pilot before signing up to (additional) graduate studies, and sincerly hope that actual grad studies will be as fun.

By Renee K

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Jun 11, 2020

Personally, I've always been interested in learning Psychology and this course was very informative and the lectures were simple and brought out with clear indications of examples and reference readings that have helped me understand the several topics in psychology.

I enjoyed this course truly and I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in Psychology...Your time will be used up well and not forgetting the course itself has made me realize that I would really want to major in philosophy.

By Tricia L A

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Dec 29, 2020

Thank you for the opportunity to participate in a subject area that has always intrigued me. In completing the course I am very much enlightened of the importance of mental health and its pervasive presence in all aspects of human life. The knowledge acquired has reset the lens of my perspective of understanding people and my environment. The course has motivated my curiosity to continue learning and perhaps will provide an opportunity to give back yo my community with skills acquired. Thank you.

By Ha T L A

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Nov 25, 2019

I didn't expect much from this course at the beginning but it wow me in the end. I've thought psychology is something that we can understand how others think and able to explain their behavior. But this course is much more than that. It helps to understand myself and from that, understand others.

Honestly, this is a long and difficult course. But the final result pay off every minute you spent. I love it and highly recommended it to everyone who wants to get the basic (and more) about psychology.

By Macarena P

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Jun 29, 2024

I took the course in Spanish since my English is not that good. The translation is not accurate and sometimes one can get lost with some words. The readings are also not translated and are part of the grades. Not counting those drawbacks, the course is great for a person who is just starting out in this area like me. It is well structured and covers a range of topics that makes it clear what psychology is about. Paul Bloom has a pleasant way of explaining, with short chapters that are enjoyable.

By Alastair J H

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May 6, 2020

Really enjoyable and great to find areas you can dive into deeper. I was super excited to discover Jaak Panksepp and evolutionary/affective psychology. (That's personality emerging from emotions and why many animals, like us, also have personality).

On the improvement side - Why no reference to Jung? Many people would have heard of him over Skinner as the second big name. And it would be good to be clear from the start on the differences between psychology and psychiatry and issues between them.

By Catharina S

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Jul 3, 2020

I am VERY happy with this course. I learned a great amount, and a lot of it is something I can take with me in my daily life. I recommend this course for anybody, not just people who may pursue a psychology degree! We need to understand things like personalities, mental illnesses, and happiness to better interact with our fellow human beings! Thank you Paul Bloom for introducing key aspects and points, and for conveying it in such a straight forward manner. I hope our paths will cross some day.

By Vedika S

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Jun 18, 2020

This course acted as the first step in leading me ahead in the journey of Psychology. The animated classes along with the use of perfect examples for each and every topic were amazing. Though I would like to recommend to increase the length of this course to incorporate more explanations and connecting points for all the topics which would really make this a wholesome course. Besides, I enjoyed this course very much and would love to ask others to do enroll and embark on this beautiful journey.

By Xiaoyin Z

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Nov 18, 2022

The more interesting chapters in the course on the early human development, language formation, emotion, and the causes of human differences are social psychology and clinical psychology. There are theories in social psychology that people are more likely to like familiar, similar people, and how we see others as the real situation that affects others, and so on. Several of our most common diseases and symptoms are mentioned in clinical psychology. The way the course is taught is what I like.

By Meenakshi S K

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Oct 20, 2020

A well organized course, with amazing material and content. The professor carries the lectures in such a manner that intrigues us and makes us want to know more. The best part is the additional readings at the end of each lecture which give us more useful information that is relevant and understandable. This course is good for anyone who is interested and willing to know about the basics of Psychology. Big thanks to Professor Bloom and the team at Yale University for this really good course.

By Cihan G

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Jan 24, 2023

For starters who do not have any context but mere acquaintance with what psychology is, I believe this course is for them. There were short yet adequate descriptions concerning many fields of psychology (not just clinical psychology, of course.) The only drawback of this course for me was its lack of source suggestions to further read within specific areas. Overall, I would certainly recommend it to those who are looking forward to comprehend the science behind our minds and its functions.

By saenger b

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Aug 23, 2020

I found this course to be very interesting and engaging. The materials and topics were presented perfectly and I think I reached a high basic level understanding of all the topics we covered. It was interesting to learn about the parts of psychology that are visible and applicable to daily life, but also the parts of psychology that remain undiscussed. Overall, I really liked how this course was taught and presented, and was fascinated by almost all of the topics covered in this course!!

By Victor L A d C

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Apr 2, 2020

Excellent professor, engaging method and high-quality of information. I had already graduated in Psychology prior to taking this course (which was meant as a self-motivated refreshment of my knowledge of the field) and I can definitely recommend it to people who are curious and interested yet hesitating in taking the full-course at some point. It's a great "first contact" with what we deal with in this fantastic field of science. Congratulations to Yale and Prof. Bloom on the achievement!

By Rayan M

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Aug 22, 2020

This course is amazing, and when I finished it I felt so proud of the psychological knowledge journey I went through. It explores so many aspects of this field and talks about the psychology of a wide population of humanity like children and teens, rich and poor people, etc. It made me feel very thoughtful and I am so grateful that I made the decision of taking this course because even if you are not seeking a career in psychology, you will use this knowledge in your personal daily life.

By Cheyenne L C

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Dec 17, 2019

I really enjoyed this course. Professor Bloom did a great job presenting the information in a way that was easy to follow. I thought the cartoons made the videos very engaging. I think this course provided me with a good foundation of psychology that I can expand on. This is my favorite course that I have taken on this site and I will definitely recommend it to others. I think using this course to have a better understanding of psychology can be beneficial in any career path you choose.

By Daniela R

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Apr 1, 2021

This course helped me understand the different behaviors that people have and how we interact with each other. Coming from a dysfunctional family, with my father being an alcoholic and my mother a co-dependant, I was curious about psychology learning. My therapist suggested me to study and pursue my career even in Psychiatry. So, this was the first step. This course was extremely fulfilling and made me realize how important humans are and how much we need to listen instead of talking.

By Edrine K

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May 29, 2020

The course is a very beautiful one with an out-rightly well thought display of knowledge, clear explanations and very beneficial to me. as a matter of fact i found beauty in its complexity, a notion that lingered in my mind the whole time i studied henceforth deeming it very interesting and a perfect choice for during these times. no doubt it has added a new scope of knowledge to my understanding and hiked my interest in psychology and the unfolding of humanity back from its history.

By Sofía P

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Jun 26, 2020

Agradezco las herramientas que se pusieron a disposición en este curso. Está muy bien hecho para que cualquier tipo de estudiante conecte con los temas y se interese, los vídeos y las lecturas son llamativas, por no hablar del excelente trabajo del profesor Bloom, que con su forma de dar las clases, invita a la reflexiona y al pensamiento. Lo más fascinante es que se puede llevar este curso a cualquier parte del mundo sin problema alguno. Lo realicé desde Caracas, Venezuela. Gracias.

By Ana F

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May 29, 2020

I feel that I learned a lot of useful tools that I could also apply in my day-to-day life, as well as if I'd like to pursue a career in psychology. I was always passionate about psychology and it felt natural for me to analyze facts and ask myself complicated questions, but I never studied psychology in depth. However, now I am thinking more seriously to get involved in psychological research and in providing psychological help to other people , especially after taking this course.

By Neeti J

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Oct 14, 2020

I have learned so much and gained immense knowledge on this wide subject psychology. I would like to thank my college for giving us this opportunity to access to online courses on coursera. I am really grateful to my professor Mr. Paul Bloom who helped me and guided me. I loved how he taught and explained all about psychology and the way he teaches, I can surely say, he is a humble and sweet man. I loved his lectures. I will continue to learn more about psychology in the future.

By nadim a

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May 17, 2020

Outstanding course! Paul delivered a terrific lecture and has an outstanding style. Thanks for making this available to the general public. The only area that I think he needs to be careful about is the concept of free will. He refers to it once, but I think the context in which he referred to it may subject to a different interpretation. He may want to check with Sam Harris. I would love to hear a podcast between Paul and Sam where they debate the concept of free will. Thanks!

By Marc L

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Mar 10, 2022

A truly inspiring course delivered by a highly motivating Professor Blum in an excellent style of blended learning. Content-wise a really good overview of the width of the field of psychology with excellent follow-up reading and learning references. I especially enjoyed listening to Professor Blum's vivid lectures well supported by little animated videos, looking forward to every subsequent session. Great course for anyone interested in understanding the human brain and mind!

By Eduardo C B

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Apr 26, 2021

The course is excellent for presenting the main theories of the mind explaining psychoanalysis to contemporary neuroscience. Its development is very well planned, ending in an affective, gentle, and stimulating way to deepen some critical issues raised that concern the modern world and its challenges. I am happy to have accomplished and come out more enriched and stimulated to deepen some of these issues. A comprehensive bibliography is suggested for continuity and deepening.