Professor Paul Bloom welcomes students and presents the course as a comprehensive introduction to the study of the human mind. Course readings and requirements are discussed. The five main branches of psychology are presented: neuroscience, which is a study of the mind by looking at the brain; developmental, which focuses on how people grow and learn; cognitive, which refers to the computational approach to studying the mind; social, which studies how people interact; and clinical, which examines mental health and mental illnesses.
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.
Professor
Susan Nolen-Hoeksema describes how modern clinical psychology both identifies and treats various mental
disorders. Particular focus is placed upon mood disorders such as
bipolar disorder and depression, including current diagnostic criteria and current practices for treatment.
One of the most uniquely human
abilities is the capacity for creating and understanding
language. This lecture introduces students to the major topics within the study of language: phonology,
morphology, syntax and
recursion. This lecture also describes theories of language acquisition, arguments for the specialization of language, and the commonalities observed in
different languages across cultures.
Why are people
different from one another? This lecture addresses this question by reviewing the latest theories and
research in psychology on two traits in particular:
personality and intelligence. Students will hear about how these traits are measured, why they may differ across individuals and groups, and whether they are influenced at all by one's genes, parents or environment.
This lecture finishes the discussion of
language by briefly reviewing two additional topics: communication systems in non-human primates and other
animals, and the relationship between language and thought. The majority of this lecture is then spent on introducing students to major theories and discoveries in the fields of perception, attention and
memory.
Topics include why we see certain visual illusions, why we don't always see everything we think we see, and the relationship between
different types of memory.
The last lecture in the
course wraps up the discussion of clinical psychology with a discussion of treatment efficacy. Does
therapy actually work?
Professor Bloom summarizes the
different types of influences that clinical interventions might have on people who receive therapy.
This lecture reviews what
evolutionary theories and
recent studies in psychology can tell us about
sex and gender differences. Students will hear how psychology can help explain many of the differences that exist in whom we find attractive, what we desire in a mate, and sexual orientation.
