Course Content for PY 101
Clips for class. Collection of videos on psychology topics compiled by Cengage Learning.
CrashCourse: Psychology. Quirky 10-15 min videos delivered by a fellow named Hank Green. Covers the entire spectrum of Introductory Psychology.
Talk Psych. David Myers and Nathan DeWall enjoy connecting psychological science with everyday life. Inthis blog, they share exciting new findings, everyday applications, and observations on all things psychology.
The Psych Files videos. Video segments connected with Michael Britt’s podcasts on psychology topics.
Using Wikipedia Writing in Psychology Classes. Part of APS’s initiative to have Wikipedia articles accurately reflect psychological science. Assignments, resources, and slides.
The Human Spark. Alan Alda hosts this three-part series on what makes humans unique.
Discovering Psychology. The series consists of 26 programs on various topics in psychology, each of which is 30 minutes in length. For a program list and descriptions of the individual episodes, see the series website.
Nova ScienceNOW. PBS’s science series covers several topics in psychology and neuroscience in 8-15 min segments.
TED: Psychology’s “ideas worth spreading.” The TED talks are brief (~ 6-18 min), accessible presentations on a variety of topics. Follow this link to see what’s available for psychology.
Science Friday: Body & Brain. Psychology-related audio and video resources from National Public Radio’s weekly program on science.
ToPIX. ToPIX is the Teaching of Psychology Idea Exchange. It’s a wiki sponsored by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology.
Social Psychology Network. More than 5,000 psychology-related links. Although many are focused on social psychology, there is a wealth of other information, including links to teaching resources, general psychology subject areas, career information, and clinical psychology graduate programs.
PsyBlog: Discover the Science of Psychology. Jeremy Dean, a freelance science writer, directs this website of news, articles, and other material.
PsychRadio. A series of brief audio broadcasts (with written transcripts) on a variety of topics.
Research Methods
Scientific method song. With apologies to the Black Keys.
Correlation or causation? Links to exercises and news stories.
TeachPsychScience. Resources for teaching research methods and statistics: PowerPoints, exemplar studies, class demonstrations, class/lab activities, and links to web-based resources.
Ig Nobel Awards. The Ig Nobel Prizes, presented annually by Harvard, honor scientists whose work “cannot or should not be reproduced. Ten prizes are given annually to people “who have done remarkably goofy things–some of them admirable, some perhaps otherwise”.
Biological
Food on a plate shouldn’t move. Two brief videos that vividly illustrate the role of sodium in neuronal transmission. Be sure to tell the class that the squid and the frogs were already dead!
Teaching biology in a psychology class. Advice for how to teach physiological topics.
Phineas Gage. The only known photo of Gage after he recovered from the accident. A story accompanies the photo.
Neuro-Jeopardy. Interactive game tests knowledge of the nervous system.
Brain Game. A ppt slideshow that can be used as a review game.
The brain map rap. (3:56) Give some students a little psych knowledge and a video camera and then stand back. Note that a few ideas expressed in the video may be offensive to some viewers. Another brain map version (3:11) Created by a UA student in Jessica Allen’s PY 101 course.
Interactive teaching activities. 11 simple, interactive activities for biopsychology courses to engage students and illuminate core neurophysiological concepts. Each activity requires little or no outlay of resources; most can be implemented in the classroom and take only 10-15 min of class time.
Epigenetic landscapes (10:18). Story of two brothers.
Epigenetics (13:25). From the PBS series Nova.
Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s Disease (2:13). Brief interview with the actor.
Brain Plasticity (5:44). Profile of girl who had a brain hemisphere surgically removed.
The single best thing to do for your health (9:19). What is it?
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Video on Michael Mosley at TMS intervention.
Consciousness
How different groups spend their day. Interactive graph and related article on how humans occupy themselves during a 24-hour period.
Mouse Party. Interactive exercise investigates mechanisms and effects of commonly abused drugs.
New science of addiction. Hosted by the University of Utah, this site contains a variety of demonstrations about the influence of drugs on the brain.
Sensation/Perception
“Awareness Test” (0:55). Here’s a quick video that illustrates selective attention.
But did you see the gorilla? Daniel Simons’ brief article on the original “Gorilla Basketball” video, attentional blindness, and a follow-up video that often catches viewers who know beforehand about the gorilla.
Color changing card trick (2:44). Selective attention demonstration.
Illusions and visual phenomena. Collected by Michael Bach.
Developmental
Watch him roll! Baby Edward’s amazing brain (2:40). Article and video on brain development in infants.
When did girls start wearing pink? Interesting article on the history of pink and blue color choices. See also the photo gallery.
Seasons of Life. A 5-part video series (60 min episodes) covering lifespan developmental psychology.
Digital Nation. PBS investigates the impact of our technology-infused environment on a variety of psychological and educational topics. The program is broken into self-contained segments of about 10 min each. There are also a host of additional interviews and interactive exercises on the website.
Learning
Big Bang Theory-Operant conditioning (4:53). Sheldon, Penny, and Leonard illustrate reinforcement.
Classically conditioning a roommate (1:39). Introductory psychology knowledge at work!
The Office-Classical conditioning (1:07). Jim, Dwight, and Altoids.
Shaping Crash to close the kitchen door (3:04). Fast demonstration of shaping a dog.
How smart are dogs? 15-min video from Nova Science Now. Among other examples, it shows Chaser at work. She’s the border collie who knows over 1000 words.
Mirror neurons (14:00). Nova Science Now’s engaging description of the basis for observational learning.
Memory
Eyewitness memory (13:07). From the television news program, 60 Minutes.
H.M.’s brain and the history of memory (13 min). NPR interview with neuroscientist who worked with H.M. for decades.
Endless memory-Part 1 (13:35). Interviews with several individuals with superior autobiographical memory along with an exploration of the research. Part 2 (12:38) is a continuation. From the television news program, 60 Minutes.
Health
To heal or not to heal (10:07). Demonstration of how stress influences the body’s ability to heal. From Scientific American Frontiers.
Social
Social psychology videos. Jon Mueller’s compilation of video clips on numerous social psychology topics.
Bystander effect (3:36). Staged demonstration on a city street.
How to start a movement (3:10). Derek Sivers’ amusing and instructive TED talk that covers a variety of group behavior concepts.
A Class Divided.A 5-segment rebroadcast of the classic prejudice exercise in which Jane Elliott, a 3rd grade teacher in rural Iowa, divided her students on the basis of eye color. Original footage of the students plus followup interviews.
Stanford prison experiment. Found here is an extensive slide show and information on one of the most controversial studies in the history of American psychology.
Understanding prejudice. This site has more than 2,000 prejudice-related links, searchable databases of organizations and prejudice researchers, teaching resources, and interactive exercsies. Compiled by Scott Plous.
Jigsaw classroom. The official site of the jigsaw classroom, “a cooperative learning technique that reduces racial conflict among school children, promotes better learning, improves student motivation, and increases enjoyment with the learning experience”. The technique was originally developed by social psychologist, Elliot Aronson.
Implicit Association Test. This site contains several self-administered demonstrations of unconscious processing of social information. It also contains a bibliography of research on implicit attitudes. Anthony Greenwald (University of Washington) and Mahzarin R. Banaji have conducted much of this research. However, Mark Klinger and University of Alabama cognitive psychology students have also been active in this area.
Carnegie Hero Fund Commission. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission recognizes and rewards outstanding acts of prosocial behavior. This site contains profiles of the latest awardees, including four local winners. Jared S. Wilson, a UA student, won the award in 2000 for his rescue of a woman who lost consciousness while driving on Interstate 65 north of Birmingham. Johnathon Hunter rescued a man from a burning building in Tuscaloosa in 2001. Raymond Asworth and Joe Riggs died while attempting to save others from an impending coal mine explosion in Brookwood in 2001.
Conservation psychology.This site that contains resources for applying psychology to environmental concerns such as sustainability. As you will see, the discussion topics and activities span the range of traditional topics in our course.
Disorders and Treatment
I have schizophrenia (42:38). MTV’s Tru Life series follows three young adults with schizophrenia.
Howie Mandel talks about living with OCD (9:07). This video profiles the comedian and TV personality. Look for evidence of obsessions and compulsions along with indications that his symptoms are controlled enough that he can maintain a relatively normal life.
World of Abnormal Psychology. A 13-part series. Each 60-min video covers a major disorder and contains interviews with patients and their families, clinicians, and researchers.
What you need to be happy. (11:53). Video interview with Ed Diener, who has conducted research on happiness in 155 countries, representing 99% of the world’s population.
The new era of positive psychology (23:45). Martin Seligman’s TED talk on what positive psychology is and is not.