Introduction to Psychology with Paul Bloom

Questions at the center

The course opens with a set of playful questions about dreams, desire, language in animals and why we cannot tickle ourselves, then uses them to introduce the scientific study of thought and behavior. Its scope is broad, moving from perception and memory to religion, persuasion and art.

How the mind is studied

Beyond what the mind does, the lectures ask how these capacities develop in children, how they differ between people, how they are wired in the brain, and how illness or injury can disrupt them. That combination of development, variation and neural basis gives the course a coherent arc.

Who it suits

• Curious readers who want a wide survey of human nature
• Beginners who enjoy questions about love, lust and fiction
• Students deciding whether to take psychology further

It is pitched at beginners and rewards a willingness to follow an argument across several disciplines.