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Back to Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies by Wesleyan University

4.7
stars
2,190 ratings

About the Course

Welcome to Understanding Memory. Someone once said that memory is fascinating because sometimes we forget what we want to remember, sometimes we remember what we want to forget, and sometimes we remember events that never happened or never happened the way we remember them. I want to show you how memory works, why it sometimes fails, and what we can do to enhance it. Based on my recent book – Memory and Movies: What Films Can Teach Us About Memory (MIT Press, 2015) – I will provide an introduction to the scientific study of human memory by focusing on a select group of topics that hold widespread appeal. To facilitate your understanding, I will use clips from numerous films to illustrate different aspects of memory – describing what has been learned about memory in a nontechnical way for people with no prior background in psychology. Many of us love watching movies because they offer an unparalleled opportunity for entertainment, even if entertaining films are not always scientifically accurate. Still, I believe that we can learn a lot about memory from popular films, if we watch them with an educated eye. Welcome once more. I am looking forward to showing you what movies can teach us about memory. John Seamon Professor of Psychology Emeritus Wesleyan University...

Top reviews

RD

Jul 31, 2020

The material is presented in an easy to remember and understand format. Information is repeated several times during a lecture. The videos chosen enhanced understanding and engagement in the lectures.

VS

Sep 8, 2016

Very good course. It complete its purpose and manage to teach a lot of things in a simple and fast way, wich is the objetive of Coursera. Also, the forum is full of discussions, wich is interesting.

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76 - 100 of 642 Reviews for Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies

By David T

Feb 12, 2024

Amazing class! I am an AP Psychology teacher in a high school, and I am doing this course for professional development. It has helped me with both content knowledge and pedagogy (I will be taking some of Professor Seamon's pedagogical ideas and incorporating them into my classroom).

By Claire P

Sep 4, 2020

Excellent presentation of subject matter on this important topic for all of us.

Understanding of material was enhanced by the segments of the films which perfectly fit with the topics to help us visually and viscerally grasp the material.

Thank you "Jackie" for this incredible class.

By Alexis M

May 1, 2020

Excellent course! Very interesting paired with very relatable film clips. I have an interest in the concept of memory, so in taking this course, I learned both basic and more advanced nuances of memory. Also, I really liked how summaries were provided at the end of each lecture.

By Milenne S d L

Jun 17, 2018

I thank Professor Seamon for this valuable course! This is no simple task to teach about such complex subject, yet you made it very accessible to understand through movie clip examples, in a very accurate and easy way to identify the material covered. I appreciated it very much.

By Delora S

Jun 17, 2016

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. As I love movies, it was perfect to learn about memory using movies as illustration, examples. It has also helped me understand memory problems which has helped me understand myself and others better. I highly recommend this course to anyone!

By Ambika H

Mar 29, 2021

I feel privileged to be a part of this course. Sir explained classes very well. The combination of telling concept by using clipings from movie is a great idea which help us to understand the concept very well. Thanks alot from Wesleyan University for this great opportunity.

By Anoosha S Z

Oct 2, 2020

Interesting, challenging and comprehensive! I've had a wonderful experience learing and understanding the psychology of memory. The instructor is engaging and truly exceptional. If you like movies as much as I do and are interested in psychology, this is the course for you.

By Jiel D

Feb 24, 2018

This course is well designed and easy to follow. It has very relevant examples through movies. The movies really help understand the point and provide clarity. Being intrigued on the topic of movie and with a love for movies, I found this course to be a great blend.

By Katie S

Jun 10, 2020

This was a fantastically interesting course for someone of 56 who experiences senior moments already! And for someone who works as a Dementia Support Worker and also loves film..... The lecturer was very watchable and made it easy to enjoy learning. Big thank you.

By Angie V Z V

Apr 14, 2017

It is a beautiful subject. The way in which you can learn about memory is just amazing. The professor uses a simple language that allows everyone to learn about this beautiful topic: the memory and the movies he uses are also excellent in quality and sensitiveness.

By Manuel d J Z B

Aug 27, 2023

Memory Movies is an amazing, interesting and funny course. I enjoyed each movie's short video, but I watched late the complete movie. My view es that in this course you can learn to understand from the psychology the process of the memory and to know how it works.

By Viridiana M A

Jun 24, 2020

Excelent!!!!!! I´m so excited and so happy because I learned so well, although I'm from Mexico and it is a little hard to learn something in another language. Thanks Professor John Seamon, you are an excellent person and I hope to learn more from you. Blessings

By Anthony A S

Dec 27, 2017

This was a very enjoyable course that was well paced and always interesting. I have not seen most of the movies used for illustrating the issues of the course, but I have a better appreciation on how to watch for the issues of memory in the movies I have seen.

By James A H

May 7, 2020

An excellent course! Thought I'd sign up to this due to my love of films and to get me through lockdown madness...but got so much more. Found the section on Senior Moments, Forgetfulness and Dementia actually quite moving. Now off to purchase John's book....

By Edith R M

Jan 9, 2020

It was the most entertaining course i've taken in coursera. The use of movies to explain memory and psychological issues helped me to understand better difficult terms and matters that are related to this subject. I wish there were more courses like this...

By Patricia M

Oct 24, 2016

Short course with well prepared and presented information. I would highly recommend this course for those interested in memory and aging. The use of film is very helpful with illustrating concepts and providing insightful examples to accompany instruction.

By Md. T h a

May 7, 2020

I loved the course with John Seamon . The course made me learn some important things of mine which i can use through out my upcoming life.Those movies gave me a new understanding of my own life. I wanna thank my professor and his associate for this course.

By Stephanie A

Feb 18, 2018

I found this course very delightful. Every concept carefully and simply explained for one to understand it. with or without medical background and of course, always accompanied with a movie example to better portrait what the topic was. I truly enjoyed it!

By Viktoria T

Sep 11, 2019

I think this course covers good basics of understanding memory and the fact that all the information is depicted in various movies and those movies are shown in the course, makes it easier to understand the matter.

Thank you for the course, I enjoyed it :)

By Julian B

Jan 30, 2017

I enjoyed this course. I signed up because I like movies, but really this course is about the psychology of memory. It uses movies to demonstrate its key points.

It's not a difficult course to complete. The content is manageable on a week by week basis

By Luna S

Jul 31, 2022

This course was an eye openening excperience, as I did this mainly for fun but found that psychology interests me. I am going to buy the book to find out more about memory. I can only recommend the course, and thanks also to John Seamon for making it!

By ELENI N

Dec 26, 2020

JOHN SEAMON IS AN AMAZING PROFESSOR. HE HAS THE CALMLESS AND THE WISDOM TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING ABOUT MEMORY. WE THINK WE KNOW, BUT WE DON'T KNOW NOTHING. IT IS VERY INTERESTING LESSON AND I PROPOSE IT TO EVERYBODY . WE WILL ALL FIND THEM IN FRONT OF US.

By 刘彧菲

Aug 22, 2019

I love the course very much. It opens a whole new world to me that films can be associated with knowledge, and I can more deeply remember about certain points towards memories. Thanks the professor for bringing such a wonderful learning source to us!

By marie r

Jun 17, 2016

I enjoyed the content of the course. The lecturer was informative and interesting to watch/listen to and the selection of films was varied enough to make you think about the relevance of plot versus reality.

I would recommend this course to my peers.

By xara z

Feb 4, 2021

Δεν έχω τρόπο να εκφράσω την ομορφιά των συναισθημάτων που μου άφησαν τα μαθήματά σας .Γνώση και αγάπη σε μια λέξη . Ένα μεγάλο ευχαριστώ προς όλους για όλα ! Ιδιαίτερα στον δάσκαλο με την τόση μεταδοτικότητα και έμπνευση ! Χαρά Ζάρπα από Ελλάδα .