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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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551 - 575 of 642 Reviews for Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies

By Laia G T

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Oct 29, 2016

I think there is not enough scientific facts, I expected some more information about the molecular basis of Alzheimer disease and memory in general. However, I enjoyed the course and I would recommend it, it is very good explained and through the movies you can feel aproximately what these people feel.

By Max C

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Aug 20, 2020

Though as a current undergraduate psychology student, I already knew or heard of much of what the professor taught regarding memory, the connections made to films helped solidify these concepts and information for me, as someone who is also interested in the study of film production and analysis.

By Lizelle L

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Jul 20, 2020

I found weeks 3 - 4 particularly interesting. I did feel that the lectures might be more engaging if the lecturer spoke in a less monotonous tone & maybe moved around & spoke with his hands, but I found him to be sincere in his enjoyment of the films. The content was factual and enriching.

By Anne-Marie C A

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Jan 5, 2018

The Instructor is just magnificently brilliant! I love him , I loved the Course. I give four stars because it didn't meet my very inner expectation on very much stressing on how to overall extensively improve memory by giving many practical tips(though the topic was covered at some point).

By Sana S

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Aug 20, 2021

This course was really, very informative and interesting. It was fun and indulging to learn with the Professor. I definitely recommend this course to people who are movie fans and also have a liking towards learning about the intricate workings of their memory. Thank you for this course.

By Sukriti S

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Jun 2, 2020

It was a beautiful course. As a student of psychology, memory has always been a complex topic. The course made it easier to remember these concepts. Additionally, having watched only a few of the films mentioned in the course, I have added for myself a great list of films to watch.

By Tam F

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Feb 8, 2020

This was an interesting course and the movie clips were a fun way to help us understand the concepts we were talking about. It's not super in-depth, but I didn't expect it to be. The concepts are simple and the lessons build upon each other, helping cement what you learn.

By Raquel H

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Jun 8, 2016

I haven't finished the course yet, so far so good!

I would love to see more variety of films from other countries too.

I'm convinced this course will evolve as further research on memory

continues making the huge 'memory and aging' issue much more accesible.

Thank you!

By Cecile D

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Jul 10, 2016

I thought it was an excellent class for discovering how our memory works. Thanks to the movie examples it provided great insights into our brains, and importantly the professor was there to explain the differences between fiction and actual scientific knowledge !

By laura h

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Jul 5, 2020

Graduates as an anthropologist with a profound interest in the workings of social memory, I found this course to be interesting from a different perspective. Perfect for those who have an interest in the basics of memory through the cinematic eye.

By Carlos B

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Apr 9, 2017

Muy buen curso, se ilustra de manera amplia y concreta lo relacionado con la memoria. Además, la metodología de asociarlo con el cine tiene efectos benéficos como los de mantener los recuerdos muy activos. Muchas gracias.

By Lucy D

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Jan 3, 2019

I liked the content though felt the delivery lacked diversity when there were many opportunities to learn things by trying them out - the couple of exercises designed for this were really great - they could be many more.

By Michele R

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Apr 15, 2016

I really enjoyed this class - it gave me some insight to how the mind works. The lectures were easy to understand, no full of jargon, and the quizzes helped clarify what I needed to focus on

By Gjoans

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Jun 12, 2016

It's a very good course discovering the function of memory and how we maintain good memory, while principle and mechanism of memory's formation did not be revealed were the leaving regrets.

By Ellen W

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May 5, 2016

Interesting course. I liked that each session was short so I could fit them into breaks in my day. I also liked that the professor used movies to demonstrate concepts he was discussing.

By Diana B F (

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Feb 10, 2017

I wonderful foundation course with the splendid added filmography. Great combination that explains false myths behind memory lapses, episodes of forgetfulness and concussion.

By Narayan M

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Jun 6, 2017

INTERESTING CORRELATION INDEED OF HOW NUANCES OF MEMORY CAN BE BETTER COMPREHENDED BY MOVIES. ACTUALLY ENHANCES THE ENTERTAINMENT VALUE OF THE MOVIE BESIDES THE INSIGHT

By Michael A

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Jul 14, 2018

It was a very interesting way to describe human memory, but I'm not giving it 5 stars because I feel it could have contained more scientific information.

By Juan E

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Feb 22, 2020

Muy claro y práctico. Las imagenes y guiones de las películas ayudan a fijar mucho mas los conceptos. Felicitaciones. Altamente recomendable.

By Stacy K

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May 15, 2016

Great content and movies. Would have been even better if the professor spoke a little more loudly and perhaps there were guest experts.

By Gayathri G

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Aug 12, 2017

This course was really interesting since it incorporated the fun of watching movies along with understanding the psychology of mind.

By Raya D

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Nov 28, 2020

It was a light course on how memory functions, which helped me structure my knowledge and encompass new information in that field.

By Vivian L

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Nov 25, 2017

Interesting and easy to learn. I like the setting by coursera that I can watch the video and do the quiz whenever in my free time.

By Cesar O

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Jun 13, 2016

Si amas el maravilloso mundo del cine y también la psicología, entonces este curso es para tí. Ampliamente recomendable.

By Juan D S M

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Jan 6, 2017

Es un curso realmente agradable para aquellos que se interesan por la condición humana y se apasionan por el cine !!!