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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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151 - 175 of 642 Reviews for Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies

By ADITI M S

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May 27, 2020

A thoroughly rewarding course with stunning compilations. Dr. Seamon is a joy to listen to and ignites curiosity on a much more emotional level than you would typically expect.

By Danil K

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Mar 15, 2016

Very informative and thought-provoking course. And also extremely engaging. I found the idea to use films as illustrations of concepts and myths of memory absolutely brilliant.

By Selma C H

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Dec 14, 2020

Very engaging content, thoroughly explained and well connected with examples. Having this long list of great movies is awesome, especially with deeper understanding on memory.

By Isabelle V

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Sep 6, 2016

Very entertaining way of presenting a serious topic. Although the professor speaks in a rather low voice, the many movie clips make this course very enjoyable. I recommend it!

By Adil A

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Mar 19, 2016

So far, so good. I am absolutely loving the association of psychological concepts with famous movies. I am certain it's gonna help me remember these concepts for a long time!

By Berenice J S V

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Jan 5, 2017

So enjoyable with clear idea of basic memory structure and function. Loved it from start to end. It is a must for teachers and for anyone that wants to know how memory work.

By George G

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Jun 5, 2018

Great Course, interesting subject, I liked the way the Professor presented this through movies. Highly recommended for people interested in memory and psychology in general

By Ollie S

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Aug 31, 2020

I've never cried so many times as watching this lectures! What great movies were taken as illustrations! Incredible material, creative form, clear and intelligible course.

By Patricia A

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Apr 10, 2021

I found the course very interesting & was fascinated to learn how memory works.

As I'm 86 years old it gives me hope that I can keep my hippocampus functioning.

Thank you.

By Borbála B

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Nov 4, 2017

Thank you so much this very amazing course. It is not an the everydays studiing. Very nice and well understanding the memory and all the problems with it through movies!

By Philippe R

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May 27, 2021

Great teaching by Prof. John Seamon who effectively used movies to explain how memory works! This course was informative, enjoyable and imbued with wisdom. Thank you!

By Heather J

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Oct 4, 2020

Really good course. Very well explained and the films made it more relevant and memorable. Challenging questions in the quiz made me think harder. Highly recommended.

By Chris H

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Apr 4, 2019

Calm presentation that slowly helps you to understand the real workings of the mind and memory...good for teachers such as myself and homecare nurses such as my wife.

By Alexandra J J M

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Feb 24, 2021

Extremely well put-together course. I truly enjoyed it, it was thought-provoking and the use of movies to illustrate the ways in which memory works was a great tool!

By Zeus S V

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Jul 13, 2019

Very interesting, well presented, and the summaries at the end of each video makes easier to remember. I also wish you good memories John. Thank you for this course.

By Екатерина

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Apr 18, 2020

It was one of the best courses I've ever studied. Amazing teacher, detailed material, perfectly matched films which you want to see after the lectures. Thank you!!!

By Jutta A

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Jul 9, 2017

Very interesting course with up-to-date information on memory. As a big movie fan I really liked the combination of science and movies. Thank you, Professor Seamon!

By Hana B

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Apr 9, 2020

An excellent Professor, very nice personality, great choice of movies. One of the best courses I had.

Thank You, I will always remember this course :-) (I hope...)

By Sara M S

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Feb 23, 2018

It was a very dynamic course, I refreshed many subjects that I had forgotten, but this time I learned with more sense and emotion. Thank you very much, professor!

By Dany P

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Aug 28, 2017

It was super entertaining and cool but the best part is that I understood many things I didn't know and now I know some things that are helping me with my memory.

By Nicola D

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Jun 2, 2017

Excellent pacing on this course, with lots of movies to aid in understanding and remembering the basic principles. The lecturer was very responsive in the forums.

By Sandra L

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May 2, 2016

A traves de las peliculas sentimos empatia hacia ciertas circunstancias y aprendemos con el ejemplo de la experiencia de otros. Este curso ha sido muy instructivo

By STAUROFOROS

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Jan 1, 2021

Dear John, I would really like to thank you for creating this series of courses! it was both informative and enjoyable ... With kind regards, Stavos Baltiranis.

By WIJDAN A

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Jun 3, 2018

it is the first course I actually took...... your memory are you and I think every one have to take this course

thank u very much .... I can't thank you enough

By Mariya C

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Apr 22, 2022

Prof. Seamon is wonderful and I really enjoyed his course on memory! Thank you so much for all your effort and the time you took to prepare this course for us!