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Introduction to Psychology · Lecture 1 of 20 · 29:37

1. Introduction

1. Introduction on YouTube

Study guide

What this lecture covers

This opening lecture sets up the course itself: what Introduction to Psychology will cover, how it is graded, and why the study of the mind pulls together neuroscience, development, cognition, social behavior, and mental illness. Paul Bloom frames psychology as the study of "us" — how the human mind works — and argues it cannot be understood through psychology alone, since it connects to evolution, economics, philosophy, and other fields.

After watching, you should understand the course's requirements and grading, and have a first sense of the topics ahead: the brain and consciousness, child development, attractiveness, morality, and mental illness, all of which recur across the semester.

Key ideas

  • Five branches of psychology: neuroscience (mind via the brain), developmental (how people grow and learn), cognitive (a computational approach to the mind), social (how people act in groups), and clinical (mental health and illness).
  • Nature versus nurture: a recurring question in the course is how much of human knowledge and personality is innate versus shaped by culture, language, and parenting.
  • Continuity of personality: the course asks whether traits observed in childhood predict the adult a person becomes.
  • The physical basis of mind: cases of brain damage, such as a person in a persistent vegetative state, show that mental life depends on a physical brain.
  • Phineas Gage: a construction worker whose personality changed after a metal rod passed through his brain, illustrating how brain damage can alter identity and self-control without affecting intelligence or speech.
  • Rare neurological syndromes: conditions like Capgras syndrome (believing loved ones have been replaced by impostors) and Cotard's syndrome (believing oneself to be dead) are used to reveal how normal recognition and self-awareness work.
  • Course logistics: two lectures a week plus readings, a midterm, a final held on the last day of class, weekly short questions starting in week three, a book review, and an experimental participation requirement.
  • Guest lecturers: four Yale faculty will cover cognitive neuroscience of faces, depression, the psychology of food, and love.

Walkthrough

Course requirements and structure (3:40)

Bloom introduces himself and describes the course logistics: two lectures per week, a textbook and a reader, a midterm and a final (held on the last day of class rather than during exam period), weekly pass/fail questions starting in the third week, a short book review, and an experimental participation requirement. He encourages students to attend office hours or introduce themselves after class, noting that a large lecture course can otherwise feel anonymous.

General goals for the course (10:03)

He explains that the course aims to give a state-of-the-art introduction to how the human mind works, approached through psychology's five traditional sub-areas — neuroscience, developmental, cognitive, social, and clinical — plus related fields such as evolutionary biology, economics, philosophy, and anthropology.

Examples of topics: the brain, development, and morality (13:07)

Bloom previews specific topics using vivid cases: brain damage and consciousness (illustrated by a coma patient's brain scan), child development and the nature-versus-nurture debate (illustrated by his own son), computer-generated faces used to study attractiveness, and moral psychology, contrasting examples of cruelty (including Ted Bundy) with examples of moral courage (Oskar Schindler and Paul Rusesabagina).

Mental illness and the value of extreme cases (19:12)

He previews the course's coverage of common disorders like depression and anxiety, then turns to rarer neurological cases: Phineas Gage's personality change after brain injury, multiple personality disorder, Capgras syndrome, and Cotard's syndrome. He argues that studying these extreme, rare cases sharpens understanding of ordinary mental processes, such as the difference between recognizing a face and truly knowing who someone is.

Before you watch

  • No prior psychology background is assumed; this is the first lecture of the course.
  • Have the syllabus and textbook information handy, since Bloom references specific readings and grading policies.

Check your understanding

  1. What are the five traditional sub-areas of psychology, and what does each one focus on?
  2. Why does Bloom argue that psychology cannot be studied in isolation from fields like economics or philosophy?
  3. What did the case of Phineas Gage reveal about the relationship between the brain and personality?
  4. How do rare syndromes like Capgras and Cotard's help researchers understand normal mental processes?

Vocabulary

psychology (noun)
The scientific study of the mind and behavior.
Psychology tries to explain how the human mind works.
neuroscience (noun)
The study of the brain and nervous system.
Neuroscience looks at the mind through the physical brain.
developmental psychology (noun)
The study of how people grow, learn, and change over their lives.
Developmental psychology asks how children acquire language.
cognitive psychology (noun)
The study of the mind as an information-processing system, like memory and thinking.
Cognitive psychology treats the mind as a kind of computer.
clinical psychology (noun)
The study and treatment of mental illness and psychological disorders.
Clinical psychology focuses on mental health and its treatment.
nature versus nurture (phrase)
The debate over how much of a person comes from biology versus from environment and upbringing.
Nature versus nurture is a recurring theme in the course.
innate (adjective)
Present from birth rather than learned afterward.
The course asks how much of our knowledge is innate.
persistent vegetative state (noun)
A long-lasting condition where a person is awake but shows no signs of awareness.
A person in a persistent vegetative state shows how mind depends on the brain.
neurological syndrome (noun)
A set of symptoms caused by a problem in the brain or nervous system.
Capgras syndrome is a rare neurological syndrome.
impostor (noun)
A person pretending to be someone else, or believed to be a fake replacement.
Capgras syndrome makes a person believe loved ones are impostors.
moral courage (noun)
The willingness to do what is right despite danger or pressure not to.
The lecture contrasts cruelty with examples of moral courage.
cruelty (noun)
The quality of causing pain or suffering to others deliberately.
Ted Bundy is used as an extreme example of cruelty.
evolutionary biology (noun)
The study of how species change and develop over generations.
Psychology connects closely with evolutionary biology.
anonymous (adjective)
Not known or recognized as an individual, especially in a large group.
A large lecture course can feel anonymous without introducing yourself.
sub-area (noun)
A smaller specialized field within a larger academic subject.
The course covers psychology's five traditional sub-areas.
logistics (noun)
The practical details needed to organize something.
Bloom explains the course logistics, including grading and readings.
state-of-the-art (adjective)
Using the most modern and up-to-date methods or knowledge.
The course aims for a state-of-the-art introduction to the mind.
recur (verb)
To happen again repeatedly over time.
These themes recur across the whole semester.
preview (verb)
To give a short early look at something covered later.
Bloom previews specific topics using vivid cases.
vivid (adjective)
Producing clear, strong images in the mind.
He introduces the topics using vivid, memorable cases.
coma (noun)
A deep state of unconsciousness a person cannot be woken from.
A coma patient's brain scan illustrates the physical basis of mind.
consciousness (noun)
The state of being aware of your own thoughts and surroundings.
The course opens with a big question about consciousness and the brain.
identity (noun)
The set of qualities that make a person who they are.
Brain damage can change a person's identity and self-control.
self-control (noun)
The ability to manage your own emotions and behavior.
Phineas Gage lost much of his self-control after his injury.
self-awareness (noun)
The ability to recognize and understand your own mind and existence.
Cotard's syndrome disrupts a person's normal self-awareness.
isolation (noun)
The state of studying or existing separately from everything else.
Psychology cannot be studied in isolation from other fields.
frame (verb)
To present or describe something in a particular way.
Bloom frames psychology as the study of us.
sharpen (verb)
To make something clearer or more precise.
Rare cases sharpen understanding of ordinary mental processes.
anthropology (noun)
The study of human societies and cultures.
The course connects psychology to anthropology and other fields.

Chapters

From the YouTube description

Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 110)

Professor Paul Bloom welcomes students and presents the course as a comprehensive introduction to the study of the human mind. Course readings and requirements are discussed. The five main branches of psychology are presented: neuroscience, which is a study of the mind by looking at the brain; developmental, which focuses on how people grow and learn; cognitive, which refers to the computational approach to studying the mind; social, which studies how people interact; and clinical, which examines mental health and mental illnesses.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction to and Requirements for the Course
10:03 - Chapter 2. General Goals for the Course
13:07 - Chapter 3. Examples of Materials Covered in the Course

This course was recorded in Spring 2007.

2. Foundations: This Is Your Brain →