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This page contains 17 hours of informative psychology videos. Each video includes its length and a brief description to help instructors choose which ones to use in their coursework. The videos are available in the textbook and on YouTube.

Section 07 Video (10:54): Intro to Psychology. What does Psychology mean? Where does it come from? Hank gives you a 10-minute intro to one of the more tricky sciences and talks about some of the big names in the development of the field. Welcome to Crash Course Psychology!!!

Section 13 Video: (10:48) Psychological Research. So how do we apply the scientific method to psychological research? Lots of ways, but today Hank talks about case studies, naturalistic observation, surveys and interviews, and experimentation. Also, he covers different kinds of bias in experimentation and how research practices help us avoid them.

Section 20 Video: (10:41 ) The Chemical Mind. What exactly happens when we get scared? How does our brain make our body react? Just what are Neurotransmitters? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes us to the simplest part of the complex system of our brains and nervous systems: the neuron.

Section 27 Video: (10:45) Sensation & Perception. Just what is the difference between sensing and perceiving? And how does vision actually work? And what does this have to do with a Corgi? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes us on a journey through the brain to better explain these and other concepts.

Section 32 Video: (10:23) Homunculus. It’s a big and weird word that you may or may not have heard before, but do you know what it means? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank gives us a deeper understanding of this weird model of human sensation.

Section 35 Video: ( 9:59) Perceiving is Believing. So what does perception even mean? What’s the difference between seeing something and making sense of it? In today’s episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank gives us some insight into the differences between sensing and perceiving.

Section 38 Video: ( 9:39) Consciousness. What exactly is consciousness? Well… that’s kind of a gray area. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank gives you the basic ideas of what consciousness is, how our attention works, and why we shouldn’t text and drive… ever… no, really, NEVER!

Section 41 Video: (10:40) To Sleep, Perchance to Dream. Why do we sleep? Well… that’s a tricky question. More easily answered is the question,”How do we sleep?” In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank discusses some of the ways our brain functions when sleeping and how it can malfunction as well.

Section 45 Video: (11:18 ) Altered States. You may think you know all about hypnosis from the movies…Zoolander, The Manchurian Candidate, etc… but there’s a whole lot more going on. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank tells us about some of the many altered states of consciousness, including hypnosis.

Section 50 Video: ( 2:02 ) Reinforcement vs. Punishment. Watch this video to ensure you can differentiate between negative reinforcement and punishment.

Section 51 Video: (11:49 ) How to Train a Brain. I’m sure you’ve heard of Pavlov’s Bell (and I’m not talking about the Aimee Mann song), but what was Ivan Pavlov up to, exactly? And how are our brains trained? And what is a “Skinner Box”? All those questions and more are answered in today’s Crash Course Psychology, in which Hank talks about some of the aspects of learning.

Section 52 Video: ( 9:35) The Bobo Beatdown. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about how we learn by observation… and how that can mean beating the tar out of an inanimate clown named Bobo.

Section 56 Video: ( 9:54) How We Make Memories. Remember that guy from 300? What was his name? ARG!!! It turns out our brains make and recall memories in different ways. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about the way we do it, what damaging that process can do to us, and that guy… with the face and six pack.

Section 59 Video: (10:17) Remembering and Forgetting. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about how we remember and forget things, why our memories are fallible, and the dangers that can pose.

Section 63 Video: (10:43) Your Mind. We used to think that the human brain was a lot like a computer—using logic to figure out complicated problems. It turns out, it’s a lot more complex and, well, weird than that. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank discusses thinking & communication, solving problems, creating problems, and a few ideas about what our brains are doing up there.

Section 65 Video: (10:01) Language. You know what’s amazing? That we can talk to people, they can make meaning out of it, and then talk back to us. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks to us and tries to make meaning out of how our brains do this thing called Language. Plus, monkeys!

Section 71 Video: (11:04) Brains vs. Bias. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes a look at WAIS and WISC intelligence tests and how bias can really skew both results and the usefulness of those results.

Section 76 Video: ( 9:50) The Growth of Knowledge. How does our knowledge grow? It turns out there are some different ideas about that. Schemas, Four-Stage Theory of Cognitive Development, and Vygotsky’s Theory of Scaffolding all play different roles but the basic idea is that children think about things very differently than adults.

Section 79 Video: (18:12) What Do Babies Think? Watch this Ted talk by Alison Gopnik to learn about how recent discoveries show us that babies are probably smarter than we think.

Section 80 Video: (11:37) Monkeys and Morality. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes a look at a few experiments that helped us understand how we develop as human beings. Things like attachment, separation anxiety, stranger anxiety, and morality are all discussed… also, a seriously unpleasant study with monkeys and fake mothers.

Section 81 Video: (10:41) Adolescence. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank has a look at that oh so troublesome time in everyone’s life: adolescence! He talks about identity, individuality, and The Breakfast Club.

Section 85 Video: (10:48) The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Watch this video from Dan Pink’s Ted talk on “The surprising truth about what motivates us.” Think about what things motivate you, and how you anticipate that you might respond to the types of incentives explained in the talk.

Section 86 Video: (11:21) The Power of Motivation. Feeling motivated? Even if you are, do you know why? The story of Aaron Ralston can tell us a lot about motivation. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank tells us Ralston’s story, as well as 4 theories of motivation and some evolutionary perspectives on motivation.

Section 90 Video: (11:36) Let’s Talk About Sex. Sex is complicated for different reasons in different cultures. But, it’s the entire purpose of life, so there’s no reason to blush. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about Kinsey, Masters and Johnson, sexuality, gender identity, hormones, and even looks into the idea of why we have sex. There’s a lot to go through here.

Section 91 Video: (21:03) Body Language. Body language affects how others see us, but it may also change how we see ourselves. Social psychologist Amy Cuddy argues that “power posing” — standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don’t feel confident — can boost feelings of confidence, and might have an impact on our chances for success. (Note: Some of the findings presented in this talk have been referenced in an ongoing debate among social scientists about robustness and reproducibility.

Section 93 Video: (10:51) Feeling All the Feels. Even if you’re Mel Gibson or Kanye, it’s probably best to not wear all of your emotions on your sleeve. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about these things called “Emotions”. What are they? And why do we need them?

Section 101 Video: (10:19) Emotion, Stress and Health. So, it turns out we have an easy time reading emotions in facial expressions, but emotions can straight up kill us! In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank discusses stress, emotions, and their overall impact on our health.

Section 102 Video: (14:28) How to Make Stress Your Friend. Stress. It makes your heart pound, your breathing quicken and your forehead sweat. But while stress has been made into a public health enemy, new research suggests that stress may only be bad for you if you believe that to be the case. Psychologist Kelly McGonigal urges us to see stress as a positive, and introduces us to an unsung mechanism for stress reduction: reaching out to others.

Section 106 Video: (12:23) Rorschach & Freudians. Herman Rorschach came up with the test named after him, but what do the pictures mean? Why are we so fascinated with them despite the division in the world of Psychology? Hank tackles these topics as we take a closer look at personality in this episode of Crash Course Psychology.

Section 114 Video: (11:15) Measuring Personality. How would you measure a personality? What, exactly, is the self? Well, as you’ve come to expect, it’s not that easy to nail down an answer for those questions. Whether you’re into blood, bile, earth, wind, fire, or those Buzzfeed questionnaires, there are LOTS of ways to get at who we are and why.

Section 119 Video: (10:09) Psychological Disorders. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes a look at how the treatment for Psychological Disorders has changed over the last hundred years and who is responsible for getting us on the path to getting us here.

Section 122 Video: ( 4:51) Debunking Myths of OCD. Watch this video to understand why people who are orderly or meticulous are probably not suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Section 123 Video: (11:31) OCD & Anxiety Disorders. Ever call someone OCD because they like to have a clean apartment? Ever tell someone you have a phobia of spiders when, in fact, they just creep you out a little? In this episode of Crash Course psychology, Hank talks about OCD and Anxiety Disorders in the hope we’ll understand what people with actual OCD have to deal with as well as how torturous Anxiety Disorders and Panic Attacks can actually be.

Section 125 Video: (10:51) Trauma & Addiction. So, what do Batman and J.R.R. Tolkien have in common? Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It used to be called “shellshock” and it can be really destructive. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank lays out the low down on PTSD and how trauma can affect the brain. Plus, a look at how addiction can play into trauma and the different types of treatments used to help those afflicted.

Section 127 Video: (10:00) Depressive and Bipolar Disorders. Not sleeping for days on end. Long periods of euphoria. Racing thoughts. Grandiose ideas. Mania. Depression. All of these are symptoms of Bipolar Disorder. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about mood disorders and their causes as well as how these disorders can impact people’s lives.

Section 130 Video: (11:44) Schizophrenia & Dissociative Disorders. Did you know that Schizophrenia and Multiple Personality Disorder aren’t the same thing? Did you know that we don’t call it multiple personality disorder anymore? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank takes us down the road of some very misunderstood psychological disorders.

Section 132 Video: (10:59) Personality Disorders. What exactly are personality disorders? How can they be diagnosed? Can we prevent some of them? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank gives us the down low on things like ego-dystonic and ego-syntonic disorders, borderline and antisocial personality disorders, and potential biological, psychological, and social roots of these disorders.

Section 137 Video: (11:22) Getting Help – Psychotherapy. So, you know you’d like to get help with some problematic behavior (like fear of flying). What do you do? Who can you go to for help? Once you’ve gone, what can you expect? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about what “Getting Help” can look like.

Section 138 Video: (11:10) Biomedical Treatments. Do you know how prozac works? Or lithium? Did you know that electro shock therapy is still a thing? There’s a lot to know about biomedical treatments and how they work in tandem with psychotherapy or talk therapy. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about how biomedical treatments have evolved and how they work with other therapies.

Section 144 Video: (10:48) Social Thinking. Why do people do bad things? Is it because of the situation or who they are at their core? In this week’s episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank works to shed a little light on the ideas of Situation vs. Personality. Oh, and we’ll have a look at the Stanford Prison Experiment…it’s alarming.

Section 147 Video: ( 4:38) First Impressions. You can’t help it; sometimes, you just get a bad feeling about someone that’s hard to shake. So, what’s happening in your brain when you make that critical (and often lasting) first judgment? Peter Mende-Siedlecki shares the social psychology of first impressions — and why they may indicate that, deep down, people are basically good.

Section 149 Video: (10:09) Social Influence. Why do people sometimes do bad things just because someone else told them to? And what does the term Groupthink mean? In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank talks about the ideas of Social Influence and how it can affect our decisions to act or to not act.

Section 152 Video: ( 9:56) Prejudice & Discrimination. In this episode of Crash Course Psychology, Hank tackles some difficult topics dealing with prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination.

Section 154 Video: ( 10:40) Aggression v. Altruism. The video discusses the ideas of aggression and altruism. These two things are difficult to understand and explain so sit tight and get ready to run the gauntlet of human emotions.