In this video I discuss dualism, Descartes, monism, and Hermann von Helmholtz to consider why we can’t trust our intuitions about the world. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see future videos! Have questions or topics you’d like … Read More
Nature versus Nurture (Intro Psych Tutorial #2)
In this video I describe the concepts of nativism and philosophical empiricism as well as modern views of the “nature vs. nature debate”. Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see future videos! Have questions or topics you’d like … Read More
What is Psychology? (Intro Psych Tutorial #1)
This first video provides a brief overview of what psychology is and describes a few of psychology’s many subfields. Viewers in China can watch this video here: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMTgzNjkxNDUzMg Don’t forget to subscribe to the channel to see future videos! Have questions … Read More
Psychoanalytic and Humanistic Approaches to Therapy
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Disposition or Situation?
How do we understand the behavior of other people? Rather than focusing on a person’s traits (or their disposition) as we did in personality psychology, we’ll now include a focus on the situation the person is in. We’ll begin with … Read More
What is Stress?
You’re undoubtedly familiar with the concept of stress, but like many psychological variables we’ve seen, you may find it difficult to come up with a precise definition. What exactly is stress and how can we go about measuring it Walter … Read More
Approach and Avoidance Motivations
Another way of categorizing motivations is to consider them as either approach motivations or avoidance motivations. An approach motivation is a drive to experience a positive outcome, while an avoidance motivation is a drive to not experience a negative outcome. The … Read More
Freud’s Personality Structure
Freud proposed a structural organization of personality with three main components; the id, the ego, and the superego. The id was the raw animal drives of the personality. These included drives for food, sex, and aggression, which were driven by … Read More
Types of Test Designs
In designing an intelligence assessment, I may want to know the level of difficulty that someone is capable of solving. In this case, I would probably look at whether a person is able to solve a particularly difficult puzzle or … Read More
What is the Circadian Rhythm?
Our sleeping pattern follows a circadian rhythm, which is really just a way of saying a daily pattern of wakefulness and sleepiness (circadian derived from Latin: circa – “about” and diem– “day”). Our circadian rhythm is influenced by environmental factors, … Read More