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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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26 - 50 of 642 Reviews for Understanding Memory: Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies

By Bo

•

Apr 11, 2021

This course has given me a deeper understanding of memory and it's systems & related disorders it has allowed me to improve my studying techniques as well as being able to have deeper conversations around this topic and revisit my own personal (episodic) memories with new insight and perspective.

There's also a fair bit of wisdom in the course and a feeling of nostalgia as you watch a experienced professor sit back in his chair with a big library behind him calmly and articulately explain complex subjects to you in plain language.

By Abimael S N

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Aug 27, 2019

Very well explained concepts about memory, types of memory, deseases, myths revealed, examples using movies related to some kind of memory issue and real cases that give a deeper understanding about the memory case study.

So useful info applicable to my personal and profesional activities. It would be great to update this course with new info and research about Alzheimer deseas according to medical discovers and advices to face it in early and past ages.

Thank you very much for your dedication John!!

Wonderful course!!

By Isabelle

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Feb 11, 2018

Very interesting course. I sometimes got distracted by the movies presented in that I felt an on the moment urge to watch most of the films presented. What I noticed though, is that all I need to do now is think about one of the movies to remember the main points of the lecture!

I would really love a sequel to this course that would be based on memory maintenance research and includes things like the best physical and intellectual exercises , diet and lifestyle in gnl. -

Thank you for putting together this course

By Kori D M

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Mar 18, 2023

Overall, this is an excellent exploration of memory. The professor seems friendly and approachable, so much so, that I purchased his book! The audio quality needs improvement; it was difficult to hear him in many of the videos (with or without earbuds). The movie examples are great and really help illustrate the points covered. This course is good to pair with "Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life." This one reinforced what I learned in the other, though one could take them in reverse order.

By Adalis F P

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Feb 7, 2021

I really enjoyed this course. It was amazing have a knowledge how our brain works and the differents "dificulties" that we could find getting older trough the films selected. I will give 100 points for this. It has been a gift for me and my husband. We saw all the films, comented and we confirmed at least we are by a good "road". All the recomendations to keep our brain working the best it could be possible WE DO!!!

Thanks to all the profestionell involved in this course, specially to Professor John Seamon.

By Elke F

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Mar 26, 2017

En este curso el Professor John Seamon nos explica con toda claridad y de manera entretenida cómo es el funcionamiento de nuestra memoria, brindándonos la información de los últimos estudios realizados. Da los elementos que necesitamos para comprender los trastornos, saber respetar y sensibilizarnos con las personas que los sufren.

Recomiendo el curso como parte de nuestra cultura general, y en particular a todas las personas que trabajan con familias que tienen un adulto mayor que convive con ellos.

By Linda B

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Sep 26, 2016

This course about memory is very informative about a subject that everyone thinks about, around the world.

We learn about the different types of memory, and about how age affects our memory as we get older, there are lectures on dementia and Alzheimers Disease, and a lecture on how to live healthy to keep our memory from aging early.

The Professor uses movies to give us a visual on the topic discussed, which is a very helpful learning tool as well as entertaining.

I highly recommend taking this course.

By Wendyj B

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Nov 6, 2020

This course was enlightening and very informative. It helped me recognize that no aging brain stays perfect and buying a bunch of pills or playing brain games can undo the damage of Alzheimer’s, so it’s best to enjoy your life and hopefully as mentioned in the Bucket List you have experienced joy and gave joy! Very very pleased and the lectures were interesting and straight to the point. The movies selected clearly explained how movies can help you understand how memory works.Great job Professsor!

By Shivani M

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Jul 9, 2020

This course was well articulated, introspective, informative, and most of all a beautiful amalgamation of art and science dipped in philosophy. This course will incite pleasant emotions, better understanding of behaviour and fill you with a feeling of gratitude for the things in your life. For young neuroscientists and psychologists interested in this field, this is a wonderful course to start your journey, bolster your passion and appreciation for the brain and all it's intricacies.

By Janis F

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Jul 7, 2016

Course was fascinating! Clearly presented. I loved the structure with a summary at the end of each lecture. The quizzes contained only information that was included in the lectures. Easy familiarity of the instructor made me feel like we were having a friendly discussion. Instructor intended to present information to the general public rather than psychology majors & he accomplished that goal. This is my favorite MOOC so far & I never expected to find one I liked more than the

By Anne P

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Aug 26, 2018

I loved taking this course! The professor's creative use of films to illustrate the concepts he introduced in each of the lectures on different aspects of memory was very effective and enjoyable. I learned many facts and concepts concerning memory which I did not know and I am now able to appreciate films in a new way. I liked the series of short lectures to which I could attend whenever I wished and provided just the right amount of information so that I could remember it easily.

By Shrutika M

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Oct 9, 2020

This is a very interesting and innovative way to study memory functions and in general, know more about it. It is much more clear because the material or the movies make it more relatable to study, they provide a basis and form an understanding about what we are going to study, they also work as an elaborate example which clarifies the practicality rather than just focusing on the theoretical aspect of memory.

The professor makes it so much more fun.

Amazing course.

By Supreeth P N

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Oct 2, 2016

This course is very informative and gives us a pretty good understanding of memory and its working in short amount of time. More over this course also entertain using movies. you will learn in this more effectively and the perspective of us looking at the movies changes. Thank you Professor Seamon for this creative course work, that you designed. Also we can understand our memory and our personality. Highly recommended course. Thank you Coursera

By Tarun V

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May 27, 2021

A very Interesting Course. Got to learn many new things and most importanly am able to remember most of them(since the prof presented them so well that i was able to remember them while watching the video lectures itself). A heartly tahnks to the prof and the staff of westland university for providing such a wonderful course. And also thanks to coursera for providing such a platform so that we got a chance to learn from such courses.

By Arun K

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Oct 22, 2016

Great course, it is refreshing to revisit topic in psychology with a different perspective. I like that Professor Seamon demonstrates various phenomena associated with Hollywood films. It helps to look at the films and the psychological phenomena from a different angel and definitely enhanced my learning. If I am not wrong, he is teaching us psychology applying our episodic memory so that we retain the learning for long. Thank you.

By Ros

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Mar 21, 2016

A wonderful course. I really enjoyed studying this. This was my first course on coursera. The lectures were interesting. It helped to clear many misconception I had about memory. Thank you for revealing the world of memory to me. I am not a psychology student. I am an engineer by profession. Just because of my interest in psychology I joined this course and it was worthwhile. Thanking the entire team of Memory and Movies.

By Shauna B

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Sep 8, 2021

I really enjoyed this course. I liked the teacher's laid-back style. He chose fabulous movies to illustrate his points - looking at their accuracies and inaccuracies. I learned some new words - didn't know what anterograde amnesia was but realize now that this is what people most often present with. It's memory formation that we see in dementia. Great course. I took it for fun as well as interest and was not disappointed!

By Teresa J S

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Aug 30, 2018

At 61, was unsure about my ability to commit and complete a course of study. "Understanding Memory" provided the perfect opportunity to resume my education with, what I perceive to be, a unique presentation of the subject matter by John Seamon. This course held my attention, encouraged focus and provided information pertinent to my own life experiences.

I hope to be able to continue with additional courserses.

By Rose B

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Dec 20, 2017

This is by far the most elegant, effective and pure genius way to form a better understanding of Memory. With every new piece of information brilliantly connected to meaningful movie scenes, Dr Seamon uses memory to teach about memory! Highly entertaining, well organized and... probably the only course that can actually become a part of our episodic memory! Thank you (and excuse my inadequate English)!

By Theresa D

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Apr 27, 2023

This was a great course! Attaching the information to specific films really helped to solidify what I

was learning. I learned a lot about several aspects of memory that I had touched on in the course of my university career; but, I had not had the opportunity to delve into them. This was quite an enjoyable class as well. I would recommend it to anyone considering it. Thanks, Professor Seamon.

By Jaseel C

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Jun 2, 2020

Truly a wonderful course. Psychology often is thought of as being interesting before we take up the course and boring as we pursue it. This course somehow blends accurate information with entertainment. It also provide learners with a new outlook to movies. After this course, you will never watch movies the same way...

Thanks a lot to the instructor as well the ones who worked behind this venture.

By Karen N M V

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Feb 25, 2017

Excellent course!

Thank you very much.

As a student of pedagogy, it has helped me to complement topics on cognitive functions and learning. The time devoted to each topic may seem short, but it gave me the information I needed to understand the basic terms and delve into them in the future.

For the moment, I'll wait for my copy of the book.

Again, thank you teacher.

Make another course :)

By olivier r

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Apr 17, 2018

Bon cours sur le fonctionnement de la mémoire, les différents types de mémoire, les difficultés rencontrées avec l'age, et les principales maladies liées à la mémoire. Une fin positive, avec quelques conseils pour travailler sa mémoire. D'une façon générale, ce cours permet de relativiser les petites difficultés de mémoire que chacun rencontre, et qui restent rares à présager le pire.

By Angie P

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Jul 4, 2019

This course is amazing! The information given by the teacher is complete and accurate. The way of explaining every topic is very good, anyone could understand this course, you don't need to be a psychologist, psychiatrist or a neurologist to enjoy this course and to acquire all of the knownledge offered. I'm currently studying psychology and found it really helpfull. Thanks a lot! (:

By Qudsiya

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Jul 31, 2020

I must first mention the fact that John Seamon has a wonderful manner of narrating. Part of the learning that takes place in this course is because of his style. I am sure to take more courses designed by him.

I will definitely read his book because the knowledge and information shared through the course increases your curiosity to know more. Thank you . It was an awesome course.