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Understanding Memory
Explaining the Psychology of Memory through Movies
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About this 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.
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.
Overview
Course Syllabus
Memory Processes and Memory Movies
Human memory involves a collection of systems that enable us to remember the past and imagine the future. Films can enhance our understanding of memory by telling us stories about people, illustrating how their present was shaped by their past and how, by watching their stories, we might navigate similar situations in our future.
Making Long Lasting Memories
Memory’s main purpose is to facilitate future thinking. But to plan successful future actions, effective strategies for learning and retention are needed. Some strategies are highly effective for producing long lasting memories, others are not.
Autobiographical Memories and Life Stories
Each of us has a life story based on our personal experiences. These autobiographical memories define us and make us unique. But in telling our life story, we have reconstructed a personal narrative, much like a memoir writer. These recollections are generally accurate, but our memories are never a perfect record of the past.
Understanding the Reality of Amnesia
Amnesia has often been portrayed in film as resulting from a bump on the head and cured by another head bonk. In real life, amnesia can follow physical or emotional trauma, it may be temporary or permanent, and if it resolves, it is never from another blow to the head.
Senior Moments, Forgetfulness, and Dementia
Changes in memory can occur as we get older. Some changes are normal, whereas others might signal the onset of Alzheimer’s disease or some other form of dementia. Memory loss is worrisome, but there are effective ways to help maintain memory function as we age.
Our students love us
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.
Robin D
This course provides common sense and visual examples through movies that improves the level of awareness and understanding for my love ones as I transition. Thank you for sharing your research!
Dr S D
This course is excellent. The information given is quite interesting and beneficial in understanding memory. The explanation of the various concepts presented in this course is done very well and in an easy-to-understand manner.
Mustafa S
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.
Bo
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.
Abimael S
I really love learning memory and psychology at the same time. the examples given are really just awesome. One useful course during this COVID-19 pandemic.
KK
John Seamon
Professor Emeritus
Wesleyan University
About me
John Seamon, Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Wesleyan University, received his B.S. from Columbia University and his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He was a postdoctoral fellow at New York University and has taken sabbaticals at Yale University and Rockefeller University. Elected multiple times as Chair of Wesleyan’s Psychology Department, he was an Associate Editor of the journal Memory.
His research has focused on understanding basic processes in human memory, including the use of technology to aid memory, exceptional memorizers, memory illusions and false memory, and implicit (nonconscious) memory.
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