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The Great Ideas of Psychology

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The Great Ideas of Psychology

By: Daniel N. Robinson, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Daniel N. Robinson
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Summary

If you’ve ever wanted to delve more deeply into the mysteries of human emotion, perception, and cognition, and of why we do what we do, these 48 lectures offer a superb place to start. With them, you’ll see the entire history of psychology unfold. In the hands of Professor Robinson, these lectures encompass ideas, speculations, and point-blank moral questions that might just dismantle and rebuild everything you once thought you knew about psychology. In fact, you’ll not only learn what psychology is, but even if it is, as Professor Robinson discusses the constantly shifting debate over the nature of psychology itself.

Lecture by lecture, Professor Robinson navigates from one subject to the next, and you’ll follow along as he recreates a Platonic dialogue; explains brain physiology; or explores the intricacies of middle ear construction, the psychological underpinnings of the Salem witch trials, and the history of the insanity defense.

Among other things, you’ll learn:

  • How a brilliant young scientist’s temporary blindness led to pioneering research in sensory psychology
  • How the once-prestigious, now-derided, ”sciences” of phrenology and mesmerism contributed to psychological knowledge
  • What happened when a Stanford psychologist and his students decided to study “being sane in insane places” by getting themselves committed to a mental institution
  • How the brain is able to “rewire” itself to compensate for particular traumas at an early age
  • If high heritability determines how much the environment influences the value of a trait, and more.
    • PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1997 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1997 The Great Courses
Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Inspiring
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All stars
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Great Ideas of Psychology to be better than the print version?

This course was structured as 30-35 minutes lectures, which each of them covers an individual topic. Perfect for my daily commute.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The lecturer,who is very articulate and has a good sense of humour.

Any additional comments?

The course covers a wide range of topics in Psychology. Since this is a relatively young discipline, the lecture also attempts to provide a historic view. In addition, prof. Robinson is enthusiastic about the subject, which make it interesting and easy to follow.

Great introductory course

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As usual, Dr. Robinson does a masterful job of outlining the rough edges of a vast, complicated, and extremely difficult subject. He has a knack for negotiating the narrow passage between compelling simplicity, and oppressive exactitude.

I especially appreciated the judicious mingling of philosophy with some of the topics, as a means of highlighting the many larger questions that remain wide open in psychology. In spite of the fact that these lectures were given almost 20 years ago, the vast majority of the content remains quite relevant today.

I'm not sure if that's a testament to Dr. Robinson's lecture skill, or to the glacial pace at which knowledge of the mind moves forward.

Engaging and Informative

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I loved this book. It's a great learning lessons book, but is easy to understand. He covers every subject and any questions I could've possibly had. Self-explanatory lectures. Terrific from the start.

Terrific Psychology Book

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Where does The Great Ideas of Psychology rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best audiobooks I have listened to, and kept me engaged for all of the 23 hours.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The narrator.

What does Professor Daniel N. Robinson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

n/a

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Impossible: it's 23 hours long.

Any additional comments?

Thought-provoking and erudite.

A stimulating tour de force

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Great overview on a wide range of related topics. Lack of depth of analysis though, with various flawed arguments being presented without pointing out the flaws.

Great overview

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