Psychology

Below are the online psychology courses and lectures we have published on Virtual Professors. They include speakers from from top universities (like MIT, Yale, Stanford, and others) and other top experts in the field.

Dan Gilbert

Synthetic Happiness Is Real Happiness

We tend to think that synthetic happiness (the happiness we manufacture when we don’t get exactly what we want) will never come close to the feeling of natural happiness, but Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert says that is absolutely not true.

Dan-Jurafsky

Studying Speed Dates to Predict Social Intention

We all subconsciously analyze the meaning beyond literal translations of words, but what if there were factors we could use to predict things like social intention? That’s exactly what Dan Jurafsky’s research aimed to do.

caitlin ryan

How Families Impact the Well-Being of LGBT Youth

The health and well-being of LGBT children is influenced largely by the family and caregivers in their lives. Increasing accepting behaviors is one of the main ways to positively impact the lives of LGBT children.

david brooks

The Social Animal

Tapping into the findings of his latest book, NYTimes columnist David Brooks unpacks new insights into human nature from the cognitive sciences — insights with massive implications for economics and politics as well as our own self-knowledge.

saadi lahlou

Installation Theory: How to Control and Change Individual Behaviour

Changing individual behavior is a major stake for policies and management, but humans think and act as social beings rather than rational agents. The lecture will introduce Installation Theory, the principles of which can be used for governance.

r-beau-lotto

Seeing Myself See: The Ecology of Mind

Colors can play games with your mind. There are many illusions created by colors and light that you may not realize. R Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist and head of the Lottolab at University College London who uses these puzzles as a way to look into our own minds.

sterotype-math-science-jennifer-steele

Stereotype Threat

Stereotypes have long threatened people’s ability to succeed. One in particular is the stereotype suggesting women have less capabilities for the maths and sciences. And even while gender diversity has increased among the workplace, that does not mean stereotypes do not still exist.

tom-chatfield-video-games

7 Ways Video Games Engage the Brain

Tom Chatfield says the great thing about video games is its measurability. We can study data of users to find out what people find rewarding and how hard they are willing to work for a win.

Steven Pinker Language Harvard

The Stuff of Thought: Language as a window into human nature

Can language give us insight into human nature? Harvard Professor Steven Pinker argues yes. He shows how grammar can give us an understanding of a thought, swearing can reveal emotions, and innuendo can portray social relationships.

Steven Pinker TED blank slate

Is the Human Mind a Blank Slate?

Steven Pinker, Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, gives us some reasons to doubt that the human mind is a blank slate. Pinker reveals how parental studies often are false because they do not account for genetics. He also says we will not find actual answers until we can test more adopted siblings.

← Previous Entries