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Social Psychology

Ever wonder why people do what they do? This course—which includes more than $1,000 of video and reading materials—offers some answers based on the latest research from social psychology. Students taking the course for a Certificate will also receive free membership in Social Psychology Network (SocialPsychology.org). COURSE DESCRIPTION FROM PROFESSOR PLOUS: Each of us is dealt a different hand in life, but we all face similar questions when it comes to human behavior: What leads us to like one person and dislike another? How do conflicts and prejudices develop, and how can they be reduced? Can psychological research help protect the environment, and if so, how? This course offers a brief introduction to classic and contemporary social psychology, covering topics such as decision making, persuasion, group behavior, personal attraction, and factors that promote health and well-being. Our focus will be on surprising, entertaining, and intriguing research findings that are easy to apply in daily life. The course will also draw from the websites of Social Psychology Network, the world's largest online community devoted to social psychology. I hope you'll join me for this course, have fun, and learn some useful information that enriches your life.

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Rating 4.7 based on 232 ratings
Length 8 weeks
Effort 6 weeks of study, 4-6 hours/week (plus a mid-course break)
Starts Jun 26 (46 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Wesleyan University via Coursera
Instructor Scott Plous
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Social Sciences Science
Tags Social Sciences Life Sciences Personal Development Psychology

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What people are saying

so much

Thank you so much.

The concepts are explained with so much clarity it almost feels as if you are in some classroom.

I want to thank Wesleyan and the instructor so much for offering this great great course.

Learned so much and the classes were just incredible.

!Scott is such a great teacher thank you so much for making it available to us !!

Much appreciated.Regards,Gönül Kay Kapilan Learning so much and I'm only in week 1.

Thank you so much for offering such a valuable course.

opens a different to thinking and a better approach to the daily world I really enjoyed the course and learned so much.

I loved this course, learnt so much and have been able to put those learnings into practice.

Thank you so much coursera.

Or thin slicing, so much more.. what a great course indeed.... and taught in a particularly interesting manner by Professor Plous, making it easy for a layman to make perfect sense of complex thoughts.

Never thought online learning could be so much fun The instructor is clearly very motivated!

I wish this course was taught at all schools; we'd have a so much better society if it was.

learned so much JGFDFFFFDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDFR FNNNNNNNNNNNNREFAC GYUFEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDC CDE2EYVUFWTVYID C3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3E3EB GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGWHJKDN E4NODHFG4YUICVCRY4GFWEIO YRIIIIIIIIIII34OGFUDB YYYYYYYYY3GFIOG45O 46Y3HO0DGI3WU8FVX YU43IHD4U3XHJ9 4GRYFFFFFFFFFFFFFJKLZHYT FRV cy5cvh653w3qazsvgftr5vsAQq45GTRBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVBVWDIOWEWSW45GFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTRGFTR44 Thanks a lot.

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recommend this course

I didn't attempt any of the assignments because of the timing issue, but highly recommend this course content.

Even as it is, however, the pros weigh enough for me to honestly recommend this course.

I would recommend this course to anyone with a slight interest in human behavior.

I would definitely recommend this course to anyone and I am sad that it has come to an end.

Would very highly recommend this course.

I will recommend this course to my friends as it is very useful in daily life but not only for those who studies psychology or related fields.

I recommend this course to anyone interested in the topic.

Professor Plous is an extremely engaging teacher, and I would totally recommend this course to anyone who is even remotely interested in social psychology.

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scott plous

Scott Plous is an inspiration teacher.

Professor Scott Plous was amazing.

Prof. Scott Plous is the best.

And a big thanks to Professor Scott Plous for taking us through the course.

Professor Scott Plous is a saint for taking the time to help people like myself with this course.

Great work to Westleyan University and Professor Scott Plous!

Such a great Scott Plous!

Thank all who made it possible and special thanks to Scott Plous for being such a good speaker.

also it help me for further learning .thanks prof. Scott Plous and all others to help me.

Prof. Scott Plous is super warm, knowledgeable, and engaging; it was a privilege having him as an instructor.

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about social psychology

On the other hand, my learnig experience with the course was quite good - and I will certainly read a good book about Social Psychology in the future.

Second, although I am a vegetarian and a non-smoker, I really felt like the "assignments" to review the sanctimonious anti-smoking and pro-vegan websites run by the professor were less about social psychology and more about increasing internet traffic.

Interactions with students from around the world was enriching especially since this was about social psychology.

Learning about social psychology was very informative and helped me to gain insight into various aspects of psychology which was new to me and want to thank all the mentors in providing support and guidance in learning this course.

I learned many useful concepts about social psychology and these ideas help me a lot in daily life.

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prof plous

Prof Plous has a very gentle and easy to follow way of explaining concepts, and the recommendation of a textbook makes it easy for students to read up more around the topic.

Prof Plous is a great teacher!

The way Prof Plous presents the course is awesome.

100% recommended Have not finished the course yet, but excellent content and activities from Prof Plous, brought with a very passionate and funny style.

I cannot express my gratitude enough to Prof Plous and team for providing lay person like myself the opportunity to learn so much about the fascinatingly flawed mind of ours.

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human behavior

A very interesting and thought provoking course that explores human behavior, why we do the things we do, by looking at the individual AND situational factors.

Professor Plous is a fantastic guide into the world of human behavior and psychology!

The course is an amazing course, I would recommend it to anyone especially people interested in studying and understanding human behavior or those that wants to go into social psychology later in life, this is definitely a good place to start .

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subject matter

Amazing course that changes not only your perspective on the subject matter, but also on life.

A fascinating subject matter, brought to life with many great examples and clips.

Social Psychology by Wesleyan University is a good course for anyone who wants to get a start into this subject matter.

Your passion for the subject matter is pleasantly infectious and the learning curve is a steady, but gentle meander up towards a better understanding ourselves, others and society in general.

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final exam

Finally, the multiple-choice final exam was specified to be "closed book", yet there was absolutely no way to deter or detect rampant cheating.

The course ends with a final exam (50%) based on multiple choice questions.

The final exam, I found to be really testing and therefore passing on the first attempt provided a real sense of achievement.

This would have confirmed understanding of the topic for that week and would have provided some preparation for the final exam.

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discussion boards

The videos were well produced and the team had done excellent work in assembling study materials, but I felt that the aspects I was most interested in getting from a MOOC were badly handled -- namely, the use of assignments and the management of the discussion boards.

This caused extensive protests on the discussion boards.)

The most alarming feature was that individuals could be blocked from the discussion boards without being informed that they had been blocked and without any information being given from either Coursera or the course staff as to what action had prompted this or what might be done to have it lifted.

The discussion boards started out as a lively community and by the end of the course were a veritable wasteland.

Students who commented on the political slant and complained about the distortions in the content were banned from the discussion boards in several reported cases.

Finally, the forums/discussion boards were completely out of control.

The discussion boards were exploding from the range of information (apparently this was the biggest on-line course ever created in terms of its participants), yet they were well managed by the professor and the TAs.

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Careers

An overview of related careers and their average salaries in the US. Bars indicate income percentile.

Professor of Psychology 2 $29k

Social Worker, Psychology, FT, Days $37k

Faculty - Psychology $40k

Psychology Paraprofessional $40k

Professor, Social Psychology $52k

Chair of Psychology $55k

Faculty, Psychology $57k

Psychology $58k

Social Science Teacher-Psychology and American History $60k

Professor of Psychology and Chair of Psychology Department $67k

Psychology Pre $70k

Psychology Researcher $72k

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Rating 4.7 based on 232 ratings
Length 8 weeks
Effort 6 weeks of study, 4-6 hours/week (plus a mid-course break)
Starts Jun 26 (46 weeks ago)
Cost $49
From Wesleyan University via Coursera
Instructor Scott Plous
Download Videos On all desktop and mobile devices
Language English
Subjects Social Sciences Science
Tags Social Sciences Life Sciences Personal Development Psychology

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