Are you interested in a career in psychology? Or do you simply want to find out more about the human psyche, because it is something that has always fascinated you? No matter the reason, one thing you could do is take an online psychology course. There are a lot of options out there, depending on what you want to focus on, or if you want it to be accredited or not. But because we want to help you out, we have gathered here a list of some of the best online psychology courses that you can find, and told you a little bit about each of them, so that you can make an informed decision. Let’s begin!
ALISON’s Online Psychology Courses
One of the most impressive selections of online psychology courses you can find at Alison.com. Here, we are going to talk about a few of them, just to give you an idea of what you can expect.
Diploma in Psychology
In terms of accredited online psychology courses, this one is definitely worth trying. It is completely free, it lasts between 6 and 10 hours, and it provides you with the basics of human psychology. You will learn how to understand the main elements of psychology, and how to develop your skill. Some of the things you will be focusing on are visual perceptions, cognition, memory, classical conditioning, learning theory, and so on. Once you are done with it, you will have an extensive amount of background information about the field of psychology.
Psychology: Memory and Cognition
If you are looking for online psychology courses that focus more on the cognitive side of psychology, then you might want to take a look at this one. It is also free, and it only takes between 3 and 4 hours to complete. But the best part is that you also receive a certification that you have successfully completed the course. In this course you will be taught to look at the mind as you would at a computer, in order to understand how memory and visual functions work. If you’ve always been fascinated by how the human brain works, we highly recommend this class.
Biology and Behaviour in Psychology
With the same type of technical features as the previous one, this online psychology course provided by Alison.com focuses on psychology from a biological and behavioral perspective. You will learn all about the brain under stress, the nervous system, and the state of consciousness. Once you are done with the course, you will be able to recognize the basic concepts of classical and operant conditioning of the human psyche.
Online Psychology Courses from MIT Open Courseware
MIT Open Courseware is another website that has an extensive selection of online psychology courses. We have chosen some of the most interesting ones, to show you the many possibilities that you have.
A Clinical Approach to the Human Brain
This is a free online course designed to teach you how the human brain reacts to disease and how it works when it is healthy. Even if you do not wish to specialize yourself in this field, it is still a good idea to have a certain amount of knowledge of the human brain. The course will go into an introduction to the cellular functions of neurons, neurotransmitters, and synapses, and it will also touch upon certain diseases that might not show on the human brain.
Social Psychology
In terms of online psychology courses, this one focuses more on how humans interact with one another, and how our actions, thoughts, and beliefs can be influenced by our belonging to a certain group in society. You will be able to watch lectures, demonstrations, and you will also receive exercises and group activities that you have to tackle. This is a really interesting class for people who are curious about their own responses to other people’s beliefs, and how our way of thinking is influenced because we are members of the same society.
The Nature of Creativity
If what you are drawn to in terms of online psychology classes are those that delve into the human brain to find out all about the creative process, then you’ve come to the right place. This course introduces you to issues such as how human behavior is influenced by creativity, and how we can think about innovation and imagination in terms of art studies, cognitive theory, and even affective psychology. This seems to be a fascinating psychology class that is definitely worth your time.
Online Psychology Courses from Yale University
Yale University offers two extremely interesting online psychology classes, one called Introduction to Psychology, and the other one called The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food.
The Introduction to Psychology one is designed to give you an overview of many aspects of psychology, such as learning, memory, perception, communication, persuasion, decision-making, religion, fiction, dreams, love, lust, art, and so on. So if what you are looking for in terms of online psychology classes is one that provides you with the basics of what you should know about thought and behavior in humans, then try taking this one.
The Psychology, Biology and Politics of Food course is related to how what we eat affects our health and well-being. But don’t fear that this course is not related to psychology per se. You will explore issues such as eating as a social ritual, why we eat food to comfort ourselves, or why do we feel aversion towards certain types of food. You will also take a quick look at the food industry, and food-related diseases and conditions.
Online Psychology Courses from Johns Hopkins Open Courseware
John Hopkins University also offers a selection of online psychology courses, out of which we will focus on only two today: the Introduction to Mental Health and Disaster Preparedness course and the Psychiatric Epidemiology course.
The Introduction to Mental Health and Disaster Preparedness one is available for free, but you can only access the slides part of the course. If you want to access the entire course, you can also do it for free, but you have to register online at the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. What you will learn in this course is how to give psychological first aid in case of disasters, and how your mental health can be affected and later heal from such disasters.
The Psychiatric Epidemiology course looks at some of the most relevant mental disorders that you can suffer from, either as a child, or as an adult. The course looks at this issue from a descriptive and analytic epidemiology perspective, while also focusing on the classification of mental disorders and how one can conduct surveys and research to find out more about the risk factors correlated with each one of them. If this sounds like something you would like to study, don’t hesitate to take a look at the lecture materials.
Summing Everything Up
If we have managed to capture your attention with these online psychology courses, then you should know that there are other ones out there that deal with almost anything related to the human psyche. We hope that our brief selection has inspired you to take some online psychology courses as well, and why not, even build a career in psychology.
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