Psychology Websites

Introduction to Psychology

APA Dictionary of Psychology — has more than 25,000 entries; and check out the Word of the Day

Do we really use only 10 percent of our brains? — Scientific American article by Barry L. Beyerstein of SFU

Lucy is Wrong; We Use Way More Than 10% of Our Brains — from the Mind Read blog

History of Psychology — interactive demo illustrates significant events in the history of psychology

Today in the History of Psychology — by Warren R. Street

The History of Psychology — a comprehensive review, from the ancients to today

History of Psychology in Leipzig, Germany — this department at Universität Leipzig was founded by Wilhelm Wundt

Mary Whiton Calkins — find out more about her life and accomplishments

Famous Psychologists — gives brief bios and describes the theories & research of many famous psychologists

American Psychological Association — the APA is the largest professional organization for psychologists

Association for Psychological Science — the APS is geared more toward experimental psychology

Canadian Psychological Association — the CPA is for Canadian psychologists

Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science — the CSBBCS is for experimental psychologists in Canada

Psi Chi — the international honour society in psychology (The What and Why of Psi Chi)

Psychology Today — this monthly magazine covers lots of topics in psychology, including clinical aspects

Scientific American Mind — this bimonthly magazine focuses on experimental psychology, and everyday applications of research

Science of Psychology — illustrates the breadth and depth of psychology and the settings in which psychologists work, including research, education, clinical and organizational settings

Great Canadian Psychology Website — has profiles of some famous Canadian researchers in psychology with online activities

Human Body & Mind — interactive website with demos, from the BBC

Blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, & videos on psychology:
   • PsyBlog — psychology blog covering various research topics
   • Mind Hacks — tips and tools for using your brain
   • The Psych Files Podcast — long-running podcast on hundreds of topics
   • All In The Mind — ABC podcast about the brain and behaviour
   • Mind Changers — BBC Radio 4 series exploring the development of the science of psychology during the 20th century
   • SciShow Psych — YouTube channel about the brain and behaviour
   • Crash Course: Psychology — YouTube channel with brief videos on psychology topics
   • Discovering Psychology — website for the PBS series; watch episodes online

Careers in psychology:
   • The Canadian Handbook for Careers in Psychological Science — this online book explains the many ways you can apply training in psychological science in a variety of careers and sectors
   • Trends in Psychology Degrees & Careers — describes different types of psychologists, psychology degrees, work environments, job prospects, and pay
   • APA: careers — the APA describes careers, finding a job, and more
   • Careers in Psychology — online guide from the APA
   • CPA: a career in psychology — the CPA describes what psychologists are, what they do, and how to plan a career in psychology
   • Careers in and Related to Psychology — a Canadian perspective on what you can do with a psychology degree
   • Planning a Career in Psychology — online book for university-bound and beginning university students in Canada
   • Careers in Psychology — Psychology Today feature article on getting an education, hot growth areas, highest paying positions, and more
   • Psych Careers — Psychology Today blog about psych careers (also see the Careers in Psych blog)
   • Marky Lloyd’s Careers in Psychology Page — covers undergraduate degrees, graduate school, and more
   • CareersInPsychology.org — even more information on careers

 

Psychology and Research

This Is What A Scientist Looks Like — What is your perception of who and what a scientist is or isn’t?

AntiPolygraph.org — evidence that polygraphs (“lie detectors”) are invalid

sci.skeptic FAQ — FAQ from Usenet group sci.skeptic includes answers to common questions about science and the scientific method

In Science, It’s Never ‘Just a Theory’ — NYTimes article on this misconception

notjustatheory.com — discusses the legitimacy of theories, in the context of evolutionary theory

Research Methods Knowledge Base — complete introduction to research covers methods, research designs, sampling, statistics, and more

The mysterious placebo — gives a description and brief history of the placebo effect

Research Ethics Office — UAlberta’s ethics guidelines that govern research

Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Fourth Edition) — guides members of the CPA in research and teaching

 

Statistics

Data visualization — beautiful examples from Daily Infographic, We Love Infographics, r/Infographics, Information is Beautiful, FlowingData, National Post, and Flip Flop Fly Ball

Chance magazine — readable articles on statistics in everyday life

Statistics: An Introduction — explains description and inferential statistics

Introductory Statistics — Concepts, Models, and Applications

Guessing Correlations — interactive game of guessing correlations of scatterplots

Guess the Correlation — another correlation guessing game (with two-player game)

Spurious Correlations — an ongoing collection of spurious (“apparently but not actually valid”) correlations

Statistics Canada — Canada’s national statistical office

The Problems with Statistics — suggests critical thinking questions to ask about any scientific study

When the U.S. Air Force discovered the flaw of averages — describes the futile search for the “average man”

 

Neuroscience

Neuroscientifically Challenged — has articles, videos, glossary and more

Nerve Signaling — animated demo of how neurons work, from NobelPrize.org

Neuron action potential animations — simple or complex versions

Probe the Brain — includes virtual brain to explore with an electrode

Brain Basics — the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health explains how the brain works

Neuroscience for Kids — great basic information on neuroscience--not just for kids

The Secret Life of the Brain — explains the brain from birth to late adulthood; interactive modules include Scanning the brain

Brain Study Module — tutorial on midsaggital brain structures

The Whole Brain Atlas — see cross-sections of the brain, plus much more

The History of Phrenology on the Web — is it a science?

Neuropsychology Central — excellent collection of links

Introductory Biological Psychology Tutorials — very useful for review purposes

How the Brain Works — animated overview of brain function, including different types of neurotransmitters

Alien Hand Syndrome: When a Limb Goes Rogue — SciShow Psych YouTube video

Brain Rules — this book is about applying brain science to your life

 

Genetics

Journey into Human DNA — animated exploration into the world of DNA

Introduction to Genetics — brief introduction to genes and inheritance

DNA from the Beginning — animated primer of genetics covers three topics:

• Classical genetics
• Molecules of genetics
• Genetic organization and control

The Human Genome Project — information about this international research effort to sequence and map all of the genes of Homo sapiens

MendelWeb — read Gregor Mendel’s paper from 1865

Human eye color genetics — interactive “eye color calculator” lets you combine parents’ genes

Gene Therapy — introduction to gene therapy, the methods used, an interactive game, and more

National PKU News — has more info on phenylketonuria (PKU)

What is Epigenetics? — bringing epigenetics to a broader audience without neglecting the important scientific aspects

Epigenomics — fact sheet on the epigenome from the National Human Genome Research Institute

Epigenetics — companion website for NOVA ScienceNOW episode on epigenetics (watch online)

Nutrition and the Epigenome — explore how the foods you eat affect your epigenome

 

Evolution and Behaviour

A Trip Around the World — the story of Darwin’s 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle

The Origin of Species — Charles Darwin’s original book (1859)

Talk.Origins Archive — discusses the Creation/Evolution Controversy

Biology and Evolutionary Theory FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions list about evolutionary theory

10 common myths about evolution — debunks some misconceptions about the theory of evolution

intelligentdesign.org — pro-Intelligent Design website

Revolutionary Evolutionist — Wired magazine interview with Richard Dawkins

Lord of the Ants — companion website for NOVA episode on E.O. Wilson

From Ants to Einstein — Wired magazine interview with Edward O. Wilson

Top Examples of Evolutionary Psychology — explanations of how evolution relates to psychology, with several examples

Evolutionary Psychology: A Primer — good introduction by the Center for Evolutionary Psychology at UCSB

Female praying mantis eats male after mating — really gross YouTube video

 

Sensation & Perception

Weber’s Law — interactive module with multiple choice quiz to help you understand Weber’s Law

The Subliminal Scares — dossier on subliminal stimuli in advertising

epsych: The Descriptive Mind — try online demos of some visual and auditory phenomena

Human Senses — Are your eyes being tricked by your brain? Do you know what a supertaster is? Try the senses challenge.

Seeing, Hearing, and Smelling the World — very readable info from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Receptive Field Tutorial — with explanations and diagrams

Your Thoughts Can Release Abilities beyond Normal Limits — Scientific American article on the effects of top-down processing

Color Wheels are wrong? How color vision actually works — explains primary colours and the colour wheel

Ishihara test for colour blindness — and more information about colour deficiency (alternate here)

How Loud Is Too Loud — try this interactive activity about loud sounds and hearing damage

The Science Behind How We Taste — about taste sensation and taste preferences

Smell: The Forgotten Sense — discusses whether smell plays a role in attraction, and explores aromatherapy

Taste Visualization for Pixar’s Ratatouille — an artist describes his work simulating synesthesia for the movie Ratatouille

What is synesthesia? — explained by cognitive neuroscientists

Sounds Like Blue? — explains the two major theories of synesthesia

The Synesthesia Battery — online test for synesthesia

Shifts in Perception: Agnosia — description and videos of prosopagnosia, akinetopsia, and achromatopsia

Your Thoughts Can Release Abilities beyond Normal Limits — describes research on how expectations can have surprising effects

Visual Phenomena & Optical Illusions — dozens of animated/interactive visual illusions

Archimedes’ Laboratory — yup, more illusions

How vision works — from HowStuffWorks.com

ColorCube — has optical illusions

Rhine Research Center — “Bridging the Gap between Science and Spirituality’ by studying parapsychology and extraordinary experiences

James Randi Educational Foundation — website for the debunker of paranormal and pseudo-scientific claims

Sensory illusions in aviation — list of potential dangers affecting pilots, including the black hole illusion (more from AVweb and the FAA)

PSYCO 367: Perception — links to even more sites...

 

Consciousness

Consciousness — article explores historical and modern ideas about the possible location of consciousness in the brain

Test Your Multitasking Skills — think you’re a “supertasker”? Try this interactive test and see (requires Flash)

Demos and Stimuli — videos of change blindness and inattentional blindness, from Daniel Simons’ lab

Examples of Change Blindness — from UBC’s Visual Cognition Lab

Cell Phone Safety — information on unsafe driving--hang up and drive

Heads UP: The distracted driving challenge — an online distracted driving simulator

Gauging Your Distraction — another distracted driving simulator--try to text and drive

Colour Changing Card Trick — amazing card trick by Richard Wiseman--pay attention!

visual form agnosia — a simulation of the experience of visual form agnosia

Seeing what you don’t see? — try this interactve game that tests you for blindsight

The Split Brain Experiments — interactive game on split-brain syndrome (from Nobelprize.org)

Sleep is Good — sleep has proven benefits on mental health, learning, and more

Sleep On It! — Canadian public health campaign gives info on sleep and sleep disorders

Are You a Lark, an Owl, or a Hummingbird? — find out if you’re more suited to being up early, staying up late, or a little of both

Sleep Hygeine — helpful hints to help you sleep

Sleep on It — Scientific American blog review of how sleep helps learning and memory

Canadian Sleep Society — the CSS promotes healthy sleep, and has information on sleep and sleep disorders

The Interpretation of Dreams — the classic book by Sigmund Freud

Dream Dictionary — look up what some people think dream symbols mean

Sleep — watch NOVA ScienceNOW episode on sleep

The Brain: The Pleasure Centers Affected by Drugs — animations showing the effects of some drugs, from McGill University

Drugs and the Brain — video animations of drugs and how the brain works

Mouse Party — cute animated mice show you the molecular mechanisms of various drugs ^-^

Inside the Overstimulated, Underregulated Caffeine Industry — great infographic on caffeine content of various products

Caffeine Informer — shows you how much caffeine is in foods and drinks

How does caffeine affect the body? — answer from Scientific American.com

The Different Types of Psychoactive Drugs — information on categories of psychoactive drugs

Relative addictiveness of commonly used drugs and substances — list of addictive substances--guess what’s at the top of the list?

Relative Addictiveness of Drugs — article from The New York Times about nicotine addiction

Club Drugs — info on “club drugs,” like MDMA (Ecstasy), Rohypnol and more, used at raves, trances, dance clubs, and bars

Cannabis & Psychosis — the Schizophrenia Society of Canada explores the link between cannabis and psychosis

Addiction as a Disease — explores the disease model of addiction

How Hypnosis Works — covers the basics, gives a brief history of hypnosis, and describes some health applications

Hypnosis FAQ — answers to frequently asked questions about hypnosis from the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists

 

Learning

Conditioned reflexes and behavior — online video of film of Pavlov’s original experiments

Pavlov’s Dog — can you make a virtual dog drool on demand? (from NobelPrize.org)

What Is Classical Conditioning? (And Why Does It Matter?) — explanation from Scientific American blogs

Classically Conditioning Earthworms — shows how to use principles of classical conditioning on an earthworm

The Search for Psychology’s Lost Boy — explains what actually became of Little Albert

Skinner - Operant Conditioning — an overview of Skinner’s contributions to operant conditioning

Are We at the Mercy of Advertising? — Do ads work through conditioned associations?

B.F. Skinner Foundation — has Skinner bio

Chaining and Shaping Behaviour — explains and gives examples of these two different ways of modifying behaviour

All About Animal Training — learn how operant conditioning is used at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

How to toilet train your cat — with pictures! Honestly. Would I lie to you?

Don’t! The secret of self-control — The New Yorker article about the marshmallow test

Acing the marshmallow test — APA Monitor on Psychology interview with researcher Walter Mischel

Albert Bandura — discussion Bandura’s early research studies and key concepts from his observational learning theory

Grawemeyer Award for Psychology — Albert Bandura won this prestigious award for 2008

 

Memory

Digit-Span Memory Test — try this online test of your short-term memory

Auditory Forward Digit Span — try this interactive test of your short-term memory

Memory Test — adjust the difficulty of this interactive memory test for words

The Memory Experience — extensive BBC website on memory includes tips on improving your memory

The Day His World Stood Still — Brain Connection article on the strange story of H.M.

True Tales of False Memories — a personal account of false memory syndrome

Memories of Childhood Abuse — questions and answers about whether recovered memories are real

Remembering Dangerously — Skeptical Inquirer article on Elizabeth Loftus’ research on “repressed” memories

The Memory Page — includes tips on how to use your memory better

MemoryImprovementTips.com — memory improvement tips, tricks, and strategies

Introduction to Memory Techniques — how to use mnemonics to help your learning & memory

How to Build a Memory Palace — using the method of loci mnemonic technique

Memento — mind-bending backwards movie about anterograde amnesia

David Myers - Make Things Memorable — video with tips on how to study better

 

Motivation

Human Instinct — website for the BBC series deals with the instincts of survival, attraction, competition, and altruism

Drive-Reduction Theory — introduces Hull’s theory of motivation

Sensation Seeking Scale — Do you seek thrills or play it safe? Find out with this interactive questionnaire.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset: Which One Are You? — learn more about the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset

Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives — more in-depth exploration of mindset research

The power of believing that you can improve — TED talk by Carol Dweck describing her research on growth mindset

What’s My Mindset? — take this interactive test to see if you have a fixed or growth mindset

Mindset Scholar Network — promotes scientific understanding of learning mindsets

How Not to Talk to Your Kids — New York magazine article on the power (and peril) of praising children

Frequently Asked Questions about Prader-Willi Syndrome — from the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association (USA)

National Eating Disorder Information Centre — information and resources on eating disorders

The Neural Control of Feeding — info from the University of Plymouth

Sexual Attitudes Scale — compare yourself to your significant other!

The Science of Procrastination - And How To Manage It — procrastinate a little bit by watching this video by ASAP Science

Procrastination and Science — this site, by a U of Calgary professor, has surveys to measure your procrastination, and shows you ways of overcoming it

Procrastination Research Group — has blog, podcasts, research, and more

 

Emotion

Atlas of Emotions — this interactive website helps people move toward better emotional awareness in order to gain control over what triggers emotion and how they respond

Test Your Emotional Intelligence — How well do you read other people?

Spot The Fake Smile — try this online smiles test from the BBC

Paul Ekman’s website — on facial expressions and emotion

All About Body Language — explains a variety of body language gestures

Body Language — a collection of blog posts from Psychology Today

What Hand Signals Should I Avoid When Traveling Abroad? — cross-cultural differences in body language

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park — do you dare cross a 70 m high bridge?

Satisfaction With Life Scale — take this online test to measure your subjective well-being (free registration required), or try this one)

happier.com — this website, created by psychologists, bills itself as "a personal trainer for your happiness"

Action for Happiness — building a happier and more caring society

The Happiness Project — memoir about testing principles, tips, theories, and scientific studies on happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness: Who is Happy, and Why? — findings on happiness from David G. Myers

The Happiness Formula — BBC website on happiness includes a happiness test

Stumbling on Happiness — website for Daniel Gilbert’s book

Why are we happy? Why aren’t we happy? — TED talk by Daniel Gilbert about happiness and our “psychological immune system”

FAQs about Subjective Well-Being — a primer on happiness and life satisfaction

Well-Being Index — constantly updated index of well-being in the USA

Authentic Happiness — University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center

happify — science-based happiness games and activities app

Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Be Happier, Backed by Science — post from Lifehacker