As part of its public education campaign, APA is launching a video series titled PsyTalks with an episode explaining how babies' movements provide the experiences from which they learn. Linda Smith, PhD, distinguished professor and chancellor's professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University, hosts the episode, the first featuring psychology's leading researchers discussing their latest findings.

Filmed on campus at Indiana University, Smith begins the talk with her version of the traditional “Dem Bones” song to explain why the way babies move determines what they see and what they see determines how they learn. Watch the full episode below.

An extension of APA’s “This Is Psychology” video series, PsyTalks was initiated by 2012 APA President Suzanne Bennett Johnson, PhD, to increase the recognition and understanding of psychological science using short, accessible, “TED-style” talks. "TED talks are very widely viewed, and very well known," Bennett Johnson says. "They deliver important information in a popular format that can attract the next generation of psychologists and appeal to and educate the public."

As additional PsyTalk episodes are created they will be featured on both APA’s website and YouTube channel.

Additionally, those interested in giving their own PsyTalk can watch veteran TED talker and psychologist Philip Zimbardo, PhD, outline the elements of a successful talk.

PsyTalks Episode 1: Movement and babies’ learning

See also:

• Psychology's ‘ideas worth spreading'