Want to add film and movies to your teaching, but don’t know where to start? The CinemaPsych Podcastopens in new window, and its companion website, complete with a film database and psychology concepts, might offer a solution for all psychology educators. Film pedagogy has a rich history in psychology education (e.g., Green, 2011opens in new window; Mishra, 2018opens in new window), with it being an effective strategy to leverage students’ familiarity with and interest in movies to vividly illustrate and memorably explore psychological principles.
On the podcast, psychology professionals and educators join me to discuss a film in each episode to explore those concepts and principles we teach about in our courses. The show departs from a traditional psychological sense, spending more time with subdisciplines like social psychology, industrial-organizational psychology, or neuroscience, than clinical psychology or psychopathology. Films are dissected and analyzed, highlighting the accuracy of the psychological portrayal and suitability in a teaching setting. For example, a recent episode on Jawsopens in new window (1975) explored cognitive biases of the characters and how the biases impacted their decision-making. In addition, each episode is transcribed, so all concepts of the discussion can be explored while listening or not, whatever your preference!
The companion website is the real star of the show, however. Recent updates create a wonderful repository for all listeners of the program. First, each film discussed on the show is now saved on a Filmsopens in new window page, complete with film posters, titles, and years. Users can sort this list by year or name. If a film poster is clicked, the user is taken to the film page, which contains further information, including the film’s director, main actors, a link to the IMDB page, and most importantly, a link to the post of the episode with more information. From this page, an educator has the information they need to make decisions about incorporating the film(s) into their teaching plans and syllabi.
Second, each film is extensively tagged with psychology concepts and broad categories. From the film page, users can search the site for a film or a concept. For example, searching the term “memoryopens in new window” will yield search results that include films such as Memento (2000) or 50 First Dates (2004). This feature is intended to assist the curious instructor in finding the perfect film for their classes or assignments. Instructors will also find all the tags for each film on that film’s webpage. For example, Memento is tagged with “amnesia,” “memory,” “cognitive psychology,” and “short-term memory,” to name a few.
Third, a Resourcesopens in new window page, an ongoing project, is a one-stop page to find other teaching and research resources, including my work on the subject of film pedagogy, an abridged list of others’ research on the topic, accessibility and availability links, and links to syllabi for film-based classes in psychology, as well as rubrics, discussion questions, and other student engagement activities.
The CinemaPsych Podcast represents a passion project, one that combines my passion for film and teaching psychology. The show and the companion website are valuable tools for psychology educators interested in leveraging film pedagogy to enhance their teaching. By integrating compelling film analyses with accessible psychological discussions and robust education resources, these tools enrich psychology education in diverse learning environments and incorporate deeper student engagement and understanding.
Head to CinemaPsych Podcastopens in new window and reach out directly to me with questions!
Alexander B. Swan is an associate professor of psychology at Eureka College in Eureka, Illinois, where he serves as the chair of the Institutional Review Board. He teaches courses in introductory psychology, cognitive psychology, biopsychology, and research methods and statistics. Swan conducts research in cognitive biases and other thinking errors, as well as popular culture connections to psychology, such as his CinemaPsych Podcast. He also maintains a YouTube channel that has videos on statistical tutorials and other psychology content. In 2023, his Understanding Cognitive Biases course released on The Great Courses platform, and he has an upcoming Audible audiobook on popular films and psychology. Swan earned his PhD in psychological and brain Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
