Resources

Explore research, classroom materials, practical guidance, and external tools for integrating fictional films into psychology education. This collection will continue to grow as new resources are created or discovered.

Scholarship

My Presentations & Research

Publications and presentations examining film pedagogy, critical thinking, and the use of fictional films in psychology education.

Featured publication · 2025

Film Pedagogy with the CinemaPsych Podcast and Film Database Website

An overview of the podcast, film database, and ways these resources can support psychology teaching.

Psychology Teacher Network · American Psychological Association Read the article →
Educational Resource Repository

CinemaPsych Recognized in MERLOT

CinemaPsych has been catalogued in MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching), an international repository of peer-reviewed educational resources used by instructors and institutions to discover high-quality teaching materials.

MERLOT • California State University System View the MERLOT record →
Conference poster · 2022

Film Pedagogy Practices Within the Society for the Teaching of Psychology

An exploratory investigation presented at the Society for the Teaching of Psychology Annual Conference on Teaching.

ACT · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania View the presentation →
Conference presentation · 2022

This Course Is So Hollywood: Fictional Films as Critical-Thinking Tools

A Teaching Institute presentation on using fictional films as structured opportunities for analysis and critical evaluation.

Association for Psychological Science · Chicago, Illinois View the presentation →
Teaching essay · 2022

Fictional Films in Your Psych Classes? Your Students Will Learn Something!

A practical essay on film selection, portrayal accuracy, classroom activities, and assessment.

E-xcellence in Teaching · Society for the Teaching of Psychology Read the essay →
Conference presentation · 2021

From the Box Office to the Classroom: Using Films to Explore Psychological Concepts

An introduction to selecting, analyzing, and incorporating films into psychology courses.

Southeastern Teaching of Psychology Conference · Virtual View the presentation →
Research foundation

Abridged Reference Library

A curated collection of scholarship on film pedagogy, learning, representation, storytelling, memory, and psychology in movies.

View the abridged scholarly reference list
  • Anderson, D. D. (1992). Using feature films as tools for analysis in a psychology and law course. Teaching of Psychology, 19(3), 155–158. DOI
  • Anderson, R. (2016). The Rashomon effect and communication. Canadian Journal of Communication, 41, 249–269. DOI
  • Bluestone, C. (2000). Feature films as a teaching tool. College Teaching, 48(4), 141–146. DOI
  • Bower, G. H. (1992). How might emotions affect learning? In S.-Å. Christianson (Ed.), The handbook of emotion and memory: Research and theory (pp. 3–31). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Boyatzis, C. J. (1994). Using feature films to teach social development. Teaching of Psychology, 21(2), 99–101. DOI
  • Brode, N. (2024, April 9). Young Americans love using subtitles for movies, TV. CivicScience.
  • Conner, D. B. (1996). From Monty Python to Total Recall: A feature-film activity for the cognitive psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 23(1), 33–35. DOI
  • Fleming, M. Z., Piedmont, R. L., & Hiam, C. M. (1990). Images of madness: Feature films in teaching psychology. Teaching of Psychology, 17(3), 185–187. DOI
  • Green, R. J. (2011). Teaching psychology through film and video. Psychological Science Monitor.
  • Harp, S. F., & Mayer, R. E. (1998). How seductive details do their damage: A theory of cognitive interest in science learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 414–434.
  • Hobbs, R. (1998). Teaching with and about film and television. Journal of Management Development, 17(4), 259–272. DOI
  • Keltner, D., & Ekman, P. (2015, July 3). The science of Inside Out. The New York Times.
  • Kirsh, S. J. (1996). Using animated films to teach social and personality development. Teaching of Psychology, 49–51. DOI
  • Landrum, R. E., Brakke, K., & McCarthy, M. A. (2019). The pedagogical power of storytelling. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5(3), 247–253. DOI
  • Mishra, S. (2018). The world in the classroom: Using film as a pedagogical tool. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 15(1), 111–116. DOI
  • Nowell-Smith, G. (2017). The history of cinema: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.
  • Pozas, M., Letzel, V., & Schneider, C. (2020). Teachers and differentiated instruction: Exploring differentiation practices to address student diversity. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20, 217–230. DOI
  • Seamon, J. G. (2015). Memory and movies: What films can teach us about memory. MIT Press.
  • Shimamura, A. P. (Ed.). (2013). Psychocinematics: Exploring cognition at the movies. Oxford University Press. DOI
  • Smith, S. L., Choueiti, M., & Pieper, K. (2016). Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment. USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
  • Wedding, D., & Niemiec, R. M. (2015). Movies & mental illness. Hogrefe.
  • Young, S. D. (2012). Psychology at the movies. Wiley. DOI
  • Zacks, J. M. (2015). Flicker: Your brain on movies. Oxford University Press.
Practical guidance

Accessibility & Availability

Resources for locating films and supporting more inclusive, informed, and responsible classroom use.

Fair Use in Education

Review U.S. Copyright Office guidance about fair use, educational applications, and relevant legal decisions.

Explore fair-use guidance →

Classroom Performance Exemption

Read the Copyright Act provisions addressing face-to-face teaching and classroom performance.

Review Section 110 →

Audio Description

Find information about audio-described media and resources for blind and visually impaired viewers.

Open the resource guide →

Finding Films

Explore public-domain films and check whether your library provides educational access through Kanopy.

Public-domain films Kanopy
Streaming-service reminder: Access to a film through a personal streaming subscription does not necessarily grant permission to use that service for a classroom screening. Review the service’s current terms and your institution’s policies.
For instructors

Teaching Toolkit

Sample course materials, assignments, analysis prompts, and external collections for building film-based learning activities.

Continue exploring

Find Films by Psychology Concept

Browse the CinemaPsych database to discover films connected to particular psychological topics, subdisciplines, and classroom goals.

Browse the Film Database Suggest a Resource