How to Study Psychology on Your Own — From Zero (With No Background) (Part 1)
Have you ever wondered…
- Why do you eat ice cream even when you know it’s bad for your health?
- Why can’t you resist sugar even when you try?
- Why do you constantly worry about things you can’t control?
- Why you still can’t forget your first love… or your narcissistic ex?
- Why do people buy things they can’t afford on EMI?
- Why do people ignore science even when it reveals the truth?
- Why is religion such a sensitive topic, or why do people kill strangers in wars?
- Why are Art or Banksy paintings the most expensive things in the world?
- Why is language so powerful?
- Or why romantic comedies make billions even when we all know it’s fiction?
If you’ve ever asked any of these—or questions like them—you’re already on the path of understanding human behavior.
My Story: How I Got Into Psychology (alone)
First & foremost your job is to Understand. Not remembering words jargon to get number in marks in exam like school or collage . We all have done it. It’s not worth at all.
Here you are discovering your curiosity. Nobody cares about you being throwing big big words to sound smart in conversation & be able to remember stuff that ChatGPT can give in 2 seconds.
So let’s get started-
At 18, fresh out of high school in my village in West Bengal, I was confused. I didn’t know what I was good at. The girl I liked didn’t even notice my feelings. I was emotionally crushed, and that pushed me into deep psychological and philosophical questions.
But I had no access to formal education in psychology. This was pre-COVID. The only materials available offline were either basic or boring. I was hungry for discovery. That’s when I decided to teach myself psychology—inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, who himself didn’t go to school.
It was a difficult but practical decision. Jio had just launched, and internet data was suddenly cheap. I took a leap of faith and started exploring psychology through whatever I could find: books, university YouTube lectures, online courses —anything.
It’s been 7 years. And now, I’m giving you the structure I wish someone had given me.
The Problem With Learning Online
The internet is full of information—but almost none of it is in sequence. Everything is uploaded randomly. No one tells you what to learn first or what comes next. Also, most materials are theoretical, not practical. You don’t see how it applies to real life.
Back then, I had no tools like ChatGPT or LLMs. All I had was curiosity.
This blog exists because I want to build a community of curious learners—a place where we help each other understand the human mind, behavior, and beyond.
So… Where Should You Start?
Disclaimer: There is no one “right” path. I’m just sharing what worked for me. If you have better resources or ideas, feel free to drop them in the comments below. Let’s build this together. As Galileo says, “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”
Also, I’ll share my notes as PDFs (and if you use Notability on iPad, search for my ID: tapeshwb to access them).
Tip: Buy a new notebook (or start a clean Notability doc, Google Cocs notes app, anything you can get your hands on). Dedicate it only to psychology. This will give your study a sense of seriousness from Day one.
LEVEL 1 — The Basics
1. MCAT Psychology – Khan Academy
Start with this. It’s simple, in plain English, and has handwritten notes. It’ll give you a strong foundation.
➡️ If you’re from India and understand Hindi, check out Prakhar Gupta’s YouTube channel: Prakhar Ke Pravachan. He has a course called “TagMango Psychology” available for ₹1000. Or… find your own way 😜 (You know what I mean.) This is another PDF slide for you to know the basic stuff.
2. CrashCourse Psychology – YouTube
A fun animated series that covers all the basic psychology concepts. But take notes — they pack a lot into one video. I recommend watching at 0.75x speed for beginners.
LEVEL 2 — Intermediate
1. Human Behavioral Biology – Dr. Robert Sapolsky (Stanford)
This is a game-changer. But fair warning — it’s complex.
I had to take this course three times (2021, 2022, and again in 2024) before I truly started to understand it. But it shaped my understanding of behavior more than anything else. I’ll upload my notes to help you get through it more easily. This is lecture 24 PDF, which isn’t included here.
2. Personality and Transformation – Dr. Jordan B. Peterson (University of Toronto, 2017)
If you’ve ever looked for answers to personal or moral problems on YouTube, you’ve probably seen Peterson’s work. His lectures, podcasts, and books have touched millions. This course is deeply psychological and incredibly useful.
LEVEL 3 — Pro Level
1. Awakening from the Meaning Crisis – Dr. John Vervaeke
This 50-part lecture series explores cognitive science, the evolution of meaning, how we make sense of the world, why we feel lost, and how to reclaim purpose. It connects philosophy, psychology, and spirituality in powerful ways. Here are my notes & class transcript.
2. Introduction to Psychological Research Methods – University of Queensland (edX)
This course by Professors Wen Wu and Blake McKimmi, teaches you:
- How to conduct psychological experiments
- Analyze data
- Write proper research reports
Self-paced, 7 weeks long (1–2 hrs/week). You can audit it for free or pay $249 for a certificate.
Other additional resources that you will need, like PDF books.
- Life of a Cell book PDF. PDF (This is a collection of 29 essays written by Lewis Thomas for The New England Journal of Medicine between 1971 and 1973. Throughout his essays, Thomas touches on subjects as various as biology, anthropology, medicine, music (showing a particular affinity for Bach), etymology, mass communication, and computers. The pieces resonate with the underlying theme of the interconnected nature of Earth and all living things.) This book is biology, but you are gonna need it in this study of human behaviour.
- homores are explained in this PDF.
- what is the life book PDF?
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers book PDF.
- evolutionary psychology in business by Gad Saad PDF
- The Selfish Gene notes PDF.
- Emotions notes PDF,
- this one is for Ultra Pro people PDF
- This is a post from Tim Urban (wait but why) Story of Us. Now it’s on premium.
- This is another post -Religion for Non-religious people.
- This is the post of Psychology of Misjudgment by Charlie Munger.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need a degree or a classroom to start. All you need is:
- Curiosity
- A little discipline
- A structured path (like this blog)
I hope this guide saves you years of confusion and brings you clarity.
My notes are here & if you have Notability, follow me on Notability (tapeshwb). If you know other amazing resources, share them with us. Let’s build a global tribe of self-learners who understand people deeply.
In this video, I have only talked about a tutorial or a video class. In the next article, I am gonna talk about books that you have to read for understanding psychology.
