One More Episode
Why is it so hard to stop after one more episode? This twelve-week course examines the psychology behind binge-watching — cliffhangers, autoplay, variable rewards and recommendation feeds — pairing each lecture with a hands-on interactive experiment in critical streaming-system design.
The Psychology of Binge-Watching
What you will do
Across twelve weeks, you'll work through one psychological mechanism at a time — cliffhangers, autoplay, variable rewards, distorted time perception, narrowing recommendation feeds, social cues and more — each paired with a short lecture and a hands-on interactive experiment you run yourself. By the final week you'll have a working vocabulary for naming exactly how a streaming interface keeps a viewer watching, and a chain of twelve small demonstrations you can point to as evidence.
Who it is for
Anyone curious about why "just one more episode" so rarely stays true — no background in psychology or interface design is assumed. The course suits students who want to think critically about the platforms they already use, and who are willing to treat their own viewing habits as something worth examining rather than taking for granted.