Professor Karney is an engaging, boisterous speaker. However, his testing methods and text leave much to be desired. I am an A student, who reads the materials, studies for days, and I can honestly say that this if the first exam where I felt it was a guessing game. The exam questions are vague or test material from text that is minute.

Yes, he's a great lecturer- he has a good sense of humor, adds excitement to what he's talking about so you don't dose off to la la land. BUT his classes aren't easy so be forewarned. Tests are based on whats discussed in lecture and in the book. If you want an A you'll really have to earn it, and believe me, it's not easy. Expect to read the entire text. A lot of whats covered in the test, comes from the book and isn't necessarily covered in class. Also, I think his exams are incredibly long, and there's not enough time to go back and review your answers.

To put it simply: Karney is the best lecturer I have ever had in my life. If you keep up with the reading, and watch the lectures, then the tests aren't bad at all, don't let others scare you away from taking Karney. This class isn't an easy A, but it's UCLA.

I didn't get an A in the class. But I must say that Professor Karney is one of my best professors I have ever had so far. He's definitely the best one I had in UCLA, and I'm a senior. He was passionate and very clear. Each lecture that he presented was like an adventurous story. He got the students motivated easily because he picked interesting examples that we can relate. I want to give my class experience a 10, but the discussion turned out not to be as fun. I remember it was raining one day and I still ran to class without an umbrella, but it turned out it was the TA to lecture because Professor Karney went for a seminar. And I was disappointed. Well, to put it this way, she put me to sleep 10 mins after class started. I woke up with my drool on my pants. In discussion, they also forced you to participate by calling on your names. Frequently the discussion would hit on uncomfortable discussion, like you have to rate the person next to you (yes, with them knowing), or to list what you're looking for in your partner publicly. Supposedly this is to let us experience the social psychology on hand. But it was pretty uncomfortable. The exams were hard. They were multiple choice but most of the questions were nothing straightforward -- you need to apply the knowledge of the terms in a story or a case. One very interesting sample question that I got wrong was: Out of these girls Matt dated, who would he like the most? (a) "A", for whom he had booked the movie tickets in advance (b) "B", who has rejected Matt twice before accepting the date (c) "C", who brought gifts on the date (Or something like that)... They all sound probable. >_< Answer is B.

Karney is a great professor who really cares about his students and the information. You MUST read the book and take notes while reading. However, if you actually go over the lectures and your reading notes before the test they are not as bad as these other reviews! This was actually a pretty easy class with a lot of "well, duh" information which makes it easy to memorize. If it wasn't an obvious piece of information, it was also easy to memorize because it was contradictory to what you think! If you're willing to do the reading, you WILL get an A.

Karney is a GREAT lecturer. Social Psych is a very interesting class and he does a phenomenal job presenting the material. However, the tests are a joke. midterm and final make up 90% of your grade and they are terrible tests. They're multiple choice, and they really are set up to try and trick you. For the Midterm, i knew every term and concept very well, and got a 35/50. i'm awaiting the final.

Great class, with poor methods for testing whether or not you understand the material.

He is one of my fave professors in UCLA. He is an engaging lecturer, and i learned so much in his class! He is simply amazing with his lectures and lessons. He is very knowledgeable too! however! his tests...they are killer!!! i studied so much in advance, read all the materials and went through the lecture notes...oh man, unless you are a psych major, dont take it! I ended up dropping the class because i dont wanna ruin my gpa. It's an interesting class, but you gotta work hard at it! the midterm and final are very difficult.

BEST BEST BEST BESTTTTT PROFESSOR i have ever taken here at ucla! take him! i absolutely loved his class. I really like social psych anyways, but having an amazing professor to teach it was so lucky. His tests really aren't bad; I agree with the person below.. they are concepts applied to situations. i think he gives you a study guide? I can't remember, but either way, just look at sample problems or look over the mini case studies in the book if it really is difficult for you to think of how social psych theories are practical in every day life. i really wish i could have taken another class with him, but i am graduating :(

As a graduating senior, I can confidently say that he is my favorite professor from UCLA. I took Psych 135 and 137C with him, and I absolutely loved both of these classes. He is a great lecturer, no doubt about it. Honestly, I am not sure why people complain about his tests so much. I agree that his tests are not on the easy side, but they were NOT terribly difficult. As long as you understand the concept from the lecture and read the textbook, you should be fine. His tests are not meant to measure how good you are at memorizing definitions of concepts; they ask you to understand the concept and apply it to situations. I got A and A- from his classes. If you try, A is definitely in a range. Not an easy class, but very enjoyable and worthwhile.

EVERYONE says that 135 should be taken with Lieberman. I still vouch that Karney was not shabby at all, although I never did get to attend one of Lieberman's legendary lectures. Certain topics Karney went over just stunned me, leaving me sitting entranced at what I had just learned. It's the kind of emotional reverie you feel after a really good movie, and you just sit there letting the credits roll as you reflect on the past hour and a half. Certain other lectures were not so strong, but generally I would say that he's pretty passionate, lucid, and even inspiring at times.

Discussion sections are a joke, I learned basically nothing in these. I felt like the final was exponentially harder than the midterm, but maybe that's just me. Social Psych is one of the most entertaining classes you'll take at UCLA, make the most of it!