Benjamin R Karney
Department of Psychology
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4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 25 Users
Easiness 2.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.5 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Engaging Lectures
  • Uses Slides
  • Needs Textbook
  • Often Funny
  • Is Podcasted
  • Useful Textbooks
  • Would Take Again
  • Tolerates Tardiness
GRADE DISTRIBUTIONS
24.1%
20.1%
16.0%
12.0%
8.0%
4.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

22.5%
18.7%
15.0%
11.2%
7.5%
3.7%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

23.8%
19.8%
15.8%
11.9%
7.9%
4.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

18.0%
15.0%
12.0%
9.0%
6.0%
3.0%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

18.6%
15.5%
12.4%
9.3%
6.2%
3.1%
0.0%
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
D+
D
D-
F

Grade distributions are collected using data from the UCLA Registrar’s Office.

ENROLLMENT DISTRIBUTIONS
Clear marks

Sorry, no enrollment data is available.

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Reviews (20)

2 of 2
2 of 2
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Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
Aug. 21, 2018

loves it

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Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
July 14, 2018

I absolutely loved Professor Karney and the way that he taught this class. Be forewarned: if you don't read the textbook, you won't do well on his tests. Still, the textbook is written so well that I'm going to keep it for years to come.
Karney is all around amazing. He remembers the name of every student, encourages questions, and his lectures are so engaging that you won't even notice the time passing. I would highly recommend this class.

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1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
June 24, 2018

Karney is dope, and definitely the best lecturer I've had. He's very engaging and presents the material very well and is incredibly charismatic and lively. Personally, I didn't find the exams too hard - he provides a study guide and I just used that and did fine. The paper is simple, just follow the format. If you have the chance to take this class you should.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
June 23, 2018

This class is LIFECHANGING! Karney has more charisma than any professor I have ever known, and he deeply cares about understanding relationships. His lectures provide clarity, advice, and introspection for anyone who is in/will enter an intimate relationship!! I've read that people think his exams are very tough, but honestly, the book is an easy read and as long as you read it once -- you will be more than fine! There will be a link in the syllabus which provides textbook summary/quizzes for each chapter and they are HUGELY helpful (seriously, do them). The paper is really easy too, nearly everyone gets full credit. I highly recommend this class :)

Helpful?

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Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: C+
June 30, 2017

I'm going to prime this review by saying that I'm a terrible student but that shouldn't be a reflection of Karney's teachings.

Karney is probably one of the most engaging teachers I've had at UCLA. He's loud, articulate, and clear, so even if the lecture is bruincasted, I highly recommend going to class, mainly because bruincast's audio quality is somewhat mercurial. The course material is very fun and not terribly hard/easy so I highly recommend it for those looking for a fun psych upper div.

Grading wise, it is very similar to most Psych classes – a paper project outside of class and in class multiple choice questions. If you like memorization, this is your jam. There are some outside videos you should watch/pages in the textbook you should read, but the workload is still relatively low.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Sept. 16, 2012

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.

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 11, 2011

Karney is the best. He is the most entertaining lecturer I have ever experienced. His classes do require work, in order to get an A it is necessary to read the ENTIRE textbook. It's worth it though, the subject and the professor are both awesome.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 10, 2011

I took Karney for both 135 and 137, and he is the most energetic lecturer I have ever had. His "Alright: Let's get started!" at the beginning of lecture has become something of a UCLA legend.

The concepts he covers in lecture are very easy to to understand, and his lectures are all organized and entertaining. That being said, the 135 book he uses is MUCH easier to study from than the 137C book (even though he wrote it). The Intimate Relationships book is just paragraphs of text with a few key terms bolded, nonspecific summaries, and it reads like a book. You're going to be asked to remember names and definitions of different concepts, and the 137 book isn't built for reviewing the way that the 135 book is.

His tests are also incredibly nitpicky, when they count. I can guarantee that at least four questions on each test will be about throwaway details that you wouldn't remember to review, though the other questions are pretty straightforward. He doesn't curve, but instead sets very high standards for grades: 93+ is an A, 90-92 is an A-, 86-89 is a B+, etc...And while the numbers look fair, this actually means that if you miss a total of 6 problems on his tests and write a great paper (e.g., 28/30, which is what most people get), you'll still land an A-.

That being said, you should easily be able to get at least a B in his class, and his lectures are great. Just remember that the tests are not as easy as the concepts are.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 8, 2011

(137C) Karney is an amazing teacher. He is very passionate about his work. I got a B+ in his class. I would suggest to review your notes (a lot), watch the podcast more than once, and read (but reading should not take your time away from reviewing). He wrote the book and should go over the most important stuff in class. He does throw a few things from the book but, most of the test material is from lecture. I highly recommend this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 5, 2010

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.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
Aug. 21, 2018

loves it

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
July 14, 2018

I absolutely loved Professor Karney and the way that he taught this class. Be forewarned: if you don't read the textbook, you won't do well on his tests. Still, the textbook is written so well that I'm going to keep it for years to come.
Karney is all around amazing. He remembers the name of every student, encourages questions, and his lectures are so engaging that you won't even notice the time passing. I would highly recommend this class.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A
June 24, 2018

Karney is dope, and definitely the best lecturer I've had. He's very engaging and presents the material very well and is incredibly charismatic and lively. Personally, I didn't find the exams too hard - he provides a study guide and I just used that and did fine. The paper is simple, just follow the format. If you have the chance to take this class you should.

Helpful?

1 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2018
Grade: A+
June 23, 2018

This class is LIFECHANGING! Karney has more charisma than any professor I have ever known, and he deeply cares about understanding relationships. His lectures provide clarity, advice, and introspection for anyone who is in/will enter an intimate relationship!! I've read that people think his exams are very tough, but honestly, the book is an easy read and as long as you read it once -- you will be more than fine! There will be a link in the syllabus which provides textbook summary/quizzes for each chapter and they are HUGELY helpful (seriously, do them). The paper is really easy too, nearly everyone gets full credit. I highly recommend this class :)

Helpful?

2 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: Spring 2017
Grade: C+
June 30, 2017

I'm going to prime this review by saying that I'm a terrible student but that shouldn't be a reflection of Karney's teachings.

Karney is probably one of the most engaging teachers I've had at UCLA. He's loud, articulate, and clear, so even if the lecture is bruincasted, I highly recommend going to class, mainly because bruincast's audio quality is somewhat mercurial. The course material is very fun and not terribly hard/easy so I highly recommend it for those looking for a fun psych upper div.

Grading wise, it is very similar to most Psych classes – a paper project outside of class and in class multiple choice questions. If you like memorization, this is your jam. There are some outside videos you should watch/pages in the textbook you should read, but the workload is still relatively low.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
Sept. 16, 2012

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.

Helpful?

0 1 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 11, 2011

Karney is the best. He is the most entertaining lecturer I have ever experienced. His classes do require work, in order to get an A it is necessary to read the ENTIRE textbook. It's worth it though, the subject and the professor are both awesome.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 10, 2011

I took Karney for both 135 and 137, and he is the most energetic lecturer I have ever had. His "Alright: Let's get started!" at the beginning of lecture has become something of a UCLA legend.

The concepts he covers in lecture are very easy to to understand, and his lectures are all organized and entertaining. That being said, the 135 book he uses is MUCH easier to study from than the 137C book (even though he wrote it). The Intimate Relationships book is just paragraphs of text with a few key terms bolded, nonspecific summaries, and it reads like a book. You're going to be asked to remember names and definitions of different concepts, and the 137 book isn't built for reviewing the way that the 135 book is.

His tests are also incredibly nitpicky, when they count. I can guarantee that at least four questions on each test will be about throwaway details that you wouldn't remember to review, though the other questions are pretty straightforward. He doesn't curve, but instead sets very high standards for grades: 93+ is an A, 90-92 is an A-, 86-89 is a B+, etc...And while the numbers look fair, this actually means that if you miss a total of 6 problems on his tests and write a great paper (e.g., 28/30, which is what most people get), you'll still land an A-.

That being said, you should easily be able to get at least a B in his class, and his lectures are great. Just remember that the tests are not as easy as the concepts are.

Helpful?

1 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 8, 2011

(137C) Karney is an amazing teacher. He is very passionate about his work. I got a B+ in his class. I would suggest to review your notes (a lot), watch the podcast more than once, and read (but reading should not take your time away from reviewing). He wrote the book and should go over the most important stuff in class. He does throw a few things from the book but, most of the test material is from lecture. I highly recommend this class.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
Quarter: N/A
Grade: N/A
June 5, 2010

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.

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
2 of 2
4.5
Overall Rating
Based on 25 Users
Easiness 2.7 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Clarity 4.6 / 5 How clear the class is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Workload 2.8 / 5 How much workload the class is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Helpfulness 4.5 / 5 How helpful the class is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

TOP TAGS

  • Engaging Lectures
    (9)
  • Uses Slides
    (8)
  • Needs Textbook
    (8)
  • Often Funny
    (8)
  • Is Podcasted
    (7)
  • Useful Textbooks
    (8)
  • Would Take Again
    (9)
  • Tolerates Tardiness
    (5)
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