This was the best class I’ve taken at UCLA. I wish every professor was as passionate and animated as Karney. His lectures are easy to follow because he’s so engaging. If you want to get an A, you will definitely have to read since the lectures supplement the textbook and help reinforce the material. If you find a friend and split the readings and share notes, you can still do well though.

loves it

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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 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.

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.

(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.