Lightest class ever. I recommend taking this class with Prof. Murray! You only need to memorize what was on the slides and nothing more, readings weren't really necessary.

I really appreciated Professor Murray's organization and clarity; despite being her first quarter teaching, I never felt at any moment that she was just rambling or felt shaky about her lectures. Now on to the actual class: no mandatory attendance or discussion sections, one in class midterm, three article evaluations, weekly discussion sections, and an in class final. This class is mostly memorization based so it helps to make a big Quizlet or practice set of her slides when it comes to exams. Don't wait to do the article evaluations until the last minute! They're a slog to get through, but they can really sway your grade. You can earn up to 3% extra credit by either doing SONA studies or writing research article summaries. The final was non-cumulative from the midterm onwards.

I highly recommend Professor Murray for anyone taking Psych 85!

This is the first time Dr. Murray taught this class, and she did an AMAZING job! I might be a bit biased because I really like cogsci, but I genuinely felt like this class was designed in a perfect way to keep us engaged. The course consisted of 2 non-cumulative exams (with the higher grade weighted more), weekly discussion questions based on lectures + readings (which are actually pretty fun), 3 two-page article evaluations, and SONA extra credit. You do have a bit more writing than most other psych classes, but it isn't too much to stress about. The discussion question responses were entirely completion-based, and the article evaluations (in my opinion) were graded relatively leniently (just make sure your summary is organized and you provide justification for your critiques). Because the first exam was relatively challenging (she ended up curving the average from a C a B), she ended up giving us a much more straightforward final that most people received As on. Grading aside, Dr. Murray is a great lecturer who definitely knows the content super well and is always willing to elaborate/answer questions. The slideshows are relatively long, but the way she organizes them makes them super easy to follow along with. Dr. Murray really cares about our learning, and I'd say she's definitely the Psych 85 professor to take!