While I did learn a lot from this course it felt like they were purposefully tricking us especially with the exams. The practice exams are not a good reflection of the real exam because of the tricky wording and answer choices. For example, they may give 2-3 answers that seem like the correct one and it is extremely hard to decide which is the correct one. While tough exams are expected for this course, my main complain are the TAs. Mine was very nitpicky, I quadruple checked my work but there was always a minor issue.

I have never written a review for a class, but this one deserves one. This class was by far the best class I have taken at UCLA. Please take 100B with Firstenberg if you have the chance. Firstenberg and the psych 100b team offer so much support to students like mental health checks and overall so much accessible help. The class overall is very easy if you put in the work. Lecture is not mandatory and you can watch the recording on your own time. Slides are posted. Tests are online and practice tests are given. DO the practice tests, the tests are exactly like it. Her tests are not meant to trick you!! If you did the practice tests and understood the material you will be fine. This is the first class I have earned an A+ in ever at UCLA and its bc of the support given. Professor Firstenberg is a very engaging professor and sooo sweet!! I personally did not go to lecture because I did not have the attention span to pay attention for two hours so I watched in on my own time. I dont find the book to be necessary at all (I opted out and never needed it). She also offers extra credit through a sona study and a very simple assignment! Your grade is based on the midterm and final (both online, multiple choice, 40-60 questions), weekly ALMS, and lab assignments that are graded either for completion or correctness. The material in the class is also pretty simple, theres not many different topics and she goes through them all in detail. Please do not let the negative reviews fool you, this really is a great class if you try!

This was probably the worst class that I have taken at UCLA. The professor was nice and made good slides, but the TA grading scheme was the problem. The grading was extremely unfair and the rubrics were unclear. As I would do the lab assignments, I would follow the rubric (which was vague) and I would follow the examples on the lab slides as well. There would still be something wrong with my assignment no matter how many times I would go over it and triple-check my work. There were lab assignments every week that were either based on completion (5pts) or there were assignments based on correctness (20pts, 30pts, 40pts, 15pts). There was a midterm (120pts, 25% of your grade?) and a final (120pts, 35% of your grade). Attendance was not mandatory for lab or lecture and the professor recorded the lectures. I have been told by friends that the summer course was better for them so maybe do that? Overall, this was not an easy class (I normally get straight As) so good luck!

I really did enjoy the concepts taught in this class, however Professor Firstenberg made it difficult for many students later on in the course when regrading assignments. I understand this class is meant to be a difficult class and has a reputation as such, but regrading an assignment 3 weeks after submission, without allowing students to change answers, and 3 weeks before the end of the quarter, just to keep the class difficult is absurd. If TA's were grading too leniently, then make them grade more strict on future assignments, not past assignments that we can no longer go back and change. Exams were also worded very weird. The practice exams were very clear and easy to understand, but exams were the complete opposite. Some questions genuinely felt like they were written to trick you into choosing the wrong answer because of how confusing their wording was. The overall homework assignments were actually really useful in helping to understand the concepts, and discussing the assignments in lab with the TA was very nice.

This class was harder for me than 100A, but it had a lot of details related to the book and lecture. SONA participation was like 2 points extra credit. The class had ALM, an online model helpful for the exams. Labs are mandatory. I loved that the lecture was posted on Canvas. There were two main exams.

The exams are super tough, though, so I would say start studying a week in advance because they're very detailed.

ALM weekly assignments, Lab worksheets, two exams, and extra credit are in the grade book.

firstenberg intentionally tries not to help you out and makes you guess how to do assignments and exams correctly. She tries her best to make sure no one does well. For example, if you have an A, the extra credit you do can’t bump you to an A+ but for everyone else it does.

This course is very clear and well-organized. Prof. is funny and an engaging lecturer, despite the relatively dry material. The Automated Learning Modules (ALMs) and Lab Assignments mean you have between 1-2.5 hours of homework a week that is pretty straightforward and graded fairly. I did not attend most of the labs as they were long, paced very slowly, at inconvenient time slots, boring, and attendance was not mandatory. The exams are both easy and difficult. They do not require lots of intensive study or memorization and they are open-note, but they have a lot of confusing, highly technical questions where interpreting a vague detail incorrectly will almost always cost you some points. Getting a 100 on this test requires more luck than skill, but anything between a B and an A on the exams is very achievable if you come to lecture and take notes

This class can seem intimidating with the amount of work, but it’s honestly really doable. Paying attention in a 2 hour lecture is tough but if you do that and take advantage of the weekly ALM practice you should have a really thorough understanding of the material. The exams are very similar to the questions in the ALMs and practice tests so if you master those you should be able to do well. Not sure why the reviews say the exams are tough and tricky; I thought they were very straightforward and similar to the practice.

This class was a breeze honestly. I think the main source of difficulty for some students was the tricky wording on the exams and the strict rubric on the homework. My advice for the homework would be to (1) attend lab, even though it's not mandatory, because the material the TAs give is like almost identical to the homework assignments, and (2) read the rubric, since that's what your grade is based on.
For the exams, if you've ever taken the LS 7 series, these are a peace of cake. Although there are some "trick questions," they're nothing compared to the ambiguity or length of the 7 series exams. Unfortunately, you can't go back on the problems, so read carefully and consult the slides, homework examples, notes, or practice exam problems if needed. Also do the ALMs, since they are good practice for the exams.
Overall, Dr. Firstenberg was an amazing professor, and her lectures are super helpful for this class overall. Either go in person or rewatch at 2x speed, and you won't even need to buy the textbook.

This class isn't as bad as you might think. I'll go over what you need to know:
There are 8 (recorded) lectures, each about 1.5 hours. Yes, they consist of a lot of information, but it all builds up on each other, so just don't fall behind. Two of the lecture times are used for Exam 1 and Exam 2, so there's no exam during finals week (!!).
The weekly labs aren't the most useful for the first half of the quarter, but they begin being more relevant during the second half, so you should definitely go. Read the rubrics for your lab assignments before submitting them -- some TAs can be nitpicky! But it isn't hard as long as you get clear instructions from your TA.
The exams are online and timed, consisting of 40 MCQs. They were a bit tricky, but this is why you NEED to be practicing throughout the course!!! To study, definitely utilize the resources they provide, including ALL practice exams, redoing ALMs, and meeting with you lab TAs, lead TAs, or the professor.
For the weekly ALMs, you will get some good practice and reinforcement of your learning out of it. you don't really have to watch the ALM videos unless you need more help on the topics, but I found them redundant.
Overall, Professor Firstenberg was very a clear teacher and communicated efficiently. She is so enthusiastic and sweet, and even if you don't like this class's content, you will love her.