I honestly really enjoyed this class. I definitely feel like I took a lot away from this class. I absolutely loved the ZAPS modules, those were beyond helpful. They were very easy but allowed for a more in depth explanation of certain topics in a fun and interactive way. I definitely would keep these modules for future courses! Lectures were very interactive and interesting, though sometimes a bit long. While I understand this was a summer class and a lot of material was being pushed into a short amount of time, not allowing a short break in the middle was a bit much. Even if we can go back and watch the recording later of what may have been missed, it would still be nice to have a break implemented into the lecture, even just a few minutes would be helpful. The quizzes were very helpful in reviewing the material from the previous week, especially to see where you need to study more for the exams. I feel that there should be a practice exam or more practice in general with question types that are on the exams. I think the midterm has some poor wording making it more difficult to select a correct answer. Despite studying for days and feeling very prepared, I still did poorly on the midterm and that very heavily weighed on my feelings for how I would finish the course.

He truly cares for his students and that's all you can really ask for from a teacher. I took him during the summer session and the class was really fast paced, but manageable. The average grade for the midterm was pretty low, so he gave extra credit and changed the grading scale, so that the exam you score better on would count for more of your final grade.

this class really isn't as bad as some have made it out to be. some lectures are more engaging than others, and the professor did rush too much at times though. it was clear that he wanted everyone to succeed, and he was kind enough to give everyone extra points to move people's exam grades up, as well as change some grading weights (like final vs midterm) to further benefit people's grades. i recommend reading/at least skimming the textbook btw, it was actually really helpful for this class i feel like the prof used a lot of info from it.

i would 100% recommend taking this class with this professor!!

Honestly, I think there could definitely be worse professors to take this with. That being said, it was not great. The issue with Professor Rissman is he goes super fast, he has like 90 slides per lecture so near the end he stops making complete sense because he's going so fast and gets stressed. He's quirky and funny, but definitely passive-aggressive. I would say, all in all, he's a fair professor. As the quarter went on, he definitely got better at lecturing and became more charismatic. There's no homework besides weekly ZAPS and quizzes (open notes). I will say, his tests are super hard but they are multiple-choice. It's just an incredibly tough test if you don't have test-taking skills. It could definitely be worse, but it's honestly not that great.

I appreciated the way in which the asynchronous lectures were presented. You can watch your lectures whenever you want and go at your own pace.

The professor used Respondus for our midterm exam, which added unnecessary stress. But he listened to our concerns and did not use Respondus for the final exam.

The discussion sections were super helpful. My TA did a really good job at making the information more clear and easier to understand.

This class can be difficult but just try your best to keep up with the lectures so that you don't feel so far behind before the exams. I recommend this class more than the other classes in Column A (for Psych Majors).

Okay so I just want to leave this review to show that sometimes a class that everyone loves can be worse for some people than a class that everyone hates. My example would be this class and 100B. I loved 100B and got an A- in it. I hated this class and got C's on the exams, which isn't like me at all. Professor Rissman is a phenomenal professor, but I found the exams to be unfair and too challenging. I would even go over problems I got wrong on the exam with my T.A. and at one point the T.A. didn't even know why I got it wrong. In my opinion, the exams were extremely difficult. I guess with all that being said, the class was super easy for some people, so I think it really just depends on how your mind works. I guess mine didn't work with this class because I went into it expecting to do well and that's not at all what happened for me.

I do not recommend anyone else for 120A besides Jesse. He truly cares for his students and made a lot of accommodations for us amidst the pandemic. His exams are tricky, you need to study, exams are closed notes/book so you can't rely on your notes. I got a C on the midterm from not studying and a B+ on the final with minimal studying; LOTS of people got As and even 100% on the exams, again, if you study enough, the tests will be a breeze. There's lot's of assignments and quizzes where you can earn points to redeem yourself if you don't perform well on the tests. He also offers extra credit through SONA. I was able to still get an A in the course despite not performing too well on the exams. Take him!!!

This is the second time that I have had professor Rissman for a class.

Even during a challenging time, Jesse does his best to teach a class to 400+ students. Lectures are always engaging and he provides fun examples for you to follow even in his asynchronous lectures. The only thing I didn’t like about prerecorded lecture was the fact that some of them overtime.

Tests are fair but can be tricky if you didn’t study. If you really want an A then I suggest you read the book as a few questions from the book tend to pop up.

There are weekly quizzes and discussion is mandatory. If Dylan is teaching then I suggest taking it with him!

There’s also a paper that I found to be fairly straightforward as long as you follow the rubric.

Overall great class! Would take him again.

So far, in my limited experience of one year and one quarter as a transfer here at UCLA, this has been hands—down my favorite class I’ve taken. Not only is the subject matter incredibly interesting to me, Professor Rissman also makes his lectures very engaging and somewhat funny. At least for the summer, all of his lectures were pre-recorded, and the only attendance that was required was the discussion attendance. Class materials for the class were fairly priced. He used an online rental service for the textbook, which included the required extra practice ZAPS modules, all for around $75. However, while the book is helpful, it’s not necessarily needed, so you can completely get around this cost by not buying the book and finishing all of the ZAPS modules within the free trial. The grade was broken down into three big ticket items (Two tests and an essay) and a few more smaller items that weren’t worth as much (ZAPS modules, quizzes, and discussion attendance). You can also get up to 2% extra credit by doing 4 sona studies. The tests were very fair imo and were similar in structure to the questions that he asked in his quizzes. The quizzes are open-note, but the tests are not and are done through the respondus browser. Overall, while this class is quite a bit more work than some other psychology classes, it was well-worth it, and I would highly recommend taking 120a with Rissman.

good professor but hard class you have to study a lot and work really hard