Dr. Smurda is such an engaging professor and this class is pretty easy. There's a midterm and a final - no papers. Her final isn't cumulative and I honestly only studied for five hours total for the final and it was so easy. Her slides are super clear and just make flashcards for all of the studies she talks about and you're good to go. You don't need to know names or dates for the most part and the studies are so interesting that I remembered them without studying anyway. I had a really good TA too (David Pinsof) and discussion was really fun. The 'textbooks' are just chapter books and they're all super interesting and easy to understand. TAKE THIS CLASS WITH HER

Her class is really fun and it is pretty simple to get an A in the class.

one of the best UCLA classes I have taken. prof. Smrda was clear, exhibited very deep knowledge of her subject, was always very complete and patient in her answers to questions raised. she obviously liked her students and liked to teach. I would not hesitate to take another class from her.

Great class, great professor. She's really nice and funny and teaches this class really well. Pretty interesting class, not too difficult. There are 4 books to read, but you don't really have to read it as long you go to section and understand what the books are about. Overall, pretty good class, eded up getting an A-.

Dr Smurda was really really nice! I would take the class again. The grade is made up of just a midterm and a final, with some participation credit from the discussions. Instead of a textbook, there are 4 readers (each less than $10) that you read chapters from in discussion. Definitely a do-able class.

She is pretty amazing I think. I really enjoyed her class and am looking to take her lab class also. She is so relatable and engaging, I never found myself falling asleep during her lectures, which are also podcasted.

Call structure:
40% Midterm, 40% final and 20% section grade
The tests are multiple choice but slightly tricky. Those "A, B, C, A &B, B&C, or all of the above" type questions. But other than that I really enjoyed taking her class and all of the mini-in class experiments definitely keep you engaged and on your toes.

Also, Lauren Harris the T.A. is like most adorable person I think I've met. She had study guides available and went over the readings in depth, which were only a few chapters out of a few books. No textbook for this course. This class definitely made me think about how I act around my friends and all the social factors that are happening all around us. A rewarding class overall.

Dr. Smurda was fun and engaging. The class was not very difficult - a lot of the material is sort of common sense (that being said, there are still a lot of details that you need to study in order to do well!) There are two multiple choice tests that are each worth 40% of your grade. I thought the final was much harder than the midterm, but both were very doable. The last 20% is just discussion grade which involves reading chapters from four different books and discussing them. This was actually my favorite part of the class - the books were great!

Dr. Smurda is an amazing professor who really cares about helping her students learn and develop valuable research skills. What really sets her apart from many other professors is that she genuinely cares about her students. During Office Hours, I feel like my concerns and questions regarding the class material are a priority to her. In addition, she is very warm and approachable.

One of the easiest classes I've taken at UCLA. The exams are noncumulative and all MC, they are really easy as long as you go over slides in details and understand those terms. I strongly suggest writing a study guide on your own. Dr. Smurda is very generous about grading, and she even allows you to drop one lowest exam score. Seldom went to lectures, got 90% on both midterms (w/ avg of 74%), skipped out on final and ended up in A.

For my quarter, Professor Smurda dropped our lowest exam score. She posted all podcasts and lecture slides on CCLE. If you don't go to lecture, then just listen to all her podcasts and follow along with the lecture slides. Every once in a while she'll say to go over a section in the textbook, so you can skim those if you need to.

If you want to excel in this class, it's totally possible, and in my opinion, more than manageable. The average for the first two midterms was 74%, but the final average was 84% and the quality/difficulty of the exams didn't change.

I thought Professor Smurda was really engaging, friendly, and fair. I wish I had gone to lecture more often.