Dr. Smurda was a great professor for this class. I learned much more in this class than 100B. She makes the lectures very clear and only covers the topics that pertain to the class. She is very helpful during the group project/ research lab stage and will go over your topic and the things you need to work on as you progress through the weeks. The textbook for the gives clear guidelines, and using an older version (much cheaper) gave me the same results-only the page numbers were a little bit off, material was the same. The tests are extremely fair if you pay attention in class and do all the homework.

Dr. Smurda was very engaging and funny. I always looked forward to class because it was so interesting. She podcasts her lectures so you can actually participate in class rather than worry about typing everything she says. She is also very helpful if you go see her during office hours. She will spend as much time as it takes explaining everything until you understand it.
Her tests are not easy, but they are very doable because they are right out of the lectures and readings.

The reviews for this class and professor were very misleading. I came into the class confident that I would succeed, but it was the opposite. Her tests were extremely hard and covered so much information. Office hours were not as helpful as I hoped. Really wanted to get an A in this class, but it wasn't possible. I would take it with another professor!

If you're gonna take psych 10, take Smurda!!

> 1 hour and 50 min classes sometimes cut short
> 3 midterms for a 1/3 of your grade each
> and she curves but it also depends on how well everyone else does

> lectures may be long, but they're pretty interesting
> her lecture notes are online, but it's a lot better to go to class and really retain the information
> she engages the class a lot and shows a lot of related and interesting videos
> the material may be a lot especially if you didn't take AP Psych, but if you complete and know the study guides, you can do pretty well.
> study guides are pretty ample to do fairly well, but it doesn't include everything that may be on the test
> but if you do the readings, it'll definitely help in the exams
> She's overall a very nice person, really lights up the room, and really concerned with you feeling comfortable and knowing the information

> i ended getting a B, A-, and C+ on the midterms with a curve and a B overall despite having taken AP Psych
> because i stopped doing the readings
> the first midterm i thought was fair, but i didn't do very good
> and the Final was pretty hard but if i studied the study guide more thoroughly, i could have done a lot better

I love this professor. If you take her, I highly recommend that you go see her in office hours because she is very helpful and explains the material from lecture really clearly. She always encourages students to come see her and then she spends tons of time making sure you really understand everything and that you are studying effectively. She's also funny and very intelligent too. You do need to study though because the tests are difficult, but she does let you drop your lowest grade which is great. She also covers a lot of material, but you can see that it's because she is incredibly passionate about psychology. I enjoyed this class more than any other I've taken at UCLA so far and I've decided to change my major because of it. I would definitely recommend her -- just don't get behind because there is a lot of material covered at a pretty fast pace.

This was a great class to take! The professor gives 2 midterms and a final but all of them are NOT cumulative and she drops the lowest grade of the 3 of them. The tests are very reflective of the material covered in lecture, it is just a lot of information that she gives, such as definitions and case studies that you need to know, so you have to memorize a lot for the tests. She podcasts her lectures and posts the lecture slides. She is super nice, funny and very helpful!

What a headache. I should have known to not take a 3 hour class on a Friday. She speaks VERY quickly and spends the majority of her time explaining her examples and outside studies but skims over the important material. There is no textbook but you have to read chapters in 4 different books about different aspects of social psychology. The first midterm was very difficult and many students were forced to take the course P/NP or had to drop the course instead of failing. The TA's are excellent and write the questions from the books on the exams. The final was not cumulative and was not as difficult as the midterm. For both exams it is imperative that you truly know and understand the studies she explains during lecture. Most students only listened to the podcast and did not go to class. Good luck, take it with another Professor if possible.
Grade breakdown: 40% midterm, 40% final, 20% section
my final grade: A

I'm not sure how often Dr. Smurda teaches this particular class, but she made it quite enjoyable for Summer '15.

Your grade is made up of the following:

A test reviewing some concepts from 100B (but not nearly at the same brain-melting difficulty) that she lectures on for the first few weeks into the course. - 30%

Participation/Methodology Exercises - 10% (I combine these because it's literally impossible not to get all the credit unless you don't show up).

15%: Compliance Paper (you walk through a study you conduct as a class and write up a small portion of a research paper, she basically walks you through it)

25%: Final Paper on the experiment you design during the second half of the class

20%: Group presentation that basically outlines your final paper for you

She makes things relatively easy to understand, and if the TA is still Melissa, she's a great resource for helping you through your paper and experiment and working out kinks in your design.

Ended up with an A-, and put in a reasonable amount of work for a relatively fast paced class (mind you, it's summer). Also you don't really get to choose your groups for the experiments, but you're likely to get the partners you want if you all put the same order for the preferred topics you want to design an experiment for.

I was scared to take a lab at UCLA because I heard that all of the lab classes were very difficult and tedious. I prorastinated until my last quarter, and I'm glad that I did so that I could take this class with Dr. Smurda! Not only is she an extremely nice and caring professor, but she makes the material interesting and enjoyable. She also makes her self readily available through office hours and outside office hours for any questions or concerns about the material. I would recommend this class to everyone, it's enjoyable, not too difficult, and this professor is amazing!

1. pay attention in class and try to learn the information as she presents slides, because you sure as hell aren't going to be able to write it all down.
2. do the extra credit
3. its mostly memorization so make flashcards/ find a study group to help you retain the definitions
4. go with your gut feeling and use common sense on midterms or the final (i didnt double check questions on my final and got an A)
5. if she says to study something in class, do it, because it will probably be on an exam

i recommend taking smurda. its a fairly easy A if you study. i didnt keep up with the weekly readings and only studied a few days before the exams and got an A-. she has fairly interesting lectures with a lot of videos, even though i fell asleep a lot. the best part? her 2 midterms and 1 final are each 1/3 of your grade and they are NONCUMULATIVE.