Dr. Smurda is amazing! Most of the work is done in lab so not much is required outside of class time. There is a midterm, a group project that involves a paper as the final, a small paper (3 pages), and a few in class exercises. As long as you attend class, do the work, and study for the midterm, this class is not difficult. Dr. Smurda cares about her students, is available for help, and her lectures are engaging. I would highly recommend taking this lab with her if you have the chance.

The material covered in this class is relevant to everyday life. Professor Smurda presents it in a way that is interesting and engaging. It is apparent that she cares about her students' success and she is very easy to talk to and get a hold of if you need anything. If you pay attention to the studies discussed in lecture and read the assigned books, you should do very well on the midterm and final because the multiple choice questions she asks are pretty straightforward. Discussion sections are fun too!

Prof. Smurda is by far the best professor I've had at UCLA, my experience in her class was the best experience in all my Psychology courses.
As far as workload:
1 midterm 30%
group project 20%
final paper 25%
small paper 15%
attendance and participation 5%
in class group work 5%

I would recommend her for any class she teaches. She grades fairly, makes the lecture interesting, and she's very approachable. TAKE PROF. SMURDA !

***Took Psych 137J with Dr. Smurda

Her seminar on Self and Identity was extremely interesting and I would highly recommend taking the class! There are no exams, just weekly thought papers (1-2 pgs) and quizzes. Every student also presents during one class period, leading a discussion on one of the readings. The seminar is mostly discussion based so you have to come to class having done the readings and ready to participate, but the material is pretty easy to get through and I enjoyed reading it.

Dr. Smurda is clearly interested in the material and does a really good job of centering class discussion around relevant topics. Since the theme is the Self, contributing to the discussion isn't difficult and most of the examples in your papers come straight from your own experiences. I also really liked that it was a small class so you get to know the other students, which makes conversation much better.

Take this class!

***Took two different classes with her across two quarters but the point will stand for anyone looking her up for other classes that they may not see connected to her.***

If you take any class with her just pay attention to the syllabus for that class and really decide if you want to take it. Some classes taught by her have over 75% of your grade determined by her subjective grading rather than objective performance on exams and that huge percentage is a bigger deal as she often assigns *a lot* of work and writing. I'll repeat that too, *OVER 75%* of your grade for some classes taught by her are determined by her subjective opinion and not your own objective, correct vs incorrect, performance in class.

I kept up with all the abundant work but still received a grade less than what I felt I earned both times I had her, as often times she disagreed with my writing or things were unclear in her opinion. So, tread carefully if you take her as I personally think that much subjective control over your grade and something that can affect your future, is too much.

This was by far the best course I've ever taken at UCLA. Dr. Smurda is obviously very passionate about what she teaches and really likes her students. This class covers topics on the self that are fascinating. Students do presentations on the readings and discuss the material which made me learn it really well. Dr. Smurda did a great job of clarifying the concepts and leading the discussion. There were weekly thought papers and quizzes as well as discussion posts so it was a lot to keep up with, but it didn't really bother me because it was all really interesting. We also wrote a final paper which applies the concepts that we learned in class to our own lives.
Overall, I would highly recommend the professor and the class.

I really enjoyed this class and Dr. Smurda is great. It was different than what I expected it to be (which is actually a good thing) and there was a lot of work involved -- weekly papers and quizzes as well as discussion posts. You also lead a presentation/discussion and there's a final paper. However, I would definitely recommend taking it because the topic is super interesting which makes up for the extra work involved. We had great discussions and Dr. Smurda is very knowledgeable and approachable. You really can't go wrong taking this class.

I would recommend taking this class with Dr. Smurda. There is no text, just a few interesting books which are discussed in sections. I really like the way that it was organized and her lectures were very clear and pretty funny at times too. However, don't let the fact that she's nice fool you. Her tests are pretty tough so be prepared. This is one of my favorite classes at UCLA though.

I really liked Prof. Smurda. She was engaging and the material was interesting. Tests can be difficult, but I studied and did very well. I would definitely recommend taking it with her if possible.

Straightforward class. 2 tests (35% each), clicker questions, and a very doable paper. There was only one textbook for this class and it was a GREAT read. I really recommend reading the book because it definitely helps you process the concepts for the test. Lectures are also bruincasted which is super helpful for studying (or for whenever you don’t feel like getting out of bed). A few topics are repeats from 135. Professor Smurda is caring and super helpful. If you’re looking for an easy (but also interesting) upper div elective, take this class.