Avoid this class like the plague, Do not take unless absolutely necessary. Completely useless 2 hour lectures, with the majority of the time of him rambling about some random unrelated topic. Exams are absolutely nothing like lectures and going to lecture is absolutely useless, unless going for attendance, does not curve, and almost 70% of his class failed the first midterm. However, his exam questions are exactly like the study guide questions, so memorize everything, and ignore everything from lecture. He will ask you the most unrelated useless questions not reflective of anything in lecture, so just memorize the questions for both the midterm and the final.

For anyone who is looking at these reviews because you are taking the class and worried because of the score, you can take a sigh of relief. I was worried too but it's really not that bad. It's like any other class where you see what you need to do in order to get a good grade. Attendance isn't mandatory which really helped me out because it was my 9am this quarter, it is extra credit though. If you want an A, you'll get it

As some of the other reviews mentioned, this class is confusing. The slides and lectures are not structured well and he loves to go off on tangents and you get confused about what you actually have to pay attention to. That being said, I think the class is an easy A. The exam is basically exactly what is one the study guides, except for about 3-4 questions that will be other information from lecture or videos shown during class. Going into exams I would memorize the study guides but not go over lecture notes, and I got an A- both times, but if you know all the class material you can easily get an A. This class is also recorded which is a huge plus, and there's no homework at all. I usually don't like presentations but you literally just have to present a psychology study on any topic so it's pretty low stress.

While the class covers a ton of topics, Prof. McAuliffe helps make sense of everything. He records the lectures which is a huge help, because it did take some rewatching to fully understand what he was saying sometimes. His exams are basically pulled straight from his review, and if its not in the review, he says it straight in a lecture. There is also a presentation at the end of the class, but it can be on anything you want in all of psychology which can make it more fun. So this is an easy class if you put in basic effort.

Does not explain lecture material very well, often felt lost in the class. Presents a few graphs and points on slides without adding much detail to them. Exams are pretty difficult.

I would say this class has sort of mixed reviews from my perspective. As a class, it’s a good class. It covers most, if not, all the psychology topics from many of the courses offered at UCLA so if you take this class in your junior/senior year, you should be able to remember most of the topics. The professor however is a different story. Professor McAuliffe is a great person but honestly, a pretty bad professor. In the beginning he said that he had more haters than supporters and I now see why. As a professor, he tries to incorporate jokes and personal stories into his lectures, which side tracks him a LOT. He can’t stay on topic for more than 7-10 minutes without bringing up his wife and daughter which isn’t a bad thing but sometimes the stories don’t relate to the topic at hand. His exams are horrible which only consist of a midterm and final. He gives you a study guide a week before each. The exams are basically what is on the study guide, however they are slowly tweaked a bit. What was most confusing is he would tell us to study one thing but then would leave out a lot of other crucial information that we should’ve paid attention to as well. His labs are pretty self explanatory, just him going over or expanding on the information from the lectures which ranged from slides to videos. If you’re looking for a class that has virtually no work with the exception of a midterm, final, and presentation at the end of the quarter, then take this class. However, it is advised that you take every little thing he says seriously, even if he makes a joke out of it because it will most likely be on the exam. Even if he brushes past it, review it and get is stuck in your mind.

I feel like he's a nice guy (kinda weird, but nice) but also, his tests are kinda difficult. I think my biggest tip if you're taking the class is to remember the answers from the study guide he gives you because many of the questions that were on the test were pulled from there verbatim. I say that the tests are kinda difficult because besides that aspect, it's basically a toss-up of what the rest of the questions on the test are gonna be. You kinda have to know a bit of everything, even small details that he might've discussed during his lectures and labs. If you're looking for a lab where you actually learn something useful, I probably wouldn't recommend this one.
I will say however that there are no homework assignments except for a presentation that you present during either week 9 or 10, and attendance is optional, which is a huge plus. I don't know what my final grade is yet but I know he said that he's probably going to have to curve final grades so even if your class does badly, just know that he probably will curve. Anyways, wanted to give you a more devil's advocate perspective bc I know a lot of people in my class aren't happy with him (which is valid cause the tests are just weird), but I don't think the entire class is terrible.

I've never left a review on a class and likely never will again. If you can help it AVOID this class- at all costs. Prof is a sweet guy, but an absolutely TERRIBLE teacher. Extremely unclear and unorganized, exams do not reflect what we go over in class. Just... don't take this class.

For everyone writing bad reviews, you're lazy and boring. This class is engaging and is a low workload. This lab information is very broad so get ready to learn a bit of everything. The professor gives interesting examples that help you remember the topics. There are 2 take home midterms which are 100% open note. Honestly, the discussions are long but helpful.

McAuliffe is the funniest teacher I’ve ever had the pleasure of taking a class with. I took his class while everything was online for Rona and it was a highlight of my week. He truly loves what he talks about. He goes on tangents sometimes, but I was fine with it because they were always informative or entertaining. There were two tests, each were open for 24 hours and you could find all of the answers in the lecture recordings. The class did EXTREMELY well this quarter. Most of us got A’s. There is also a presentation where you talk about ANY psychology study of your choice. It’s an easy project.
Overall, this class is entertaining and easy. If you’re a laid back person you’ll like McAuliffe. I can see someone who is very serious finding him too casual, but that wasn’t the case for me.