I was scared to take lab class because I had terrible experience with 100B which I put lot of time and effort and ended up with C+. Dr. Smurda was very clear and does not trick students in terms of exams or grading which were helpful. I was taking this class with Psych 115 and were not able to put in lot of effort into my final paper and midterm, but ended up with B+ which was a lot higher than I expected. Definitely require work in research, group presentation, and writing paper, but it was definitely doable and seemed to reflect your effort in class unlike 100B. Definitely good lab class and I am taking another course with Dr. Smurda currently!

This was my second time taking a class with Smurda and honestly, I felt the class was pretty simple and easy. This class is really easy to understand if you have already taken Social Psychology with Smurda as most of the material is basically the same but even if this is your first social psychology type class you should do fine. As long as you show up to class, pay attention, and do the reading assignments then it's easy to understand the concepts. I felt the tests were fair and the paper assignment to be pretty simple as long as you followed the directions. Each test is worth 35% of your grade and there are two of them for a total of 70%, 20% of the grade is the paper, and 10% is little quizzes. Plus she gives 1 extra credit percentage too. Overall I would recommend this class the material is interesting and Smurda does a good job explaining it.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience in this class. Exams were largely fair although the questions could be very specific – it is recommended that you know understand each of the studies she covers, and make sure you do all the readings because questions from there will show up. The material is fascinating, but lectures are based on PPT slides and are very content-heavy (50-60+ slides per lecture, sometimes more) and can be a little dry – although most of the slides consist of pictures and graphs. I would DEFINITELY recommend writing out notes on everything she mentions or using audio to text to transcribe everything because solely studying off her slides may not be enough/they may lack important information for exams.

In replacement of a mandatory textbook, the professor assigns several social psychology readings to do that are relevant to discussion sections. The readings were interesting and I honestly preferred them immensely to your run-of-the-mill dry textbook, which probably would have succeeded in making a subject as interesting as social psychology sound absolutely boring. Sections are also useful and engaging, and help you understand the readings and prepare for exams! I really enjoyed my TA, Ben.

The professor can be accommodating but sometimes can seem to get a little irritated by students' persistent questions, which is honestly understandable.

This was essentially how the class was structured during Winter Quarter of 2021 (online):

SECTIONS: There are 6 sections, you can miss 1 without penalty. Section grade is based on attendance, thought questions, and in class participation; no curve. You have to submit a discussion seed (short, thoughtful response) for every reading, and you have to be engaged during discussions.

LECTURES: Attendance/participation is optional/recorded.

GRADES: Based on 2 exams (40% midterm, 40% final) and section (20%). Exams are MCQ, no make-up exams offered except for with thorough documentation.

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES: Total of up to 2% added to final grade through –
1. Research participation: Earn 1 extra credit % point by participating in experiments through Psychology Dept Subject Pool.
2. Earn 1 extra credit % point by participating in at least 70% of polls during regularly scheduled class time.

This class was pretty interesting. I did not really enjoy the books assigned however, because I found the connections to lecture somewhat confusing. But overall, the lecture content the professor teaches is very straightforward and useful even in daily life. Like others have said, studying the content on the slides is not enough for the tests, it is helpful to rewatch the lectures or read the transcripts. This class wasn't too bad but the exams were somewhat tricky.

This is the best class that I've taken so far at UCLA. Prof. Smurda has changed my thinking about the world.

She presents everything in an interesting, clear way and she's very patient with students. Her tests are fair, but you do need to study. Overall, I would highly recommend taking this class and really any class with Dr. Smurda.

This was a really interesting class! I definitely learned new things about social life!
However this class was extremely difficult for me. I honestly thought I wasn’t going to pass because I got a low score on my first midterm.
Thankfully she was nice enough to alter the grading scale 35% for lower test score and 45% for higher test score.
20% discussion.
I surprisingly got a B however, I had to study a TON for my final. I’m just happy I passed.
Professor was very friendly & offered 3% extra credit (: without this I probably would have got a C as final grade

Dr. Smurda is a wonderful professor. Her lectures are clear, organized, and engaging. I took this class over zoom but enjoyed every lecture! During the first half, Dr. Smurda goes over content from lectures followed by a midterm. The midterm was a little difficult but you should be fine if you pay close attention to the lectures and DO THE READINGS. The second half involves a group project so you will be split into breakout rooms pretty often. Overall, this class was interesting and I would recommend this class to fulfill your lab requirement.

Honestly thought this would be an easier class due to it's elective nature but man this class was HEAVY. work heavy that is. May have been due to covid but the lectures were so hard to listen to and she talks really fast, I got confused easily, and my notes were 20 pages per class.. She's a nice human but I wouldn't take another class with her. I had so much anxiety in this class and I was taking it to balance two impacted classes. Turns out this was the hardest class I took that quarter.

She was sick for 3 classes before the final and did nothing to help students. The exams are hard and you quite literally need to know every single slide for them which is annoying because if you do not remember a sentence that could be a potential point off. Her practice slides are no way reflective of the exa.mhe exams are made to trick you like if all of the above or only a and b choices

Literally my favorite class I've ever taken in my life. Changed the way I view my own actions and life as a whole. Dr. Smurda is an icon and a legend. She is the moment. I would tell everyone to take this class. My only complaint is I can't take it again lol.

1 midterm, 1 non-cumulative final. Both MCQ in person. Discussion sections have 1 page write-up assignments on readings but the texts are super interesting and easy.