Dr. Smurda's class is by far one of my favorite classes ever at UCLA. I took this class with a very cautious mindset because of the negative Bruinwalk reviews but ended up with an A+. Dr. Smurda's grading policy might seem unfair to some people with the midterm and final being 80% of our grade, but she gave plenty of extra credit if you uploaded handwritten notes, completed the SONA experiment, and answered 70% of the poll everywhere questions.

I would not let the 80% exam weight frighten you because the exams were overall pretty easy and straightforward IF YOU STUDIED. A lot of people I knew had very ineffective studying methods like just reading the slides the day before the exam, and they were the ones complaining about the class. Like every other class, you need to study. Personally, I rewatched the lecture videos and took handwritten notes on them, then went back and reviewed my notes. Exams are also not cumulative, you will only be tested on post-midterm concepts for the final.

Discussion sections mainly went over the 4 readings (2 pre-midterm and 2 post-midterm). My TA Ryan was honestly the best TA ever--he kept discussions from feeling boring and I could tell he was very knowledgeable about the concepts. The four readings were all extremely interesting and fun to read. You aren't required to read all of the books (only certain chapters are assigned). I wouldn't focus on the readings too much since there are only about 4-5 questions about the readings on the exams.

Dr. Smurda is also a wonderful person to get to know if you attend her office hours. I only attended once because I got way too busy into the quarter. She's engaging, intelligent, and very charismatic. My biggest regret was not attending her office hours more, but I plan to take her social influence class soon!

Out of all the psych classes I've took so far, this has definitely been my favorite one content-wise! It's not the easiest column B class you can take as a psych major, but it's a very rewarding and interesting one.

This class was not as difficult as I expected it to be based on some previous reviews, but it wasn't necessarily a cakewalk, either. The exams were in-person, closed note (except for one page front and back you could use for the final), and 80% of your grade, which I guess can be a bit daunting for people still used to COVID era exams. To get a solid A, you definitely have to study a lot. In the lectures, Dr. Smurda was extremely clear and concise, and her demos + polls kept everyone really engaged. However, because her slides were so content-heavy, it was super easy to miss information (some of which was only mentioned verbally) important for the exams. As a part of studying, I made sure to watch all the lecture recordings and write down all the significant information I missed the first time around. On the exams, there were usually 1 or 2 kind of wonky questions, but overall they were really doable (averages were in the mid B range).

With that being said, make sure to stay on top of things in this class. I feel like some people may struggle with this class because they fall into the trap of just feeling like everything is common sense, which is definitely not the case (especially with the hefty amount of studies you have to remember). There was a decent amount of reading (which showed up on exams), but most of the books we read were really interesting.

Overall, I feel like Dr. Smurda really wants her students to learn and makes the class just the right amount of challenging. This is a great class but not one you can slack off in!

Like others have said, the material is so interesting and I genuinely learned so much that is applicable to real life. The lectures could be a little long-winded which left me disengaged towards the end, but I would just go back and watch the lectures again since they were recorded.

Regarding exams, I don’t think they were as difficult as people are making them out to be. Maybe that has to do with how I studied, which could be a lot for some. I took detailed notes in class for whatever wasn’t addressed in the slides but said by the prof, rewatched ALL the lectures that would be covered on the exam in case I missed anything or didn’t understand something the first time, reviewed the exam jeopardy that was given out by the TAs in the review section, and took the practice exam posted by the prof. I also made quizlets with key terms and all the studies we went over, but I never actually studied it, just created it. With all that, I was able to get As on both the midterm (with 3 freebies given to everyone) and the final (2 freebies). Don’t overthink and don’t add implications to the questions that aren’t there.

She was also generous enough to make the exam you did better on weigh 50% and the other 30% to make up the 80% of your grade that exams are worth. There’s also the option of extra credit just from answering polleverywhere questions in class and SONA. Overall, not as bad as people are saying. Put in the work and you’ll get the grade you deserve!

Like others have said, the material is so interesting and I genuinely learned so much that is applicable to real life. The lectures could be a little long-winded which left me disengaged towards the end, but I would just go back and watch the lectures again since they were recorded.

Regarding exams, I don’t think they were as difficult as people are making them out to be. Maybe that has to do with how I studied, which could be a lot for some. I took detailed notes in class for whatever wasn’t addressed in the slides but said by the prof, rewatched ALL the lectures that would be covered on the exam in case I missed anything or didn’t understand something the first time, reviewed the exam jeopardy that was given out by the TAs in the review section, and took the practice exam posted by the prof. I also made quizlets with key terms and all the studies we went over, but I never actually studied it, just created it. With all that, I was able to get As on both the midterm (with 3 freebies given to everyone) and the final (2 freebies). Don’t overthink and don’t add implications to the questions that aren’t there.

She was also generous enough to make the exam you did better on weigh 50% and the other 30% to make up the 80% of your grade that exams are worth. There’s also the option of extra credit just from answering polleverywhere questions in class and SONA. Overall, not as bad as people are saying. Put in the work and you’ll get the grade you deserve!

I really liked this class! She records her lectures which is very good so you can always go back, and she offers up to 2-3% of extra credit. I got a B because I had missing assignments from my discussion section. Discussion is 20% of your grade so it is a big deal. Other than that she is very funny and has very engaging lectures. I highly recommend it.

The professor is great at teaching the content in an engaging way and constantly checks in on the students during lecture to make sure that we are understanding. She’s also very generous and she provided the opportunity for 2% of extra credit! The one hard part was our grade was 70% tests (midterm and final) but the tests weren’t hard if you made sure to study how to apply the content (not just definitions).

I really liked her as a professor! She would always make me feel heard when I asked a question and would dance with my abstract thoughts with me. A lot of this material is applicable to real life, which has definitely made me think about how I interact with other people. However, do not take that lightly. Her tests are not hard, but they can be tricky if you did not study. I would highly recommend attending lectures and taking notes because it does help your thought process. There are a lot of research studies to remember, but you do not need to know the names. You need to know the concepts.

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

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 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.