Professor

Steve Lee

AD
3.6
Overall Ratings
Based on 27 Users
Easiness 3.0 / 5 How easy the class is, 1 being extremely difficult and 5 being easy peasy.
Workload 3.4 / 5 How light the workload is, 1 being extremely heavy and 5 being extremely light.
Clarity 3.5 / 5 How clear the professor is, 1 being extremely unclear and 5 being very clear.
Helpfulness 3.4 / 5 How helpful the professor is, 1 being not helpful at all and 5 being extremely helpful.

Reviews (27)

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June 12, 2016
Quarter: Spring 2016
Grade: A

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews. I literally took notes in class and reviewed the lecture notes the day before the test, skimmed the book throughout the quarter, and I got an A in the class. Half of my class got an A. Either his tests were harder in the past or people are getting smarter...

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Aug. 19, 2016
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A

You take three exams, he drops the lowest grade. Very fair grading scheme. He runs stats on all his questions so he's quite aware of which questions had faulty wording or skewed choices.

Abnormal Psych is an interesting, scratch-the-surface type of class. Expect to be basically memorizing parts of the DSM and integrating research with it. I love the integration of research and its application. However, the material itself can get pretty dry because there's a lack of depth but much ground to be covered. But that's not his fault. He tries to keep you engaged as much as possible. Definitely recommend him!

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Nov. 26, 2024
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: NR

This review is intended for students with any mental health disorders/past traumatic history. As a student who's endured many of the detrimental impacts of the disorders mentioned in this class, I felt incredibly uncomfortable with how material was taught. While the professor aimed to appeal the class with "funny" videos describing some of the symptoms of mental health disorders, and making "comedic" metaphors, I actually found this quite offensive, insensitive, and evidently inaccurate. While I can appreciate professors who do not want to trigger the class, I found Professor Lee's commentary to be disrespectful to not only myself, but also my peers, and the many individuals in the world who could not be in that classroom due to their mental health limitations. I urge all students to remind themselves that while a professor can hold a psychology degree in one hand, it does not mean they will have compassion in the other.

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PSYCH 127C
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
July 6, 2020
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: B

I really enjoyed Professor Lee's class, especially with his child guests! I think he really knows his stuff and he can make it interesting, especially with relevant media clips to form connections - I wish we had more of those! My only issue was the density of the course, the textbook chapters were so extensive and long it would take 2-3 hours to complete whereas his assigned articles were the right length. Ironically, taking this course made me realize I have had undiagnosed ADHD since like... the age of four, but those long chapters were hard to focus on for my classmates without as well. His slides where often blocks of text that were hard to get down, while listening to the other points he was speaking, and for filmed lectures there was so much content so fast. I wish he could slow down his bullet points when filming lectures ahead of time, during live lectures he often got behind bc of people asking to go back or needing more clarification because they didn't get everything down. I liked that we got the textbook for free and also that there weren't a bunch of other assignments or busywork. Sections were great and the classwork was definitely both helpful and easy. I also think the exams were a bit difficult even when you felt you mastered the material. However, I think finding a good researcher who is also a good teacher in this department is rare, and he really cares about his students! Kelsey expanded on the material in an interesting way and was super understanding when I forgot an assignment. I'd definitely take his class again!

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PSYCH 127
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 16, 2021
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: N/A

Prof. Lee is awesome. The workload is nonexistent because he doesn't assign any work besides the reading. The class is made of 3 equally weighted non cumulative 40 question multiple choice exams with a few extra credit points on each and 10 participation points, 2 from each of the 5 sections (they are not weekly). Review sessions are held by TAs the day before the exam and are only useful if you submit questions to it. Prof. Lee is very straightforward and will often say "you need to know this for the test" or "this will be in multiple questions" so you have a clear idea of what you need to study. To get an A in this class you must read the relevant textbook chapters and be able to apply knowledge, not just control f in the PDF because that will not help you. Abnormal psych itself is a cool topic and this one is specifically CHILD-CENTERED and covers conduct, oppositional defiant, borderline personality, obsessive compulsive, autism spectrum, major depressive, bipolar, anxiety, and antisocial personality disorders in addition to substance abuse, anorexia, bulimia, treatment and course of disease. Recommend for a psych major with interest if you are sure you'll do the readings.

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PSYCH 127C
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
March 28, 2021
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: B

I took this class with an open mind and went in just wanting to do my best. And in the end I feel pretty mixed about the professor. On one hand, it's obvious that he cares for the subject and does want you to learn , but on the other hand his teaching leaves a lot to be desired.

He lectures with a ton of run on sentences - which is fine - except when it completely messes with your understanding. I took psych 135 Smurda at the same time and both teachers have a similar amount of content and weekly structure. Smurda was clear, concise, and gave lots of relevant details. Whereas, Lee went on and on during confusing lectures.

For example, *pulling up my notes* he says and I quote, " the gender that has the lower base rate, meaning it's less prevalent and that gender, often times they have worse outcomes than the other gender who has the same disorder. " This sounds fine at first, except when I heard it, I had to think about it three times to actually understand. I don't know if I'm just slow but I feel like too much of what he means could have been said so much more concisely: the disorder is more severe for the gender that has it less.

At first, I didn't mind it but as the concepts get more involved I spent so much time deciphering what he meant instead of studying. Instead of explaining something, he will give two or three synonyms for a word and ends with "or whatever." ie. from his lecture: "[the relationship] has improved, but it's consistent with the idea that children who are maltreated, abused, victimized, whatever you want to call it." Maybe this is helpful for some people, but his confusing way of talking and surface level "explanations" made this class super frustrating even though the content is so interesting and relevant.

I heavily relied on my amazing TA, although towards the end, there was a section of information that even both the TAs struggled to review because the lecture on it was so unclear. They just brushed it off because it wasn't on the test. And at that point, I also ignored it too.

Speaking of tests, several questions are weird. He does stats on his results, which I really appreciate. However, there were many times multiple answer choices could be true, as in I can point to where to find the answers in the lecture or power points. It's a case of what is most true or more marginally accurate. And these specifics are NOT made clear during lecture. I'll use Smurda again as a counter example - Dr. Smurda always made sure to highlight or reiterate those kinds of weird specifics. It becomes very clear which details are important.

So, Dr. Lee being a great dad (it seems) and a great researcher doesn't necessarily mean being a great teacher. An interesting class with a professor who is definitely knowledgeable but without the clarity I needed.

Also, he has a weird drop policy where you can drop an exam score as long as you get at least 65% on all three exams. I always thought drop policies are for when you mess up badly once but this drop policy says to me it's fine to mess up except you can't mess up THAT bad.

Thank you for reading this rant. Ironically, it isn't very concise, but this class took so much of my brain power even though I was taking two other upper divisions. For context, I got As in those and a B in this class despite the time invested.

All in all, a doable class... but be warned. Good luck!

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March 13, 2017
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: B

Possibly the best psychology professor I had at UCLA. Professor Lee is very clear and straightforward in his lectures. He also has a very good sense of humor too. The subject material was fascinating.
I also liked how well he can project his voice, especially since we were in the Haines lecture hall, a very large one .

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April 21, 2024
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: A+

Honestly I was a bit worried to take this class because of the previous reviews, but I would really recommend. This was a fairly easy and stress free upper div psych class.

Professor Lee lectured off of slides, and I found it best to really write up his explanation of each slide - either by coming in person and taking notes or rewatching the recordings (we did have a few technical difficulties though that some didn't get recorded, so I would be wary of not going at all - no attendance was taken though).

Our grade was based on going and participating in 5 discussions (he tells us from the beginning which of the 5 weeks they will be, and you get a free absence too). Otherwise, we just had 3 in person MCQ midterms that were about 40 questions each with 2-3 extra credit questions on each exam. If you score above a 65% on all 3, he drops the lowest one too - so you're really set up for success as long as you try. You could also earn up to 2 points (I think) from completing SONA studies.

I found the exam content to be pretty fair - he also tells us during lecture what will for sure be on the exam, so you knew to pay extra attention to those topics when studying. I went to all lectures, reviewed for a couple hours the night before by going through all my notes and focusing on the stuff he said will be on the exam, and then quizzing myself with the several practice questions the TAs posted.

The only thing I didn't love about the class was the heavy reading - yet you can get around that mostly. Only a small fraction of the exam questions focus primarily on what the textbook specifically said - I just found skimming and trying to take as many notes as I could (as my schedule allowed) - yet if I didn't finish going through all of it before the exam I was usually okay and just ended up missing those questions.

I would recommend this class as a great, interesting Psych upper div - especially if your schedule is pretty hectic otherwise, it's pretty low maintenance.

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Oct. 6, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A+

I was nervous to take this class because of the reviews but honestly it was my favorite class that I have taken at UCLA. Dr. Lee is an amazing professor and really tries to make the content interesting. His lecture style is very clear and there are no surprises on the tests. He also genuinely cares about his students and if you need help go to his office hours!

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June 17, 2023
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A

Interesting class! There are recordings for reviewing lectures, but you have to attend discussions in person. The only thing about the test is that you need to read long chapters in textbook because he tests things not covered in lecture but covered on textbook. Also, some of his extra credit problems in each exam are basically testing whether you had reviewed very detailed lecture contents, e.g., basically asking whether his daughter is doing golf or swimming and sth like that.

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PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Spring 2016
Grade: A
June 12, 2016

Not sure why there are so many negative reviews. I literally took notes in class and reviewed the lecture notes the day before the test, skimmed the book throughout the quarter, and I got an A in the class. Half of my class got an A. Either his tests were harder in the past or people are getting smarter...

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PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: A
Aug. 19, 2016

You take three exams, he drops the lowest grade. Very fair grading scheme. He runs stats on all his questions so he's quite aware of which questions had faulty wording or skewed choices.

Abnormal Psych is an interesting, scratch-the-surface type of class. Expect to be basically memorizing parts of the DSM and integrating research with it. I love the integration of research and its application. However, the material itself can get pretty dry because there's a lack of depth but much ground to be covered. But that's not his fault. He tries to keep you engaged as much as possible. Definitely recommend him!

Helpful?

0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Fall 2024
Grade: NR
Nov. 26, 2024

This review is intended for students with any mental health disorders/past traumatic history. As a student who's endured many of the detrimental impacts of the disorders mentioned in this class, I felt incredibly uncomfortable with how material was taught. While the professor aimed to appeal the class with "funny" videos describing some of the symptoms of mental health disorders, and making "comedic" metaphors, I actually found this quite offensive, insensitive, and evidently inaccurate. While I can appreciate professors who do not want to trigger the class, I found Professor Lee's commentary to be disrespectful to not only myself, but also my peers, and the many individuals in the world who could not be in that classroom due to their mental health limitations. I urge all students to remind themselves that while a professor can hold a psychology degree in one hand, it does not mean they will have compassion in the other.

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PSYCH 127C
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Spring 2020
Grade: B
July 6, 2020

I really enjoyed Professor Lee's class, especially with his child guests! I think he really knows his stuff and he can make it interesting, especially with relevant media clips to form connections - I wish we had more of those! My only issue was the density of the course, the textbook chapters were so extensive and long it would take 2-3 hours to complete whereas his assigned articles were the right length. Ironically, taking this course made me realize I have had undiagnosed ADHD since like... the age of four, but those long chapters were hard to focus on for my classmates without as well. His slides where often blocks of text that were hard to get down, while listening to the other points he was speaking, and for filmed lectures there was so much content so fast. I wish he could slow down his bullet points when filming lectures ahead of time, during live lectures he often got behind bc of people asking to go back or needing more clarification because they didn't get everything down. I liked that we got the textbook for free and also that there weren't a bunch of other assignments or busywork. Sections were great and the classwork was definitely both helpful and easy. I also think the exams were a bit difficult even when you felt you mastered the material. However, I think finding a good researcher who is also a good teacher in this department is rare, and he really cares about his students! Kelsey expanded on the material in an interesting way and was super understanding when I forgot an assignment. I'd definitely take his class again!

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PSYCH 127
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: N/A
March 16, 2021

Prof. Lee is awesome. The workload is nonexistent because he doesn't assign any work besides the reading. The class is made of 3 equally weighted non cumulative 40 question multiple choice exams with a few extra credit points on each and 10 participation points, 2 from each of the 5 sections (they are not weekly). Review sessions are held by TAs the day before the exam and are only useful if you submit questions to it. Prof. Lee is very straightforward and will often say "you need to know this for the test" or "this will be in multiple questions" so you have a clear idea of what you need to study. To get an A in this class you must read the relevant textbook chapters and be able to apply knowledge, not just control f in the PDF because that will not help you. Abnormal psych itself is a cool topic and this one is specifically CHILD-CENTERED and covers conduct, oppositional defiant, borderline personality, obsessive compulsive, autism spectrum, major depressive, bipolar, anxiety, and antisocial personality disorders in addition to substance abuse, anorexia, bulimia, treatment and course of disease. Recommend for a psych major with interest if you are sure you'll do the readings.

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PSYCH 127C
COVID-19 This review was submitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Your experience may vary.
Quarter: Winter 2021
Grade: B
March 28, 2021

I took this class with an open mind and went in just wanting to do my best. And in the end I feel pretty mixed about the professor. On one hand, it's obvious that he cares for the subject and does want you to learn , but on the other hand his teaching leaves a lot to be desired.

He lectures with a ton of run on sentences - which is fine - except when it completely messes with your understanding. I took psych 135 Smurda at the same time and both teachers have a similar amount of content and weekly structure. Smurda was clear, concise, and gave lots of relevant details. Whereas, Lee went on and on during confusing lectures.

For example, *pulling up my notes* he says and I quote, " the gender that has the lower base rate, meaning it's less prevalent and that gender, often times they have worse outcomes than the other gender who has the same disorder. " This sounds fine at first, except when I heard it, I had to think about it three times to actually understand. I don't know if I'm just slow but I feel like too much of what he means could have been said so much more concisely: the disorder is more severe for the gender that has it less.

At first, I didn't mind it but as the concepts get more involved I spent so much time deciphering what he meant instead of studying. Instead of explaining something, he will give two or three synonyms for a word and ends with "or whatever." ie. from his lecture: "[the relationship] has improved, but it's consistent with the idea that children who are maltreated, abused, victimized, whatever you want to call it." Maybe this is helpful for some people, but his confusing way of talking and surface level "explanations" made this class super frustrating even though the content is so interesting and relevant.

I heavily relied on my amazing TA, although towards the end, there was a section of information that even both the TAs struggled to review because the lecture on it was so unclear. They just brushed it off because it wasn't on the test. And at that point, I also ignored it too.

Speaking of tests, several questions are weird. He does stats on his results, which I really appreciate. However, there were many times multiple answer choices could be true, as in I can point to where to find the answers in the lecture or power points. It's a case of what is most true or more marginally accurate. And these specifics are NOT made clear during lecture. I'll use Smurda again as a counter example - Dr. Smurda always made sure to highlight or reiterate those kinds of weird specifics. It becomes very clear which details are important.

So, Dr. Lee being a great dad (it seems) and a great researcher doesn't necessarily mean being a great teacher. An interesting class with a professor who is definitely knowledgeable but without the clarity I needed.

Also, he has a weird drop policy where you can drop an exam score as long as you get at least 65% on all three exams. I always thought drop policies are for when you mess up badly once but this drop policy says to me it's fine to mess up except you can't mess up THAT bad.

Thank you for reading this rant. Ironically, it isn't very concise, but this class took so much of my brain power even though I was taking two other upper divisions. For context, I got As in those and a B in this class despite the time invested.

All in all, a doable class... but be warned. Good luck!

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PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Winter 2016
Grade: B
March 13, 2017

Possibly the best psychology professor I had at UCLA. Professor Lee is very clear and straightforward in his lectures. He also has a very good sense of humor too. The subject material was fascinating.
I also liked how well he can project his voice, especially since we were in the Haines lecture hall, a very large one .

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Winter 2024
Grade: A+
April 21, 2024

Honestly I was a bit worried to take this class because of the previous reviews, but I would really recommend. This was a fairly easy and stress free upper div psych class.

Professor Lee lectured off of slides, and I found it best to really write up his explanation of each slide - either by coming in person and taking notes or rewatching the recordings (we did have a few technical difficulties though that some didn't get recorded, so I would be wary of not going at all - no attendance was taken though).

Our grade was based on going and participating in 5 discussions (he tells us from the beginning which of the 5 weeks they will be, and you get a free absence too). Otherwise, we just had 3 in person MCQ midterms that were about 40 questions each with 2-3 extra credit questions on each exam. If you score above a 65% on all 3, he drops the lowest one too - so you're really set up for success as long as you try. You could also earn up to 2 points (I think) from completing SONA studies.

I found the exam content to be pretty fair - he also tells us during lecture what will for sure be on the exam, so you knew to pay extra attention to those topics when studying. I went to all lectures, reviewed for a couple hours the night before by going through all my notes and focusing on the stuff he said will be on the exam, and then quizzing myself with the several practice questions the TAs posted.

The only thing I didn't love about the class was the heavy reading - yet you can get around that mostly. Only a small fraction of the exam questions focus primarily on what the textbook specifically said - I just found skimming and trying to take as many notes as I could (as my schedule allowed) - yet if I didn't finish going through all of it before the exam I was usually okay and just ended up missing those questions.

I would recommend this class as a great, interesting Psych upper div - especially if your schedule is pretty hectic otherwise, it's pretty low maintenance.

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PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A+
Oct. 6, 2023

I was nervous to take this class because of the reviews but honestly it was my favorite class that I have taken at UCLA. Dr. Lee is an amazing professor and really tries to make the content interesting. His lecture style is very clear and there are no surprises on the tests. He also genuinely cares about his students and if you need help go to his office hours!

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PSYCH 127C
Quarter: Winter 2023
Grade: A
June 17, 2023

Interesting class! There are recordings for reviewing lectures, but you have to attend discussions in person. The only thing about the test is that you need to read long chapters in textbook because he tests things not covered in lecture but covered on textbook. Also, some of his extra credit problems in each exam are basically testing whether you had reviewed very detailed lecture contents, e.g., basically asking whether his daughter is doing golf or swimming and sth like that.

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0 0 Please log in to provide feedback.
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