I want to start off by saying, I genuinely LOVE Dr. Smurda as a professor. Her lectures were thoughtful, engaging, and I truly feel like I learned a lot in her class. However, her tests were NOT fair. The class grade is weighted 80% exam scores and 20% everything else. She gave us practice exams and in NO WAY did they reflect the material that was on the tests. There were too many questions placed in the test that were designed to trick you as well... if you like selecting from "A, B, C, A&C, or All of the Above" type questions, you may do well on the tests. All closed note tests as well. I'm an honors student, and I worked HARD in this class this quarter to still only come out of it with a C- (AFTER the 3% extra credit she thankfully offered to us) was factored in to my final grade. I don't feel that my final grade reflects the knowledge I did take away from this course, and it's so unfortunate. I know a ton of other honors students could also agree with me on this. To reiterate - AMAZING professor, AWFUL / UNFAIR EXAMS. I probably would not take this class with her again due to the testing situation alone, but I would if that were to change in a heartbeat. TAKE AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

Not sure if her class changed? Because I took her class based on good reviews and ended up barely passing her class...smurda was great but the material was way too much 60+ slides for every lecture...way too much material. Hated this class and don’t recommend it to anyone. Class is based on only 2 exams so beware

In all honesty, the material covered in this class is so interesting and Professor Smurda is a great lecturer, but the tests are horrible. I am by no means student that can easily get by with an A without putting in extra effort, but I do study a ton and it has proven to pay off in all my other psych classes. It didn't matter how much you understood the lecture material or how much you studied, the wording of the test questions threw even the smartest kids in our class off. I have heard Lieberman is a great professor who also teaches this course and his course is far more manageable. This class really hurt my gpa and a lot of us felt like our test scores were not reflective of our knowledge of the material. Again its a super fun class because there isn't enough room to redeem yourself if you do poorly on either midterm or final exam.

This class is my absolute favorite class that I've taken at UCLA by far. This class also changed the way I see the world and people around me. Dr. Smurda is an amazing professor and her lectures were highly enjoyable and extremely interesting.

Like the other reviews mention, her grading is a bit unfair. Your entire grade is pretty much based on just the midterm and the final so beware. I have never studied so hard in my life before. I feel like I gained so much knowledge from this class and worked very hardly, yet the B I earned does not reflect how much effort I put in. However, the material is actually very interesting to study so at least you won't be bored!

Dr. Smurda is really funny, accommodating, and truly wants all of her students to succeed. I would highly recommend taking diligent notes and really tuning in to each lecture in order to do well. Her exams were closed note, which is another reason I had to study so hardly. Dr. Smurda offers extra credit opportunities as well, so if you want to boost your grade even more I would do those.

Overall, I would definitely recommend taking this class! Although I am usually a straight-A student and received a B in this class, I am still very glad I took it because I learned so much and see the world around me differently now. Take at your own risk.

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.

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.

What a dope class. I've sat in the back of the class for every course I've taken at UCLA and Dr. Smurda is one of the only ones who has the energy to reach everyone in the class. She's really funny too. My bf isn't in the major but even he often sat in on her class because the material is so interesting and Prof, imo, does a great job of explaining things in a digestible form. She even has a Piazza page where you can ask questions to her and your peers... just in case you didn't catch something.

There's no textbook required, but there's like 1 or 2 reading books (I can only remember 1 but I feel like there were 2, maybe I'm crazy) that are super cheap and actually pretty cool. You def want to read the stuff because it'll without a doubt show up on the tests. The material from the books is all thoroughly hashed out during discussion section so I recommend that you go to those. Her tests aren't super easy but they're not super hard either. She's not trying to trick you but she will get you to think a little bit.

I really enjoyed this class and it opened up a lot of new areas of thought for me. I'm not even a particularly smart person and I still managed to do well bc Prof actually cares to make sure that you're learning and not just mindlessly vomiting info on test day.

I 100% think you should take this class.

This class met all the criteria I look for: material was interesting and easily applicable to my life, tests were fair, Professor Smurda's presentations were clear and easy to study from, discussion sections were informative, and Professor Smurda was very accommodating when covid derailed the final (she allowed us to skip it and make the midterm count for the entire testing category). She also gave us the opportunity to earn extra credit by participating in SONA labs. Overall, a great experience and an instructor who is very knowledgeable about the subject matter.