TAKE THIS CLASS!! 100% for my psych majors who need a low stress class/GPA booster. No exams, no homework except 2 readings per class period that range from ~1-7 pages each. Your grade heavily relies on group work; you get together to answer questions in a group which I found kind of fun! The only cons is the optional paper isn't really optional as you need to do it to get an A, but honestly it was super manageable (2-3 pages) and the fact that other students grade you and sometimes people would rate you low even if you participated. Nonetheless I ended up getting an A+ by doing the paper, extra credit, and completing questions with my team (you can miss 3 days of class no penalty!) prof Johnson is also super amazing! Accommodating and so funny!

This class was alright. You have to go to lecture and work in small groups of 5-6 to answer questions on some assigned articles to read previously. However, in order to get an A or A+ you have to do the SONA extra credit as well as get points on an optional grant proposal graded out of 10. That was probably the most annoying part of the class, as well as the fact that sometimes your groupmates will grade you lower (most of your grade is based on participation, responses, and peer review) even though you did everything you could. For the most part though, everyone works well and does their part in group work, and the class is relatively low-stress.

If you're looking for a low stress class that has interesting material (if you're interested in developmental psych), take this class with Prof. Johnson. Participation matters, but all you need to do is work with a group of about 4-5 students to answer 5 questions twice a week, and grading is also fair. Your grade also depends on what the other students rate you as, but as long as you worked on your question well and helped members that were having trouble with theirs, you should have no issue getting full marks. You do need to complete SONA studies and a research proposal in order to get an A or higher in this class, but most students finished both of these in less than 2 days if you grasp the material well and have experience writing a psych paper (kind of like a watered-down PSYCH 100B intro). Overall, a great class I didn't need to worry about!

It's Week 4 and I decided to drop this class, cuz I simply can't go on anymore lol...
Dr. Johnson is a good lecturer and very passionate about the subject. However, I find the material we go through in this class very very dry and boring... To be honest, 90% of the time, I don't understand the significance of the studies we go through. I recall there's often sentences like "this is the first study that xxxxxxxx", oh, well, maybe it's because no one thinks it's important. As one of the psych/cogsci undergraduates who don't have a lot experience in developmental psychology, I'm not saying those articles are actually pointless, I'm just saying it's hard for me to see the importance in them.
There's no exams in this class, total of 103 points—90 points from class activity (attendance, peer review, and combined group answers), 10 points from the (optional) paper, and 3 points from (optional) extra credit. To be honest, I'm very grateful that Dr. Johnson designed a class that doesn't require exams.
HOWEVER, the 90 points of class activity is really my least favorite part, while also the major part of the class. You will be assigned to a group of 7-8 people, and discuss about a question then write response. It's literally IMPOSSIBLE to have a discussion with 8 people in a auditorium class room. Plus, you will be rated anonymously by your peers based on how prepared you are and whether you've made contribution to the discussion. Like, I can't really hear people who sit farther at all, and I can't remember all their names... They change the group every 2 weeks, and the peer review grade only gets posted after you are assigned to a new group.Usually, people are kind and give everyone 10/10, but when they don't, it's hard to track who is the specific person to have you peer review score revised. If you've taken social psych, you know things like social evaluation stresses people out, and you get put into constant worries that other people have given you a low score. I don't like it one bit.
This is indeed an easy A class, but it's not for everyone. I wish everyone good luck!!!

I liked Professor Johnson a lot. He's funny, entertaining, and loves to integrate his own experience with his kids into the learning. The text wasn't emphasized as much as lecture so I suggest GO TO LECTURE, but you don't necessarily have to read the book (it helps though). His lectures were interesting because he would focus on a concept and teach the relevant experiments that went along with it and what they found etc. This is what I view psychology as. I recommend taking his class I got an A, with two of my tests 32/33 and one 33/33, super easy.

I loved this class, and so will you!
There are no tests (long story, you can ask him why he did that). All you do it read 2 articles for each class and then you meet with a group to answer a question that he assigns. Your grade is based on your participation in the group (your group members rate you from 1-10), your grade on your group response (from the TA), and two papers which are about 2-3 pages max. Don't worry so much about the group ratings, everyone ends up giving each other 10s for the most part. He also offers 3 extra credit points. You will learn a lot and have fun; Professor Johnson cares a lot about his students and he is absolutely the BEST!

This professor is sarcastic, with is a positive quality of his. His exams are not difficult, however you do need to study. The lab for this class is the most difficult part I believe. However, as far as the professor goes he is great and enjoys teaching. He is a professor that is concerned about his/her students and even has an Honors Seminar for those of you that need honors credit. The honors section is not difficult at all. You need to write a 3 page paper that is general on an article and do a 15 minute presentation on that same article. You get to choose the article you want to present in. It has to be something in developmental psychology. As for the actual class, all you need to worry about is studying for the exams, which is easy multiple choice questions. I would say 8 our of 10 in difficulty level.

Winter Quarter 2010
Professor Johnson is a very nice professor and this class is interesting. His lecture power points are organized and he also posts up podcasts of his lectures. This class is not hard. I got an A. For his midterms, I studied his lecture notes and skimmed the chapters in the book. It's important to take good notes and remember the main points of all the slides in his lectures. If you miss something, check the podcast. I enjoyed this class very much and learned a great deal about developmental psychology. I highly recommend this professor for this class =).

This class is interesting AND an 'easy A.' However there is a catch. Your grade is primarily based on class discussion and peer review.

Before every class meeting you must read two psychology journal articles (generally one is 4-5 pages and the other 8-9pgs); in-class you are organized into groups of 10 and assigned a question, which you have to collectively answer and present to the class (this answer is graded on a scale of 1-5 by the TA). Also, the people in your group, your peers, after the end of each class then submit to the professor a rating of your level of participation on a 1-10 scale.

SO if you are one who is uncomfortable in class discussions this is NOT the class for you, as peer reviews account for 60% of your grade. The other 40 percent is based on the two 3 page journal article review papers you submit in the middle and end of the quarter. The TA Kim was a very fair grader and the papers are not too difficult to write. Both the TA and Professor Johnson are very nice and truly care for their students. To make a long story short, I would definitely recommend this class to any psych majors who are seeking an easy A class and are not afraid of class discussions.

Professor Johnson genuinely cares about his students and puts forth honest and compassionate effort into his communication strategy. He was a pleasure to have as an instructor and can only hope that more of my professors at UCLA are as thoughtful and down to earth. As busy as he is with his research, it is evident that he truly cares and takes the time to enhance the quality of our education. I cannot say enough good things about him. Take his class, you won't regret it!