PSYC 1010

DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS YOU WILL HATE YOUR LIFE

Do not take this class with Smyth. The class is incredibly and unreasonably hard for an intro level course and the exams are strenuous and extremely petty. It's not a difficult course, it's just a considerable amount of dull reading and difficult exams (you can study all you want to, you're not getting above a 90).

DO NOT TAKE THIS COURSE WITH SMYTH. Smyth is incredible condescending and patronizing, especially if you're an upperclassman taking this course. The majority of lecture was filled with activities that were an enormous waste of time, but you have to go because he has graded clicker questions. This class is setup for first years, babying them as if none of the students were capable of learning from a lecture class on their own. It's so structured that it forces you to complete assignments before every class session, an incredible waste of time for students and the TAs who have to grade them. **This was the worst course I've ever taken at UVA**

Worst class ever. I honestly think Professor Smyth did not want us to do well. I studied a lot for every exam and never got higher than an 80. The questions on the exams are EXTREMELY specific and can come anywhere from a line in the textbook, something he may have mentioned in class, or something he just expects you to know. I felt like I did not have the opportunity to really demonstrate everything I had learned/understood. Do not recommend this class at all. Save yourselves.

Oh boy, where do I even begin. Do not take this course if you do not plan on majoring in psychology or do not need it. You HAVE to read 600+ pages to pass this class no matter what. Exams are fill-in-the blanks that are VERY specific and it's ridiculous at times. The course material itself is definitely interesting and he makes the lectures interesting but the exams are just plainly bad.

Very difficult for an intro class. Lots of reading involved, and the tests very specific in nature. The lectures were entertaining, but good notes must be taken on them because test questions come from lecture slides/videos as well. If you're taking psych just to take psych or because you heard it was really interesting, I would not recommend 1010.

Stay away - don't be fooled by the reviews from 2013... Smyth does not drop your lowest exam. The high percentage of A+'s must be residual from an earlier course design. Dodson's test are mc and from what I've heard predominantly pulled from his slides. This course is extraordinarily difficult for an intro level. You will learn a lot (not denying that), but not worth it as a class just to fill your schedule. Look elsewhere unless you need it (required for psych majors).

Not a good choice if you just want it to fill up your schedule or get one of the requirements down. Unlike the other psyc 1010 prof, Symth tests you with filling in the blank and short answer questions, and he expects you to know certain details from the book though his lectures are like simple summaries and boring. He curves up the grades by giving bonus score each test along the semester. It's not hard to get an A only if you do the reading, remember to tweet since the beginning and gets most clicker questions right!

On the surface, this looks like an intro class that is a good starting point for first years. Wrong. This is a weeding out class. I would have dropped out if I had enough credits, but unfortunately, I did not. He doesn't teach out of the book- his lectures are basically based upon what he wants to talk about. Even though lectures are mandatory (and CLICKER POINTS WILL DESTROY YOU IF YOU DON'T SHOW UP), they will NOT help you for the tests. Expect to study at least a week in advance for the tests. There aren't many opportunities to make up your grade, so make sure that you go to EVERY lecture, and get as many clicker points as possible. Smyth seems like an awesome dude, but his class is just atrocious. Would NOT recommend this class to anyone UNLESS you are trying to be a psych major. If so, wait until your 3rd or 4th year to take it. Save yourself, save your GPA... Don't take this class.

I underestimated the time I had to invest in this class because it was just an intro course. Keeping up with reading is crucial because everyday there are clicker questions for credit, which is a pain. They accumulate throughout the semester. this semester our class averaged about a C+ for our final clicker question grade so they're not meant to be an easy booster, more like quizzes, which I didn't realize. However, getting a good grade is achievable by taking good notes for every class. Smyth himself is a pretty good lecturer. He's funny and can be very entertaining, but sometimes he can talk in a way that is a tad dry. His lectures essentially just go over the assigned reading in the textbook. The exams are a combination of textbook and lecture material so you can't really so well without reading. For me the problem was studying the content thoroughly because there was so much content to learn. Exams are multiple choice, free response, and fill in the blank. The free response questions are kind of a pain because they go by a rubric, so you can't just get the essential idea. Overall, I enjoyed learning all the material (which are not hard to grasp, pretty basic i think), but did not do as well as I thought in the beginning of the semester. People say that this is one of the hardest intro courses to take. In my opinion, there is a lot of reading to keep up with (from 15 to 25 pages a class, twice a week) and if you fall behind a day or two it's hard catch up. However, pros: there is no required written homework! I ended up with B, mostly because I was pretty unorganized and constantly behind on the reading. Pace yourself, and be on top of the material and you should be fine!