PSYC 2150

The professor is funny and cool. I struggled with the exams even though I did the readings. My biggest tip would be to make sure that you know understand information completely! Do not just be familiar but try to get a deep understanding of the material. There are 3 midterms and a final, the lowest midterm is dropped. I missed about two classes per exam and got 78- 80. With the curve my grade went to about an 89! so the curve is great! Go to all the classes and ASK QUESTIONS if you do not understand something. The class is possible if you put in the right type of work.

Took this class because I loved psych in high school and was thinking about majoring in it. I still enjoy psych after this class but am not going to major in it as this class sort of tanked my gpa. His lectures are engaging and interesting and he assigns us to read after his lectures so we truly understand it...but honestly, the tests are very hard. There is a lot of material he goes over and it is very hard to study all of it (knowing terms/experiments and their results as well as applying it to certain people/scenarios). I do understand that all intro psych classes at U.Va are challenging, this one definitely was. However, Willingham is awesome and knows his stuff...take this if you're up for a challenge or if it is required for your major!

Would not recommend this class. Unless you need it for a requirement, don't take it. It is designed to be a weed-out class, not a class that will help you learn. The material itself is fairly interesting but it requires a lot of memorization. Professor is trash. He can sometimes be funny during lectures, but most students fell asleep during them. He's not helpful during office hours, so don't waste your time going to them. HW load and readings aren't bad at all, but his tests are awful. AWFUL. They're unfair and do not accurately reflect what you know or how much work/studying you have put in. I took AP Psych in high school and learned all of this stuff then, but the way he wants you to learn it is very different. The questions are tricky and are not straightforward. I went into office hours for test help (both to him and TA) 3 times and had no success. I've learned very, very little (if anything) from this class.

I thought this was by far the most interesting class I took but also by far the hardest. This was the first psych I've every taken and it tanked my GPA. The grades are all based on exams and there's no guidance on how much you actually know until you get that score back after you submit your exam. I never got above a C on an exam. (Final was my highest) but still pulled out a B-. The tests do not reflect what you actually know and are super tricky. On the flipside, Willingham is a really good professor. He's entertaining, knowledgeable and cares about his students. He just expects a lot out of the students and at an intro level it's a little too much. If you want a challenge take it if not try another psych

This was a really great class! Prof Willingham definitely is an engaging lecturer, and he truly wants you to learn. Not too much outside reading, maybe half of his lectures require additional reading. The only thing is his tests, which can be tricky and cover a large amount of information. Intro psych classes are always difficult though, so just be prepared. Tests aren't too difficult if you give yourself ample study time though (like start studying 3 days in advance). All in all, I loved Willingham!

There was no homework, so this course was a fairly manageable time commitment. The tests are pretty difficult, but your lowest score of the 3 midterms is dropped.

I loved this class! I was a bit hesitant at first since I heard it was rather difficult which it was in some senses but very mangeable. There is no work besides readings so I loved that and the fact that one of three midterms was dropped. There is also a considerable curve at the end which was definitely needed. I loved Professor Willingham I thought he was an excellent lecturer and was very funny though one of my friends admitted to falling asleep almost every class so I guess it just comes down to whether the subject matter interests you or not. I ended up with a B+ which I was pretty proud of because I worked very hard in the beginning and end when the final came around. The thing that killed me was the second and third midterm. The first one I got a 90 even with putting all the reading until the last day so I got a bit too overconfident. The next two midterms were a lot more difficult and required a lot more reading but since I had put the readings off the first time and still did really well I thought I could get by. I ended up getting a 68 and 70 on the next two midterms because I waited to the last minute to do all my studying. Thankfully I got an 86 on the final which brought my grade up to a B+. Had I not messed up on just one of those two midterms though (since the lowest is dropped) I could have gotten an A no problem. Anyone who says this class is way too difficult or that the professor is bad probably did not put in their full effort or did not take the right approach to studying. The exams are tricky but given that there is no additional work gives room for a lot of study time.

I was really interested in this class when I heard about it because I really liked psych in high school and was thinking of majoring in it but this class was the death of me. The concepts and topics were simple and similar to what I learned in high school going a little more in depth but the tests were ridiculous. I was absolutely certain going into all the tests that I knew everything I could cram in my brain about the topics but it was not enough. The questions are really tricky and even if you seem to know the answer or try to reason out the answer, you will still fail the tests. The tests just seemed to make simple concepts very complex. The prof was actually nice and lectures weren't that terrible to sit through but it seemed like he kind of assumed the students already knew a lot more information than expected and is very nit picky about the wording in questions to trick you. Plus the textbook was not that much better at elaborating on concepts. Overall do not recommend taking unless you want to tank your GPA.

Concepts are simple and pretty straightforward. 3 midterms, lowest one dropped, then a final. Exams are probably 70% lecture and 30% reading, but very detailed on reading questions so make sure you read. Exams are fairly difficult, but it's still possible to get As on the exams if you don't study last minute. Willingham is a good lecturer and tries to make the class more enjoyable.

The main pro of this class is Professor Willingham, who got his phd from Harvard. He's a great lecturer and extremely smart. It's a nice class, but be careful because your entire grade comes from the exams. We all got boned on the final exam and moderately boned on the midterms. Besides that, the material is an interesting overview of cognitive psychology.