PSYC 2600

I took psychology courses all throughout high school, got a 5 on the psych AP, and got an A- in personality psychology last year, but got a B in this class. I went to every lecture and studied for days for each exam. I always felt confident about the material, and then I would get to the test and be really caught off guard by a lot of questions. Ultimately, Oishi makes lecture really fun and interesting, and I enjoyed the material, but not as much of an easy A as people say. Your entire grade is made up of three multiple choice exams so no matter how much effort you put in or how much you think you know the material, none of that will be reflected in your final grade. Take this if you are willing to put in the time and the effort, not because you want an easy A.

10/10 recommend this course. Shige is a phenomenal professor and each lecture is an experience. He got rid of the essay, so the grade layout was simply 3 tests all worth 33%, even the final, so decide accordingly. Nonteheless, the exams are pretty easy and as long as you go to class (he does clickers for a potential 1 point extra credit), you'll be fine.

I took this class with Christopher Maruzek and I recommend him and the class! (He's new and doesn't have his own prof profile so I'm putting him under Oishi for now in case someone wants to know about him - I'll change it later.) Social psychology by itself is super interesting and relatable to everyday life so things you learn here are pretty applicable in all scenarios. The textbook was actually an interesting read, and Maruzek himself doesn't make the class any harder than it is. There are no other assignments other than the tests, and he goes through about one chapter a week. Clicker 'quizzes' (they're just one question but he makes a big deal out of it lol) count for both participation and correctness and are his way of making people come to lecture. His lectures are pretty standard and can be dry at times, but he tries his best and makes dad jokes sometimes (he's really just a dad overall). Tests are taken online and are pretty straightforward; the class average is usually a high 80-90. Take this class is you want an interesting and easy GPA booster!

Shige is remarkably engaging and fun to listen to. Really interesting class as far as the content goes. He removed the essay making grading purely dependant upon 3 multiple choice tests. This ended up screwing me as I struggled with the multiple choice tests and there was nothing that could be done. NOT an easy A. We were told not to copiously read the textbook and focus on the lecture notes, I listened to this advice and it ended up hurting me greatly on the first exam. Shige also was very unclear about how the clicker questions were supposed to help us. He said that 80% of the questions would result in 1 extra point but did not clarify that he mean't 1 point out of 300 not 1%. 1/300 bonus to show up to over 80% of classes is not helpful in almost any scenario. I loved his lectures though.

This class is exactly what one is looking for in a psych class, it is really interesting, little work, and pretty easy. The class grade is entirely made up of 3 equally weighted tests, which are all multiple choice and really easy (if you attended the lectures), and no homework! The first 2 tests are 50 MC questions, and the final is 100 - I got a 92, 98, and 97, and never took more than an hour. Most of the questions are simple recall questions, but a few of them ask about things Prof. Oishi only barely mentioned in lecture, but if you take decent in-class notes, you'll be fine. The one annoying thing about this class is that the lecture material is not posted online at all, so all you have to study from is your own notes and the textbook. The textbook readings are essential, but never take more than an hour and a half per week, which is nothing, considering that this textbook was probably the most interesting one I've had to read for a course. To study, I would go through my lecture notes 4-5 times, and re-read all of the textbook chapters (4-5 per test) over the course of a few days. It may also be helpful to find a friend and quiz each other on the material. Prof. Oishi is really funny, very knowledgeable, and a great lecturer. I would highly recommend this class to anyone who has a free class spot and wants to take an easy, interesting class.

Overall a fairly easy class. If you are going to take social psych, definitely take it with Shige! He is very knowledgeable and enjoys lecturing. The first ~400 person lecture I've taken that the professor still manages to make engaging. He doesn't post slides, so it's best to go to class. Reading the book is helpful, especially for details about studies, but not completely necessary.

There is a lot of content, but it's fun and interesting (which is more than you can say for some classes). Tests are sometimes on really obscure content from the textbook or lectures, so I'd say taking good notes for both is essential. Oishi is so funny and a really nice presence in the room, and if you sit close to the front, the lecture doesn't seem that big.

All multiple choice tests and no other grades. Exams are unnecessarily specific. Don't take this class unless you really love psychology