PSYC 2600

Professor smyth May not be the one to take this with but the course itself is very interesting and worth taking

Good professor, although other social psyc professors are so good that you’re better off taking it with Wilson if you can or maybe someone else. This is a memorization based class. I had to read an entire textbook and memorize many details out of it.

Smyth is a very motivating professor and cares about all of his students. Taking this class in the summer, you had to read a chapter a day because he did clicker questions pertaining to it that next day and there was a test every Monday the following week. There are iclicker extra credit opportunities sprinkled in also if he calls on you (which it was a 10 person class so most got called on) allowed you to get more extra credit points also. The tests were pretty specific experiments from the textbook almost to the point of ridiculousness that you had to read every little detail that was fairly irrelevant but most questions were based on the vocab from that chapter. I passed with a B and I studied pretty hard, but he also curved the exam so whoever got the most right got a 100 and added points to everyone

I normally don't write review like this, but I felt like I should for this class. This class was beyond difficult, and it didn't help at all that the professor was not good at teaching. I showed up to lecture everyday, but only because there were clicker questions that were 10% of your grade. Professor Smyth said that the lectures were meant to "enhance" the reading, but I felt like the lectures were pointless. I found that he was simply adding new information instead of going over the textbook. The most he would discuss from the textbook was a couple definitions. We would spend 30 minutes going over one study, and then we would have us participate in our own, which I often learned nothing from. His tests were extremely difficult, and they were so detailed, that it didn't matter what you studied--if you didn't memorize every single word of the textbook or every powerpoint slide from lecture, it was very hard to get an A on any of his exams. One time, I was trying to trace my wrong answer back to textbook and lecture, and it took me so long because the answer to it was at the very bottom of a page, and was about some random thing, not an important concept of the class. On the exams, there are short answer questions, and if you leave off one word, you don't get any points, even if you understand the concept. Overall, the material is very interesting and I actually learned a lot (from the textbook) but you're better off waiting until you can take this class with a better professor, or else you will regret your decision to take it with Professor Smyth.

I'll just hand it to you: listen to the other reviews. I thought I could do the impossible and take this course with Smyth but no. Unless you have photographic memory and a ton of time the final will mess you up and drag your grade down. Pick the other professors. Course is very interesting but Smyth just makes it too difficult. Try being tested a random experiment that wasn't on the textbook from 3 months ago. Nope.

If you're interested in social psych, or even if you're not, I would recommend this course. Not sure about the older reviews, but in my experience Smyth's lectures are really interesting and worth going to. He has a great sense of dry humor and the topics he presents in lecture pair well and add to the material from the textbook. Reading all the assigned chapters, and going to class, pretty much is mandatory if you want to do well. The textbook is veery well-written though, and not a slog to read at all. There are (pretty simple) clicker questions every class, and those count for 10% of the grade. As for tests: if you read the textbook, and go to class, and study the terms and studies he goes over in class, you'll do well. If you don't keep up with the reading, or skip class, the tests will seem really difficult- it's a lot of being able to recall specific topics, but fair in the sense that he's not trying to trick you at any point. Everything on the tests was covered at some point in the reading or in lectures. Overall, really enjoyed this course and would recommend it to those who can and want to keep up with. the reading and memorization that it requires.

Save your GPA and don't take this course with Smyth. In the beginning, I thought the lectures were extremely interesting but once the first exam came along many fell behind. You need an outstanding memory and time commitment every day just for his class. His lectures were 80% added new material to the ones you already read for that day. He expects you to remember the smallest details from studies he doesn't even mention in class. Its impossible to get an A unless you put the time commitment on a daily basis and know the studies by heart. His exam questions are confusing. His lectures are usually interesting, but the amount of studies he expects you to learn are ridiculous. If you're still taking this course, I highly encourage you to commit three hours daily just for it.

This class was by far my hardest class of the semester. The readings, lectures, and clicker questions are not bad at all but the 4 exams are very challenging. The exams require knowledge of really small bits of detail for the studies and concepts which is insanely hard to remember. That being said, the class can be fairly interesting at time and Smyth definitely tries to make it interactive. If you can do decent on the exams, get the clickers right and take advantage of extra Credit, you can definitely pull a good grade.

Smyth was terrible. I read the reviews before taking the course and thought, "I'll just tough it out." DO NOT DO THIS. If you are about to take this class, drop it immediately. I cannot stress this enough. Do not take it!!!! You have to read a lot and memorize the textbook. And when I say memorize I mean MEMORIZE. As in every tiny detail. Same with the lectures. You have to go to all of them to earn clicker points (graded on accuracy) and his exams are based on both the lectures and the textbook. The exams were terrible. I can assure that no matter how much you study you will not be able to prepare for the exams. He asks the most obscure and difficult questions and grades like a mf. The exams didn't test my knowledge of psychology, they tested my memorization skills. Overall, DO. NOT. TAKE. THIS. COURSE. It's not worth it. Take it with another professor. I beg you to heed my warning or you will be in for a world of pain.

Professor Smyth is the sweetest old man ever but really only knew what he needed for the class, so don't ask anything too abstract- he wont have an answer. This class was hard for people who didn't show up and listen or read the textbook, which was super easy to understand. It is a lot of work to get an A in this class. I only got an A on two exams after memorizing all the vocabulary from the book & lectures, knowing every study he ever mentioned, and having detailed notes from the textbook. If you do the readings you will get the clicker questions right which can bump your grade up 3 points, so go to class to get the extra credit. He will seriously ask questions about something he said the first day of class so pay attention; but feel free to zone out whenever there's a strange graph on the board that isn't related to a famous experiment. I would be on my phone most classes and got an A- because I didn't get an A the first two tests because I didn't study the experiments enough, there's about 30 experiments you should have a good grip on the purpose and results of it. Smyth also loves to cancel class!!