skoolblues

PSY - Psychology Courses

A&S Psychology Course Descriptions

PSY201 - Statistics I
Spencer

• Two midterms worth 25% each, final exam worth 50%. Tests are MC, short answer, and long answer. What's great about these tests is that Spence has been teaching this course for a while, so he makes all of his past tests accessible. Stats concepts don't change, so if you can master the practice tests, you can do very well in the course.
  The content is boring- not very surprising there, but Spence does try to make the content more interesting. He's got a quirky sense of humor that makes the lectures a little more bearable, and his slides are very very organized, which is great. He also bell curves (not linear adjustment, actual bell curving!) the marks up when he thinks they're too low, so it's a safe course to take if you need to fulfill your stats req. The textbook complements the lectures well, and it's easy to understand.
  Rating: 2.5/5
  
  
• Pretty good course but need to keep up if you want to do well. Lots of past test questions to practice with. The course is getting a bit harder every year tho. Not recommend as elective if you are not good at math.
  Rating: 3.5/5

PSY202 - Statistics II
Rowe

• One midterm worth 25%, two assignments (one worth 10%, the other is 15%), nine weekly problem sets worth 10% total, final exam worth 40%. Tests are MC, true/false, and short and long calculations. Tests are fair and reflective of the actual material in the course. Same Rowe as the one teaching PSY270, so I have the same complaints about her lecturing style here.
  This class uses SPSS, and the textbook does a pretty good job at it. The slides are very organized and brief, and Rowe ends classes very early (like 1 hour early), which is great since this is a night course. The midterm had an average of 85%, and she also doesn't bell curve marks down- what you get is rightfully yours. Content is dry, but I find the concepts much easier than PSY201 because you've already established your stats foundation.
  Rating: 3/5
  
  
• I liked it more than psy201. has less material to know and was light workload. Tests were fair.
  Rating: 4/5

PSY220 - Social Psychology (Plaks)
Two midterms worth 30% for each, 40% final exam. Test format is MC and one long essay question. Loved this course. It was very organized, and the content was interesting. It looks at a lot of different experiments, but what's great about it is that the findings have so much applicability in real life. If you keep up with the work, it's very possible to get an A. Textbook selection was great as well. I liked that Plaks goes into a lot of detail in his lectures to make concepts clear, but sometimes, his voice trails off and he gets a little quiet.
Rating: 4.5/5

PSY240 - Abnormal Psychology (Tackett)

• One midterm worth 35%, two essays worth 10% each, final exam worth 45%. A mix of MC, short answer, and long answer. Interesting course, but reading workload is more intense than the other PSY 200-level courses. It's very detailed-based since you have to remember symptoms of mental disorders and their epidemiological rates. However, it's a useful course if you want to figure out whether or not clinical psychology is for you. I really enjoyed Tackett as a prof- she's very organized, effective, and passionate. She's got a great sense of humor, and she incorporates little stories to make things interesting. My problem with the course is that the marking is inconsistent with the TAs. The TAs mark most of the essays, and when I went to ask why I got marks docked off, the TA I went to couldn't even tell me why she marked my paper the way she did.
  Rating: 4.5/5
  
  
• Interesting material ...hated the prof...not easy course and quite a bit of work to do. Two small essays weren't marked well and the tests r weighted too heavily with some very specific/detailed questions.
  Rating: 2/5

PSY260 - Learning and Memory

• DeRosa:
  The tests are MC, short answer, fill-in-the-blank, and true/false, and I find them fair. What's so awesome about this course is that there's a variable evaluation. DeRosa allows you to skip any midterms you want, and you get your mark automatically reweighed:
  Skip first midterm only: 0/45% TT2/55% final
  Skip second midterm only: 30% TT1/0/70% final
  Skip both midterms: 0/0/100% final
  
  DeRosa is my favourite prof out of the entire year in terms of lecturing style. She's very passionate about her lab work, and she makes dry material so interesting. She's a great speaker and explains concepts well, and she has this system where you can slip anonymous papers at the end of class about concepts you were confused about, and then she covers it in greater detail the next class. She's very easy to talk to and has a bubbly and friendly personality.
  
  My complaint about this course is that the textbook is horrible. It's the worst PSY textbook out of all of the PSY 200-levels I've taken this year. Very very dry, no real life examples, and much too complicated for this level of course. It has a lot of unnecessary details which you won't be tested on. Also, DeRosa is a procrastinator- she either puts up slides at insanely late hours (3 AM or an hour before class), or the slides go up after class. It's very inconvenient for commuter students. However, the course is still an enjoyable experience.
  Rating: 4/5
  
  
  
• Anderson:
  Course it self is easy IF you study and need to attend class since he is interesting lecturer and tests SA come from lecture only (altho most are mentioned in book).
  Rating: 3.5/5

PSY270 - Cognitive Psychology

Rowe
One midterm worth 25%, five online experiments worth 1% each, one APA-styled essay worth 25%, final exam worth 45%, and a bonus 1% participation lab mark. Tests are MC, fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and long answer. Tests are fair, but wow, there is so much to write for the short and long answer. I barely finished the last midterm.

Rowe uses very detailed and organized slides, and she talks clearly and passionately about these concepts. She likes to use a lot of real-life examples, and what's great about this course is that it has practical implications that you can relate to. She's a very nice person to talk to- very understanding and replies to your e-mails fast. She's probably one of the kindest profs I've had this year. The textbook choice is great- very interesting, easy to read, and complements the lectures well.

My problem with Rowe's lecturing style is that she rambles too much. It's kind of odd because it's on-topic rambling, but it's the type where she goes into too much detail about minor things that almost all students would know. And because she's very understanding, a lot of students tend to take advantage of that where they start meaningless conversations with her during class time, and she doesn't stop them. It would be nice for her to take a more assertive role in the classroom.
Rating: 4/5

PSY 309- Research Specialization: Practicum (Herman)
Research specialists only. No tests. 1 small textbook. A whole lotta Herman. Basically you sit around and listen to Herman rant about various topics (not that this is a bad thing), and class participation is a must and attendance is crucial. Guaranteed A, but I'm skeptical of this; can anyone tell me if really everyone gets 4.0? I looked at the mark distribution book and ~5 people got 3.7 -__- Gets your feet wet into research as you work with a professor for the semester.

PSY324
Relationships: Prof. MacDonald is probably one of the best lecturers in this university. He looks like a grad student, but this guy is actually a really young Associate Professor (that's level 2). He's funny, down-to-earth, gives you examples that totally relate to yours and his life, and teaches material that you can relate to. You sort of just want to sit and listen to him. Tests: 25 and 25, 1 assignment worth 50%. Tests were short answer but also 2 essays - the essays are very demanding and you need to integrate multiple lectures and chapters from the book to "answer" the question. Not the greatest essay questions, but you just have to throw down a lot of info and hope that you put enough points on his rubric for a good mark.

Rating: 4/5

PSY330 - Psychometrics
Prof. Goldstein makes this course. He's great and he hates the UofT distribution rule. The subject matter is a little boring and it only seems to get more dry as the lectures go on, but the tests are very well written and the exam didn't screw me over like in psy210. I believe the breakdown was 25, 25 (two tests); 15 for a really short 3 page clinical interviewing assignment (he gives you old tests to interview someone with) and 35 for the exam. Great course if you have interest in how they come up with those wacky scales like the BDI, MMPI, etc.

Rating: 4.5/5

PSY330- Psychometics (Goldstien)
Basically what alex-d said. Some sketchy test questions, but you gotta love Goldstien. 85+ very likely.
Rating: 4/5

PSY333- Health Psychology (Herman)
Was expecting better. Textbook is so dry, you wanna shoot yourself while reading. Herman adds some nice dark humour in lecture, and some good personal anecdotes, but still. 3 tests and one paper, but you can choose not to do one of these things (I obvioulsy chose not doing the paper). Tests are HARD, all essay-type questions and NO MC *tear. Need luck to do well.
Rating: 3.5/5

PSY334 - Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief  (Peterson)
Awesome (3 papers and 2 of them are about ur self and the rest can be any peiece of work related to the course material.) No tests and not expected to recall anything from lecture...so u can sit back and relax and not worry about taking everything down. Classmates marking is scary at first, but i guess people are nicer than you think. 
Rating: 5/5

PSY380H1 - Vision Science (36L) : Hana Burianova
Not that easy...altho doesn't matter for you guys since it won't be offered. No reading tho (well sometimes you have to read the papers prof posts cuz its hard to understand during lecture). However the marking scheme of the test was VERY hard...but test and exam together account for 45% of your mark. There is presentation too for this class.

Rating: 3/5

PSY396: Neurochemical Basis of Behavior: (Prof. De Rosa)
The last 5 or so weeks were great, but the first 5 weeks was really boring review of receptors and neurotransmitters that could have been summarized into 2 lectures max. We focused too much on abnormal stuff and not enough on neurochemical stuff. I really wanted to learn the imbalances in disorders - we only got to psychosis, mood/anxiety disorders and antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anxiolytics. Text is a beast, but really nice... one of the few I'll be keeping. Test 1 = 30%, Test 2 = 50% (essentially exam at end of march). One assignment that was actually pretty cool - watched a movie about a fake drug and we had to come up with pathways that could explain its effects. Not bad, but was expecting more.

Rating: 4/5

PSY397- Biological Rhythms (Ralph)

• Great course. Material is pretty dry, but if you come from a biological background, you're good. Tests are very fair (and almost carbon copies from previous years) so I found myself studying from past tests almost exclusively. No textbook. No labs. No tutorials. Highly recommended for anyone, and a great course to fill up some 3rd yr requirements (hmb mjr and psych mjr).
  Rating: 4.5/5
  
  
• Hard to understand prof sometimes during lecture (i found relistening to recordings helped) but PAST TEST is a MUST!! you learn so much from them because there are ones with answers posted on ERES. Not really a psych course...its about circadian rhythm. Tests repeat a LOT. 2 tests and one exam. 2 hour lec per week. Less material than the avg course.
  Rating: 4.5/5

PSY399- Psychobiology Laboratory (Yeomans)
Where to begin. No structure, no objectivity, marks are based on what Yeomans feels. If he likes you, 80 if you're lucky. If not, watch out. You find out what the real Yeomans is like. Its like hes anti-high marks, and definately do not tell him you are planning to go to med school. Back to the course, 3 assignments and lab participation, but again, no objectivity in marking. The course's only saving grace is that it is interesting, and you do real laboratory work with rats and mice. Not recommended.
Rating:2/5

PSY440 - Abnormal Psychology Seminar
4 essays 25% each, preset topics. You read a lot of stuff about controversial issues in psych (ethical) and then switch into new conceptualizations of the DSM. Near the end you get some guest lecturers while you try to finish the last two essays. Prof. Bagby is great for this course, but by the end, many people didn't really show up for class. Also you can tell a lot of people didn't do the readings... participation isn't marked, but needed since he splits the class into groups and work on opposing side arguments (for the essay - essentially its written for you). Marks pretty hard the first essay, then ace the next couple.

Rating:4/5

PSY490 - Psychobiology Seminar
Evaluation-you have a lengthy paper worth 30% due at the end, there's an intro and outline that is worth some percentage as well; weekly discussion questions 10%, participation, a presentation where you lead a discussion for about 30 minutes, no tests; You read about 30 pages a week of articles on cognition, memory, attention, and other in depth topics involving a lot of MRI studies. Prof. De Rosa was great - she's great in a seminar setting. Overall the course was enjoyable, quite a bit of work though, and the topics were a little too cognitive for my liking.

Rating:4/5