any information about these classes..?


PSY 420 MAYHORN

PSY 430 KALAT

PSY 400 MERSHON or YOUNG

10/29/2007 11:06:23 PM

Ive taken all of them with each of those professors...

What information are you looking for exactly?

PSY420 with Dr. Mayhorn is a casual and interesting class but its almost ALL memorization. The tests consist of the cognitive theories as they apply to current research. So, familiarity with all of the research studies discussed in class as well as the experimenters who conducted them is a must to do well on the exams. This is really taught with a graduate-level approach. I very much enjoyed it, but I recognize this sort of class / exam-style is not everyone's cup of tea.

PSY430 with Dr. Kalat is an amazing course! Its incredibly fascinating and WAY different than any other psych class the department offers. I would've been in for a bit of a culture shock if I wasn't a science double major, so I already had some familiarity with much of this material. If you have no background in biology or chemistry then this will be an intense, but FUN class. The tests are quite challenging, I prepared upwards of 10 hours for each exam. Knowing EVERYTHING in the book, including research studies and physiological mechanisms is a must to do well on the exams.

PSY400 with Dr. Mershon is a combination of some biological and cognitive aspects. This was my least favorite course in terms of subject content. Unless you are particularly interested in the human sensory experience then take one or both of the above classes in lieu of this class. The difficulty is quite high, as with the other two classes. Note that you do hint on quite a bit of this subject matter in the other two courses but with less mathematical explanation.

PM me or re-post if you want any more information. I am about to graduate with my psychology degree as soon as I finish my chemistry major... I've taken way more than the required number of courses in both disciplines, so I have lots of info. to share.

10/30/2007 10:51:08 AM

anyone else have any feedback about 420 and or 430?

11/7/2007 5:34:45 AM

you probably wont take my advice but here it goes...

out of those 4 i've heard of young and kalat...i took kalat

i liked him enough that i would take him again if i had to

11/7/2007 5:39:25 AM

Take PSY 420 with Mayhorn. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is to write down the names of the researchers of the studies he mentions in class, and take notes on what he says, because he'll refer to the studies by "X and Y (19XX)" on the tests. Slightly annoying, but easy when you get used to it.

DO NOT take 400 with Young. If you can, take it with Kauffman, he's the greatest teacher EVER. But, if the choice is between Young and Not-Young, take it with Not-Young. Dr. Young is a fantastic woman, very helpful and knowledgeable about her work, and very friendly to students. Her PSY 400 class is way WAY much harder than it truly needs to be. She demands a lot more than I think is strictly nessecary to get through the course.
Like I say, though, take it with Kauffman if you can. He's awesome.

11/8/2007 12:25:47 AM