This class is super easy for anyone with a strong biology background. If you are Pre Med, this will be an easy A. I only went to 6 lectures throughout the semester, and was able to get an A based off the textbook and my previous knowledge. Overall, this is an interesting class, however i wish he covered more neuropathology and fewer primitive behaviors.
This is a really fascinating class, and really fun if you are interested about the brain! Some people find the tests really hard, and others really easy. What I learned by the end of the class was the the tests absolutely do not test you on the overall ideas or processes. You can actually know nothing about how a synapse works, but as long as you know the little details and names of the hormones, enzymes, and diseases you will do well! I strongly recommend doing the practice tests, since you have to get used to the types of questions and lots of questions are recycled.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. I took it because I thought I had some interest in the material and thought if I study that I would do well. It is all about memorizing the textbook and not testing if you know the information or how to apply it all. Studied so much for the class and winded up with a B- which killed my GPA for the semester.
This class was very interesting. His lectures are fairly entertaining but make sure to tune in 100% for the whole class. I studied my butt off for this class and was able to do well. What it comes down to is basically knowing every detail from every page. For example if the textbooks tell a specific story, he will sometimes throw in a question about that minute example. Even if you study like crazy there is no way to know everything for the class. My advice to you, make flashcards for each of your tests and reread the entire reading for each test to have it fresh in your mind the night before the test. If you put in the effort you will do fine but do not fall behind in the reading!
I love professor Brunjes. I think he is witty and clever, and he made me laugh out loud several times. He is very knowledgeable of the subject - he often leaves time during lectures to answer questions. That being said, the material is very complicated and he occasionally confuses himself. He can be a little standoffish when you talk to him in person, but he means the best. He tells you at the beginning of the year that he will make the tests extremely difficult to separate the students who study the most. The tests are very difficult and require a lot of studying, but they are not impossible (sort of...). Plus, the whole class is curved to the top 25% get an A or A-. Overall, I would recommend this class, even to non-psych majors. I'm a CS major and not having a good psych background did not put me at too big of a disadvantage.
This is a hard class, but if you study you will do fine. His exams are very hard, but you're allowed to drop one out of five- even the final. He cracks jokes throughout lectures and is very passionate. You HAVE to read the textbook and you should definitely go to lectures. The textbook is key to passing class. But don't worry, the readings are sometimes only 3 pages, the biggest we've had was 22. If you're a psych or cog sci major this should be good for you!
This is just a rough class. Professor Brunjes does his best to make it interesting, but is fairly disorganized with lectures (he doesn't use powerpoints). It's essentially a required class for a psych major but be prepared to work hard if you want a decent grade.
This class is entirely based on exams. There are four exams given throughout the semester, and then one final cumulative exam given during the exam period. The lowest of these five exams is dropped, and the other four make up your grade. The class focused very heavily on memorization of pretty minute details. The test questions are designed to trip you up if you have even the slightest hesitation. Make flashcards, do the the readings, pay attention and take notes in every lecture. Also, Brunjes started out fairly entertaining, but as we got further into the semester, he seemed more and more distracted. He tripped up his words in lecture a lot. Although he encourages asking questions, I think he struggled to adequately answer many of them. Despite all this, the subject material is pretty interesting.
Brunjes is pretty funny and he does a decent job at explaining tough points in the material. The only hard part about this class is the multiple-choice exams (these are the only grades in the class), but he drops the lowest one. He really likes the "E. all of the above or none of the above" answer in multiple choice, and the questions are REALLY specific, usually coming from a single lecture or a single page in the textbook rather than general concepts. You'll do fine if you take good notes in lecture and study the textbook. It's tough but you'll learn a lot if you pay attention. Side note: I found that taking PSYC 2150 (Cognition) and PSYC 2300 (Perception) before this class was really helpful! Probably half the material was review from those classes.
I absolutely loved this class. Of course, I'm a potential cog sci major so I'm a little biased. Brunjes is a great professor who loves what he teaches and makes lectures enjoyable. The exams are pretty tricky; I would compare them to Willingham's psyc 2150 exams. He drops the lowest of the 5 exams which is nice and they are curved.
