Worst PSYC class I have ever taken.

I would NOT recommend this class. PSYC majors: take neural instead. I know "Animal Behavior" sounds more fun and interesting, but it is not. This class is basically neuroscience anyways, with a lot of statistics/math, and useless talk about experiments and control groups and stimuli, etc. I was surprised at how boring and dry this class was. If for whatever reason you're interested in why a rat presses a lever or what to do to get a pigeon to stop pecking something or how to tell if an animal learned the difference between an apple and an orange, maybe you'd like the class, I don't know. The readings are awfully boring, and quizzes are due (for the most part) by 9 am the morning of every class. You get weird grades on them too (like 12.67 out of 14; points are taken away on written answers simply because it isn't "creative" enough or "insightful" enough). There were several other homework assignments (usually packets or long PDFs) that weren't helpful in the slightest but were incredibly time consuming, and graded harshly. The only good thing I can really say about the class is that extra credit was offered (in the form of, again, pointless, time consuming assignments). Unfortunately, I don't really feel like I learned anything in this class. Professor Meliza doesn't post PowerPoint slides online, which forces students to write as fast as possible in lecture and not really listen because everyone is panicking about getting all the information down. When I went through my notes to study, I had a bunch of notes, but I had a hard time putting it altogether. He should ABSOLUTELY put the slides online for students to revisit to try to grasp an understanding; he goes too fast in lecture to get it from the get-go. The group project was a stressful waste of time and personally, I think asking students to make a video when some people have ZERO editing skills is unfair. I won't even say much about the exams: incredibly difficult midterm & cumulative final. Professor Meliza is clearly passionate about animals (especially birds) and animal behavior, and that's great. He's obviously a very smart guy. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that translated into a great professor or a great class.

Chad is a life ruiner, he ruins people's lives.

He's a new teacher. Very set on not posting slides so that we make our own notes. Which ironically made me (and other students I noticed were doing the same thing) frantically copy everything on each slide before he sped through to the next one. Didn't have time to even listen to what he said because the material on each slide was dense. What were we supposed to do? Too many reading quizzes, a pointless group project, only one midterm and final which apparently aren't curved. Material is a weird mix of soft science psychology, math, and neurobiology (explained poorly, I only got it because I've taken neurobiology.) Lot's of homework assignments which are fortunately graded easily. That and the group project should be grade padders. Lastly, the TAs, although very nice, were pretty incompetent and didn't seem to know what they were talking about. I'm sure this class will gradually improve, but for now if you want something more worthwhile, take neural basis.

Yes, the class is difficult but it does not deserve the criticism that most people are giving it. There are readings almost everyday but it slows down towards the end of the semester. The project is really annoying and he doesn't give us enough details to work with. It's Meliza's first time teaching the class so he's still experimenting with it. I agree that the homework can be difficult at times but the TAs grade it pretty leniently. Also there are a lot of extra credit in the class. All in all, I don't think the class is that bad and I do recommend it for CogSci majors to satisfy their neuroscience requirement. If you put in enough effort for the homework and readings, you should do relatively well in the class!

Meliza revamped the class this semester and added a bunch of homework assignments and a semester long group project. It isn't hard necessarily, but it is just a lot of bullshit work and the TAs graded kind of harshly. The lectures are decently interesting, or at least as interesting as possible given the material. I would recommend this class for a psych major trying to avoid neural basis, but if you are looking for an interesting psych class, pick something else.

He has an average of 1.11 for a reason, don't take this if you like your sanity. So much busy work and he doesn't post the slides but goes stupid fast through the material. To be honest he's just kinda an ass who doesn't really want you to do well. Good luck if you disregard all of clear signs to not take this class. Also has weird crush on birds and uses uncomfortable words like "tingly" too often.

Whatever you do, do not take this class. This has to be the most uselessly complicated class at UVA. Professor Meliza treats the material like a high school class e.g. reading quizzes before every class, homework worksheets (that usually take hours), and doesn't post his slides. If you're a psych major, take neural basis. Also pretty sure his coffee mug has vodka in it.

When I die, I want "Chad did it" scrawled on my grave in Comic Sans size 72 font, after our group project is dedicated in memoriam to my dignity after this class. I took this class as a curious, albeit naive, pre-vet student under the impression that a) animal behavior would be beneficial as it's one of the few animal related classes UVA has and b) it'll be a nice interesting social science to supplement my curriculum. And then class started. I have dedicated an exceptional amount of time to a class where I am learning and retaining little to no information (which is ironic because so much of what you study is how animals retain information). The reading quizzes, though annoying, are helpful at dissecting the texts, however, they are heavily scrutinized and result in a larger hit to your grade than expected. Then there are the worksheets. I have not had to do a worksheet since probably my junior year of high school, but here I am doing regular, time consuming worksheets that often have vague directions and are also harshly graded. The midterm is brutal, and God forbid you have a scheduling conflict because if you need to move your midterm, your only option is to take a cumulative final, according to his policies. Furthermore, the midterm, he will, "not curve because it is only 20% of your grade," that's a verbatim quote. Also, the slides are not posted online, and sometimes he talks a bit fast and skips to the next slide and you're pretty much screwed at that point. The TAs are super sweet and helpful and Professor Meliza, though obviously knowledgeable, is not that great at explaining neurobiological concepts that can be difficult to grasp if you have had no psych experience. Take this information as you will, and maybe don't take this class. Take the bio dept animal behavior instead.

Avoid at all costs