PSYC 2410

I wasn't sure what professor to take this class with but after reading everyones reviews I ended up choosing to take it with Emery. The class was fine but I think Emery is a very overhyped professor. He says that his exams are based on lecture and the textbook, but you could definitely not read the textbook and still do well. His class has four exams and a final, and your lowest grade gets dropped. The exams are annoyingly very detailed and specific. He will mention something one time in class and ask you about it on the exam expecting you to remember. Besides that though as long as you study the lectures thoroughly you should be able to get an A. He also gives extra credit if you write 5 out 6 assigned papers and he assigns them in advance so you have plenty of time to work on it. There are also required readings that he'll ask one or two test questions on but those are easy. I would definitely take the the class with Emery over a different professor but it got very boring at times and wasn't as interesting as I thought it would be #tCFfall2021

EVERYONE take this class. Emery is the best professor ever and puts so much effort into his lectures. He actually brought me to tears when discussing one of his case studies, and this class and everything I learned from it will stick with me for a very long time. Tests were not bad, I averaged an A+ with not too much studying.

This course was extremely interesting. I took it my first-year, first-semester, so it was a bit intimidating at first. The test questions can be very detailed at times. The method of studying I did involved rereading my notes I took on the readings, rereading the summaries at the end of the chapters, going through the lectures, and studying quizlets. When I did this, I averaged an A on the tests. Emery allows you to drop one exam, which can be the final, and you can do 5/6 extra credit papers to bump your grade one step, (ex: A- to A). There is an assigned reading almost every class, but it corresponds with the lecture and they are all interesting if you enjoy the content. I would highly recommend this class to anyone interested in abnormal psych, and I recommend taking it with Emery.

The course is generally not that difficult, Prof Emery is good at what he does and keeps the content interesting. The course is just a massive amount of memorization and your entire grade is dependent on 5 exams but the lowest one is dropped. The optional papers is a great and highly recommended option as it boosts your grade a whole notch (3 points) so you don't get completely slapped when your final is straight from hell like this years was.

For anyone interested in psychology, I don't think it gets better than Abnormal Psychology. The chapter content is very detailed -- each chapter goes into specific DSM-diagnostic criteria as well as specific treatments, almost as if you were being trained to be a psychologist yourself -- but Prof. Emery and his tests are more concerned about broad themes, which makes exams easier. Exams for Prof. Emery specifically were easy because there are Quizlets with past tests available on the internet which help you prepare for the wording and format of his tests. Lectures were enjoyable because Prof. Emery has a lot of personal anecdotes he incorporates throughout, but if you miss lecture, it's not hard to catch up considering the class is very text-book based and Prof. Emery posts his powerpoints on Collab. Homework consists of one 20-30 page chapter to read per class, and 5 one-paged optional essays that will boost your grade by half a step at the end. I couldn't recommend this class enough, just for increasing my knowledge about my interactions with the people around me and for introducing some highly interesting case-studies.

This class was interesting, but I wouldn't recommend taking it to satisfy a gen ed requirement (I'm not a psych major and took it to satisfy the science & society requirement). I found the tests to be tricky (test averages were usually in the low 80s) which was unfortunate considering the grade for this class is only based on exam grades and some extra credit assignments. The tests were always 50 multiple choice questions with each question being 2 points. I read the textbook for the first test and read it a little bit for the second test and it honestly didn't help that much. Reading it was too time consuming and it definitely didn't help my test scores. I found that the best way to study for this class was to attend lectures and take notes on the stuff that isn't already highlighted in the slides and then study the powerpoint slides and notes, it's really important to understand everything in the slides for the tests (each powerpoint is posted before the start of the corresponding lecture). Emery drops the lowest exam score which was super helpful and also raises you to the next grade level (B+ to A-) if you do 5/6 of the extra credit writing assignments which were really easy to do and this helped my grade a lot. This class definitely isn't an easy A, and I thought the class would be easier based on some of the reviews on here. The content and Emery's lectures were interesting but I would probably suggest not taking it if you're not a psych major/minor and are only taking it to satisfy a requirement. I also wouldn't suggest taking this class if you're not a good test taker, there were so many times where I thought I understood the material well but would lose points because of weird questions with confusing answer choices.

This class is super interesting. Emery embraces teaching students to be "inquiring skeptics" and does a great job of not merely reciting facts from the DSM (book used to diagnose mental illnesses) and instead focusing on larger themes/ideas that will help students of all majors. I took this class first semester of my first year and it was more difficult than social psych (PSYC 2600) that I was taking at the same time. However, this class is very doable and Emery allows you to write 5 papers for extra credit that are essentially graded on completion (DO NOT STRESS ABOUT THESE- they are graded as a check or X very leniently). The extra credit is super helpful since his exams can be rather difficult. However, I recommend reading the chapters of the textbook and taking detailed notes before the lecture and taking detailed notes during lecture. Before exams- look through the "Thinking critically about the DSM-5" sections and understanding the main arguments and support for both sides. This class is very doable but I would recommend having AP Psych credit or have already taken intro psych for this class but it isn't necessary in all cases- just helpful. Overall, I learned so much from Emery and this class and feel so lucky to have taken it. It has completely changed my outlook towards the DSM and research on mental illness and treatments.

First off, this is a great course for both Psyc majors and people who are looking to fill an elective of some sort. Professor Emery has a sarcastic and humorous personality that makes the lectures both interesting and enjoyable. The course consists of 4 exams and a final, as well as the opportunity to complete 5/6 extra credit papers to have your final grade increased a step. I found that reading the textbook in your free time helps immensely with the exams, but being present in lectures is what ties all of the information together. The case study he presents on the topic of Schizophrenia is one I hope anyone could hear, as it means a lot to him and made an impact on myself. TAKE THIS CLASS IF POSSIBLE!!!

One of my favorite classes I have taken here at UVA. Professor Emery makes this class what it is. I would recommend it to anyone. Tests are fair but still challenging; he sometimes gave out previous tests to study from, quizlets also help. Also offers you to complete 5 of 6 optional writing assignments to bump your grade (B+ to an A-, for example). The textbook is written by him and is relevant to the material and what is on tests. There are also a few required outside readings for each test, usually easy reads and has 2 or 3 test questions about them. He is also a very approachable person to talk to and is office hours are great for clarification or just to talk!

I have mixed feelings about this class. First of all, it's not that hard, and I liked the grading format of the class. Your grade comes from 4 exams, but there are 5 total and the lowest grade is dropped. They're all 50 questions, multiple choice. Highly recommend looking up some study quizlets to help you study (there are some that have several very similar questions to the ones on the exams). As for the subject material of the class- I'm not sure what I expected. I'm sure it's interesting if you're relatively unfamiliar with it, but as someone who is mentally ill and knows a lot of people who are as well, I honestly felt like I already knew a lot of the course material. Also, Professor Emery likes to insert his opinion about certain abpsych issues, and I guess I wish he would have stayed a bit more neutral, but that also may just be because I pretty strongly disagreed. Okay class overall, not too difficult, but Prof. Emery is not my favorite.