Psych 101: Introduction to Biological and Cognitive Psychology
Instructor: Michael Souza. Hands down the best prof I’ve had at UBC so far. He was super engaging, used great analogies, made multiple pop culture references (my favourite was the time he talked about Deuce Bigalow), and played awesome music videos on the overhead projector as we came into class. He also posted adorable pictures of his newborn twins on Vista wearing different costumes. Recommend x 10^6 billion.
Textbook: Psychology, 2nd ed. by Schacter. While the focus of the midterms/finals was on material covered in lecture, there were a few textbook specific questions, especially on the final. This book was my most expensive course book this term, so try and find it used if you can (or you could just buy it off me!).
What I Learned: History of psychology, structure and physiology of the nervous system, sensation and perception, learning, sleep, stress, memory and cognition, psychological disorders and brain injury.
Midterms/Final: Two midterms (one 20%, one 30%), one final (50%). The difficulty of the exams was the only real downside to this course. The multiple-choice questions tended to be highly specific and detail-oriented, but they were still fair if you’d attended lecture and done the readings. Plus, Dr. Souza posted practice midterm and final exam questions on Vista to give us an idea of what to expect.
Comments/Tips: Do psych studies as a chance to earn extra credit! I met one of my really close friends while participating in a social networking and happiness study, and got an extra 3% added to my mark as a bonus. To do well in this course, keep up with the readings and take very, very detailed notes in lecture. Note: if you’re looking for a GPA booster, you’ve come to the wrong place. However, if you’re truly interested in psychology and want to learn from an amazing and knowledgeable professor, psych with Souza is the right choice for you.
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