I absolutely loved prof. Raila's class. Psych 1 is a hard class with a lot of work regardless of the prof, and I felt that her class was manageable, super interesting, and well taught. All the tests were open book open note, and not super hard though some people struggled with finishing in time. She is so sweet and nice. Great class! Great prof!

Professor Raila is an awesome professor. I thoroughly enjoyed her lectures as they were interesting and engaging! The class is very textbook heavy, but I actually liked the textbook as it was very interactive and up-to-date. >5% of my final grade came from extra credit. Some people had issues w/timing but if you took AP psych you will be fine!

I think there were a lot of first years that complained a lot in the class, but I think the class was just a typical college class. Test and textbook heavy with 65 questions in 70 minutes for all 3 tests. The questions themselves werent difficult and its pretty manageable to figure out answers since its open book. Lectures were interesting.

I understand why many people complain regarding the timing of the exams, but I found them manageable. If you do what you are supposed to do, you should expect a very high grade in this class. Overall, this class was amazing, and I learned lots of new things.

I hate lots of reading but you dont actually have to read all of the book to excel just take notes on bolded vocab. Easy assignments, 1 super easy paper, & 3 tests make up the grade. People complain about 65q in 65 min but 5 are ex cred AND its open book/note. SO much extra credit overall (up to 5%) which is crazy!! Pretty easy A!

Prof. Raila was the BEST. I genuinely looked forward to lectures (my roommate would sometimes watch with me just cause they were so interesting) and you'll learn a ton. Tests are hard, so you definitely have to study, but if you put in the work you'll be fine. She's super nice, one of my favorite classes so far.

PSYC170 with raila was one of my fav courses! i think past bad ratings were b/c PSYC 1 consists of a lot of freshmen who aren't used to college-level courses. anyway, her lectures were so engaging! she's also very kind and understanding. her exams and pop quizzes were super reflective of the content and not tough as long as you pay attention!

In my entire experience at UCSC, Hannah has probably been one of my favorite professors. She is very organized, engages with students, and actually cares for your learning. She does give out a lot of readings and pop quizzes but they're easy if you at least browsed the readings. She makes sure to keep you on track if you fall behind.

Professor Raila is a challenging professor, however, as long as you review the material and make use of the resources she and her TAs provide, this class is definitely passable. ATTEND THE REVIEW SESSIONS. They're free study guides. And review the lectures before the tests because she can get really specific with lecture-related questions.

She is a great choice if you LOVE psychology, but you definitely have to have a determined mindset and study for tests she gives if you want to get a good grade. Very nice person overall, loved taking this class.

It's true when she says her class is challenging, but it's definitely manageable! This is a class you really need to put effort into. Tests are 1 minute a question but possible if you really study. She is a very sweet professor, and I learned a lot from her class. I definitely recommend her for psychology 1!

professor hannah raila was great ! theres a lot of reading involved but if youre reading the textbook and watching the lectures , you should be able to get an easy A. :)

I think that professor Raila was a great teacher! as long as you do the readings and take good notes, you're set up for success. she's super sweet and really cares about your success.

Professor Raila is amazing, her class is so fun and interesting because you get to try different clinical techniques on each other. Her lectures are information heavy but very easy to follow. She has a few homeworks but they are very easy and sometimes a pop quiz at the start of class. Although the class sounds hard, it really isnt and is very fun

Raila is a fantastic professor with a very dynamic background in both research and clinical work. The lectures are fantastic and the grading criteria was clear. The readings were very interesting and I did not have trouble staying engaged in her class. BEWARE of pop quizzes! The test was not hard, and the essay was easy. 10/10

She explains the assignments and due dates in a clear, organized way. She prefaces the class by explaining that the course is difficult, and to be prepared. The workload is completing online textbook readings and quizzes each week, plus lectures, midterms, and 500w papers. Her lectures are very engaging and memorable, cited studies are interesting!

Professor Raila is passionate about psychology. Her lectures are very engaging. The class is hard, but she makes it known throughout the quarter that her class is intended to be difficult. Work and quizzes are online, which is pretty easy. There's lots of reading. There are 2 research papers and midterms you need to do. The final is cumulative.

I enjoyed this class and as long as you have time to do the reading (its quite a bit of reading) and attend lecture you will get a good grade. However, she breezed through topics and left some questions unanswered. I felt like just as I was understanding a topic she moved on which made me less engaged in the class.

Professor Raila was fantastic. Her midterms can be challenging, but that is because the class is supposed to be challenging. The lectures were always interesting, especially when we talked about OCD, since that is what she does her study work on. During the quarter she talked about careers in psychology multiple times. Overall great experience.

Very easy class overall, you only have to read the textbook and do activities that are graded for participation. Then the tests are all multiple choice and the two papers are relatively easy and short. It is a lot of reading but if you do that and show up to lecture it will be no problem, and the lectures are very interesting and engaging!

She's really nice and it's clear she really knows what she's talking about. The lectures were structured well and she answered any questions we had. The only thing that slightly bothered me is how quickly she talks during lecture, but she posts the lecture slides after class so it's easy to catch up.

Incredibly clear lectures! Textbook was very interesting and among the most digestible textbooks i've ever read. Learned many interesting topics. She is simply a kind and well-spoken prof and I honestly can't see how anyone has anything negative to say about her, unless they got a bad grade in her class. there is a final paper + final exam

Raila's class was my favorite I've taken at UCSC. She's super smart and helpful. Has high expectations for her students, but makes that clear from the start. If you want to learn a lot, take it from her. If you want an easy quarter, maybe take it with someone else. She'll always hang back after class and chat with students for a while. Super fun.

Loved taking Intro to Psych with Raila. Lectures are amazing even though it's a huge class. She does fun in class experiments and I was never bored. It's a tough class, lots of science, more like a bio class for difficulty, but made me want to be a psych major. Take it if you're thinking of doing a psych major

Very engaging and interesting lectures!

Very fun and engaging lectures even in a big class, not too much reading and not too much homework

The lectures are just out of the book but she definitely prepares you for the tests. Extra credit is available and she's very kind, especially if you reach out outside of class.

Hannah is a great professor! Her lectures are really fun and entertaining. Be ready to read a lot! Usually its a chapter for each class plus an online assignment, and those chapters take 4 to 6 hours to read. I really liked the course, it was interesting but just too much reading and too little time. Her midterms are really hard so prepare!

Redoing homework assignments and making flashcards for vocab terms is a good way to prepare yourself for her exams. Lecture isn't mandatory, but classes aren't recorded and exams have a lot of questions tied to what the professor talks about in lecture. Don't take the class looking for an easy GE, there are easier options.

Fun lectures, teaching style straight forward and easy to understand. Homework takes about 1-2 hours per week, heavy reading which may take 3-4 hours a week. Easily comprehendible midterm/final questions. You will get an A if you read the textbook and take notes. Lots of EC that can really boost your grade!

Professor Raila is an incredibly smart professor and interesting lecturer. You must be willing to put in the time to read the textbook, (a few hours per textbook chapter) take detailed notes in lectures, and attend every extra credit opportunity available. If you are well-studied and prepared, you can pass this class and succeed.

Professor Raila is a really knowledgeable professor and you can tell she genuinely wants her students to learn and is supportive. Although there is quite a bit of reading, it's fairly simple and the tests aren't bad. She makes lectures interesting and is very well spoken and engaging. As long as you put in some effort, you'll be fine!

Prof Raila was super engaging in lectures, and I loved how she found ways to encourage participation even in a huge lecture hall. She warns you that it's a hard class from day one, so if you don't receive the grade you want, it is entirely on you. Read the textbook, you will not do well if you don't. Stay on top of SONA activities too!

Besides the fact that Professor Raila wouldn't round my 89.9% in her class at the end of the quarter…she is a great teacher! Very clear and entraining lectures (so fun I even took my mom to one not kidding!). And if you miss one it's pretty easy to just make up for it through text book reading. Tests are hard but straightforward no surprises.

Lectures were very interesting, never dreaded going to her class. Definitely not an easy class (which she is very upfront about). Focus mainly on vocab when reading textbook, most of the writing in them is not important for the tests. Midterms/final are multiple choice + super easy if you take notes. Two research papers, but they're very short.

I really liked Prof Raila. I understand why some people dislike her, she isn't very flexible but it's because she cares about the course content and wants everyone to be an active participant in the course. She was always willing to chat after class about anything. If you go to lecture and do the reading, you'll be okay.

I don't know why Professor Railia gets lower reviews. Sure, the pop quizzes are annoying, but I find that those who complain about it are the ones that are more too lazy to show up to class. She is also one of the best lecturers I have ever had. My only gripe with the class was disorganization of the rubric for the final project.