2.7
Quality3.4
Difficulty9%
Would Retake87
Reviews9%
Would Retake
87
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
20
4
14
3
13
2
18
1
22
What Students Say
“This is one of those classes that should just be an online class”
PSYC370 - 1.0 rating“Lectures were pointless, the textbook did all the teaching”
PSYC370 - 2.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
23%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.78 avg changeRatings by Course
355356
5.0
(1)ADLSNPSYC
5.0
(1)PSYC355356
4.7
(3)PSY355
4.0
(4)PSYCH270
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PSYC270
5.0
370
4.7
PSYC370
4.3
355
4.0
PSYCH270
4.0
Reviews (87)
lectures are unrelated to exam material, study the textbook
skip the lecture
No Comments
Makes topic interesting. I had a good T.A.
know the text. if you miss lecture, you didnt miss much.
No Comments
Dude is crazy! A midterm and Final that has 50 m/c, 10 short answer questions and three essays within 2 hours... nuts!
very interesting class. not a GPA booster though. entertaining prof with very interesting stories to tell.
Horrible class - you could follow along in the text. Bad presenter, boring term project.
Made topic interesting. I like how he brings in personal stories and tries to be funny.
he's a freudian. take that as you will...
Funny guy. All the short answers were from lecture. Read the text for MC
Nice guy, interesting material/lectures. Exams are kinda tough though, so watch out
The funniest prof @ SFU. His anecdotes are the reason why I attended lecture. His midterm is very long and mostly focused on the text, not his lecture. Take his course if you have the chance!!
he has a sense of humour and he provides good anecdotes. exams are tough cuz he asks some detailed m/c questions so definitely read the text! it was good that he allowed choices in the short answer and essay part of the exam though. the tutorials weren't that helpful.
awesome prof..lectures were funny great and entertaining....tests: multiple choice based on textbook material and short answer questions based on lecture material...use the study guide and you will be fine...great class
very interesting lectures. tells lots of interesting anecdotes. the tests are based on the textbook though so the only reason to go to class is to listen to his interesting stories, and to help you out on the essay and short answer questions.
you don't have to go to class; if you do ley will speak very slowly and take up a lot of your time explaining 1st year concepts. the textbook is clear enough, but expresses some very biased opinions without seeming to recognize it, and is very tedious to read. this class was not nearly as interesting as it could have been. good if you like easy.
One of my fav prof!! he's very funny and tells great stories (real life examples more like).. even tho he doesn't do powerpoint/overheads, his lectures are still fun to listen to. exams are not hard, marking is fair..
Good prof, interesting stories, good text, tutorials are boring.
Very straightforward. Tested pretty much entirely from text. Very psychoanalytically oriented. An easy A.
Best prof i've ever had. Lectures are entertaining, interesting, and don't bore with powerp. presentations where one reads off the screen. Know definitions and text readings for tests which are extremely fair. Go to class, he's hilarious and treats students fairly. Love this guy!
Hilarious guy. Great sense of humour. Easy class if you do the work. One of my favourite profs ever!
Be familiar with readings. Paying attention in class helps with the essay questions.
The BEST Psychology professor SFU has! I recommand taking 355 and 356 with Ley. His lectures are really funny and he doesn't use boring overheads or powerpoint. The short answers on the midterm and final exam were a bit tricky. Term paper was exactly what you would do for 201 but now you focus on adolescences.
while lectures are interesting, they are certainly short on content. doesnt seem to put a lot of effort into preparing for lectures. seems like a nice guy and easy exams though.
One of the best profs ever. Very interesting and love the stories from practical experience. Gave me a great reference letter at the end of the semester. Very relaxed attitude and style of teaching. Must read textbook; lectures are for enjoyment purposes
GREATEST PROFESSOR EVER! He has a real passion for what he does. Lectures are very interesting and you learn and remember A LOT from the course. Wish there were more profs like him!! Tests are straight forward as is the paper/presentation (you actually get a choice). Tutorials are informative.
I enjoyed him for Psyc 355 but not for this course! This course was HARD and his lectures were not that interesting like they are in Psyc 355. Term paper was difficult and tutorials were a complete waste of time! I must say I was looking forward to this class but was very disappointed at the end of the semester
Tests are difficult. Lectures do not really reflect exams.
Bob was really fun to listen to in class, his stories are great. but...if you want to get a better mark than I did- read the book. I was a little shocked when basically nothing from lectures were on the tests. Other than that it was a good class.
I love Prof. Ley. He's just great.
A seasoned prof that is keen to give students lots of info about his field. Uses real examples from his patients in class to make things more concrete. WARNING: Class attendance is more for "interest" than exam preparation. If you want to do well on the tests, just read the book! But the prof is interesting and friendly. A keeper!
Funniest prof I've ever had and a very nice person to. Super approachable and personable. Most enjoyable class to attend.
I really enjoyed Dr Ley's lectures, he talks around the subject & uses real world/clinical examples. He also comes across as a really nice/approachable guy. As far as the class goes, tests are 99% from the text, which he doesn't talk about, and it's like any DEV class in that you have to be able to memorize tons of theories by tons of people.
Teacher wasn't bad at all, don't really need to go to class since everythings in the textbook. READ THE TEXTBOOK! know anything with lists that you need to name for short answer questions. defn's aren't hard. the final exam that's cumulative is difficult - you need to know the whole semester well to do well on the exam. i would take class again
No need to attend class, no papers, only two midterms and then cumulative exam. Exams are mainly from textbook, so study it well! Multiple choice is pretty straightforward, short answers are mainly definitions. Great class :)
He's alright if you like professors who are very talkative. No structure whatsoever though, and no PPT. I'll admit he is interesting, but the things he talks about aren't really related to what you're tested on. My advice: read the textbook THOROUGHLY and even if you skip lectures, you'll get a mark that's at least a B+.
I found this class interesting, except I know a lot of people were upset with their Midterm grade the second round around. As for the final, there was two parts, which students complained was "extremely difficult". Pay attention to every detail, and the studies that were ran. He will ask for ridiculous minor details you wouldn't think would be on i
This prof's lectures had absolutely no sturcture to them. If you want to do well...read the test he uses the stock exam from it. Memorize facts like percentages and dates. I was really dissapointed with this class because it is a topic I am interested in and I feel I didn't get my $ worth!! but it's an easy grade if you memorize well!
Robert is a professor who seems to not really care about his students. He insists on being the last professor at SFU to lecture without slides or PowerPoints. As a result he has little structure and goes on many tangents, so attendance is not overly necessary. Midterms were relatively tough as he designs questions to trick you which I find silly.
Not a good professor. He seems to care more about his other profession (Lawyer) more than teaching a class. I feel my $ was wasted and I was extremely interested in this class. I studied hard and went to every class but his exams are ridiculously tricky (on purpose). You will enjoy this class if you like nothing more than the bare minimum.
Exams based almost entirely from text. Occasional written question from lecture, but it's nearly impossible to predict the questions as just about any small detail from the book is fair game. His wealth of clinical experience makes some lectures interesting but I wouldn't recommend this course unless you enjoy working extra hard for a so-so mark.
Attendance is unnecessary- no pwr points, no overhead notes, no written notes. His stories about his life/experience are interesting but don't help for exams. Study the textbook & do the online practice tests (link at the end of each chapter). Most of the MC were on the exam. Short answer expects too much, & the TA's mark HARD!
This guy is the man, don't need to attend his lectures but they're pretty entertaining. No powerpoint slides, don't need to take notes just read the textbook and you'll be fine
This class has a lot of potential. Robert Ley has interesting stories but his lecture is unbalanced. He gives little insight to the content of his exams besides "study the book". This is difficult when studying 12 chapters for a cumulative final exam. The course is frustrating unless you have days and days to read the whole text. Be wary.
AVOID this class! Complete waste of time and extremely hard to get a good mark with tons of hardwork. 12 chp cumulative final, provides no notes, no hints, no guidelines of what to focus on. Waste of time and money!! He needs to retire seriously!!!
Don't take this class! It sounds interesting BUT IT IS NOT! Unless you LOVE history, Freud, boring lectures and HARD exams, you won't do well in this class. Waste of time!
He is great! Amazing lecture for your interest, however not really related to the text. He is a very strong speaker, amazing stories and uses examples from his private practice that I find practical. Very hard MC, read the book word by word and you will do fine. Lots of work required!
Lectures are all over the place. Although his anecdotal examples are pretty interesting he doesn't really teach and just expects you to memorize the textbook. His multiple choice questions are very difficult. Also, he doesn't show up for office hours or answer emails, so good luck getting help from TM's who only mark the exams.
This guy was the man! Don't believe any sour grape raters on here. It's definitely not a walk in the park, but attend lecture, read the book and be a conscientious student and you will do fine. Definitions and essays will be based on his lectures. MC from the book.
THIS PROF IS HARD! He's interesting and does give real-life examples, but there's just way too much to memorize. It sounds like a fun topic, but all you learn about are the histories of these personalty theorists! 2 Midterms worth 25% each and Finals worth 50%. Unless you're good at taking finals and love history, DON'T TAKE IT!
This is one of those classes that should just be an online class. You do not learn anything relevant to the exam by attending lecture; you have to learn from the textbook yourself.
No point going to lecture, just read the text, his lectures are all over the place. Tests are hard as you have to teach yourself. Just read the books. Lectures are recorded
Lectures were pointless, the textbook did all the teaching. He covered next to nothing in class other than the theorists' backgrounds and the tests were from the textbook question bank. His avoidance of PowerPoint isn't the issue, he was generally disorganized and would repeat himself and rant about the same clients/examples. Nice man, bad prof.
He drones on for the full three hours and mocked our class for asking for a break. He doesn't use power points or any visual media, but will reference videos he doesn't show, like you should know about them. 100% test based class and they were really hard. He is off-putting, making it very difficult to even want to ask for help.
It does not seem like Dr. Ley prepares for his lectures, which is very off-putting when you are paying for a class. I wanted to work with adolescents, so it was extremely important for me to get a good grade in his class. However, he was rude and sarcastic when I asked questions, and spoke more of anecdotal experience. The tests were irrelevant.
After reading many of the bad reviews here, I still took the course expecting to do well. Big mistake. This was the most boring class I've ever taken. All exam questions are chosen from the textbook publisher's test bank making lectures redundant. As well, the audio for a quarter of the lectures didn't record. Very disorganized prof.
VERY difficult course, concepts were abstract and hard to grasp. midterm you have 1.5hrs to write 3 Long-Answer Essay questions, 5 Short Answer and approx 35 MC. Honestly one of the hardest courses I've ever taken. The professor was nice and the lectures were entertaining but definitely would NOT recommend and this is coming from an A avg student!
It helps when you ask questions in class and get to know him. He shares a lot of stories from his clinical work and brings relevance to what we learn in class. Lectures are recorded, which is great as I had 830am class. Downside is he does not use powerpoint or give lecture notes, so just listen and take notes. Exams are 85% based on the textbook!
Dr. Ley is a very sweet and caring professor. He goes out of his way to help students. He gives very precise examples, and his tests are very easy. He doesn't assign papers which is awesome! He makes the class very funny, so students get super engaged! Take him!
Robert is a very nice guy and he tells a lot of interesting stories, but his tests are awful and barely based on his lectures. He gives clues to what the short answer will be and lectures will help you answer those, but the multiple choice are all questions pulled from random portions of the textbook. You basically have to memorize the whole book!
Robert is a nice guy, does have interesting lectures with numerous good stories. However, to do well in this course, you have to read the book thoroughly inside and out. The multiple choice is based on textbook material. The written is based on his lectures. Study 90% textbook and 10% lectures. Make good notes, and you will be solid.
Hardest class ever. If rote memorization isn't your thing, run away if u can! It feels exclusionary to students who learn differently. MC were the hardest of my UG. He takes all Q from the testbank and the textbook is written in riddles. Memorize EVERYTHING and you have a chance. He grades on a curve which made it better in the end. nice guy.
Since this is a psychology class, I think this is an appropriate comment to include: physician heal thyself! ...!!!!
AVOID!
Tests q's are like riddles and based 90% on the book, which is a very long, confusing read. Picky marking scheme for SA q's. Given that the prof gets his q's test bank, doesn't respond to emails , prepare for lecture, or give much time for exams, it seems like he has better things to do than see students learn and succeed.
This course is not the best option if your taking an elective for credit. The prof is a nice guy but is disorganized. Does not prepare for lectures, instead making up examples on the spot which are not always helpful. zones out and talks about random things which do not apply to what he's teaching. Seems to not care about his students' success.
He's extremely unfair: you have to learn an insane amount of content from the textbook (about 4-5 chapters weren't covered in lecture, and what was covered in lecture barely covered each theory), and exam questions are insanely specific. Also, the questions on one chapter on a midterm were accidentally deleted, so he added them to the final.
As a lecturer, he's not bad. Gives some cool stories from his clinical work and lectures are somewhat interesting (but long). As a teacher, he is awful. Tests you on lots that he doesn't cover, exams are difficult, and he's just not very helpful. Would not recommend. Unless you want to pay to read a textbook and maybe attend lecture occasionally.
Bob is a great guy, but this class in 95% based on memorization of the textbook. and they textbook is dense, and his tests are created by quiz banks, so there is no clear cut answer as to what to study/how to prepare. Grade is based on exams only. Curve helps, but not by much. Be prepared to read and memorize
I really enjoyed Robert's class, it was a good choice to take along classes with lots of homework since the grade is only based on exams (which are easy as long as you read the textbook). I found a lot of the material interesting, and I enjoyed hearing stories from his practice. To sum up: traditional class/learning, funny and caring prof
Dr. Ley clearly does not care about students or their ability to learn the course concepts. Very arrogant. Does not use slides, all lecture recordings were broken/muted (No attempt to correct it). Doesn't cover the material in order on the syllabus, skips some chapters, but WILL leave them on the exam. 100% of grading based on 3 exams.
Graded on only 3 exams comprising of M/C and S/A and definitions. M/C questions are taken directly from the textbook, and the written part of the exam are from lectures. He doesn't have any slides or audio/visual aids so you have to go to class and pay attention. Lazy prof in my opinion, so if you want to do well in this class get ready to read!
horrible. This class is extremely unorganized. The exam MC questions are very specific and so it is vital you memorize the textbook. No power point slides given. His lectures are poor quality audio tapes.
Does not have any visual aid for recorded lectures. Literally just records his own voice. Don't even listen though because all tests are out of the textbook. Take very detailed notes and fully understand concepts from textbook and you will be fine. Get ready to teach yourself, and if you are diligent enough to do that then this course will be ok
if you have a chance to not take this course, take this chance and run away. this course heavily on textbook material while lecture is only verbal recordings. exams is heavily based on textbook material and how well you can apply each theory and where it comes from. I highly do not recommend this course as it was horrible to deal with.
He's honestly a nice guy however he does not provide lecture slides. This is acceptable for an inclass lecture but not so much for an online course. You are left with long voice recordings and textbook readings. His exams are also poorly designed where you are stuck rushing from start to finish. His questions are very detailed so eat the textbook.
AVOID THIS COURSE. Most unorganized, lazy professor and T.A's I've ever had. Not only does he expect you to listen to his monotone 3 hour weekly audio recorded lectures but you're also required to memorize each word of the textbook. Impossible to succeed. Why should anyone pay hundreds of dollars for a course you teach yourself? Absolute joke.
Lectures are interesting at times but practically useless for knowledge and exams. Practically self taught as lectures barely covered each theory. The exams are hard with very specific questions and harsh marking for short answer responses. Prof tends to cancel class and then upload a monotone 3 hour audio file lecture.
This is probably the worst course Ive ever taken at SFU. The tests are based almost completely on the textbook and the professor makes it a habit to skip lectures. Even then, chapters that are skipped are tested on. Also the assessment criteria is ridiculous considering all this: 50% weightage is just the last exam! And the first two are 25% each.
Extremely knowledgeable on personality theory. His lectures are very interesting if you can manage to listen to him talk at a rate of 10 words per minute. However, he only covers about 1/5th of the content in lectures, so you're teaching yourself most of the course content. All MC exam question are very specific and drawn from the textbook.
DO NOT EVER TAKE HIS CLASS. He's so arrogant and pompous. He doesn't use presentations so you basically spend 3 hours listening to him rant about something irrelevant.
THE worst class I have ever taken at SFU in 4 years. He starts the semester laughing at his bad reviews on rate my prof, but take the hint. His lectures are him rambling for 3 hours straight, often of irrelevant info about his clinical practice treating murderers and rapists. 100% textbook-based tests, read it and you will do fine on the exams.
He gives great stories from his practice, which makes lectures interesting. However, extremely unhelpful when it comes to the actual exams. You need to memorize the textbook word by word to do well. Had it not been for the curve, I would have failed this class(which had never happened to me b4). Save your GPA, take another PSYC course if possible.
The class isn't personality theory, just a history of psychoanalytic/dynamic thinkers and rambling about poorly remembered world history. He also: -joked about sexual harassment and assault reports -graded purely on exams (2 midterms and a final) -changed the weighting of our exams for the final grade THREE DAYS BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM. AVOID.
How Dr. Ley has any 5 star reviews is beyond me. He canceled half the lectures this semester (LITERALLY half of them), and tested directly from the textbook and nothing from lectures, which are too long and entirely irrelevant. Clearly does not care about teaching or his students. Such a disappointing experience for a class I was excited to take.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
23%
Textbook Required
50%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-1.78 avg changeRatings by Course
355356
5.0
(1)ADLSNPSYC
5.0
(1)PSYC355356
4.7
(3)PSY355
4.0
(4)PSYCH270
4.0
(1)Difficulty by Course
PSYC270
5.0
370
4.7
PSYC370
4.3
355
4.0
PSYCH270
4.0