3.3
Quality4.1
Difficulty48%
Would Retake181
Reviews48%
Would Retake
181
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
66
4
29
3
28
2
15
1
43
What Students Say
“Andersen is by far the most inspirational, caring, passionate, professor I've ever had and Personality was the best, most useful class I've ever taken”
PSYCHUA30 - 5.0 rating“I don't understand why there's so much negative feedback on Andersen”
PSYCHUA30 - 5.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
17%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
B+
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
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-0.98 avg changeRatings by Course
PERSONALIT
5.0
(2)04
5.0
(1)PERSO101
5.0
(3)PSYCHUA300
5.0
(3)PERSO30
4.8
(4)Difficulty by Course
PSYCHOLOGY
5.0
PSY
5.0
SPRING2005
5.0
PERSONALI
5.0
PERSON01
5.0
Reviews (181)
One of the best psychology professors at NYU. Intelligent, articulate, and dynamic. Those who consider her boring do not understand her.
Great professor. Interesting lectures.
absolutely brilliant professor. once you get through her class every single other class in the psych department is a joke. nothing compares to her. we gave her a standing ovation on the last day of class. incredible person and funny.
i had her a few years ago and it was SOOO hard but i learned so much from her. it's nice when people assume you're intelligent.
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One of the best professors at NYU. An excellent sense of humor, very dynamic, very demanding. One of the most informative, challenging, and interesting classes that I've taken at NYU. The most difficult part was trying to keep up with the readings.
Pretty good class, not so good teaching
I took her course 20 years when she was fresh out of Stanford. She remains one of the most brilliant, dynamic, influential professors of my memory. She was also kind and authentic. Glad to hear she's still teaching and inspiring.
Had her for a class I took pass-fail. It was interesting. Looks a bit like Mimi Rodgers and Meredith Viera, that's something, right?
has no idea of the subject. And she talks to herself. She's kind of weird b****
Really smart and definately knows her stuff. Her class is tough, there's a lot of stuff to memorize for exams. The lectures may seem overwhelming at times but the TA was wonderful and really helpful. But nonetheless, she's got a nice sense of humor and the material is very interesting.Recommended
I took personality psy spring 2005. I think she was great. Her lectures are entertaining and origional. There was alot of reading though. The entire book, plus almost 20 others ranging from 10-20 pages each.
i took her class a few years ago, but i still remember her teachings. good professor, knows her stuff. learned a lot from her, and her lectures help me, to this day, better understand the inner-workings of the mind of people. the fact that i still remember her name says a lot
The hardest psychology class I ever took ... period
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Professor Andersen is one of the most brilliant professors I have ever had and probably ever will have. She is a major asset to this university. Although the class was challenging, it was worth taking. I have never seen anyone express such enthusiasm fo
I had her, I loved her lectures but so far as how much she cares for her stuffents in any regard is wanting. If you want to get ****ed over, she is the teacher. she curves down grades, apparently an 87 is a B in her class, when according to academic standards its a B+. That is pretty pathetic, given her assigned readings are all inaddition to the entire book. so 19 readings plus the text book and a 12 page paper, plus biweekly journal entrys and a midterm and final.
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one of the best profs at NYU, hands down. i actually attended her lectures, which is quite impressive.
I really enjoyed this class. Professor Anderson is SO knowledgable and interesting, but her tests are HARD. If you're up for a challenge, though, I definitely recommend this class.
Best professor I ever had in college. Lectures are always interesting. Does require a good amount of effort (reading and writing especially), but it's all managable as long as you don't leave it to the very last minute (I'm the queen of procrastination and I got a B+ in the class)
The class is excellent. The lectures were always engaging and interesting. I would recommend this class to anyone who is interested in the subject matter and willing to put a lot of time into the course. Like another review stated, the grading scale can be terrible. It can help or hurt you!
A lot of reading is involved in the class. To make things more difficult the lectures only cover a small portion of the readings. However, you are held accountable for all readings on the exams.
very nice, very funny.
You absolutely must study. Don't just read over your notes, know them backwards and forwards. If you work hard, you'll be rewarded. Her lectures can be somewhat disorganized, but interesting.
kind of an ice queen.
she's an amazing professor. she is a genius in her field and it really comes across. so smart, actually pretty fun. go to her office hours! she's really very nice. i learned a lot....the tests are a bit tricky though -- STUDY!
One of the best lecturers I have had at NYU. If you are interested in psychology, this is an incredibly useful course to take. It is difficult because of the amount of information, but if you go to every lecture and recitation and read the text you will come out of the class with a really useful amount of knowledge pertaining to psychology.
The hardest class i ever took at NYU but the most engaging and intersting stuff. I felt lik all the hard work i did was totally worth it. She's a great teacher who knows what she's talking about and you'll learn a lot if you show up to class and do all the work.
Personality professor. If you're intimidated by these reviews, don't be. I found the class extremely manageable...do your readings, attend recitations, and pay attention in class and you will get at least a B+. The topics themselves are extremely interesting and worth the time and effort you put into them.
She is a very good lecturer. A lot of reading. Not recommended for non-majors if you're not willing to put in the time. Overall, very interesting.
She is a terrible teacher. Her rambling lectures are difficult to follow and doesn't explain any concepts beyond her own specialty very well. She doesn't like to answer questions from students. Consistently arrives late and then holds the entire class 10 minutes later. By far the worst professor I've ever had.
Hardest class I've ever taken. Prof. Andersen is brilliant and quite interesting, but information overload from her lectures, text readings, and other selected readings make the exams ridiculous to study for. You cannot afford to miss a lecture, and recitation is really helpful, so go. Only take this class if you're willing to work your ass off.
Prof Andersen is hands down the best professor I've had at NYU, and the most interesting class I have taken. It is not impossible to get an A at all, but it is a lot of work. You absolutely have to go to class, and you have to read the textbook, but the material is interesting and fun and Prof Andersen curves generously. Best class I've ever taken.
She's an expert in the field and is even in the textbook! Take detailed lecture notes, recitation attendance is mandatory, but the TAs aren't that helpful. There's a lot of information to remember and the tests are VERY difficult. Interesting class but a lot of work, be prepared to commit. If you study hard you can probably get high B/Low A.
Textbook and Lectures are extremely REDUNDANT. It's like she thinks everyone in the lecture is dumb. It's not hard material to understand, but a lot of it. Know the material BETTER than the back of your hand. Do NOT count on the curve. She becomes more strict with each semester.
This is definitely a tough class. You have to go to every lecture and take very detailed notes. Questions on the exams will be almost word for word what she says. Make sure you also take down all examples she says as those will be in the exams too. She gets very repetitive so it's easy to zone out, but she knows her stuff. Great professor.
Great lecturer, not hard material. You'll do fine if you study and pay attention.
She is an excellent, knowledgeable professor who is an expert in the field. Make sure you study, attend all lectures, and do the reading!!
VERY VERY HARD CLASS. I highly do not recommend it if you are not willing to but 250% into studying, reading, and taking notes. Professor rambles on and on and it is your job to sift through and find the importance. Pay attention throughout the whole lecture or you will find yourself lost and out of the loop.
unnecessarily hard and boring
Extremely rewarding class. Extremely knowledgeable professor. If you want a valuable experience the time commitment is worth it.
Definitely an interesting class but its also one of the hardest I've ever had. You NEED to study, read the textbook, and go to class. You have to put in a lot of time for the class and really give it your all. The professor is knowledgeable but she tends to ramble and gets mixed up during lecture.
DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS. The teacher is terrible--she thinks she's hilarious when she's not and she rambles excessively. Then she expects you to know 400 pages worth of personality psychology for the midterm. Not worth it at all. To boot, my recitation leader was useless. So unsatisfied.
Course is very interesting, and Andersen is a leader in the field of self relational theory. HOWEVER, if you cannot make the time commitment do not take the class. PLUS, Andersen is kind of weird and can be rude if you go to her office hours and tends to rambles on. Take a laptop and take detailed notes in lecture.
This isn't necessarily a hard course, just one that you have to pay attention and take meticulous notes in. The midterm, take home essays, and final aren't difficult either; it's just a lot of material to memorize. I love psychology and she's a very knowledgeable professor, so I highly recommend this course for those who love psych.
Lectures are a must if you want to pass. You have a TON of reading each week that is also a must if you want to pass. Recitations are mandatory, but they're easy points and the TA's are nice. Overall, crazy hard tests but you learn a lot.
Tough class, but very rewarding. The actual material isn't hard, but there's a LOT of it, and you will be screwed if you wait until the last minute to start studying. She gives very rambling lectures, but attending them is essential for passing. I worked my ass off for an A, but I learned a ton and am glad I took the class.
She is an amazing professor. Her lectures are interesting and engaging. She definitely is an expert in the field; she is mentioned and pictured in the textbook! BUT this class is really difficult. If you miss even one class you are royally .. disadvantaged. Take lots of notes as her exams are mostly based off her lectures. take her. good luck
Great professor; lectures were really interesting, and her explanations made it easier to understand the material. However, this is not an easy class, and there is a lot of reading. Note-taking during class is a must. A lot of time needs to be spent to get a good grade in this class.
Do not take a class with her unless you are a psych major, and you are willing to put aside all other homework in order to pass this class. She expects you to know the entire textbook for the midterm (Not lying- I just took it) PLUS everything she says in lecture AND you need to know what you know from the book & what you know from lecture. Awful.
Andersen is a very knowledgeable professor and you will learn a lot sitting through her lectures but be prepared to invest all of your energy into this class. Attendance is not mandatory but you will not pass this class if you skip her lectures. Grading is terribly hard but course content is very interesting (for psychology majors).
Dr. Andersen is brilliant and her lectures are entertaining and interesting. She tends to move quickly and ramble a bit, so good note-taking is necessary. You won't pass this class if you don't go to lecture. Extremely difficult exams, be prepared to study A LOT to get an A (which is possible). I actually liked studying because I loved the material
Dr. Andersen makes the class extremely entertaining. She is very quirky and energetic. The material is not difficult, but there is a lot of it. As long as you commit to the class, a good grade is not too difficult to obtain. Make sure you don't forget about the readings when studying for exams.
Incredible professor, loved the way she lectures. Two of her exams are multiple choice and the other is a an essay with three questions. They're not that difficult if you read the entire textbook (16 ch), and her 15 (30 page) outside readings. You just need to make sure you're on top of everything. It's hard work, but you'll really like the class!
She is rude. I reached out to her for help during so-called office hours and asked when she might have time to speak with me. She pretty much said she is always busy and would never have time to talk with me. Her attitude and tone are very off-putting. Textbook featured her photo, lol.
This class is not easy and takes a lot of work. However, Prof. Andersen is incredibly engaging and the material is fascinating/can be applied to your own life. Definitely recommend this class but I'd avoid it if you have a heavy load already. I freaked out most of the semester but I ended up getting an A. Use your TAs and take excellent notes.
Great teacher. Engaging lectures, and she's great at explaining concepts. Her tests are not that bad as long as you take good notes during the lectures and read the book. If you put in the effort, you will do well.
Doctor Andersen is very knowledgable and you can actually learn something that cannot be acquired elsewhere in this class. However, this class is extremely difficult. You have to read and memorize A LOT to get an A. Not recommend unless very interested in psychology or personality.
I was really let down by this class; though Andersen is well respected, I found her scattered thinking and ridiculously frequent use of the phrase "you know" every sentence far too distracting. An insane amount of reading, I would recommend you take this class with a lighter schedule. Though initially excited about the topic, I wouldn't take again
So if you take this class prepare to ignore the rest of your classes the tests expect you to know the book cover to cover all lectures and all of the 16 online readings that are like 30 pages each. The material isn't too difficult it's just so much of it that it is impossible to learn everything in depth She's a rambler in lecture and the TA's suck
Andersen is very knowledgeable, but doesn't cut her students a break when it comes to material. There is just way too much info to absorb, and the worst part is that the tests don't even test your understanding, just rote learning of random facts. you have to study lecture notes, outside readings, and textbook to do well. do not recomemend
dr Andersen is amazing: shes very inspiring, hilariously sarcastic and dry, and gives you more info than you will probably learn in your whole undergrad career. its almost impossible to score an A in the class but its just as impossible to walk away empty handed:she gives u the guts needed to pursue postgrad clinical psych. overall she blew my mind
Dr. Andersen is a great professor. She is very knowledgable and anything that is confusing in lecture is clarified wonderfully by the TAs. There is a lot of reading from the textbook and research papers but I'm not someone who stayed on top of the readings and I still did not find it difficult to catch up and ended up getting an A.
Professor Andersen is amazing, she is passionate and knowledgeable and the information I learned in this class is really extensive. However it is a very difficult class, and its tough to get an A. There is a lot of readings, and it can be hard to follow her train of thought in lectures sometimes. I would still recommend it though.
Worst class at NYU
Interested in taking Personality? Cool, avoid Andersen at all costs. Is she your only option? Avoid Andersen at all costs. Her boring lectures made me start to hate Psych.
Dr. Andersen in extremely knowledgeable in her field. She teaches the class by going explaining the concepts and giving examples of studies and her experiences as support. I absolutely loved this class, her expertise is inspiring and her lectures are for the most part very interesting. You do have to show up and take notes, or expect to fail.
Hardest class I've taken at NYU. Honestly, I think it's worse than WTE (and that was pretty bad already). Don't take her, unless you're actually very, very, interested. I made the mistake of not trusting these reviews and I ended up with a horrific grade. She expects you to do all her external readings, know her lecture material, AND the textbook.
Dr. Andersen is a very kind person. She expects studiousness from her students, but she is fair in the way she tests and interacts with us. She gives tests that are thorough but fair, and if you study hard, you'll do absolutely fine. Some people thing she's too though, but those people don't expect to try hard in their classes.
This was hands down the worst class I've taken. Andersen can't seem to stay on track or get her points out in a clear and concise manner, so lectures are extremely frustrating and almost always run over time. In addition to tedious and repetitive lectures, she also assigns mountains of tedious and repetitive reading.
I took this class in 2000 & remember her as one of the most fascinating teachers I had. Engaging lectures. Part of your experience of her classes may depend on the TA due to there being extra study sessions with them (if the format hasn't changed). That's the one thing I wasn't thrilled with. As others said, be interested in the subject matter.
Not only is the content of the course hard, Andersen doesn't make it any easier by not posting any of the notes or assignments online. You need to write down everything she says in lecture or you'll miss material. Also need to read about 20 research papers on top of the textbook and the lecture notes for the final. Not worth it for how hard it is.
If you can avoid it, do not take this course. You have to attend all lectures and complete all textbook reading plus all 20 page articles. The theories she teaches are outdated & she focusses on Freud for a whole month. She's an established researcher but not a good teacher. I have not learned anything new that I didn't learn in Intro to Psych
This is a TON of content, but it's not difficult content. Just a lot. The exams are hard, but if you do the readings and GO TO LECTURE you're fine. Pro tips: write down EVERY word she says in lecture. Make sense of it later. Combine notes with friends. She's SO rambly but then TESTS you on the ramblings, so you DON'T want to miss anything.
Read the textbook, go to lecture and you will be just fine! Andersen's lectures can be dry sometimes but she's really sweet, brilliant and has the best dry humor. The class was tough but manageable -- my TA Laura is an absolute angel and is so helpful! Definitely go to her review sessions, work hard and you'll get an A. Such an interesting class.
Prof. Andersen is perhaps the best example of the scatterbrain academic who sweeps student's questions/concerns under the rug in favor of her pursuit to further her career. If you make the mistake of taking her class, you better be fast to befriend the TA.
Dr. Andersen is by far the most inspirational, caring, passionate, professor I've ever had and Personality was the best, most useful class I've ever taken. Her lectures are hilarious and engaging - she really knows her stuff and wants us to understand everything. Pay attention and read and you'll do really well.
Mind-blowing class, Dr. Andersen is THE BEST - she is caring, supportive and really knowledgeable. Learned more in this class than all of my other psych classes combined. Not difficult, just keep up with the readings
Whole grade is just a couple of tests and a paper. Really pay attention in class and read the book. She is extremely smart and sometimes its hard to follow.
I don't understand why there's so much negative feedback on Andersen. I think people are so used to having slides to copy, but Andersen doesn't use slides, therefore you're required to really focus to understand her lectures and to be able to take notes. As a result, I actually *understood* the material rather and the rest followed, including my A.
many students expect information to be fed to them, which doesn't happen here. this is the best class i've ever taken and dr. andersen is a really wonderful human - caring, hilarious, and understanding on top of being a total genius. her lectures are mind-blowing & it's easy to get an A if you just listen,which is easy bc the material's fascinating
Please please do not take this class! She begun the class saying it would be "very hard" and I realised through the course that its due to the disorganization and tangential nature of the lectures. I was incredibly engaged with the material, its all very interesting, but the main takeaway from the class was understanding Andersen, not the material.
So. Prof. Andersen is a wonderful person. She is incredibly intelligent, but Personality was unreasonably difficult due to the amount of material crammed into one semester. The reading is excessive and there are no powerpoints in lecture and if youre like me its hard to focus on someone talking for an hour and a half. Still like her though.
andersen is a real gem-a wonderful caring person, and the material in personality is so fascinating! it's actually very easy to get an A bc her lectures require your engagement, and the readings really aren't hard- they're SO interesting. ended up w/a higher grade in this class than any other class bc she curves exams generously
To understand the material and perform well in the class, you have to actually attend lecture and pay attention. (SHOCKING, I know!) However, Professor Andersen makes it easy to do that; she's very knowledgeable, awkwardly funny and engaging. If you're uninterested in the material, lazy and prefer memorizing slides, do not take this class.
She lectures without powerpoints so you have to make sure to write everything she says down, cant skip lectures. The textbook should be used but the lectures are not based off on it. So tests are on text,lecture, and assigned readings. Writing assignment which is worth a test grade. She is really nice and curves the tests a little bit.
I kept hearing that this was the hardest undergraduate psychology class at NYU, but most of the difficulty was in her lecture. She doesn't use powerpoints, so most of the class is her going off on random tangents that made it harder to take cohesive notes. Do good on the midterms and final and you should be fine.
best professor ever, detailed oriented, patient, always takes time to explain my questions, best mentor ever.
I had heard that this was the hardest Personality class but if you go to lecture, study well and utilize your TA, you should be fine and get an A. Her exams are tricky but there is a generous curve on both the midterm & final and overall course.
Unreasonable amount of content to be studied. Prof is interesting but scatterbrained and hard to follow. Would not take.
This class is exactly my area of interest, but Professor Andersen made the experience unbearable. She refuses to use PowerPoints, but isn't organised so her lectures are a bunch of rambling. Her test is very long and difficult multiple questions (barely one minute per question!). Unfair to the students, doesn't try at all to do what's best for them
She is the worst. It's like her life goal to make student's lives way more difficult. She rambles constantly, doesn't use PPs, sometimes uses the whiteboard but she is all over the place. 50% of exams cover the textbook which is never discussed in class. No study guide. 30-40% of ppl fail each semester! choose another area B class and save urself!
there are no power points, TA cant use powerpts in rec, she has tenure so students opinions over the years doesnt change anything, the midterm is based on 13 lectures and 14 chapters, theres no study guides so you have to know all the material & is based on theories, the takehome is "supposed" to be easy A but its not, and the final is cumulative
Excellent professor & human who really cares about students, takes time to answer questions with attention & detail, hilarious & engaging lectures that make it easy to remember material - if you want info fed to you, dont take, if youre lazy, dont take - youll just complain & misunderstand. Mind blowing, profound class if youre ready to think.
if you haven't taken andersen's class, you're wasting your tuition. a profound blend of philosophy & psychology that made me re-conceptualize my world & relationships. a necessary & significant class in this superficial era. perhaps you need to be of a certain, uh, cognitive level to be able to appreciate her, judging from other ratings.
i could rant forever about how susan was not a great professor. she doesn't care about the students with the Moses center for disabilities, has unrealistic expectations of students' ability to write down every single thing she says, and continuously goes on unnecessary and irrelevant tangents. and to the previous post, uh, check yourself man!
OMG. Wonderful professor, but even more a wonderful human. I could gush forever about how her class was life changing - 3 years out of undergrad, I still look back at my notes from Personality and still laugh out loud remembering some of the stories that she told along with her lectures. Amazing amazing person!!!
Prof. Andersen is an incredible, and I mean incredible, person. Nothing compares. We all gave her a standing ovation on the last day of lecture. Brilliant researcher, and brilliant teacher who really cares about her students learning.
Relational Aspects of the Self with Dr. Andersen was such an amazing class that I had to take Personality after, which I also loved. Really rigorous and in-depth exploration of social cognition, the origins of the self, and the self in relation to significant others. Fascinating stuff, and a truly fabulous professor.
ok so everyone who knows me knows I LOVE prof. andersen. her lectures are hilarious & super engaging, she took the time to explain anything I didn't understand in office hours, AND she went above and beyond in chatting to me about her domain of expertise - the self & significant others in social cognition - to help me apply to grad school!
amazing mentor, great attention to detail, genuinely cares about students, super knowledgable in her domain of research (which happens to be my area of interest)
mindblowing class, she's a real one!!! no, but seriously, she's freaking hilarious and brilliant and wants you to do well. lots of reading but I actually found it fascinating.
Every exam has impossible questions to answer. Multiple choice but every option goes as follows (in no order): A. Most correct answer B. Technically not an incorrect answer C. An answer that sounds correct but something small makes it incorrect D. Sometimes C. sometimes completely wrong E. All of the above/a combination of two options
So sad this class is over, what am I going to do with my life now? Love that she lets you check answers immediately following the exam, has intricate attention to detail, and you can tell she loves what she does - her lectures are stirring, and she Is super passionate about her area of research. Also really cares about students.
I took Prof. Andersen's class Fall 2018, and it was so rewarding. I still remember all the material, and use it daily in my job. Also she still responds to my emails quickly and genuinely cares about helping me get into clinical psych to be a therapist. It was a lot of work, but really really meaningful work and her lectures make it easy to succeed
a master teacher. seriously. I will never forget the things I learned in her class and the way she taught them. also she is the sweetest and funniest person, so go to her office hours!
Personality is the best course I've taken at NYU--learned more than any other course and it's all SO interesting. That being said, this class is hard and high stress in that there's just so much covered in one semester--if you want to do well you're going to have to work for it & stay on top of readings & go to lecture because she covers so much.
I took Personality with Professor Andersen and really enjoyed it. She was funny and her lectures were interesting and engaging, and she is encouraging and supportive of students' questions. Although there's a ton of material and readings, which might get overwhelming at times, you'll be fine if you just put in the effort.
We have no access to the powerpoint made by her nor the TAs, all by her request. Lectures are left up no longer than 48 hours. Hardly any accommodations are made for International students. This class is unnecessarily difficult. Let this be your last resort Core A class. The biggest issue is the exams. The stress is not worth it. Please avoid.
Very interesting content, but VERY challenging and time consuming to get a good grade.
Professor Anderson had absolutely no consideration for the students in different timezones, until someone stepped in and informed her of the university policies. Her classes are beyond boring and she teaches not even 1/2 of the syllabus in class and expects it to be covered by students. Her exam was timed (1min per q), & was difficult to complete.
I had an amazing experience in Personality. Her lectures are hilarious (as are her ppts!)
The reviews on this site are extremely misleading, I took this class thinking that she was a good professor, it turns out her class was the worst I have taken out of all the semesters I have been at NYU. Her classes are long and she refuses to put the slides up for more than 24 hours. If I could avoid one class at NYU this one would be it.
Im a senior and this was my favorite class taken at NYU, hands down! Such a rich array of theorists that otherwise would have been neglected in other classes.
This class was a lot of hard work for me, but it was also very rewarding. Definitely not an easy A, but Professor Andersen is one of the most inspirational professors Ive ever had in my life. She injects her lectures with humanity. Wish I could take more of her classes!
My favorite class at NYU! Lots of reading, so if you have a heavy course load, save this class for a different semester because you will need to be committed to the work. But learned more than in all my other psych classes combined!
My favorite professor at NYU! Took Prof. Andersen for Personality + the Relational Self and both were incredibly rewarding experiences. We gave her a standing ovation at the end of Personality! Shes also always more than willing to speak with you in office hours - whether about social, clinical, or life in general.
I'm in Tisch and Personality made me want to switch to CAS and declare Psych as my major. But I know that this class is probably the best it gets, it was so deep and amazing that I doubt it can get better than this. One of the best memories at NYU.
incredibly profound course that was a blend of existential philosophy and psychology. professor andersen is very accessible in office hours and sat with me to talk through options in clinical psychology as well as research in other domains of psych. the best prof I had at NYU
Amazing professor! Personality changed my life and made me switch majors to psychology because Prof. Andersen taught with such depth
As a student who hasn't taken her course and will not because of her awful reputation, stay away. Scroll down through her ratings and notice how every 5.0 rating has the same "inspirational" or "hilarious" tags while every "student" seems to SPEAK IN CAPITALS or stress how thankful there aren't powerpoints. What up Susan, stop reviewing yourself.
Personality definitely isn't for everyone. There's a ton of material. However, she curves the exams heavily (15 questions wrong in a 50-question test is still an A), so actually my grade was much better than it would normally be.
if you want to take her for your core b requirement, find another class. the biggest mistake I made was taking her class. I read the reviews on here thinking she would be a lot better but if you notice, most of them are written on the same day with the same 3 hashtags, so it's clear she wrote them herself.
One of the worst professors at NYU, has 0 care for her students or the stressors that come with COVID. As a psych professor, understanding the additional stressors that come with online learning should be easy, yet apparently for her its not. If you take her class, be prepared to spend hours reading every night as she barely covers the material.
Do not take her class. Andersen has no consideration for her students whatsoever. She spends absurd amounts of time explaining one concept while leaving out 90% of the course material in her lectures. Despite obviously not caring about the success of her students, she is extremely stubborn when it comes to the rules she sets.
The reviews on this page are extremely misleading. If you are taking her class in a different time zone, don't sign up for it. The class is challenging which is fair and the material is interesting but she is not engaging and thus turns the class into a boring monologue. The exams are challenging but curved, still not an easy A.
very difficult course, boring lectures, hard tests. avoid this prof if you can
Worst professor in the psych department. She doesn't care about whether her students pass or fail and blatantly ignores those that struggle mentally. Doesn't care about the online environment under Covid and still expects students to put in an unreasonable amount of work. Tons of misleading reviews on this page - don't take this class.
Probably the worst and most difficult professor at NYU, literally made me reconsider choosing Psych as my major. The exams are way WAY too difficult and don't seem to test what we know. The papers took too long to grade and we didn't receive ANYTHING about what will be on the final before we took it. This class is ridiculous
Worst class I have ever taken. Professor Andersen did not seem to care about her students at all, even during COVID. There was no information given out before exams, and if you were confused, you were on your own. Also, she is literally the most boring lecturer ever. So monotone and made even the most interesting material seem uninteresting.
Professor Andersen is extremely knowledgeable with tons of expertise in her field. She's so smart, that at times she goes on small tangents during lecture, but they're always interesting. The hardest part of class will be identifying what is most important to write down, so just pay attention. Topic is super interesting as well.
She deletes lecture recordings after two weeks, responds to emails 1-5 days late, and the test questions were on a minute and a half timer and you couldn't go back. Least accommodating educator I've had. The idea to lock students out of crucial study info is bewildering. Her emails were also weirdly passive aggressive. Ma'am, we are in a pandemic.
She is a very amiable and funny lady. You gotta pay a lot of attention to her lectures-- that's the only difficulty. I learned from the gc that some kids from my class are rating her low bc she won't give us an extension on the take-home final. To defend her, she gave us 2 weeks and the take-home took 2 days. Just stop complaining and be a student.
Prof. Andersen is honestly not bad. There was a lot of reading, but not much other work. The midterm and the final are heavily curved, so even though there is a lot of content, it's not hard to get a good score. Her lectures are dry but I found her entertaining and the material interesting. I don't think she's a bad choice and I learned a lot.
I actually had a great time in prof andersen's lectures. She's pretty chill and is lowkey funny. Course work wise, you just gotta pay attention and do your readings.
I really don't know why Professor Andersen bothers teaching, as she clearly doesn't care in the slightest for her students' mental health. She blatantly disregards accessibility concerns (particularly egregious considering she is a PSYCH PROF) and makes the course as difficult as possible. She's also weirdly insensitive during lectures. avoid her
Professor Andersen is a genius, and very intelligent but I do not recommend taking this class. It has been an extremely tough semester and Dr. Andersen did not offer enough support; she asks us to take very precise lecture notes because she does not have slides, she assigns wayyyyy too much reading. Probably read more than 500 pages this semester.
This was easily the hardest course Ive ever taken. Did I learn a lot? Yes. Was it worth it? Probably not. Susan clearly doesnt care for her students and is so far up academias ass to care. DONT take this course-The woman has no idea how to teach and was blatantly clear about that. Her poor tas were left just as confused as we were. Bye Susan
Cannot stress enough how much Prof Andersen sucks. Extremely unaccommodating and not understanding. TAs carried this class. Clearly does not care about students well-being.
Prof. Andersen's Personality was the best course I took in college. I learned a lot about a wide range of fascinating material. Lecture was insightful and she was accessible. Yes, it is work. Take *concise* notes, *understand* the readings, & you will do well. It's not supposed to be a handout or a coddling. Sadly that's what many students expect
She was extremely unaccommodating and many of the 5 star reviews were written herself. This class was so strenuous and she refused to accommodate to students in different time zones in 2020 due to COVID. I had to withdraw from the class.
Literally worst class I've taken at NYU. Don't ignore the ratings. She literally just rambles in class...about anything but the subject. The take-home exam is literally the most work I've done for any assignment ever. You have to read so many research papers and attend all lectures to be able to do it. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS it is not worth it.
I actually got depression or as Anderson says "learned helplessness" from this class and there's no notes or slides given to us nor is the TA allowed to give us it. Very lecture heavy and if you miss one class, just say goodbye to ur grade. I don't understand how her rating is a 3.6, some people are giving her unreliable ratings. DON'T TAKE CLASS.
Prof.Andersen is very knowledgable and you would learn a lot from her class. Just be ready to read. English is not my native language and I received 114 for my TOEFL test, but I still find readings of this class very demanding.
Prof Anderson is really knowledgeable. Although attendance is mandatory, it is a good way to keep students on track. She is very helpful during her office hours.
Terrible professor. She rates herself, so don't trust her ratings. Worst class ever taken.
it is def very hard and i put A LOT of effort to get a good grade, like i need to really understand the lectures and read the textbook&readings. but tbh this is the most rewarding class in nyu psych for me. i really got to learn many new things in many new perspectives. the prof is pretty reachable too during office hours and after class for any qs
Dr.Andersen is top of her field with extensive knowledge across Social and Clinical Psychology. Although the readings could be dense at times, they were carefully chosen and prepared us well for meaningful discussion. Take her course if you would enjoy intellectual stimulation and a challenge, do not take if you are looking for an easy A.
Fantastic professor. She is a foundational theorist on this course's subject matter, and great at discussing the material. Doesn't use PowerPoint whatsoever, the class is wholly lecture and discussion. The work is hard, but if you go to office hours to ask questions and work hard, an A is very doable, and you will learn so much in the process.
This professor is extremely inconsiderate of students. I understand being heavy on reading but she has as reading 64 pages two weeks before the final, handing in a journal, and more reading on top of that. She does not believe in ppt which is fine and tells the recitation teachers to not use them too. She writes the good reviews on rmp, AVOID HER.
Do not take her
She is very bad at teaching
you actually have to show up at every lecture but it's incredibly rewarding if you're able to keep up. she teaches super in-depth; take good notes and study and you'll do fine. not sure why everyone else is crying and screaming and pooping their pants like bruh just go to class
After meeting with her to review my final, she admitted that the questions I got wrong were not worded well/were essentially wrong. A lot of corrections were made to exams DURING the exam. It just felt messy. Study hard. I don't think she's a bad lecturer, she's done great work, but her old-school style/messy chalkboard lecture is not cohesive.
Professor Andersen is amazing. As long as you listen carefully during lectures and do the readings carefully, you will do ok on a test. She make our overall grades look better by dividing our raw scores with a smaller number. She is resourceful and smart, her wording of lecture is fantastic.
The only things that the class is graded upon are all the exams and just 10% for recitation. If you do terrible on one exam, you can't redeem yourself unless you put in very hard work. It's lecture heavy and she doesn't use the computer at all. It is quite old fashioned and I believe we shouldn't adjust just for one person. It's a changing world.
Really: don't take the class. Horrific lectures that you have to attend ALL of to maybe still pass, hates technology and won't use powerpoint only chalkboard notes, and you are literally graded on three things. Take home exam is the hardest I've ever done. Midterm was beyond brutal. No study guides whatsoever. Expect 30-70 pages of reading a week.
In terms of lecture, it was good even though it was just white board notes and her talking. She's unintentionally funny, and the content is interesting. The exams were horrendous and so were the readings assigned independently of the textbook. The required journals were easy. Be mindful, this class is a lot, a lot of work.
DOOOOON'T. RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN
The logic of the lecture isn't very clear.
The lecture is well-taught but a lot of readings are required for this class, and she doesn't give any extra credit. Exams weight 90% of the course, making me doubt the point of wring 3 short essays. She teaches well but my GPA sucks.
Awesome lecturer, the course material is super interesting. REALLY TOUGH. Gotta study every little detail of the textbook. U do a whole textbook, separate lectures, and around 15 scientific paper readings. If u want an A, this course will have to take up a lot of your time. I made quizlets for everything j look up 'Personality chapter _/SA#_'.
Attendance is not mandatory, but if you don't go, you will fail this class. Prof. Andersen doesn't use slides or any technology to teach; she just talks at you and writes on the board (occasionally). Three years at NYU, and this is the most mentally draining class I've ever taken. If you want a good grade, you will need to study really, really hard
This class is so tests heavy. 90% of your grade will be midterms and the final. They are based on the lectures, textbook readings, and the readings that she posts. The tests are so specific and written as if she wants you to fail. Even the TAs dislike her. She is so cold and unempathetic. She does not want you to succeed.
What a ridiculous professor and class. So inconsiderate of her students, and a very cold person. Class is like 90% tests, and they are unbearably difficult. Fail one exam and you literally will fail the class. She also does all her lectures without any slides and gives no guidance on anything. The TAs are the only thing somewhat saving this class.
Don't take her. 90% of your grade is based on 3 exams. There is no online material so if you miss a lecture or don't have insanely detailed notes, you'll probably end up with a C.Tests are on at least 6 textbook chapters and lecture, but chapter info isn't mentioned in lectures. Basically double the amount of information.
Difficult exams. Lectures were not engaging. Personality is interesting but this class was terribly difficult and made it unenjoyable.
Your grade basically depends on the exams, and the exams are SUPER difficult. The midterm raw score is 34 out of 100, which means student got less than 17 questions right out of 50 questions. HEAVY readings, and she doesn't go over the reading materials during class. There's no PPT, class recording, so if you missed one class, say goodbye.
Pros: ~ Susan Anderson's is knowledgeable about the concepts of Personality. Cons: ~ Exams are EXTREMELY difficult, you have to memorize all the materials from lecture, textbooks, and Brightspace readings. Also, you have to memorize the names of the scientist/psychologist that introduced the theory or model. ~ No slides and no study guides.
Professor Andersen's lectures can be dense, especially with the readings, recitations, and exams. But getting high marks in her class is DOABLE. Her office hours have been incredibly valuable. You have her undivided attention to ask any question on your mind and clarify anything that tripped you up in class. This course was certainly rewarding.
vague lectures, difficult to understand. She expects students to write as if they are Shakespeare. I am an international student and English is not my native language. She ridicules me and mocks at me when she grades my papers. She is so rude that she said to me she has no idea how students who don't know English well get at NYU
Quite literally the worst professor at NYU, avoid the class or get ready to literally go through hell. The course was unorganized and Professor Andersen does not elaborate on any points coherently.
Had Professor Andersen for both Personality and RAS. I think she gets a bad rep bc her courses are not easy. The main issue is that she IS one of the top scholars in her field, so her knowledge and rigor will be in her lectures and the material. She is passionate and a phenomenal lecturer, you will always learn something in her class.
Dr. Andersen gives very good lectures that are explanatory, insightful, and easy to understand. She also gives the most difficult essay questions I have ever had on an exam. Luckily, she curves the class. Be ready to study very hard for her exams.
The exam is extremely difficult, and the lectures are not at all helpful. You are expected to memorize every detail from 200 pages of readings and all the lectures, despite there being no slides or study guides available.
Just don't take her class. She might be an intelligent professor, but not good at teaching. So I just dropped off.
not assignment heavy whatsoever, 3 papers only worth 10%. No slides or study guides, and TA's are not allowed to give us the materials they use in recitation, which is completely unfair. it is difficult for people who are visual learners, such as myself, to learn when she only lectures with no slides. expects us to memorize everything she says.
This was one of my favorite courses in all of college so far. If you go to class, take detailed notes, and study hard then an A is 100% attainable. Exams are all HEAVILY curved. You definitely have to read the textbook and articles but there are so many quizlets for the class that helped a lot, so just search for those. I loved class/ professor
Dr. Andersen's lectures are engaging, but the exams are brutally tough. Memorize everything from class, the textbook, and Brightspace - even psychologist names! unstuck study was a lifesaver for study prep. Attend every class and be ready to work hard.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
64%
Textbook Required
17%
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