PSYCH 261Physiological Psychology

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From 190 ratings and 61 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

• This review contains everything you need to know about PSYCH 261 (online).
  Do take it online if you get the chance, because two of three tests are open-book, whereas the in-person course only has two closed-book midterms, at least at the time of writing.
  Before we get into the nitty-gritty, an honest warning: this course could lower your GPA if you do not work hard at it. Especially if you are an arts student with no science background, as I am.
  I took the online version of this course in spring of 2026. Here are the raw facts of the course's structure and its content:
  - About 50 minutes to 1h30m of *extremely dense* pre-recorded lecture content every week
  - 20-50 pages of less-dense…

  Aug 2026 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• I don't recommend taking this course online. In the online version, the lectures are only about 30 minutes long per week and they only highlight important information but do not teach you anything really. You are expected to learn all the content from the textbook readings. (aka you have to teach yourself everything in the course basically) Most of the midterm content was found only in the readings and not discussed at all in the "lectures". Online midterms were okay, but questions were all over the place. If you're a psych student, you'll probably find this course pretty tough as it is VERY sciencey and requires a ton of memorization. If you're a science student, take this course…

  Mar 2017 · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• I took this online ... which I would advise not to do because it is hard. There is a lot of reading and the online lectures can be a little dry. It was my only course while on co-op thankfully. I would not do this online if you're on a full course load.
  Get started reading as early as possible - I think that's the biggest advice.
  In terms of the content, it was exactly what I was looking - what areas of the brain were involved in what processes, how those processes worked, why structures like the pinna are shaped the way they are - but only in the later chapters did it talk about integrative concepts such as emotion.
  The midterms seemed to have /some/ clinical based questions such as…

  Apr 2016 · liked it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• If you are taking this as a psych requirement in BA, I'm so sorry, your gonna struggle. My best recommendation is to read the textbook thoroughly and prepare HEAVILY for exams, if you don't have at least a high school background in bio or chem consider taking this course online because you will struggle in person. I took chem all high school and i think the recall from that is the only thing that saved me and gave me a minor understanding of course concepts. ALSO if you have Daniel for a professor, make sure you DO as questions IN class or after he is always there to answer questions, and does a good job. However, his slides at times can be lacking in definitions.

  Apr 2024 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

• I did this class in person with Marty Lochner. This class was hard. With that being said, I loved every second of it! The content was enjoyable for someone who enjoys learning about neuroscience. The course was made up of 4 tests worth 24%, and 4% in SONA research. Anyone in science would thrive in this course. The class was very content-heavy but the TA's were fantastic and would help you with everything. They gave summarized slideshows and had good office hours. If you're in arts, be ready to put in the work

  Nov 2023 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this