In this class, I got the lowest grade in my life. His class was easy, but the exams were terrible. The questions were ambiguous.

Easiest class in the Psychology department, but probably also one of the most real life applicable ones. You learn about healthy aging and debunking theories— gets you thinking a bit about young vs old and the stereotypes behind old age. Professor is also very kind and knowledgable.

You are graded on a 1-2 page thought paper, two free-response exams, and a final 4-5 page paper. All are graded leniently and are not very difficult. Lectures were recorded (audio recordings on slides) and exams were online, only 5 questions. As long as you try, there is no way you will get less than an A or A+.

Great class, a great professor, and great material. I learned a lot. The exams are long but a fair test of your expertise on the material.

I am selling the textbook: Cognition, Exploring the Science of the Mind, 6th Edition by Daniel Reisberg. Message me at ********** for details!

Honestly, I ran this class on autopilot. It was so so manageable and chill. It was the most low-maintenance class I've taken at UCLA and the material was beneficial and applicable to real life.

For Fall 2022, the lectures were podcasted. There are two papers (one is 1-2 pages long and the other is 4-5 pages) and 2 free-response exams. As long as you watch/attend lectures and take notes, they should be relatively easy.

Professor Castel is intelligent and he cares about the subject matter very much. The class is very manageable. Only 2 exams and 2 short papers. The materials are engaging and interesting. Would recommend!

He was an amazing professor who taught a very interesting course. Reading the book and going to lectures and discussions are more than enough to be successful in this class. Use the techniques that you learned in the class in regards to studying in general and see your decision to take this class pay dividends! Awesome guy.

This is one of the most interesting classes I have taken. He teaches very well and you will not be bored at all. His exams are extremely tricky and my class got a C average on the midterm. I am almost sure that he gives too much leeway to his TAs in designing the exams. There were many complaints after the midterm and final regarding the clarity of the questions asked. Professor Castel acted in many occasions as if he had never seen his exam questions before, which indicated that the TAs were writing the exam. The textbook he chose is clear and easy to understand. I really wish Professor Castel would spend some time designing his own exams, but clearly he does not. Otherwise I would HIGHLY recommend this professor, but unfortunately I cannot do so.

Professor Castel is a really nice and interesting lecturer, but besides that his exams are tricky and ridiculously hard. I wish he gave us more time on the exams. Too many detailed questions. Besides knowing the textbook you need to understand the concepts very well from the lecture slides.