Professor Karney is extremely nice and an amazing, passionate lecturer who is very knowledgeable about Intimate Relationships. He is also very willing to help others for those who come to office hours. However, the exams (two multiple choice exams in the Summer) are very hard and require a lot of reading and studying (worth 45 percent and 55 percent). I messed up a bit in my first exam and studied my ass off for the final to get my A-. I recommend taking the class just for Professor Karney and his charisma and personality but would raise caution about grading as the average grade for the class was a B- to B and requires a lot of reading and studying.

Amazing professor, although I never came to class (it was my only class on the days I had it, and I didn't see a point in going when it was Bruincasted) I genuinely looked forward to hearing his lectures. He can make 1 hour and 15 mins feel like it's going way faster just because he is so enthusiastic, and is a funny guy. I wasn't that particularly interested in the topic before coming into this class, but he made me interested in it, and relationships are obviously something that are relevant to everyone's life.
So the biggest thing about this class is you have to be a good exam taker to succeed. There is no extra credit offered, and 80% of your grade is based on exams (one midterm, one non-cumulative final). You also have to read the book, and absorb most of the material from it. There's a lot of stuff but he wrote the book in a way that is interesting, so it doesn't read like a traditional psych textbook. I was able to get a 100 on both exams w/o taking any notes, I just read the chapters over and over again about a week before the exams, and rehearsed material that I thought was gonna be on the exam. Prioritize on things mentioned in lecture, use that as a guide to know what to focus on when reading the book. There's gonna be stuff that isn't mentioned in lecture that is in the text, but I'd say at least 80% (probably more) of the exam questions were based on material that was mentioned in lecture + the book. Some reviewers say you have to know obscure details in the readings, but I did not find that to be the case. There wasn't one question about something he briefly mentioned, almost all the questions had to do w/ a large section in the book.
Also, he warns you the exams are hard but I did not find that to be the case. I found very few questions where I needed to take a 50/50 guess on, if you just memorized most of the important concepts for each chapter you should do well on the exams. The questions aren't even close to the level of psych 100b difficulty, very few trick questions, if any.
The essay is very easy, pretty much easy points. Consult the TA if you have any questions, but honestly if you put any effort into it you should be able to get full or near full credit on it. You really wanna make sure you do well on the paper since there is no extra credit, so if you're shooting for an A you don't have much room for error.
Overall, I wish Karney taught more classes because I found his class to be entertaining. The only downside is you have to read a lot, and I've never been much of a reader. Also you can only miss a handful of questions on the exams to get an A, so that was another downside. But the pros outweigh the cons imo. If you need a psych class you should take his class, if it's available. But if you're looking for an elective, this may not be the class for you, since you're certainly going to have to work for that A

Oh my gosh, where to start... I loved this class with all my heart. Karney is an AMAZING lecturer and you can tell he is extremely passionate and knowledgeable about intimate relationships, which is a topic that we all tackle with without even being aware of it! I wish a million times that I got to experience his lectures live rather than remotely... I just know they would've been even better in person. However, even through the screen, I was so engaged with his lectures as the topic genuinely interested me and I could apply it to my everyday life and make sense out of the intimate relationships that we will deal with until we die. Oh and I almost forgot to mention that he is absolutely HILARIOUS!

I will always use the information from this class for the rest of my life, and the textbook was very well written and incredibly fun to read! It was written by the professor himself, so it matches his teaching style which helps incorporate lectures and text. I read everything from beginning to end, and it was definitely worth it and I highly recommend that everyone read the book for a thorough, deeper understanding of their relationships. Great course, great professor, perfect way to end my journey at UCLA. Thank you, Professor Karney. Keep being you!

This class was very interesting and it's too bad that I wasn't able to take it in person. Professor Karney is very engaging and is clearly passionate about the material. The only downside was that he recylced his Bruincasted lectures from last spring so there was a bit of a disconnect there. Other than that, I found each topic within the course to be very relevant and applicable. The short paper was adjusted to involve discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected intimate relationships, nothing too bad. The exams are pretty tricky and were a bit specific so be sure to read the textbook bc there's almost no way to pass without having read it. Overall a great class and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn about a fascinating subject!

This class is great. Although, I advise you to not take this class during the summer session along with another course. I barely got through the lectures and missed many chapters of the reading due to demands of other courses and responsibilities.

The professor is fun and engaging, but there is ALOT of reading and the expectation that you read the entire book in order to do well on the exams. Anything in the textbook and lecture is fair game in the exams. Two midterms, each 50 questions, 75 minutes to complete.

Some questions are straightforward, some are common sense, and others are tricky enough to confuse you. He literally squeezes a 10-week course into 6 weeks, making it VERY EASY to fall behind, so KEEP UP!

Although I got a B in the course, I switched the grading to P/NP so that I could keep my GPA up. Definitely a class worth taking during a 10 week quarter, not during the summer.

This was the best class I’ve taken at UCLA. I wish every professor was as passionate and animated as Karney. His lectures are easy to follow because he’s so engaging. If you want to get an A, you will definitely have to read since the lectures supplement the textbook and help reinforce the material. If you find a friend and split the readings and share notes, you can still do well though.

what a fucking guy! love his office hours and lecture, but his textbook is expensive! you need that to pass the exams and class. the lectures you dont have to go to but i suggest bc he is just so funny and cool. one of the best and easiest courses i have taken at ucla. 10/10 professor. if my parents at ucla were karney and bonnie goff, call me a happy child.

Karney is one of the best lecturers I have had & I really recommend this class. His lectures are engaging, and he has the whole class laughing like we are at a stand up comedy show almost every lecture. The topics are interesting. Karney always made sure to learn people's names [either when they answer/ask a question of if you go to office hours], and it is not a small class, which I thought was very considerate and impressive. He is very personable. Most of what you need to know is at least touched on in lectures, but some is only in the book, which he is one of the authors of; usually I think it's annoying when professors have you buy their book, but I purchased a used hard copy online for less than $20, and it was not unpleasant to read. You can tell which chapter he wrote, because his humor comes through, which I found entertaining. I can see how this class would be a lot harder if you are taking it as a random Upper Div class, but I am a Psychobiolo major, and I took it just to fill extra Upper Div units, but found it fun and not to tricky; I would rather have an engaging class that requires some work than one that I don't pay attention to all lecture just because it is an easier A. I highly recommend going to Karney's office hours to talk to him, at least once.

BEST CLASS AT UCLA WITH THE BEST PROFESSOR AT UCLA.

Do yourself a favor and TAKE THIS CLASS! Read the textbook, watch the lectures, and you'll be fine.