i literally only went to class 4 times: the first day, 2 midterms and the final. she offers lecture notes which are more tolerable than her kindergarden way of explaining the material. i read the entire book, and got an A in the class.

Mays is an average teacher. Any particular reasons not to take her? Not really. Her lectures are straightforward. You'll read the whole book front to back, including all the pages in between. As for previous posts regarding her having an "attitude" I didn't see that. She's friendly to the class but I can't say for sure what she's like in person since I've never talked to her. She will wake you up in lecture if she catches you sleeping. 8am is too early for class especially in Bunche. So early that I ended up getting a "B" in the class. Supposedly there is a increment grade booster if you get all the questions of the morning correct throughout the quarter (later in the quarter missing 1 was still accepted). I guess that is good for people who keep up to date with the material and get the questions correct. However you have to be in class from 8-10am to take those questions of the morning...not sleeping at your dormroom or apartment. Overall the class is alot of reading. Tests are pretty straightforward and multiple choice, no real tricks or anything, teacher is friendly and professional. The material is very interesting and has changed my views on how I view people with mental disorders. You'll learn alot from the class and Professor Mays, if you can wake up for it.

I found her standoffish - the TAs were a lot nicer. Her lectures are enriching in the sense that she shows videos and has several guest speakers come in; overall though, the lectures are boring and do not supplement the reading in any way. If you can deal with that, go for it. Pluses: she drops your lowest midterm grade, and also implemented this new grading system where she gives you the next grade up if you are within 2 points of it (i.e., C+ to a B-), given that you get her all 7 of "Question of the Morning" right. So basically, not an easy A, but doable. At least the material is really interesting.

She seemed to me that she did not really understand what she was talking about during the lecture. She rather talks more about basic stuffs that everyone know. She also has an attitude and didn't seem that she cared about students at all. Her grading system was also unfair. If you are interested in Abnormal psychology, take with another instructor,