Spring 2027

Introduction to Psychology

Introduction to Psychology covers behavior topics: development, motivation, emotion, intelligence, learning, forgetting, personality, language, thinking, and social behavior.

offering recorded3–4 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Chelsea Andrews4.1/5Jonathan Gallimore3.2/5Rebecca Addington3.0/5

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Chelsea Andrews

Andrews assigned two small writing assignments per week and one 8-10 page final paper. Other sections required two discussion posts, a reflection, and a quiz weekly, with a final project but no traditional tests.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Describe and discuss the inferences that are allowed by major methodological approaches in psychology, including correlational studies, experimental studies, and case studies.

  • Describe major theoretical perspectives, concepts, hypotheses, and empirical findings in a wide variety of core domains of psychology, including learning, memory, perception, intelligence, decision making, social behavior, health and well-being, and psychological disorders.

  • Apply the psychological concepts discussed above to real-world practical situations and current events.

  • Identify and describe the functionality (in terms of their role in human behavior and/or subjective experience) of major brain areas.

  • Discuss the relative contribution of nature (i.e., genetics) and nurture (i.e., experience) in multiple psychological phenomena.

  • Describe the changes that occur in various psychological phenomena across the lifespan

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Not open to students with credit for PSYCH 201

    • students with credit for PSYCH 201
    not eligible with
PSYCH 202 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Not eligible with
    • students with credit for PSYCH 201

Professors

Spring 2027

Chelsea Andrews

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.32/5 from 53 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 5.0/5 raw quality · 2.0/5 difficulty · 23 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Chelsea Andrews

Professor Chelsea Andrews taught a discussion-based course using a flipped classroom format, with weekly discussion posts, quizzes, and a final paper instead of traditional exams. Students found the workload manageable but noted that some assessments were difficult, while others described the grading as easy and the instructor as highly responsive and supportive.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.90 GPA, 91.7% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.70 GPA, 90.0% A/AB (n=350 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.94 GPA, 95.8% A/AB (n=24 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.19/5 from 200 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.4/5 raw quality · 3.0/5 difficulty · 86 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Jonathan Gallimore

Jonathan Gallimore taught fast-paced, textbook-heavy lectures that often involved reading directly from slides, requiring students to read or skim material beforehand. While some found the exams extremely difficult or unfair due to application-based questions, others noted that extra credit was available to raise grades by a full letter and that confusing questions were sometimes removed. Students disagreed on his demeanor, with some describing him as passionate and supportive, while others found him condescending or strange.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.28 GPA, 63.6% A/AB (n=494 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.26 GPA, 61.1% A/AB (n=525 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.26 GPA, 62.4% A/AB (n=237 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Rebecca Addington

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 2.92/5 from 205 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 2.6/5 raw quality · 3.6/5 difficulty · 80 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Rebecca Addington

Rebecca Addington taught lectures by reading slides, which students found unengaging, though she used examples to help memory. While some found exams fair with provided review sheets, others reported them as unusually difficult with questions not covered in class, leading to significant workload. Feedback was mixed on her approach, with some praising her straightforwardness and support, while others criticized the lack of lecture help and difficulty retaining information.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 2.83 GPA, 37.9% A/AB (n=285 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.94 GPA, 44.0% A/AB (n=554 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.93 GPA, 46.0% A/AB (n=398 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Patricia Coffey, Caton Roberts

Patricia Coffey’s lectures were sometimes long and boring, but she provided real-life applications; exams were manageable despite much material. Caton Roberts’ quizzes were easy, tests were multiple choice, and attending lectures was necessary.

BENJAMIN MAX DYKMAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CATON ROBERTS is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHELSEA ANDREWS is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JEFFREY HENRIQUES is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JONATHAN GALLIMORE is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

LAUREN ANTHONY is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MADELINE PFLUM is recorded teaching in Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2021, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

PATRICIA COFFEY is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

REBECCA ADDINGTON is recorded teaching in Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

STEPHANIE SCHELL is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 3150
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 3150
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 3150
LEC 004Classroom Instruction0 / 250

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Chelsea Andrews

Chelsea Andrews taught a discussion-based honors section where every class session was a highlight for one student, even at 8 am. The format was described as an amazing experience with exams balanced by extra credit.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.32 GPA, 65.6% A/AB (n=709 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.24 GPA, 61.0% A/AB (n=1566 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.10 GPA, 54.6% A/AB (n=672 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Chelsea Andrews

Andrews assigned two small writing assignments per week and one 8-10 page final paper. Other sections required two discussion posts, a reflection, and a quiz weekly, with a final project but no traditional tests.

Past student reviews · Chelsea Andrews

Students described Andrews' online asynchronous version as easy and manageable, noting she was responsive via email. One student cautioned that the class might not be ideal for those who need to deeply learn psychology.

Topics

  • Development, motivation, frustration, emotion, intelligence, learning, forgetting, personality, language, thinking, and social behavior.
  • Correlational studies, experimental studies, and case studies.
  • Memory, perception, decision making, health and well-being, and psychological disorders.
  • Functionality of major brain areas in human behavior and subjective experience.
  • Nature versus nurture: genetics and experience in psychological phenomena.
  • Changes in psychological phenomena across the lifespan.

Skills

  • Analyze inferences from correlational, experimental, and case study methods.
  • Explain theories, concepts, and findings across core psychology domains.
  • Apply psychological concepts to real-world situations and current events.
  • Identify functions of major brain areas in behavior and experience.
  • Evaluate nature versus nurture contributions to psychological phenomena.
  • Describe developmental changes in psychological phenomena across the lifespan.

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.16 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
PSYCH 202 · Spring 2027

Introduction to Psychology

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:820:016364",
    "course_id": "PSYCH 202",
    "course_uid": "course_c6cb82c0dae5185c7cec8d65",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "016364",
    "source_subject_id": "820",
    "title": "Introduction to Psychology",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 4,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1Download part 2
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1Download part 2
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2Download part 3Download part 4Download part 5Download part 6Download part 7Download part 8Download part 9
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "4077760d18c07c63738d465e4d78671d363f5a1193ed0c0f6e6a3b1c5a4310e3",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}