Likes to "show off" who she has worked with. Seems a little insecure. It's almost like she spent more time trying to explain why her field was relevant/important, instead of actually teaching material. Uses a few studies I thought were bogus to justify the scientific method/relevance. It made me have less respect for emotional psych. repetitive.Rate My Professors ↗
Historical instructor
PAULA NIEDENTHAL
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Quality 3/5Difficulty 3/5
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Niedenthal was by far my favorite professor that I have had at UW Madison! She is very good at teaching and most of the information is from studies she has personally conducted.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I loved this class and Niedenthal. Extremely interesting content and lectures. She is so clearly passionate about the subject and presents a lot of her own research within the course. Comes across as a little intimidating at first but in a way that makes you do well. Couldn't recommend this class enough!!!!Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Assignments are super easy. Most of the work you will do in this class is reading the textbook chapters each week and studying for the exams. Exams are a good chunk of your grade and sometimes she tries to trick you with the "which is the best answer" but if you know the information you will be fine. Experienced researcher and interesting lectures.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
I really enjoyed this class! Unlike many other psych classes, there are a few short writing assignments outside of just exams and papers, which I appreciated. Prof. Niedenthal is super knowledgable, caring, and fun. Her lectures can be unengaging at times, but mostly good. Textbook is a bit dense at times but did help me understand things better.Rate My Professors ↗
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Professor Niedenthal comes across as very knowledgable on course material and is also really engaging, which is rare to find in a professor. She seems to genuinely care about her students, and I highly recommend Psych 508 to anyone wanting to learn about the psychology of emotions.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with PAULA NIEDENTHAL
No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.
View last recorded teaching term →No courses match this selection. Try the full catalog or another term.
Recorded teaching history
Distinct courses recorded per term
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
| Term | Course | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Spring 2026 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2026 | PSYCH 711 | Current Topics in Psychology |
| Spring 2026 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2025 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2025 | PSYCH 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2025 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Fall 2025 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2025 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2025 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2025 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2025 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2024 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2024 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2024 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Fall 2024 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2024 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Spring 2024 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2024 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2023 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2023 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2023 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2023 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2023 | PSYCH 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2023 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2023 | PSYCH 728 | Classic Issues in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2023 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2022 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2022 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2022 | PSYCH 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2022 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Fall 2022 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2022 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2022 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2022 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2021 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2021 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2021 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Fall 2021 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2020 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2020 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2020 | PSYCH 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2020 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Fall 2020 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2020 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2020 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2020 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2020 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2019 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2019 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2019 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Fall 2019 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2019 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2019 | PSYCH 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2019 | PSYCH 728 | Classic Issues in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2019 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2018 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2018 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2018 | PSYCH 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2018 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2018 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2018 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2017 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2017 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2017 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Spring 2017 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2017 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2016 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2016 | PSYCH 930 | Seminar-social Psychology |
| Fall 2016 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2016 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2016 | PSYCH 682 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Spring 2016 | PSYCH 728 | Classic Issues in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2016 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2015 | PSYCH 311 | Issues in Psychology |
| Fall 2015 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2015 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2015 | PSYCH 681 | Senior Honors Thesis |
| Fall 2015 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2015 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2015 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2015 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2014 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2014 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2014 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Fall 2014 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2014 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Spring 2014 | PSYCH 692 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Spring 2014 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2014 | PSYCH 728 | Classic Issues in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2014 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Fall 2013 | PSYCH 508 | Psychology of Human Emotions: From Biology to Culture |
| Fall 2013 | PSYCH 621 | Mentored Research and Seminar |
| Fall 2013 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
| Fall 2013 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Fall 2013 | PSYCH 990 | Research |
| Spring 2013 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Fall 2012 | PSYCH 501 | Depth Topic in Social Science |
| Fall 2012 | PSYCH 703 | Proseminar in Social Psychology |
| Spring 2012 | PSYCH 691 | Undergraduate Thesis |
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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