Robert Pihl - McGill University, Montreal, QC

Professor: Robert Pihl

Department: Psychology

College: McGill University, Montreal, QC

Rating # 1

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Has a tendency to speak about people with mental illness as if there's no chance anyone in the room has a mental illness. Generally a bit arrogant. However, his immense experience and expertise show a lot in his teaching, and I cannot say that I didn't learn a lot from the course.

Rating # 2

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He's THE BEST prof I've ever had at McGill. He's extremely knowledgeable and his lectures are thought provoking. His exams can be quite hard(but if you study hard you can absolutely do well, No I'm not one of those smart/A students). He really cares to educate his students and open their eyes to real challenges in psychology.

Rating # 3

Overview:

• Course: PSCY337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Dr Pihl is extremely knowledgeable and his lecture material is very engaging! This class helped me develop a more critical perspective on abnormal behaviour and on the different fields of psychological research. The conferences require a lot of work (cover material we don't go over in class), but if you do your readings you'll be fine! GREAT CLASS

Rating # 4

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

He's hilarious! Great prof, classes were recorded but I went anyway because they were so interesting. He knows his material and has done extensive research that he integrates well into the class, as well as cases of patients he's had, which make the lectures quite engaging. Exams are hard but fair; if you don't have a memory for detail AVOID HIM.

Rating # 5

Overview:

• Course: PSCY337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: No
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

A tragic mixture of genius and arrogance, this professor baffled me continuously throughout the semester. To be honest, the class has fascinating and high-level material. Tragically, the assessments are absolutely tilted and unfair, focusing not on the salient material, but on the dry, garbage readings from the wretched, dense course pack.

Rating # 6

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.0
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Exams so detailed & from so many readings, studies and whatnot, was too hard to keep up & remember everything. Lectures packed & hard to figure out what's important to remember from them for exams. Short-answer questions very specific so STUDY LECTURES! Reading questions less specific so DEFINITELY use reading group notes! Lectures were recorded.

Rating # 7

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Lecture material is fascinating; coursepack is completely unrelated to lectures and extremely dense. Exams are 1/2 MC from coursepack (reasonable albeit specific), 1/2 short answer from class (almost impossible because of poor wording). TAs even said they wouldn't be able to answer the SA. MEMORIZE EVERYTHING. Great class, but difficult to do well.

Rating # 8

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: B
• Overall Rating: 2.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Prof. Pihl is a strange guy. He is a good lecturer and the material is very interesting. However, he assigns tons of article-readings and makes his exams very difficult on purpose. Study hard! I'm still conflicted about this class. I love abnormal psychology but sometimes Prof. Pihl made it less enjoyable to learn about. Can often appear arrogant.

Rating # 9

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

He's knowledgeable, gives you new perspective on psychology and is funny (ppl are too easily offended). Course pack is difficult to understand but the TA's help you go through it. Very detailed exams, but never asks smtg he didn't touch upon, nor tries to trick you. Finished with a B+, didn't put a hell load of work into it. I'd take him again!

Rating # 10

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

I was really excited to take this course. Has the potential to be absolutely amazing. Professor Pihl is rude, confusing, repetitive and obnoxious. The readings are HORRIBLE, impossible to understand. His exams are EXTREMELY difficult. The short answer on his exams are very vague and not specific but he looks for specific answers.

Rating # 11

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: Not sure yet
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

50 minute lectures, lecture material is really interesting, he's experienced and funny, tells stories. the course pack is hell, articles suck. exams are mcq & short answers, doable but hard. conferences are literally the worst, so boring and you have to present an article. 2 midterms one final. it's hard, but it's a prereq for other courses so..

Rating # 12

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: A+
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: Yes
• Attendance: Mandatory

Comment:

Pihl makes class so interestingengaging! You'll never wanna miss a class! The tests are so fair, not sure why ppl say they arent (probs bc they're in 2nd year). Just know the details of the lectures and the general idea from the articles (which aren't hard). The conferences are AWESOME, get into one of Lance's and you'll be inspired!!

Rating # 13

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 4.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

PROS: Lectures recorded. Information clearly delivered. First two exams noncumulative and lightly weighted (10 & 20%). Conferences are easy. CONS: Exams extremely difficult. Study all the minutiae. Hard to be adequately prepared. Prof prone to making off color jokes; doesn't like when people don't laugh. Asking questions explicitly forbidden.

Rating # 14

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 4.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: Yes
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

Pihl is great: he has first-hand experience, great anecdotes and he encourages critical thinking. Add that to his dry sense of humour. The exams go into a lot of detail, but they're fair. The lectures are recorded. The conferences are hell though...

Rating # 15

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: WD
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: Not Mandatory

Comment:

One of the WORST classes/profs I've had. Class avg=52% on the 1st midterm, class is 8:30am in StBio, no recordings and no powerpoint slides either. The coursepack was only scientific papers; no *intro* to the disorders. Pihl also made horrifying crude oppressive "jokes" every day, regardless of if it had anything to do with the material.

Rating # 16

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Great prof, great course, Pihl was not as hard as thought going into this course, exams are detailed but reasonable. Despite what people say out of frustration, they are fair, he won't give you things he didn't go over

Rating # 17

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 5.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Best class at McGill. Best Prof at McGill.

Rating # 18

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 3.5
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Difficult class, but the material is super interesting. You must study a lot, but it's not as painful as some other classes. Also, Pihl is great and gives you an entirely new perspective on psychology. Overall, it's possible to do well if you put in the work. I finished with an A and I'm definitely not one of those super smart McGill students.

Rating # 19

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 1.0
• Course Difficulty: 5.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: Yes
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

The course information is conveyed in an anecdotal manner, so it is difficult to know what information is relevant. The exams are so poorly written that the TAs have to interrupt our hour long class multiple times (5+) to clarify the meanings of questions - the exams test your ability to decipher poor grammar and syntax instead of the course info.

Rating # 20

Overview:

• Course: PSYC337
• Grade Received: N/A
• Overall Rating: 2.0
• Course Difficulty: 3.0

• For Credit: N/A
• Textbook Used: No
• Would Take Again: N/A
• Attendance: N/A

Comment:

Pihl is an amazing prof with so much firsthand knowledge. the lectures are only 50 minutes long and I always wished they were longer because they were super interesting. The conferences suck. A lot. and they make the exams hell, but the they are curved like crazy