[_Mike]

I took this course in fall 2010, and it was taught by Dr. Day, who I found to be one of the best lecturers I've encountered at McMaster thus far.

In this course, you learn about many common mental disorders, such as: ADHD, Autism, Anxiety Disorders, Dissociative Disorders, Somatoform Disorders, Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Personality Disorders. For each disorder, you learn the symptomatology, epidemiology, etiology, and common treatments.

One helpful aspect of this course is that the courseware contains very detailed notes, so instead of scribbling down everything Dr. Day says, you will be able to pay much closer attention in lecture. Another thing that I like was that there are online practice quizzes, and the majority of the questions on the evaluations come directly from the quiz bank. My study strategy consisted of reading over the notes and doing the practice quizzes a whole bunch of times.

This course doesn't require an overwhelming amount of work; there are 2 non-cumulative midterms worth 30%, plus a cumulative final exam worth 40%. The hardest part of the evaluations is the questions from the textbook -- the chapters are quite long, and even though I read all the assigned readings, the text questions sometimes tripped me up a bit!

Overall, I would recommend this course to anyone who has an interest in abnormal psychology and is very good at memorizing! There is a bit of application in this course, but for the most part, it is measures fact retention, and a good memory will definitely be of great aid in this course. This course isn't a walk in the park by any means, and there are definitely easier electives one could take, but a double-digit grade is not at all out of reach, provided you study very well before the evaluations.

Is the textbook required or should I simply buy the courseware?

HI,
you need the textbook as for each midterm and the exam, about 10 questions are taken directly from the textbook(and these are things, he doesnt mention in class)

You mentioned that Dr. Day is an excellent lecturer, however, I was wondering if he/she is approachable.

Originally Posted by JordanRets

You mentioned that Dr. Day is an excellent lecturer, however, I was wondering if he/she is approachable.

Definitely. He's one of the best profs at Mac. There's a whole bunch of positive reviews here if you want to read them: http://www.ratemyprofessors. com/Sh...sp?tid=1 0844

The textbook listing says the textbook for the course is Abnormal Psych (Custom McMaster Edition). Will I be able to get away with using the normal version or do I need the McMaster one? Thanks

Originally Posted by neeti10

The textbook listing says the textbook for the course is Abnormal Psych (Custom McMaster Edition). Will I be able to get away with using the normal version or do I need the McMaster one? Thanks

They've never used the custom edition before (I took the course last year and it was a new textbook, but not custom)...so you'll have to wait for the first class.

You will be fine with the original textbook. The custom edition is just the original text with less chapters, which will cost less than the book brand new. If you can find the book used for cheaper you are more than welcome to buy that.

I emailed Professor Day about it and he said it is fine to use the 2010 edition of Butcher et al. and as the previous poster said, that the new custom edition is just a cut down version without the chapters that won't be assigned readings.

any tips/advice?

did anyone think the handbook was helpful just so i know if i should get it or not?

I would also like to know if the handbook was helpful, I'm debating buying it.

Dr. Day Seems like a very nice prof!

Since a few questions for testing come from the textbook, what exactly does that mean? Is it any random question from the text so you have to read everything and take notes or are they the same questions that are asked in the "in review" box of the book?