Lisa Son

I was so scared for this class because of the reviews, but it's one of the easiest classes I've taken here so far. In the review sessions she tells you exactly what will be on the test, so as long as you study for an hour you should get 100s on the tests. my main advice for this class is to actually go to class. the content is actually quite interesting and I like prof Son's teaching style, although it can be a bit disorganized. it can also be hard to follow the slides so take your own notes.

I took her Memory section for FYS, and honestly, she was really nice! Super super understanding, and the workload was quite light. She goes on a lot of tangents so it's mostly her talking in class, but she also is very sweet and cares about how her students are doing. The class was a bit boring overall but it was a good opportunity to catch up on other work. She also really hates multiple choice tests like other reviews said lol she always mentions that.

If you’re considering taking Cognitive Psychology with Professor Son, I would seriously rethink it. Despite her clear passion for the subject, her teaching style is incredibly disorganized, and her approach to exams is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced at Barnard. First off, she does not believe in Multiple Choice tests. She’s so adamantly against them that she once suggested we protest them during the Columbia demonstrations. Instead, her exams consist of three midterms with only 12 questions each—all entirely free response and heavily focused on graphs. These aren't even concept-based questions—they are memorization-heavy, expecting you to recall specific figures and graphs from obscure studies. To make it worse, the graphs are poorly labeled, and it’s like playing a guessing game trying to remember what each one is supposed to represent. She drops the lowest grade, but honestly, that’s barely a relief. The final exam is 24 questions—also entirely free response and somehow even more convoluted. I studied for over 60 hours the week leading up to the final and still did not feel prepared. I honestly think I could’ve spent three months studying and still felt like I failed. That’s how disconnected the exams are from the actual learning experience. Her slides are terrible. They’re cluttered, disorganized, and nearly impossible to follow. Even if you attend every single class…

Lisa Son is one of the worst, if not THE worst, professor I have ever had in my life. Her slides are incomprehensible without notes to accompany it, and even then, it's hard to make heads or tails of what she is saying. She will add in pictures or ideas that come to her mind and put them in slides that follow concepts but are not connected to that concept whatsoever. Her tests could not be more convoluted. Not only are her questions worded ridiculously, but there are also multiple right answers to the questions. She will sometimes give everyone credit when she notices that literally everyone in the class got a question wrong. Not only that, she never admits that she is wrong. There were multiple times this semester when she was simply factually incorrect and she refused to acknowledge it. She is so stuck on her high horse that she says things like "I don't understand why this is a difficult concept" or "I think this is really easy." Also, she requires you to make graphs of EVERYTHING. We graph things that shouldn't ever be graphed. If you take this class, which I hope to god you do not, always pay attention when she talks about her monkeys. She freaking loves monkeys. DO NOT TAKE THIS CLASS.

I found this class to be thorough and interesting. Professor Son was well organized, and she cares alot about the class. She's such a nice and good person, and I highly recommend any class she's teaching.

I took Professor Son's Intro to Psych class my first semester here, and, three semesters later, I still remember most of what she taught me. True, her classes were easy -- you weren't really tested on too much outside of what she went over in class -- but she presented the material in a well-organized manner, using overhead slides and demonstrations, rather than a straight repetition of facts. She was always very pleasant and cheerful and usually available for help any time, for as long as you needed her. Her class was such a great way to start off my college career, and really furthered my interest in psychology -- in which I had no educational background previously.

This is literally the best class I have ever took. Any bad reviews for this class with Professor Son are probably just her old teaching style. This class was super interesting and super easy. All you have to do is show up to class and pay attention to the lectures and you're good! She wants all of her students to pass so the class is seriously not hard, just take the time to study the graphs after the review class (which are not hard to remember if you understand it)

She was great. I really could not ask for a better professor. Super smart and very attentive. She was kind and lenient.

This was hands down the best class I have ever taken at Barnard. Professor Son is incredibly attentive—she responds to emails within minutes, delivers clear and engaging lectures, and posts all her slides for review. The material itself is absolutely fascinating, and she teaches in a way that promotes true understanding and long-term retention, rather than rote memorization. Her review sessions closely reflect the exams, making it one of the most manageable and rewarding courses I've taken. I learned so much and am deeply grateful for her dedication. Thank you, Professor Son—you’re amazing!

Lisa is a great teacher who is really sweet and cares that her students do well. It's easy to coast by without doing the readings, she posts her lecture notes on courseworks and if you go to most of the classes (even though its hard to wake up for a 9:10) the exams won't be too bad. A lot of the material was covered in intro and just went into slightly more depth, but she also covered a lot of really interesting experiments and sometimes takes a research based view of the subject. I found it interesting (albeit slow at times) and a very easy A.