At the first meeting of PSYCH13: Understanding Reverse Psychology, renowned professor and campus celebrity Erik Braufeld began his introduction with the suggestion that students “take a load off and chill for a bit.” Attendance is checked only occasionally, according to the syllabus- “in fact,” added Braufeld, “don’t bother coming at all. No really, it’s ok!” Though the unexpected announcement had many skittish students chattering nervously, they settled down when Braufeld described his homework as easy, no big deal, and generally requiring only a day or two to finish. The attitude in the room lifted noticeably when Braufeld declared, “there will be a midterm and a final, as well as four quizzes this quarter, but seriously, take it easy. They’re not bad at all, and you could probably get away with only studying the night before. But hey,” he added, winking conspiratorially, “you didn’t hear it from me.” The rest of the class covered the basic principles of the field of psychology, and reviewed key terminology. After Braufeld concluded — “See you all next week- or not!” — a crowd of visibly relaxed filed out of the lecture hall wearing wide matching smiles. One Jeffrey Steele commented, “This class seems really laid back. He basically told us not to study- I feel really good about it.”
