Seth Wagerman returned to the Interdisciplinary Studies and Independent Research department this year to teach Introduction to Psychology, as well as continue to teach Social Psychology. 

Before Harvard-Westlake, Wagerman taught at universities, lecturing at Pepperdine and California Lutheran Universities as well as the University of California, Riverside. He taught numerous courses such as Health Psychology, the Psychology of Evil and Statistics and Research Methods.

“I really love my statistics class because it’s the class that everyone is terrified of, and I can show them that it’s not really that bad,” Wagerman said. “But overall my favorite class that I’ve taught is the Psychology of Sex and Gender. It’s such a timely thing to discuss right now.”

In addition to publishing chapters about the psychological properties of situations, Wagerman said he has also researched what makes a successful college students and hopes to encourage an environment where students aren’t solely focused on grades.

“I’m kind of against the SAT as a measure of anything and am pushing for more measures of personality or to look into a student’s hardworkingness and conscientiousness,” Wagerman said.

Reflecting on his teaching experience, he said that there is a difference in high school and college students’ work ethic. While students at universities showed a wider range of capabilities, he said that those he has taught at Harvard-Westlake have exceeded his expectations.

Wagerman said that he is excited to continue working at Harvard-Westlake and meet his new students.

“I currently don’t have kids of my own, so I love watching my students grow up and seeing where they go,” Wagerman said.