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Psychology is a huge, fascinating field of study. In a nutshell, psychological sciences seek to understand how living organisms, including people, think and act, both as individuals and in groups. Our faculty study a broad range of topics, with research programs designed to ask questions such as:
What causes mental disorders such as ADHD, schizophrenia, and dementia? How can these be treated?
How is our behavior influenced and shaped by our social networks? How does this vary across different cultures?
How does the brain learn and remember, and how do these abilities change across the lifespan?
Why do we sleep and, as important, what are the consequences of not getting enough sleep?
Using cutting edge tools, the members of our department address these and many other basic science and applied problems. The Department has an exceptional history of training students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We strive to provide a comprehensive education in psychological sciences and, more generally, to foster the critical thinking skills that are essential for all facets of life. -Richard Ivry
SPECIAL EVENT
The Psychology of Aesthetics
Professors Steve Palmer and Art Shimamura Photo Exhibit and Lecture
Friday, March 2, 2012
6:30 pm, Alumni House, Toll Room
[details]
NEWS
Alison Gopnik discusses the work of Ron Dahl on the adolescent mind in Edge and The Wall Street Journal.
Charlan Nemeth's research is featured in an article about "Groupthink" in a recent issue of the New Yorker.
Silvia Bunge and Tania Lombrozo are recipients of 21st Century Science Initiative Grants from the James S. McDonnell Foundation. Dr. Bunge's work will investigate "Relational reasoning: Neural mechanisms, development, and plasticity." Dr. Lombrozo's work will investigate "Knowledge from nowhere: How thinking leads to learning."
 A research gift of $100,000, the first installment of a major donation, has been given by an anonymous donor from Beijing, China to the Department of Psychology to promote international collaboration between Chinese psychologists and psychologists in the department. In honor of Professor Sheldon Zedeck’s many years of service to the department, his relationship with the Department of Psychology at Beijing University and his long time interests of promoting international collaboration among applied psychologists worldwide, the fund has been established as the Sheldon Zedeck Fund in Culture and Managerial Study. The purpose of the fund is to support faculty and students from the two universities, University of California at Berkeley and Beijing University of China to teach or do collaborative research, to host international workshops on cross-cultural psychology, applied psychology, and mental health issues. A fellowship for graduate students will also be provided by the fund.
 More
News
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Faculty Research
Findings Offer New Clues into the Addicted Brain.
In their investigations of choice behavior, Jonathan Wallis and colleagues have determined the precise calculations performed by two areas of the brain important for decision-making. An inability to perform these calculations could underlie neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by poor choices, such as addiction. [Read more]
Double Dating with Your Brain at the Movies.
Jack Gallant and his group report a new method in which measurements of brain activity are used to reconstruct previously viewed video clips. [Read more] This work has been selected by Time Magazine as one of the 50 best inventions of 2011 [read article] and featured in a report that aired on the PBS NewsHour [view here].
A study led by Matthew Walker indicates that light, dreamless sleep recharges our brain’s learning capacity. [Read more] In a separate research study, Walker and collaborators found that short-term euphoria is one side effect of a sleepless night. [Read more]
A study led by Sonia Bishop
indicates that anxiety as a personality trait is linked to the functioning of two brain regions involved in fear and its suppression.
[Read more]
Findings by a team of researchers led by Robert Levenson
indicate that emotional intelligence and cognitive skills can sharpen as we enter our 60s.
[Read more]
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