UBC Psychology prof Jessica Tracy's new book 'Take Pride' hits bookshelves today
Why did Paul Gauguin abandon middle-class life to follow the path of a starving artist? What inspired Bill Gates to give away so much of his hard-won fortune? How has Donald Trump succeeded so excessively, when his winning style could easily be his greatest liability? As the renowned emotion researcher Jessica Tracy reveals in her […]
New online therapy program is helping students overcome social anxiety
Meeting new people and forging new friendships is an important part of university. Some students enjoy this aspect of student life, while others dread it. Students experience social anxiety differently; it can be pervasive for some and for others the anxiety surfaces in specific situations, such as class or group presentations or a simple social […]
UBC Psychology prof. Steven Heine elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
Dr. Steven Heine is among 89 new Fellows elected into the Royal Society of Canada. The 2016 Fellows have been elected by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Election to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences. “I’m […]
Meet the 2016/17 GSC presidential team
Meet the department’s new Graduate Student Council (GSC) presidents, Jennifer Campbell, Jordan Brace, and Bri Glazier. The GSC is composed of graduate students from different areas of the department. They aim to serve the graduate students in the department by acting as a bridge between the faculty/staff and the graduate students. In this Q&A, the presidential team share their research–and […]
Celebrate the start to a new school year: Imagine UBC
Imagine UBC is a university-wide orientation event that will be held on Tuesday, September 6th, 2016. The Department of Psychology also offers several special psychology-specific events to introduce students to the many interesting people and exciting opportunities that UBC Psychology has to offer. On September 6, we will be hosting three Imagine day events for new and […]
UBC welcomes therapy dogs for some student snuggle time
Join us for Doggy De-stress at UBC! Take a moment to de-stress by hanging out with some therapy dogs. September 20, 2016 | 10:30-noon | AMS Nest, Lev Bukhman Lounge (Level 4) Studies have shown that therapy-dog visits alleviate stress and improve health and well-being. Dogs are popular visitors in hospitals, senior centres, airports–and now universities. Many universities bring in therapy dogs to […]
New research: THC makes rats lazy, less willing to try cognitively demanding tasks
New research from the Department of Psychology at UBC suggests there may be some truth to the belief that marijuana use causes laziness— at least in rats. The study, published today in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, makes rats less willing to try a cognitively […]
Building international ties to investigate the role of social relationships and health
Faculty and graduate students from the Department of Psychology’s health area recently travelled to Berlin to establish new ties with several research teams. At the core of the visit was a two-day workshop at the Free University of Berlin (FUB). The workshop, a first of its kind, explored the role of social relationships for health outcomes […]
Portrait of a PhD student: Ashley Whillans and the benefits and barriers of buying happier time
How do our choices about time and money relate to happiness? Looking for answers in her doctoral work, UBC Psychology PhD student Ashley Whillans works with the White House Social Behavioral Sciences Team in Washington, DC to explore how time incentives influence job performance and satisfaction. She further collaborates with start-up companies like MyBestHelper and YouEarnedIt to explore the impacts of the sharing economy and […]
Faculty in Focus: Lillian May brings her love of teaching to the classroom
Lillian May, one of the new lecturers in the department of psychology, didn’t intend to become a full-time teacher. After teaching just one class, she has never looked back. “Teaching is one of my great joys,” say May. “I love getting to know my amazing students, inspire them, and build on my own knowledge.” Since […]