Research

Faculty Q&A: Dr. Kristin Laurin explores why we do what we do

Join us in welcoming Dr. Kristin Laurin as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Laurin comes to UBC from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where she was Assistant Professor of Organizational Behaviour since 2012. She earned her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Waterloo. Laurin’s research involves some of the […]

Daniel Tobiansky is the recipient of the Bluma Tischler Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Join us in congratulating Dr. Daniel Tobiansky who received the Bluma Tischler Post-Doctoral Fellowship from UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. This prestigious fellowship award grants $20,400 for one year to MD or PhD graduates carrying out research on the biochemical or genetic aspects of intellectual developmental disorders or other neurological disorders. Tobiansky, a Postdoctoral Fellow in […]

New research: Mouse study reveals a new way stress hormones affect our immune system

Dr. Kiran Soma, Professor of Psychology at UBC, studies the relationships among the brain, behaviour, hormones, and immune function. He recently published his 100th paper entitled “Lymphoid organs of neonatal and adult mice preferentially produce active glucocorticoids from metabolites, not precursors” in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. This new research, which he co-authored with […]

Catherine Rawn's course with a hashtag

To create a course about the psychology of social media it was only natural that Dr. Catherine Rawn, Senior Instructor in UBC’s Department of Psychology, turned to social media to source ideas and develop content. The result is Psychology of Self in Social Media (PSYC 325). Rawn, an early adopter of social media, started chronicling […]

Are you talking to me? New research shows attention shapes social behaviours

New research out of the Department of Psychology is the first to show that covert attention, such as paying attention out of the corner of your eye, is critical to guiding appropriate looking behaviour when we’re around other people. The paper “Camouflaged attention: Covert attention is critical to social communication in natural settings” was published […]

UBC Psychology graduate Robin Richardson earns Governor General’s Silver Medal

Join us in congratulating psychology graduate Robin Richardson, who earned the Governor General’s Silver Medal in Arts. The Medals are the most prestigious award students in Canadian schools can receive. Robin graduated with an Honours in Psychology and was presented with the award at UBC’s May 2016 convocation ceremonies for psychology. She has been the recipient of […]

Portrait of a PhD Student: Boaz Y. Saffer

Meet Boaz Saffer, a clinical psychology PhD student in UBC’s Department of Psychology. Boaz researches the ‘neurocognitive mechanisms that underlie suicide ideation and suicide attempts’ under the supervision of Dr. E. David Klonksy in the Personality, Emotion, and Behaviour Lab (PEBL). In this Q and A, he shares his research, why he chose the clinical […]

UBC Psychology graduate Lauren Wylie takes student engagement to the next level

Lauren Wylie wanted her final year as a psychology major to count. To make the most of her student experience, she answered a call for student leaders in the inaugural Student Engagement Program in UBC’s Department of Psychology. She immersed herself in the psychology community by becoming a directed studies student leader. This involved liaising […]

Catherine Rawn in using peer assessments to encourage peer-based learning

UBC Psychology Senior Instructor Catherine Rawn recently sat down with Arts ISIT to share her ideas on the pedagogy and the value of implementing peer assessments in her courses–and the TLEF project she collaborated on with Professor Peter Graf. Back Story A few years ago I began experimenting with peer assessments in my introductory PSYC […]

Earth Day Q&A with Dr. Jiaying Zhao: Convenience, real-time feedback makes us more environmentally aware

Earth Day is April 22, an annual reminder to reflect on the impact of our actions and to consider how we can lighten our footprint on our earth. Despite an increasing awareness of how our actions impact our environment, adopting sustainable behaviours is not always easy. Jiaying Zhao, assistant professor in Cognitive Science at the […]