Friends matter: Babies use group size to determine social dominance
A new study out of UBC Psychology finds that infants as young as six months figure out that a person with more friends will be more dominant than someone with fewer companions. In this Q&A, Anthea Pun, the study’s lead author and a graduate student, discusses her research and explores how social dominance asserts itself […]
New animated teaching tool developed: Animating Hebb’s Three Postulates: from Brain to Soma
UBC Biology student Soma Barsen has developed a hand-drawn animated video to communicate some very complex behavioural neuroscience concepts. Barsen developed this as part of a Directed Studies course under the supervision of UBC Psychology Instructor Dr. Steven J. Barnes. The video was edited by UBC Film student, Linnea Ritland. The video, “Animating Hebb’s Three […]
Dr. Liisa Galea and the next 100 years of neuroscience
As part of a special feature UBC asked researchers across a range of disciplines at UBC to transport themselves into the year 2115 and imagine what they might be teaching and researching. Here’s what UBC Psychology Professor Liisa Galea had to say. Q: If you could transport yourself to the future, what would you be […]
2015 Knox Teaching Award recipients announced
Each year, the Department of Psychology honours two outstanding individuals in the department who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to the education of students. We are thrilled to announce the 2015 Knox Teaching Award is awarded to our department head and professor Geoffrey Hall (Faculty Award) and to our sessional instructor Linda Scratchley (Sessional Award). […]
New research: Kids tune in to smiles, not frowns
Striving to get your kids’ attention? Try cracking a smile. Children are more attuned to happy faces than angry faces—while young adults are more attuned to angry expressions. That’s the surprising finding of a new research study from UBC’s Department of Psychology. The results challenge a common assumption that children would show the same pattern […]
Dr. Kiley Hamlin Awarded 2015 UBC Killam Research Prize
Congratulations to UBC Psychology Professor Dr. Kiley Hamlin who received a 2015 UBC Faculty Research Award. Dr. Hamlin is the recipient of the UBC Killam Research Prize in the Arts and Humanities Junior Category, which recognizes outstanding research and scholarly contributions at UBC. Each spring, the Office of the Vice President Research & International hosts an […]
An International Service Learning course is applying psychology to global development
UBC Arts students interested in taking their academic learning beyond the classroom are invited to apply to an International Service Learning course, PSYCH 417A: Psychology and Developing Societies. This course is designed for Psychology Majors and includes three-month placements during Summer 2016 in Uganda or Kenya. Psychology 417A is a three-credit course that will introduce […]
Q&A with Prof. E. David Klonsky: Insights into Suicide
E. David Klonsky is clinical psychologist and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology. Director of the Personality, Emotion, and Behaviour Lab (PEBL), his research focuses on understanding and preventing suicide. In advance of Suicide Awareness Day at UBC (January 27), we sit down with Dr. Klonsky to learn more about his research, to […]
Flashing lights and music turn rats into problem gamblers
New research by UBC Psychology Professor Catharine Winstanley and PhD candidate Michael Barrus shows that adding flashing lights and music to gambling encourages risky decision-making—even if you’re a rat. In research published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists at UBC discovered rats behaved like problem gamblers when sound and light cues were added to a […]
Student Q&A: UBC Psychology student leader and Wesbrook Scholar Robin Richardson
Robin Richardson is not your typical psychology student. Not only is Robin a 4th year Honours student, she’s a budding researcher and academic in the Department of Psychology at UBC. She is currently studying pharmacological treatments for postpartum depression in Dr. Liisa Galea’s lab, as well as executive functions and suicidal behaviour in Dr. David […]