Department of Psychology
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What an Education is Good For
Hint: It’s more than just a good job
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Why the Wild Things Are
Psychologist Jacqueline Woolley explores the value of magical thinking
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Got Five Minutes? Learn About Psychology with COLA’s New Video Series
We took an interactive online version of “Introduction to Psychology” and turned some of its most intriguing insights into short YouTube videos
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Faculty Spotlight: Lori Holt
Dr. Lori Holt joined the Department of Psychology faculty this past year as a professor. Her research in the auditory cognitive neuroscience field has been recognized by the National Academy of Sciences, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and many other organizations.
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Education, Dementia, and COLA’s Largest-Ever Grant
Lead investigator and sociology professor Chandra Muller on the first year of her record-breaking project
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Freeman Scholarship Empowers Cross-Cultural Exploration in Singapore
UT student Whitney Nwaneri was planning a study abroad stint in Lisbon, Portugal. Then she received a Freeman Scholarship and changed her plans.
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Global Virtual Exchange Professor Elevates YouTube with International Education
University of Texas at Austin psychology professor Michael Domjan has embarked on a mission to make psychology concepts more accessible and engaging for students. Thanks to grants from the Texas Global’s Virtual Exchange (GVE) program, he has launched a successful YouTube channel that does just that.
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The Science of Teaching Science: A UT Austin-Thinkery Partnership is building better science education for kids and communities
Cristine Legare studies how children learn and how to make informal learning exhibits more engaging and impactful for people of all ages.
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The Psychologist and the Firefighters
When Chief Ken Bailey, head of Travis County Fire Rescue ESD No. 11, realized his organization had a problem with staff morale and turnover, he turned to an unlikely place for help: UT Austin’s Applied Psychology Research Lab, led by assistant research professor Alissa Mrazek. Bailey’s district serves a wedge of Travis County that stretches…
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Changing your mind about something as important as vaccination isn’t a sign of weakness – being open to new information is the smart way to make choices
Culturally, this is an era in which people are held in high esteem when they stick with their beliefs and negatively labeled as “flip-floppers” or “wishy-washy” when they change what they think.
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A Language for Big Data Neuroscience
Imagine your brain activity displayed on a computer screen — multiple, bustling tabs open, some sparked by a fleeting thought, others derived from prior or underlying behaviors or features. Now imagine a scientist trying to make sense of that activity.
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The Misinformation Age
Depending on whom you ask, conspiracy theories are either having a heyday or it’s just business as usual. But whether or not there is a long-term increase happening, certain factors likely influence the ebb and flow of conspiratorial beliefs.
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Lead exposure during childhood may influence adult personality, and not for the better
Children raised in areas with more atmospheric lead pollution grew up to have less adaptive and less mature personalities, according to a study I led of over 1.5 million people across the U.S. and Europe.
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A Look at Our Latest Books
2021 Spring and Summer titles from our college community.
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Making the Most of Self-Care
March marked the one-year anniversary of the WHO declaring COVID-19 a global pandemic, and to say that it’s been a rough year would be an understatement. Whether we’ve lost loved ones, jobs, or simply the ability to distinguish between Sundays and Mondays, everyone is struggling under the weight of a constantly shifting “new normal.”
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Why rituals are important survival tools during the COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 has disrupted many aspects of daily life, including rituals both sacred and mundane.
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Evidence of an impending breakup may exist in everyday conversation – months before either partner realizes their relationship is tanking
When doubts about a relationship start to creep in, people don’t just blurt them out.
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Kind, Curious and Fearless
A Q&A with Anna Cash, a psychology senior from Austin who is passionate about law and justice.
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A Psychologist’s Award-Winning Word Play
Before his research helped discover the healing powers of writing and the Secret Life of Pronouns, Jamie Pennebaker’s curiosity killed the crab.
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Teaching, Learning and Living
Randy and Mary Diehl, 2020 Pro Bene Meritis award recipients, share a dedication for championing education and a joy for lifelong learning.
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Three Ways Kids Can Learn through Play at Home
family and community. But recent shelter-in-place efforts have limited many of these routine yet vital experiences — especially because young kids can’t video call or text their friends as freely as others.
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Rebooting Our Lives After COVID-19
The world’s new reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing us to confront issues and critically think about how to revive communities slowly, safely and sustainably.
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Bring Your Brain to Work
In “Bring Your Brain to Work,” Art Markman shares what you need to know to succeed at work.
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Breakthroughs in Brain Health: We’re Closer Than You Think
It might not seem like it when you’ve forgotten your email password for the third time in as many days, but your brain is capable of amazing things. It can instantly process the intricate sensory inputs needed to understand the world while simultaneously conducting motor neurons to navigate these landscapes. It can read complex emotions…
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Here Comes the Song: The Personalities Behind Your Favorite Beatles Lyrics
If Paul McCartney would have written “Yesterday” based on the first words that came to his mind, the song would sound like a concupiscent teen singing about breakfast: Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs… The melody of the song, which has been broadcasted on American radio more than 7 million times…
