Society & Psychology

March 12, 2021

Tracing the Spread of Early Humans Across East Asia

By Devanshi Tomar

New knowledge supplied by better technology allowed Kennett and his research group to determine the timing of ancestry change and population movements. 

February 25, 2021

Director of Black Student Research Center discusses S.T.E.M. Initiatives

By Sean Crommelin

Of particular importance for Tettegah is S.T.E.M. and data science engagement with underrepresented groups on campus.

February 6, 2021

Independence the “Right Way?”

By Devanshi Tomar

“As social creatures and as cultural creatures, ultimately one feels good when one’s way of being fits in and is valued in one’s environment and context,” Lawrie said.

December 20, 2020

Dating To a Science: UCSB Researchers Study Patterns in Assortative Mating

By Devanshi Tomar

While doing matrix models of mate choice, Conroy-Beam saw a correlation between specific traits, despite the traits being assorted randomly throughout individuals in the simulation. 

November 13, 2020

The Scientists’ Declassified Guide to Talking About Climate Change

By Michelle J. Lee

Through these conversations you — better than any scientist — have the opportunity to find and address misinformation, misunderstanding and fear.

November 3, 2020

UCSB Professor Investigates Cognitive and Neurocognitive Effects of Being an Interpreter

By Gracie Shi

Whether or not there is a cognitive advantage due to the bilingual experiences of interpreters is still in debate.

October 25, 2020

Tango of the Valkyries: What Makes Music Sound Different or the Same?

By Sean Crommelin

“What my lab and I asked was: ‘How would listeners categorize music if we used tasks from relational category experiments?’” 

October 11, 2020

Ethics in the University Setting: An Interview With Doug Thrower

By Serhat Suzer

What safeguards are put in place to prevent the university from engaging in unethical research practices? To find out, Serhat Suzer spoke to Dr. Doug Thrower.

October 11, 2020

Science and Ethics in History, the Ivory Tower and Beyond

By Serhat Suzer

Public confidence in science is important. In order to preserve this confidence, we must recognize its shortcomings.

October 4, 2020

UCSB Anthropologists Identify Common Misconceptions About Child Marriage Among Americans

By Leon Liu

The questionnaire was designed to ascertain the participants’ understanding of the legality of child marriage.

September 24, 2020

The Balancing Act: “Using and Refusing the Law”

By Sean Crommelin

There is a struggle, as Hale describes, between “using” the law to advance one’s interests and “refusing” the tenets of it which invalidate one’s way of life.

June 5, 2020

UCSB Researcher Illuminates Serotonin Trajectories, Density in the Brain

By Sean Crommelin

New research describes using fractional Brownian motion to create predictive “descriptions and manipulations” of the serotonergic matrix.

May 27, 2020

Understanding the Social Implications of COVID-19

By Anna Basa

The May 12 session of “Issues, Approaches, and Consequences of the COVID-19 Crisis” featured Professors Heejung Kim, David Sherman and Robin Nabi. 

May 22, 2020

Having Vivid or Bad Dreams During the Pandemic? You’re Not Alone

By Jacqueline Wen

The phenomenon of unusual sleep experiences during the pandemic may be due to “emotional overloading,” according to Professor Steve Smith.

May 21, 2020

Partisanship, Racial Politics, Public Health and the Planet

By Sean Crommelin

Ian Carrillo seeks to add another dimension to a debate in environmental sociology.

May 18, 2020

The Economics of the COVID-19 Crisis with Peter Rupert

By Anna Basa

Rupert introduced the Mortensen-Pissarides model for unemployment to the S.I.R. model for infectious diseases to estimate the effects of COVID-19 on the labor force.