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The Summer Undergraduate
Research Experience (SURE)
We believe that our department should reflect the society that it serves, and thus we are committed to increasing racial and ethnic diversity among its students and faculty. The Department is also committed to enhancing research on multi-cultural issues, and to training students to work with, teach, and serve individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences. We endeavor to create a climate of tolerance and understanding for students, staff, and faculty that respects differences in background and life experiences, including differences in ethnic and racial heritage, gender, sexual orientation, age, social-economic standing, and physical abilities.
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News
Finding peace in Jerkville
David Yeager and other researchers discuss ways to control one's responses to other people's bad behavior. more >
(05/14/12)
Hidden Health Benefits of Sex
Some of the hidden benefits of having sex include sounder sleep, the minimalization of pain, a youthful glow, lighter periods for women, and a more toned body. Professor Cindy Meston and other researchers talk about how the release of certain hormones and endorphins is linked to these effects. Dr. Meston is the director of the Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory. more >
(05/14/12)
Scholars Say Pupils Gain Social Skills in Coed Classes
Dr. Rebecca Bigler is one of several researchers who have been exploring how to overcome the gender gap in the classroom. Her research on how children develop gender and racial biases has helped show that more equitable coed classrooms can benefit boys and girls both socially and academically. An overview of their research and ideas is presented in this article in Education Week. more >
(05/10/12)
  Paige Harden and Elliot Tucker-Drob awarded NIAAA grant to study genetic influences on adolescent drinking
Assistant Professors Paige Harden and Elliot Tucker-Drob are recipients of a $275,000 grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for a project titled, "Genetic Influences on Adolescent Decision-Making and Alcohol Use". This project will study decision-making processes as mediators of genetic influence on alcohol use and delinquency in adolescents, using a sample of twins from local high schools. For more information on twin research at UT, visit www.longhorntwins.com.
(05/09/12)
David Yeager speaks at Summit 2012
David Yeager was a featured speaker at Summit 2012, produced by NewSchools Venture Fund in partnership with NBC News "Education Nation". Dr. Yeager led a session with one of his Stanford collaborators, Greg Walton, on psychological interventions in education. Rahm Emmanuel, Margaret Spellings (former secretary of education) and Roland Fryer, a Harvard economist, also gave talks. more >
(05/04/12)
To Predict Dating Success, the Secret's in the Pronouns
Social psychologist James Pennebaker was interviewed recently on National Public Radio's Morning Edition. Dr. Pennebaker talked about his research on "function words", a topic he explores in his book, The Secret Life of Pronouns, and discusses how the words that people used during speed dating to determine how well a couple would get along. more > | Listen to interview
(05/02/12)
APA Media picks: David Buss, PhD
The American Psychological Association's gradPSYCH Magazine features David Buss, professor of evolutionary psychology, in "Media Picks". Dr. Buss is a fan of movies that explore themes common to the subjects he examines in his research, which includes good love stories. more >
(05/02/12)
Meet a Game Changer: Russell Poldrack
Russell Poldrack will talk about the brain systems involved in risk-taking when he joins UT's Game Changers on Thursday, May 24, in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Poldrack will describe his research that has used brain imaging to understand the brain systems that are involved in risk taking, and why some individuals are more willing to take risks than others. This research has shown how the brain weighs rewards and punishments, and why the teenage years are a particularly vulnerable period for risky behavior.
Poldrack on YouTube
GameChangers Web Page for Poldrack
Details and Registration
(05/01/12)
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Events & Lectures
 Retirement Party for Alice Andrews
Thursday, May 17
1:30 pm in SEA 4.244
Alice Andrews will be retiring from UT-Austin effective on Friday, May 25, 2012. Alice has been the head of the Undergraduate Advising Office since 1985. She will be sorely missed. more >
MORE EVENTS & LECTURES
Spotlights
 The Child and the Scientist
A UT-Austin KNOW feature story on researchers working in the The Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory (known as the "Lab School") highlights developmental psychologist Dr. Cristine Legare and her studies on the acquisition of scientific reasoning in children. more >
(04/30/12)
Awards and Recognition
 Jonathan Pillow receives McKnight Scholar Award
The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience has named six researchers, including Dr. Jonathan Pillow, to receive the 2012 McKnight Scholar Award. These awards, in the amount of $75,000 per year for three years, are granted to young scientists who are in the early stages of establishing their own independent laboratories and research careers and who have demonstrated a commitment to neuroscience. The Endowment Fund seeks to support innovative research designed to bring science closer to the day when diseases of the brain can be accurately diagnosed, prevented, and treated.
Dr. Pillow is an assistant professor of psychology in the area of perceptual systems who studies mathematical models of information processing in the nervous system. He is affiliated with the Center for Perceptual Systems and the Institute for Neuroscience. Project Title: Deciphering Cortical Representations at the Level of Spikes, Currents, and Conductances
Pillow Lab Web Page | McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience
(05/15/12)
Undergraduate Research Fellowships Awarded to Psychology Students
Congratulations to those students who have been selected to receive Undergraduate Research Fellowships this spring! The fellowships provide support (up to $1,000) for specific scholarly investigative projects conducted by University of Texas at Austin undergraduates. They are intended to cover costs associated with academic research projects proposed and written by student applicants and undertaken with the supervision of a University faculty member, lecturer, senior lecturer or full-time Research Scientist or Engineer.
Student recipients include:
Neda Abdul-Razzak (Supervisor: W. Todd Maddox, Psychology)
Project Title: The Development of Expertise in Radiology Diagnosis: Stimulus Difficulty Effects
Aftyn A. Behn (Supervisor: Catharine H. Echols, Psychology)
Project Title: An Examination of Undergraduate Attitudes towards Person with Disabilities: Effects of Contact on Chosen Discipline
Bailey R. Cain (Supervisor: W. Todd Maddox, Psychology)
Project Title: Feedback Effects on Human Shapeable Interactive Agents
Humberto Jaimes (Supervisor: W. Todd Maddox, Psychology)
Project Title: Incentive Valence Effects on Rule-Based and Information-Integration Category Learning in Normal Aging
Miranda S. Hansen (Supervisor: Elizabeth D. Pena, College of Communication)
Project Title: Reading Comprehension and Memory in Heritage and Native Spanish Speakers
(05/09/12)
Psychology Undergraduate Students Receive Unrestricted Endowed Presidential Scholarships for 2012-2012
Every spring, all academic departments are invited to nominate 10% of their highest performing students to receive an award of $2,500 for the coming academic year. Winners are selected based on high academic ability, demonstrated continuous participation in co-curricular and extracurricular activities, and evidence in leadership. More information about this scholarship competition can be found here. The following twelve Psychology undergraduate students are receiving an Unrestricted Endowed Presidential Scholarship award for the 2012-2013 academic year: Ayesha Akbar, Kevin DeLuca, Yatin Dhir, Daniel Ehrlich, Joshua Gu, Alana Harrison, Stephanie Jean, Elyssa Klann, Jessica Chung, Nathan Kwan , Timothy Smartt, Cheong Maria Yu
(05/02/12)
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