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psychology

kiss mark on collar

‘Cheating’s OK for me, but not for thee’ – inside the messy psychology of sexual double standards

June 29, 2021 by David Buss

Sexual double standards – in which women and men are judged differently for the same sexual behavior – will probably sound familiar to most people.

Donatus Nnani with a huge smile, looking off to the left of the camera.

Engaging with Opportunities

May 20, 2021 by Emily Nielsen

Donatus Nnani is a religious studies and psychology senior from Detroit, Michigan. In this Q&A, read more about his time in the military and his undergraduate research experience.

Megan Abrameit in white jacket.

Fighting for Change: A Q&A with the 2019 Randy Diehl Prize Recipient

July 11, 2019 by Emily Nielsen

Megan Abrameit, a psychology and humanities double major from Tyler, Texas, has received the 2019 Randy Diehl Prize in Liberal Arts. Now in its fourth year, the $17,000 award was established by donors to support a graduating liberal arts senior who is committing the year after graduation to service for the greater good, be that […]

red fireworks in a dark sky

New Year, Same You: Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail

December 12, 2018 by Rachel White

After we’ve spent all our money on gifts and stuffed ourselves to the brim with endless holiday treats, it’s no wonder many of us see the new year as an opportunity to become a little less broke and little more fit. But come next December, most of us will find ourselves back in the same […]

Michaela Lavelle

Us, But Better: Q&A with Liberal Arts Council President Michaela Lavelle

September 20, 2018 by Emily Nielsen

Michaela Lavelle is a psychology and humanities junior from Arlington, Texas. She is president of the 2018–19 Liberal Arts Council, an organization nearing its 40th year as the official student voice and governing body for the college. The LAC gives students a voice in the academic affairs of the university by voting in the Senate […]

Vintage Romance Novels

Decoding the Language of Love

August 20, 2018 by Rachel White

“She looked at him through the light. She saw the pride and the interest on that handsome, poetic face, with the edgy cheekbones under the scruff, as he’d worked through the day without shaving. She saw both in his eyes, pure gray in candlelight.” –Excerpt from “Year One” by Nora Roberts The secret to romance […]

Lubis

Pursuing a Passion for Service and Justice

August 2, 2018 by Emily Nielsen

Milla Lubis, a psychology and social work double major from Allen, Texas, has been awarded the 2018 Randy Diehl Prize in Liberal Arts. Now in its third year, the $15,000 award was established by donors to support a graduating liberal arts senior who is committing the year after graduation to service for the greater good, […]

Psychology Junior Interns with Renowned Mental Illness Advocacy Organization

March 14, 2018 by Emily Nielsen

One in 5 Americans lives with a mental health condition, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Joanne Sanchez, a UT Austin psychology junior, is interning with the Texas chapter of NAMI, the largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with mental illness in the country. Since January, Sanchez has worked […]

Liberal Arts Abroad: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

November 16, 2016 by Emily Nielsen

Experiencing other cultures firsthand is an essential part of a liberal arts education, and studying abroad is an exceptional way to do that. When students study abroad, they connect with other people, learn to think in new ways and develop skills to help them in the professional world. Javonna Hamilton, a psychology junior from Dallas, […]

cover of Smart Change

Q&A: Cognitive Psychologist Art Markman on How to Achieve Your Goals and Make Those Changes Last

December 19, 2013 by Jessica Sinn

The New Year is on the horizon, and just like clockwork many people are dutifully preparing lists of resolutions that will likely be forgotten by mid-January. Art Markman, a cognitive psychologist at The University of Texas at Austin, shows us a better way to make lifestyle changes in his new book Smart Change: Five Tools […]

student in front of presentation poster

A SURE Impact

October 3, 2013 by Emily Nielsen

Psychology alum credits program for interest in research, pursuing doctorate.  The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) is a summer internship program for undergraduate students interested in research in psychology. The program, which particularly encourages students from traditionally underrepresented groups to apply, provides hands-on training that will make students more competitive for top doctoral training programs. […]

Close-up photo of Russell Poldrack.

Neuroscientist Takes the Quantified Self, and Own Brain, to the Next Level

June 6, 2013 by Daniel Oppenheimer

Early this Tuesday morning, and every Tuesday morning through November 2013, neuroscientist Russell Poldrack will wake up, take off his headband-like sleep monitor, and tell it to wirelessly send data about his night’s sleep to a database. Then he’ll log in to a survey app on his computer, and provide a subjective report on how […]

Yeager

Psychology Professor Chairs White House Convening on ‘Academic Mindsets’

June 4, 2013 by Jessica Sinn

David Yeager, assistant professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin, served as program chair and co-organizer for a special convening session titled “Excellence in Education: The Importance of Academic Mindsets” on May 16 at the White House. Yeager led a diverse group of experts to determine how to improve motivation and address […]

Paulina Rosa

Graduating Senior Paulina Sosa Aims to End Extreme Poverty

May 15, 2013 by Jessica Sinn

Everything changed for Paulina Sosa, a philosophy and psychology double major, when she journeyed to a landfill community in Mexico on a church mission trip. At age 13, she was overwhelmed by a young boy’s desperation for basic needs when she presented him with a couple of trinkets. “I remember thinking that a piece of […]

silver wig on blank head on blue background

Silver Tsunami

November 27, 2012 by Jessica Sinn

Psychology researchers target vascular disease to prevent the coming flood of Alzheimer’s patients It’s called the “Silver Tsunami” – the swelling number of baby boomers surpassing age 65. As medical advancements extend their lives, they’re expected to live well into their 80s and 90s – outlasting any generation in American history. But among Americans over […]

Media Highlight header

Media Highlights: Spring 2010

September 24, 2010 by Jessica Sinn

Daina Berry (History) was featured on the season finale of NBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” as one of several historians who helped filmmaker Spike Lee trace his ancestry back to the Civil War. Numerous media outlets including Business Week and the Times of India featured new research by Brad Love and Ross Otto […]

man facing mirror in black pointed hood

In Brief: Fall 2010

September 18, 2010 by Molly Wahlberg

The Play’s the Thing To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the English Department’s Shakespeare at Winedale program, alumni reunited this summer and performed scenes from several of the Bard’s plays. Among them was Kathryn Blackbird, class of 1984 and 1986. She used a mirror in the century-old hay barn near the idyllic country town of […]

cover of A Nation of Speachifiers

Awards & Honors: Spring 2010

May 21, 2010 by Michelle Bryant

The Silver Spurs, the student service organization that cares for Bevo, gave out its 21st annual Endowed Teaching Fellowship awards to four liberal arts professors, who each receive a $6,000 prize. The group surprises each recipient with an unannounced presentation. They are: Kirsten Belgum (Germanic Studies) Robert Moser (Government) Elizabeth Engelhardt (American Studies) Lisa Moore […]

Michael Gagarin

Retiring Faculty

May 10, 2010 by Jessica Sinn

James Brow, Anthropology Brow, professor of anthropology and Asian Studies, taught at the university for 30 years and served as chair of the Department of Anthropology from 1995 to 2005. His research focused on social and economic development in South Asia and Sri Lanka. Brow also served as acting director of the South Asia Institute from […]

Nathan Bissonnette of the 89th MP Brigade wipes his eyes after talking to his wife on his cell phone

On a Mission

May 10, 2010 by Marjorie Smith

Working with Fort Hood soldiers, researchers look at what predisposes service members to Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Brian Baldwin, a retired army officer and project manager for the Texas Combat PTSD Risk Project, knows first-hand the consequences of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). His best friend and cousin, a serviceman in Vietnam, took his own life as […]

Russell Poldrak

Studying the Brain, Understanding the Mind

May 6, 2010 by Gary Susswein

Renowned neuroscientist heads up Texas’ brain imaging center More than 2,400 years ago, Socrates pondered the relationship between the human brain and the mind. He asked what role the brain might play not just in how we see, hear and smell, but in how we remember, understand and know. Today, scientists are finally beginning to […]

The 1945 UT Debate Team

News & Notes: Fall 2009

November 17, 2009 by Michelle Bryant

Debate and Individual Event alumni looking to reconnect The university’s debate and individual events (IE) teams have an illustrious history on campus. Both groups have won numerous championships and both feature outstanding alumni. Still, there has not been an alumni association for these successful teams… until now. Are you a former debate team member? Did […]

Judith Langlois

A Scholar’s Call to Service

September 9, 2009 by Jessica Sinn

As Judith Langlois walks through the state-of-the-art children’s research lab in the Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay building, she recalls the three-room schoolhouse in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where she found her passion for science. During an era when many parents and teachers believed women lacked the mental capacity to excel in math and science, […]

Research Briefs: Fall 2008

September 23, 2008 by Jennifer McAndrew

Why Pregnant Women Waddle The human spine evolved differently in males and females in order to alleviate back pressure from the weight of carrying a baby, according to anthropologist Liza Shapiro whose findings were first documented in Nature. The researcher believes the adaptation first appeared at least two million years ago, in the early human […]

A painting of a human skull resting on two books next to a collection of small flowers

The Bard and the Human Condition

September 23, 2008 by Ruth Pennebaker

Shakespeare soothes the soul and sharpens the mind For decades, David B. Cohen pored over the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare. He repeatedly read and enjoyed live and recorded performances of the great writer’s works. The professor of psychology at The University of Texas at Austin recognized themes and insights in Shakespeare’s writing he […]

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