Category Archives: Research

Building international ties to investigate the importance of social relationships and health

By Ellen Stephenson

The Berlin Workshop Group

The Berlin Workshop Group

Faculty and students from the psychology department’s health area recently travelled to Berlin to establish new ties with several research teams there. At the core of the visit was a two-day workshop to explore the importance of social relationships for health outcomes across the adult lifespan. Continue reading

Want to do something good for your health? Try being generous

By Ashley Whillans, University of British Columbia

Every day, we are confronted with choices about how to spend our money. Whether it’s thinking about picking up the tab at a group lunch or when a charity calls asking for a donation, we are faced with the decision to behave generously or not.

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Simple strategies to feel happy

Smiley Button As Symbol For Cheer Or HappinessBy Ashley Whillans

Happiness means something different to everyone, but what we all have in common is the need to make it a priority. Not only does happiness feel good in the moment, but a lot of scientific research suggests that happier people live longer and healthier lives. And if you’re a student, feeling happy has the additional benefit of reducing stress and improving academic performance. Continue reading

The Latin word colloquium means conversation

colloquiumlargeA series of intriguing talks and scientific inspiration.
Annually the Department of Psychology hosts a Colloquium Series throughout the academic year. This exciting program brings us together outside of the classroom to have conversations with our faculty and students and the speakers we’ve invited to our campus to share their ideas. Continue reading

UBC Psych prof Kiley Hamlin shares research on early moral cognition with the Dalai Lama

KHDLcropped-1024x410On October 22, 2014 Prof. Kiley Hamlin took part in the sold-out event Educating the Heart in the Early Years: A Dialogue with the Dalai Lama at UBC’s Chan Centre for Performing Arts.

This unique dialogue featured a keynote address by the Dalai Lama and a panel of leading researchers from UBC who discussed the science behind the Dalai Lama’s belief that consciously teaching children to be compassionate and altruistic in their earliest years has a profoundly positive effect on their social, emotional and spiritual well-being throughout life. Continue reading

New series explores the psychology of gambling in film

gamblingpsiblogpost

The Centre for Gambling Research at UBC is revisiting some classic gambling films in a new blog series “Gambling in the Movies”. They’ll be reviewing the media’s portrayal of gambling, the relationship between gambling and addiction, and the extent to which these films provide any true insights into the psychology of the gambler. Continue reading

How environmental regularities help visual search – and to find beer

beerblogpostBy  Yu Luo

How far can you go as an undergraduate research assistant in a psychology lab? Your first thoughts may be giving debriefing, running subjects or entering data. These were exactly what I had had in mind before joining Dr. Jiaying Zhao’s lab. However, I have gained far more experiences than I expected. Continue reading

An undergrad student’s quest for research

posterbannerblogBy Sumeyye Cakal

Remember when you were a first year in undergrad? Maybe you were like me and you’d get butterflies as you thought about what the next 4 years would look like. You may have wondered how you’d make the best of them as you built your course lists and learned how not to get lost on your way to class. But did you ever think that you’d get a chance to do research? To help plan, run, present, and write about your projects? Well I sure didn’t – that is, not until I met Dr. Jiaying Zhao. Continue reading