Psychology in Action

Category: General Psychology

  • I’ll take one Lassie, no wait…make that an Air Bud

    I’ll take one Lassie, no wait…make that an Air Bud

    A study published in PLOS ONE looked at 100 films that featured a dog as a main character from 1939 to 2003 along with the number of registrations with the American Kennel Club by breed in the 10 years before and after each film

  • Hook, Line, and Thinker

    Hook, Line, and Thinker

    “What is the grandmother statement?” My undergraduate thesis advisor used to ask this a lot during lab meetings. He emphasized that psychological research should be presented in a way such that anyone could effectively understand your research goals and findings without a great deal of scientific knowledge (i.e. the nonacademic community). I bring this up…

  • New research: From Screen to Green: What happens to kids social skills when they go cold turkey on all media?

    New research: From Screen to Green: What happens to kids social skills when they go cold turkey on all media?

    The fact is we all stare at screens more than we would like and many of us rely on these tools to communicate with others, even during times when we should be spending quality time with our families and friends. So does all this time staring at screens, which may take time away from looking…

  • The Significance of Impression Formation: Reinterpreting Early Social Psychology Findings Using Modern Stats

    The Significance of Impression Formation: Reinterpreting Early Social Psychology Findings Using Modern Stats

    Solomon Asch may be best known in social psychology for his 1951 Conformity Studies in which he brought participants into a room with seven confederates—actors pretending to be other participants—and had them recount the length of a line.  Before demonstrating that normative pressure can lead people to lie, Asch was one of the foremost researchers…

  • East and West: Two Faces of Depression

    East and West: Two Faces of Depression

    “This post is co-written by Michael Sun and guest writer Rachel McCrystal, both authors contributed equally.” Sam Davis* is a 20 year old sophomore at UCLA. He attends class every day, and by and large, Sam lives a relatively normal college student life. But lately, he has been weighed down by something he finds hard…

  • Awe: Why It’s Important, and How to Feel It

    Awe: Why It’s Important, and How to Feel It

    Jason Silva – Shots of Awe Have you ever gazed up at the starry sky and felt amazed by its vastness? Or have you looked over the abyss of the Grand Canyon and found your breath catch in your throat? If so, you probably felt awe, a “feeling of wonder and astonishment experienced in the presence of…

  • What is color (in vision)?

    What is color (in vision)?

    Roses are red, Violets are blue, And you probably think That the sky is blue too. Color, however, exists only in the mind: Color is our experience that maps onto the physical luminance properties of visible light and visible-light reflectance properties of objects. Psychologists call this color perception, to recognize that color is more a property…

  • iLoveYou, iLoveYouNot: The Psychology of Online Dating & Romantic Relationships

    When I first saw the movie “You’ve Got Mail” at the ripe old age of 8, the idea of developing a relationship through online chatrooms seemed novel, unconventional and even…creepy? Fast-forward 15 years later, where one in ten people are using an online dating website, and much of the stigma associated with this activity has declined.…

  • A Day in the Life of a Grad Student

    It is probably a cliché to say that no two days are alike for a graduate student. For me, this variety makesthe hard work and long hours of graduate student life worth it. What makes up those long hours? It varies from student to student and as your program progresses. In the first few years,…

  • “Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability” Symposium – May 16, 4pm

    “Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability” Symposium – May 16, 4pm

    Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability Psychology in Action is proud to announce the third annual Psychology Interdisciplinary Events symposium, Criminally Minded: The Psychology and Law of Culpability, to be held Friday, May 16th, 2014, from 4 to 6pm in UCLA’s CNSI Auditorium.  The discussion will focus on legal and psychological issues regarding mens rea.  The…