psychology

A person's hand writing a list of items on a piece of paper next to boxes that will be checked off.

Mind & body

In search of a way to improve humans’ faulty memories and bad habits

In a new paper, Allison Harvey, a UC Berkeley psychology professor, says lessons from science can help everyone instill good habits — and even lead to more effective patient treatments.

a simple continuous line drawing of a face that suggests the many dimensions of a person's personality

Mind & body

Psychopathic personality is measured with a 1970s checklist. A Berkeley psychologist says it’s time to upgrade.

headshots of 7 people in circles against a dark blue background

Awards

Seven faculty members named fellows of American Association for the Advancement of Science

line drawing of a woman with eerie-looking ghosts coming out the back of her partially missing head

Mind & body

Berkeley Voices: We learn what to fear. Can we unlearn it?

an illustration of a woman walking among trees in a wintery scene

Science of Happiness: How to find calm through walking

Two monkeys sit on a branch, with one looking disapprovingly toward the other.

Do animals get jealous like people? Researchers say it’s complicated.

a pink brain sits inside a topless model of a human skull, with yellow bars indicating where a hand is slapping it

Watch a UC Berkeley neurologist explain how concussions really work

UC Berkeley professor of psychology looks at a still frame from the Pixar film 'Inside Out 2'

UC Berkeley professor breaks down the science of ‘Inside Out 2’

Berkeley Voices: Psychopathy goes undetected in some people. Why?

The White House in Washington D.C. at night, illuminated with lights and with a fountain in the foreground shooting water into the air.

Anxious about the election? UC Berkeley psychologists explain how to cope

An overhead photo of a child using a laptop, signaling how children spend an increasing amount of time online and may be exposed to increasing amount of concerning content and disinformation

To make children better fact-checkers, expose them to more misinformation — with oversight

two toddlers in a room, with one looking over the shoulder of the other as they play with blocks. the child playing with the blocks has amassed several in front of him.

Can toddlers help explain the origins of our bias for wealth?

Aileen Liu, Hernan Garcia, Christian Paiz and Arianne Eason sit in chairs on a dark stage and talk

Berkeley Talks: What is understanding? Berkeley scholars discuss

A hand holding three illustrations of faces, one with a straight face, one with a frown and one with a smile, meant to illustrate the connection between feeling stressed about being happy and how that can make a person feel sad

Stop worrying about being happy. It’s making you more depressed.

a colorful gradient background with four headshots of Dacher Keltner, Lisa Damour, Allison Briscoe-Smith and Maurissa Horwitz

Berkeley Talks: The science behind the emotions in ‘Inside Out 2’

closeup of the face of a snarling dog and a cute, red-headed baby with adorable blue eyes

New study shows how the brain reacts emotionally to the real world

All psychology