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Mosley is an Assistant Professor of Racial Inequality in the Psychology Department at UC Davis. Her research focuses on how group members navigate their social identities and their worlds, and relate to other groups. She studies how people think about, respond to, and engage in acts of cultural appropriation, or acts of out-group cultural use. In 2020, she received her doctoral degree at the University of Kansas as a member of Monica Biernat's Stereotyping and Judgement Lab.

We are pleased to announce that the UC Davis Department of Psychology was ranked 12th in the country (tied for 6th among Public Universities) by U.S. News and World Report. The new rankings reflect the growing recognition and positive overall reputation of our department, previously ranked #26 four years prior. The rankings also provide subdiscipline rankings: for Developmental Psychology, our department was ranked 9th overall (7th among public universities).

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Although treatments for depression are available, existing treatments are not effective for many who use them. Furthermore, rates of depression are higher in women than in men, yet the cause for this difference is unknown, making their illnesses, at times, more complicated to treat.

Psychology Professor Paul Hastings is the recipient of the 2022 Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award at UC Davis. Professor Hastings received the award for his "oustanding investment in mentoring" and will receive a $1,000 award of Academic Enrichment Funds. He was nominated by current and former students as well as Psychology faculty for being "one of the most supportive, dedicated, and selfless mentors of graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and junior faculty on our campus." Prof.

Psychology Professor Richard Robins was quoted by Newsweek in an article discussing the validity of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality assessment tool. Although widely used in corporate settings, the MBTI has "fundamental problems", Professor Robins stated. Among them, the MBTI's focus on categorical profiles is "analogous to measuring people's height and then classifying them as either tall or short and ignoring more precise differences in height."

New research from the California National Primate Research Center (CNPRC) at the University of California, Davis reveals that infant monkeys conceived while their mothers were naturally exposed to wildfire smoke show behavioral changes compared to animals conceived days later. John Capitanio, professor of Psychology at UC Davis and a core scientist at the CNPRC, has been conducting standardized assessments on animals born at the center for two decades. This allowed a comparison of animals born during the recent Camp Fire to historical data from animals unaffected by wildfires.

Psychology Professor Fernanda Ferreira was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This honor is awarded to "members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications in service to society have distinguished them among their peers and colleagues" (AAAS).

Associate Professor of Psychology Mijke Rhemtulla was selected to be a 2021-2022 Chancellor’s Fellow, and will receive an award of $25,000 to be used in support of her research, teaching, and service activities. The Chancellor’s Fellows Program was established in 2000 to honor the achievements of outstanding faculty members early in their careers. Dr. Rhemtulla received this award in recognition of the outstanding quality and significance of her research and teaching.

Professor Tamara Swaab received the honor of being named a Fellow of APS (Association for Psychological Science). The honor is conferred to scientists "who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology in the areas of research, teaching, service, and/or application." Dr. Swaab is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and a core faculty member in the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dean Keith Simonton was recently elected to the presidency of the Society for the History of Psychology, which constitutes Division 26 of the American Psychological Association. He will serve as President-Elect in 2022, President in 2023, and Past-President in 2024, and will deliver his Presidential Address at the APA Convention in Washington DC. The address will focus on his distinctive metascientific approach in which the history of psychology is examined via the psychology of science, thereby more tightly integrating the subdisciplines.

The National Institute of Aging and NIH Office of Behavioral Social Sciences Research recently funded a 2-year, $1.25 million grant on "Prairie voles as a novel model for the effects of pair bonds on aging". The Principal Investigators are Drs. Karen Bales from the Department of Psychology and Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior (NPB) and Karen Ryan of NPB. Co-investigators are Drs. Emilio Ferrer, Camelia Hostinar, and Adele Seelke of Psychology.

Professor Karen Bales (Psychology Department) and Professor Melissa Bauman (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) received a 2021 Research Investments in Cannabis and Hemp (RICH) grant from the UC Davis Office of Research. The team is one of three to win a $20,000 award. Winners were chosen based on "potential for future discovery and innovation, scientific merit and impact on society and sustainability."

Professor and Department Chair Susan Rivera was appointed to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC). The IACC is a federal advisory committee composed of public stakeholders and federal officials that coordinates federal activities concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and provides advice to the HHS Secretary on issues related to autism.

Professor Lisa Oakes was announced as the winner of the prestigious "Eleanor Maccoby" Book Award from the American Psychological Association Developmental Psychology Division for 2022. The Maccoby Award honors a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on developmental psychology.