Psychology
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Sign language study reveals key finding about short-term memory
For decades, researchers have misunderstood a key aspect of short-term memory because of shortcomings in the way they compare the memory capacity of deaf people who use American Sign Language (ASL) and hearing people, according to a new study by a psychology professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previous studies suggested that ASL…
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UC Santa Cruz brings Chicana author Sandra Cisneros to Mello Center on April 30
Acclaimed Chicana author Sandra Cisneros, whose book The House on Mango Street is required reading in classrooms across the country, will give a public reading at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 30, at the Mello Center for the Performing Arts in Watsonville. Cisneros will be accepting the first annual Gloria E. Anzaldúa Distinguished Lecture Award,…
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California prison shakeup reveals urgent need for reform, expert says
The recent shakeup in the troubled California Department of Corrections reveals the resistance to a badly needed overhaul of the nation’s largest prison system, says a leading expert on prisons and the psychology of incarceration. The resignation of Corrections chief Roderick Hickman, hired two years ago by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to overhaul the dysfunctional system,…
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UC Santa Cruz psychology prof develops language aids for hearing-impaired and autistic children
Twenty years ago, psychology professor Dominic Massaro never dreamed his investigation of how humans comprehend language and speech would benefit hearing-impaired and autistic children. But his research into how auditory and visual cues work together to aid our comprehension of the spoken word attracted the attention of parents of children with language challenges. Eager for…
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Mystery Spot demonstrates power of perception, UC Santa Cruz psychologist explains
SANTA CRUZ, CA–For years, UC Santa Cruz psychology professor Bruce Bridgeman has taken college students to the Mystery Spot, a popular local tourist attraction, to demonstrate how the human brain works. Tourists flock to the Mystery Spot to enjoy the “puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more,” leaving baffled and perplexed by the apparent…
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Three UCSC professors and two graduate students honored for teaching
SANTA CRUZ, CA–Three professors and two graduate students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, were honored for their teaching today (Thursday, September 29). The Division of Social Sciences presented the division’s Distinguished Teaching Award, known as the “Golden Apple Award,” during the dean’s annual fall convocation. The awards recognize outstanding undergraduate teaching in the…
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Faye Crosby receives top honor in social psychology, becoming third UCSC professor to win prestigious Kurt Lewin Award
SANTA CRUZ, CA–Faye J. Crosby, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an expert on affirmative action, has received the Kurt Lewin Award, one of the most prestigious honors in social psychology. Crosby received the award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), also known as Division…
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Skewed system facilitates death sentences and undermines fairness of capital punishment, says author of new book Death by Design
In a harsh critique of the death penalty before a gathering of the nation’s lawyers last month, U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said recent exonerations of death row inmates reveal serious procedural flaws that undermine the way capital punishment is administered in this country. Stevens’s remarks before members of the American Bar Association…
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UC Santa Cruz dream expert featured on Discovery Channel series
Local dream expert and UC Santa Cruz psychology instructor Veronica Tonay is featured in the upcoming new miniseries Dream Decoders, a show that helps participants and viewers understand the hidden meaning of their dreams. The series premieres on the Discovery Health Channel discoveryhealth.com on Wednesday, August 17, at 10 p.m. (E.T./P.T.) and will air in…