Psychology Content

Charan Ranganath on the Search for Biomarkers to Detect Alzheimer's Disease Risk Early

Soterios J Johnson — June 26, 2023 - 10:49am

UC Davis psychology professor Charan Ranganath discusses how he and his colleagues are working to find biomarkers to help identify people with preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Earlier detection — before the brain is significantly damaged — would allow for more successful interventions and better outcomes.

Adolescent Social Health May Foretell Loneliness, Aggressive Behavior, Study Suggests

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — February 23, 2026 - 2:27pm

Teens who are lonely and those who experience conflict in their home life are more likely to act aggressively toward peers or become victims themselves. These are some of the findings in a new University of California, Davis, study that creates a detailed picture of children’s social lives by identifying patterns and predictors of adolescent social health.

Are We Connected by Evolution?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — February 11, 2026 - 9:43am

Paul Eastwick was in high school when he first came across the idea that evolution might explain how and why humans love. It was in a 1994 Time Magazine article about the book The Moral Animal by Robert Wright.

Sharing Happy Moments with Partner Better for Health than Feeling Happy Alone

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 30, 2025 - 1:27pm

A new study suggests that when older couples experience positive emotions together in everyday life, they have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol that can cause health problems over time when elevated.

UC Davis Researchers Look at How the Brain Prioritizes What We See

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — September 23, 2025 - 8:00am

How we focus our attention before we even see an object matters. For example, when we look for something moving in the sky, our expectation would be very different if the object is a bird flying past or a baseball coming straight at us.

But it’s unclear whether our brain’s attention focuses first on a broad characteristic of the anticipated object, such as movement, or a specific feature — such as the direction of movement up or down.

Babies Pay Attention Longest When è�� Combine Words and Gestures, UC Davis Study Suggests

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — September 03, 2025 - 9:32am

A baby’s focus may seem brief, but some words and gestures do a better job of keeping their attention on their surroundings even before they say their first word.

A new study from the University of California, Davis, finds that combining words that label objects, such as “bear,” with spatial words such as “here” or “there” captures infants’ attention for longer than using those types of words alone or using other words that are neither labels nor spatial. Adding gestures, such as pointing, holds babies’ attention the longest.

Toddlers’ Eye Movements Predict Ability to Judge Memories, New Research Suggests

Andy Fell — June 11, 2025 - 9:00am

The simple act of looking and comparing may be the first step toward learning how to judge what we remember, a skill that is fundamental to learning and making decisions.

New research from the University of California, Davis, has found that toddlers who tend to look more closely at and compare paired images during a memory task are more aware of the accuracy of their own memories a year later. This finding connects the earliest process of seeking information with the developing ability to judge the accuracy of memories.

The Secret to Happiness Lies Within You, Or Society — Or Both

Andy Fell — May 02, 2025 - 10:16am

What is the secret to happiness? Does happiness come from within, or is it shaped by external influences such as our jobs, health, relationships and material circumstances? A new study published in Nature Human Behaviour shows that happiness can come from either within or from external influences, from both, or neither — and which is true differs across people.

Men and Women Equally Attracted to Younger Partners, UC Davis Study Suggests

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 27, 2025 - 12:35pm

Men and women alike are drawn to younger partners, whether or not they realize it. The conclusion came from a University of California, Davis, study of 4,500 blind dates of people seeking a long-term partner.

Asthma May Place Children at Risk of Memory Difficulties, New Research Finds

Andy Fell — November 12, 2024 - 2:41pm

Asthma is associated with memory difficulties in children, and early onset of asthma may exacerbate memory deficits, according to a new study from the University of California, Davis. The study, the first of its kind to connect asthma to memory deficits in children, was published in Nov. 5 in JAMA Network Open.