New research in psychology finds that our personalities actually change from moment to moment, and that the people closest to us are more likely than we are to notice. The study combined frequent self-reported Big Five inventories with ratings from participants’ friends and family to build a holistic understanding of people’s personalities in everyday life.
A new study in psychology 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.
The California Families Project is the most comprehensive long-term study of Latino families in the U.S. It has built an unparalleled dataset that researchers at UC Davis and other leading universities around the world use to study the complexity of challenges facing Mexican-origin families in California.
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.
What is the secret to happiness? 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.
The College of Letters and Science at UC Davis has selected two projects for its L&S Unites initiative which grants up to $120,000 for research on cutting-edge multidisciplinary research to help advance knowledge and address society’s most pressing problems.
The UC Davis Department of Psychology graduate program was ranked #6 among public institutions and #14 overall in the 2025 US News & World Report Grad School rankings. This ranking places the department in the top 2% of U.S. psychology Ph.D. programs and second only to veterinary medicine among UC Davis graduate programs.
In its 116th year, Picnic Day is one of UC Davis’ most revered — and most fun! — traditions. From the amazing exhibits and yummy food, to the artistic and scientific demonstrations and everything in-between, here at the College of Letters and Science, we love this annual celebration.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood behavioral disorder. A research collaboration between the Center for Mind and Brain and the UC Davis School of Medicine are using virtual reality to understand ADHD better, which could improve its diagnosis and treatment in children and adults.
Ever wonder how accurate romantic comedies are or where that comfort food you love so much originated from? Or maybe you want to know what UC Davis students and professors are reading and watching? These are just some of the topics covered in podcasts from faculty, staff and students in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.
