Psychology

COVID Lockdown Disrupted Preschoolers’ Social Skills, Trailblazing Research Shows

January 29, 2025

Lockdowns. Social distancing. Shuttered schools and businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic and its sweeping disruptions set off a stampede of “what it’s doing to us” research, focused largely on schoolchildren. How were students’ academics affected? Their mental health? Their...

Fulbright Scholar in Search of ‘Lost Science’ in Brazil

Chris Fradkin, a UC Merced lecturer and alumnus, is heading to Brazil in search of “lost science.” The term, first coined in 1995 in a Scientific American article by W. Wayt Gibbs, refers to the...

Researcher Tracking Teens Who Attempted Suicide

More than 120,000 young people ages 10 to 18 attempt suicide each year, and about 4,500 of those attempts are fatal. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among children ages 10-14 and the...

Multicampus Grant Provides for Advances in Learning Interventions

UC Merced Professor Jeffrey Gilger is an integral part of a new intercampus effort to understand and reduce education-related risks in California’s young English-language learners. Funding for the...

Graduate Programs on the Rise, U.S. News Rankings Show

At just 12 years old, the graduate programs at the University of California, Merced, are already among the best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Best Graduate...

Study: Infants Recognize Surprise in Others Before Age 2

Infants as young as 20 months of age expect adults to display surprise when discovering a false belief, according to a new study from UC Merced Professor Rose Scott. Previous research suggested that...

Cognitive Scientist Earns Early Career Impact Award

UC Merced Professor Rick Dale is a recipient of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences (FABBS) Early Career Impact Award from the Society for Computers in Psychology. Dale...

Researchers to Discuss Strong Family Relationships in Symposium

UC Merced will host its fourth annual Symposium on the Child and Family from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Jan. 28, offering a day of talks by researchers on the theme of “Strong Families: Fostering Healthy...

Message From Chancellor Leland on Student Jennifer Mendiola

The following message from Chancellor Dorothy Leland was sent to the campus community today, Dec. 7: Dear UC Merced Campus Community, It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that I write today to...

Will Shadish Memorial Fellowship Announced for Giving Tuesday

During this year’s Giving Tuesday — an international day of giving held each year on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving — UC Merced will honor Professor Will Shadish with a new graduate student...