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...

Professor Named ‘Rising Star’ in Quantitative Psychology

UC Merced Psychology Professor Sarah Depaoli has been recognized as a Rising Star by the Association for Psychological Science (APS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of...

Psychologist: Show Troubled Kids Peter Parker, Not Spider-Man

Before Spider-Man became Spider-Man, he was Peter Parker, an orphan living with relatives of modest means, and a bullying victim forced to cope with the murder of his uncle. Not many kids in...

Trailblazing Senior Sets Sights on Future Goals

In high school, Domonique Jones knew she wanted to go to college. She also knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Raised by her single mother in Hercules, Jones was the first in her family to consider and...

Kids Under 2 Can Spy Deception in Others, Study Shows

In its most positive form, deception — when used in moderation — can be critical to maintaining social relationships. The ability to recognize and use deception is considered point of demarcation in...

Professor Studies Link Between Youth Unemployment, Mental Health

Young people who are neither employed nor pursuing an education are vulnerable to mental health issues like depression and anxiety, but their commitment to finding work is surprisingly strong...

Event Connects High School Girls with Female Scientists

While many young women her age are thinking about their favorite shoes or who they’ll go with to the winter formal, Callie Nance, 15, is thinking about her favorite science organizations and her...

Study: Smoke-Free Zones, Higher Taxes Deter Youth Smoking

Banning smoking in the workplace and increasing taxes on cigarettes have discouraged teens and young adults from taking up smoking, according to a study by researchers at UC San Francisco and UC ...

Study: In Any Language, Learning to Walk and Talk Are Linked

UC Merced developmental psychologist Eric Walle recently discovered a link between walking and talking in infants. This development, however, brought up additional questions. Was the link specific to...

Grad Student Examines Use of Social Media in Health Care

The use of images and direct questions by health communicators on Facebook tends to increase user engagement, though linking to external websites and videos does not. Posts conveying positive...