University at Buffalo Psychology Department

01/15/2020

Brain model offers new insights into damage caused by stroke and other injuries

From the UB News Center: UB Assistant Professor of Psychology and neuroimaging researcher, Christopher McNorgan, Ph.D., has developed a computer model of the human brain that more realistically simulates actual patterns of brain impairment than existing methods.

Details on the model and the results of its testing appear in the journal NeuroImage. #UBuffalo #psychology

UB researcher’s background in computer modeling made his pioneering advancement of combining existing approaches seem obvious, a “chocolate and peanut butter moment.”

01/10/2020

How self-esteem benefits international college students - Futurity

From Futurity:

UB Psychology Clinical Associate Professor, Wendy Quinton, Ph.D., discusses her research on how self-esteem predicts the ways international students socialize with domestic students at American universities. The findings of Dr. Quinton’s study have been published in the January 2020 issue of the International Journal of Intercultural Relations. #UBuffalo #psychology

"...self-esteem may be viewed as a coping resource for international students when they interact with domestic students."

01/07/2020

10 ways to have a happier, healthier 2020

Several UB experts, including Psychology faculty members Mark Seery, Ph.D., and Michael Poulin, Ph.D., offer several healthy ways to start the new year.

UB faculty experts offer tips on how to eat right, move more and stress less.

01/07/2020

UB psychologist appointed chair of NIH subcommittee

Congratulations to UB Psychology Professor, Jennifer Read, Ph.D., on her recent appointment as chair of the Epidemiology, Prevention and Behavior Research Review Group, a subcommittee of the NIAAA of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Jennifer Read will lead the Epidemiology, Prevention and Behavior Research Review Group, a panel of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

12/17/2019

UB’s Center for Ingestive Behavior Research awards its first pilot grants

From the UB News Center: UB's Center for Ingestive Behavior Research awarded pilot grants to three projects that aim to understand how obesity develops and to identify potential systems to target for treatments. #UBuffalo

Three projects selected for pilot grants all have the broader aim of understanding how obesity develops and what systems might be targeted to treat it.

12/10/2019

How do you know when it’s time to break up? Here’s the research

A recent article by UB Psychology alum, Veronica Lamarche, Ph.D., discusses common reasons people stay in a relationship and several reasons why they decide to leave.

■ Veronica Lamarche, lecturer of psychology, University of Essex CHRISTMAS may be a time of giving, but it’s also a peak time for break-ups. Facing the prospect of spending yet another festive season with their romantic partner, many people start having doubts about their relationship in the run...

12/10/2019

The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders

The Primary Care Companion for CNS Disorders

What do behavioral health providers embedded in primary care settings view as barriers to implementing brief tobacco and alcohol interventions for their patients? Read this study to find out more about this important topic. http://bit.ly/2qqkARB
#primarycare #mentalhealth #tobacco #alcohol
VA Western New York Healthcare System
@musccom
Syracuse University Department of Psychology
UR Medicine Mental Health & Wellness
University at Buffalo Psychology Department

11/19/2019

Congratulations to all of the new Psi Chi inductees!

Congrats to our inductees, you all look amazing tonight! We are so proud of you and we hope to get to know ALL of you in the future 🤩

10/28/2019

For better research results, let mice be mice: Knowing how to raise and care for animals can improve research on human communication

From ScienceDaily: Latest Science News: A new UB study suggests that the established practice of socially isolating mice for such purposes may make them poor research models for humans, and a simple shift to a more realistic social environment could improve the utility of the future studies. UB Psychology Professor, Micheal Dent, Ph.D., co-authored the paper with Laurel Screven, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow at Johns Hopkins, who was a UB Psychology graduate student when the research was conducted. #UBuffalo #psychology

Animal models can serve as gateways for understanding many human communication disorders, but a new study suggests that the established practice of socially isolating mice for such purposes might actually make them poor research models for humans, and a simple shift to a more realistic social enviro...

10/22/2019

Parenting app for mothers being developed at RIT

From Rochester Institute of Technology: UB Clinical Psychology alum, Stephanie Godleski, Ph.D., is a co-principal investigator on a research project at RIT that plans to create an app to help young mothers and caregivers answer questions about raising a child, connect them with resources, and foster a virtual parenting community.

Research is underway at RIT to create an app that will serve as a resource to help young mothers answer questions about raising a child, connect them with programs and resources, as well as foster a virtual parenting community.

10/21/2019

Episode - BYUradio

UB Social-Personality Psychology Ph.D. candidate, Thomas Saltsman, was recently interviewed on BYUradio about his research on how motivational factors contribute to choice overload.

Click on "Are More Choices Better... Or Worse?" for the full interview.

#UBuffalo #psychology

10/15/2019

UB now offers an undergraduate neuroscience major

From the UB News Center: The new Neuroscience program, leading to a Bachelor of Science degree, was developed as a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Students can also choose to minor in neuroscience.

The neuroscience major is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

10/11/2019

Think You're 100% An Introvert? There's A Good Chance You're Wrong.

An article on HuffPost about the broad spectrum of extroversion and how personality is measured by science quotes UB Psychology Associate Professor Kristen Gainey, Ph.D. #UBuffalo #psychology

All personality traits exist on a spectrum, and it’s not necessarily valuable to define ourselves as one thing or another.

10/03/2019

The Medical Minute: Making ADHD less stressful on the family | Penn State University

UB Clincial Psychology Alum in the news! From Penn State: Dara Babinski, Ph.D, discusses how parents of children with an ADHD diagnosis often experience more lifetime stress than parents of children who don’t have that diagnosis.

Parenting is hard work. Parenting a child who struggles with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is even more difficult. According to one psychologist, the best situation is when parents and teachers work together to manage behaviors and promote the child’s success.

10/02/2019

Comfort food in the age of self-care: It's complicated

From Mashable: Research from UB associate professor, Shira GAbriel, Ph.D., and UB Social-Personality Ph.D. alum, Jordan Trioisi, Ph.D., on why we find certain foods comforting. #UBuffalo

Self-care is turning comfort food on its head.

09/30/2019

Researchers explore the role of psychology in responding to opioid addiction

From UB News Center: UB Psychology Professor, Jennifer Read, Ph.D., discusses the recently published special issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology that focuses on psychology's role in addressing the opioid epidemic. #UBuffalo #Psychology

Special journal issue focuses on actions and investigations for how clinical psychologists can contribute their expertise to the crisis.

09/27/2019

Having Too Many Choices Is Stressing Americans Out

Voice of America - VOA interviews UB Social-Personality Psychology doctoral student, Thomas Saltsman, on choice overload and how to cope with too many choices. #UBuffalo #psychology

America is the land of plenty and it’s stressing some people out. “We believe that whatever we choose is kind of a reflection of who we are,” says Thomas Saltsman, senior lab director of the Social Psychophysiology Laboratory at the University at Buffalo. “Freedom and choice are so important...

09/20/2019

Study: Smoking abstinence has little impact on the motivation for food

From UB News Center: “We found with this sample in this study that the motivations for cigarettes, food and water do not interact very much,” says Stephen Tiffany, Empire Innovation Professor in UB’s Department of Psychology in the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. “The results suggest that smoking abstinence does not affect the motivation for food and water.”

Food does not become more appealing during those times when a smoker is in a smoke-free environment, or otherwise can’t smoke.

08/28/2019

David Courtwright's talk "The Age of Addiction: How Bad Habits Became Big Business" will be presented on Wednesday, September 11th at 3pm in 330 Student Union. Click on the flyer for more details.

08/15/2019

9/11 Near-Miss Experiences Often Tied to 'Survivor Guilt'

From PsychCentral.com: UB Psychology Associate Professor Michael Poulin, Ph.D. discusses his research on how large-scale trauma affects mental health. #UBuffalo #psychology

In a new study of 9/11 survivors, researchers found that participants who had "near-miss" experiences -- such as those who called in sick or who missed their flight -- did not necessarily es

07/31/2019

Minor in Addiction Studies

We are pleased to announce the brand new Addiction Studies Minor at UB!

The Minor in Addiction Studies is unique in drawing from experts from many different disciplines—medical, humanities, legal, social sciences, and more—to provide multi-perspective training in addiction and related issues. The program is designed for students whose interests and career goals involve addiction at any level. Click the link below for more details. #UBuffalo

The Minor in Addiction Studies is unique in drawing from experts from many different disciplines—medical, humanities, legal, social sciences, and more—to provide multi-perspective training in addiction and related issues. The program is designed for students whose interests and...

07/26/2019

Give broccoli a chance

From UBNow: “If we can convince people to try broccoli, greens and bitter foods, they should know that with repeated exposure, they’ll taste better once they regulate these proteins,” says Ann-Marie Torregrossa, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology at UB about her recent research findings published in Chemical Senses Journal. #UBuffalo

UB research shows how the taste of bitter foods changes as repeated consumption alters the constellation of salivary proteins.

06/18/2019

Too Many Choices Can Paralyze Decision-Making

From PsychCentral.com: New research from UB Psychology Associate Professor Mark Seery, Ph.D. and doctoral student Thomas Saltsman looks specifically at two understudied motivational factors of decision-making: How valuable is the decision to someone and to what extent do people view themselves as capable of making a good choice. #UBuffalo #psychology

People faced with more options than they can consider want to make a good decision, but feel they're unable, according to the results of a new study. Despite the apparent opportunities presented

06/03/2019

A Surprising Finding About Romance

From Psychology Today: A recent study from UB Psychology Professor Sandra Murray, Ph.D. discusses the strength of illusion in romantic couples. #UBuffalo #psychology

Hold on to your illusions.

05/21/2019

UB psychologist receives $2.2 million NIH grant to study school readiness

From the UB News Center: Jamie Ostrov, Ph.D., a professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Psychology, has received a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine the critical developmental and educational transition children make when moving from pre-k to kindergarten. #UBuffalo #psychology

A UB psychologist has received a $2.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine the critical developmental and educational transition children make when moving from pre-k to kindergarten.

05/17/2019

We are so proud of all of our MA and Ph.D. students graduating today and all of our seniors graduating on Sunday as they start on the next leg of their journey!

04/29/2019

Congratulations to UB Psychology Junior, Jennifer Mosley, on her recent poster presentation at the recent Penn State Behrend-Sigma Xi Undergraduate Research and Creative Accomplishment Conference. Her poster "BOLD Differences in the Posterior Parietal Cortex Differentiate Familiarity in Object Representations" was awarded 1st prize in her poster session.

04/24/2019

Strongly agree: Number of response options matters

From UB Now: “We spend a lot of time thinking about what we should ask in our research, but we almost never collect data on the response options. We’ve been basing a lot of this on lore, but these decisions can’t be taken for granted." - UB Psychology Associate Professor, Leonard Simms, Ph.D., on his research team's recent study involving Likert Scales.

UB psychologist Leonard Simms' research suggests that a response format should be given as much thought as the test itself.

04/22/2019

UB Fellowships and Scholarships

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Kali Burke, a 2019 winner of the Olga Lindberg Scholarship for scholastic excellence from AAUW Buffalo Branch!

Kali is a 4th year University at Buffalo PhD student in Cognitive Psychology whose dissertation is investigating the effects of blast-induced traumatic brain injury on auditory function and perception.

As a Buffalo native, Kali has been extremely active volunteering in the local community and sharing her science with the public. She hopes to graduate next year and move on to a post-doctoral position with the goal of being a professor in the future.

University at Buffalo Psychology Department

04/17/2019

UB's new generation of student leaders

UB Psychology and Dance alum and current graduate student in UB's Graduate School of Education, Mari Perrella, is integrating her two passions of dance and helping children with special needs to discover new ways of helping students with ADHD and autism. #UBuffalo

In the first of an occasional series on UB's best and brightest students, meet one who has been described as a "thinking dancer and a dancing thinker."

03/29/2019

15 students receive Chancellor’s Awards

Congratulations to Tara Strade for her Chancellor's Award! Tara is a dual major in English and Psychology with a minor in Education and has a long list of accomplishments while completing her studies at UB. See the link below for more details from UB Now. #UBuffalo

The students were recognized for academic excellence and accomplishments in such areas as leadership, athletics and community service.

03/19/2019

Singing in your head could mess up your pitch - Futurity

From Futurity: “Several beneficial things can result by better understanding what going on with poor pitch singing,” says UB Psychology professor Peter Pfordresher, Ph.D. “Singing suppresses levels of stress hormones; it builds community, especially for older adults experiencing social isolation; and in young children, musical participation does seem to be associated with broader cognitive abilities.” #UBuffalo #psychology

How you mentally prepare to sing could be throwing off your pitch when you open your mouth.

02/27/2019

Current Events

Announcing a new Summer 2019 Short Course, Methods for Analyzing Sound and Modeling Auditory Plasticity. This course runs from June 5th - June 7th.

For more information, click on the link below and find a description of the course under "Summer Section."

Regular colloquia are Wednesdays, 2:00 P.M. –  4:00 P.M., in 280 Park Hall (unless otherwise noted), North Campus, and are open to the public. To receive email announcements of each event, please subscribe to one of our mailing lists by clicking the link &nbs...

02/26/2019

Experts Reveal What Triggers Emotional Eating And How To Control It

Social-Personality Psychology Ph.D. alum, Jordan Troisi, Ph.D., is quoted in a recent HuffPost article on emotional eating triggers.

You should eat that cookie for the sake of enjoyment, not as therapy or comfort.

02/25/2019

WBFO

WBFO

"The basic idea was to capture people’s experiences in real time - as they're happening with regards to negative and positive effects,” stated Kristin Gainey, assistant professor, University at Buffalo Psychology Department. The UB researcher used smartphone technology to study anxiety and depression. WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley visited UB's psychology department on the Amherst campus to learn more. #mentalhealth #anxiety #depression

02/15/2019

Childhood trauma affects brain and increases risk of substance use in adolescence, study finds

Another psychology alum in the news! Elisa Trucco, Ph.D., a graduate from UB's Clinical Psychology program and current assistant professor at FIU, collaborated on a recent study that found traumatic childhood experiences impact brain functioning and increase the risk of substance use during adolescence. From FIU News

A new study led by FIU researchers at the Center for Children and Families found that traumatic childhood experiences like domestic violence, abuse and parental incarceration impact brain functioning and increase the risk of substance use during adolescence. The study was led by social work profe