Department of Psychology & Neuroscience
Professor Michael Tomasello has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology for his book, Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny. The Maccoby Award is presented to the author of a book in the field of psychology that has had or promises to have a profound effect on one or more of the areas represented by Division 7, including promoting research in the field of developmental psychology; fostering the development… read more about Michael Tomasello Receives Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology »
Everyone Is Talking About Race Right Now. But How And For How Long? By Stacia Brown & Anta Rao, June 11, 2020, Embodied Series, WUNC, The State of Things Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke, discusses interracial conversations about race and racism with NPR host Anita Rao. Listen here (35:27) Nationwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd are still underway, and they have reignited… read more about Navigating Cross-Racial Conversations in a Time of Civil Unrest »
Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, studies race, gender, identity development, stereotyping and social perceptions. In collaboration with May Ling Halim at California State University, Long Beach, as well as Kristina Olson at Princeton, Yarrow Dunham at Yale, and Kristin Pauker at the University of Hawaii, Gaither is embarking on a National Science Foundation-funded study, looking at the racial and gender biases in children of many racial groups… read more about Finding Comfort in Discomfort: How Children form Racist Attitudes and What Parents Can do to Prevent Racism »
Sarah Gaither, Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, explains the science behind how dogs help us cope. Read more at Psychology Today. read more about I Got a Pandemic Dog That Also Helps Me Process Racism »
Studies of Brain Activity Aren't as Useful as Scientists Thought, By Karl Leif Bates, Published June 3, 2020 Hundreds of published studies over the last decade have claimed it's possible to predict an individual’s patterns of thoughts and feelings by scanning their brain in an MRI machine as they perform some mental tasks. But a new analysis by some of the researchers who have done the most work in this area finds that those measurements are highly suspect when it comes to drawing conclusions about… read more about Professor Ahmad Hariri Reanalyzes Years of Functional MRI Data »
In response to the changed research climate in the era of COVID-19, the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience put out a special call for Graduate/Postdoctoral Research Awards: Psychological Research related to COVID-19. With generous support from The Charles Lafitte Foundation, funds that were was previously designated for now prohibited conference attendance and travel were redirected to support small research projects related to… read more about P&N Graduates Awarded Funding for Psychological Research Related to COVID-19 »
Hundreds of published studies over the last decade have claimed it's possible to predict an individual’s patterns of thoughts and feelings by scanning their brain in an MRI machine as they perform some mental tasks. But a new analysis by some of the researchers who have done the most work in this area finds that those measurements are highly suspect when it comes to drawing conclusions about any individual person’s brain. Watching the brain through a functional MRI machine (fMRI) is still great for finding the general brain… read more about Studies of Brain Activity Aren’t as Useful as Scientists Thought »
COVID-19 is bringing new scientific, behavioral and cultural challenges every day. The DIBS Faculty Network consists of 200 interdisciplinary neuroscience researchers from across Duke’s Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Law; Pratt School of Engineering, Fuqua School of Business, and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Their research can help us understand how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing people’s decision-making, behavior, choices, and physical and mental health. The following faculty interviews… read more about COVID-19: A Neuroscience Perspective »
Members of the Yin Lab including Ryan Hughes, Konstantin Bakhurin, Elijah Petter, Glenn Watson, Namsoo Kim, Alexander Friedman, and Henry Yin have published a new paper on the functional significance of dopamine in the journal Current Biology. Despite decades of research, the exact function of dopamine remains controversial. While many believe that it encodes a reward prediction error (RPE), the Yin Lab's reseach … read more about Yin Lab Publishes Paper in Current Biology: Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons Control the Impulse Vector during Motivated Behavior »
Each year, Duke recognizes one graduating senior and one member of the faculty, staff or graduate student body for their outstanding commitment to service to others by awarding them the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. This year's Sullivan Award winners are Dorothy Grace Smith, a senior studying neuroscience at Trinity College, and Dr. Christopher Ryan Kelsey, a radiation oncology specialist and faculty member of Duke’s School of Medicine. Both honorees received a framed certificate and medallion from Duke University Provost… read more about 2020 Sullivan Award Winners Embody Selflessness and Service »
The award gives Katherine Becker the opportunity to study global security and borders at Queen’s University Belfast beginning in fall 2020. By Carla Burkhard / Office of Scholars and Fellows, Duke University, Published May 19, 2020 Duke alumna Katherine Becker, Trinity ’17, has been awarded the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation. The award provides a full tuition-fee waiver to an exceptional female student from the United States who… read more about Psychology Alum Katherine Becker Receives Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation »
Duke alumna Katherine Becker, Trinity ’17, has been awarded the Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation. The award provides a full tuition-fee waiver to an exceptional female student from the United States who wishes to pursue study in a field related to politics, conflict transformation or human rights at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. This is the second year the award has been offered. Becker is the sole recipient of the award for 2020-2021. She will use her award to complete a… read more about Duke Alum Wins Hillary Rodham Clinton Award for Peace and Reconciliation »
The Psychology & Neuroscience department honors the accomplishments of the Costanzo Teaching Fellows (TFs), a group of outstanding undergraduate students who were selected to gain teaching and mentorship experience in Introductory Psychology (PSY 101), one of Duke’s largest undergraduate courses. The Costanzo TFs plan and lead sections for the PSY 101 class, as well as provide one-on-one mentorship to students on a semester-long research and writing project. Although all of the Costanzo TFs are… read more about Costanzo Teaching Fellow Program Honors Outstanding Undergraduate Teachers »
Congratulations to Ceren Ebrem, winner of the 2020 Karl E. Zener Award. This award is given annually to an undergraduate psychology major at Duke University who has shown outstanding performance and scholarship, as determined on the basis of both the honors thesis (evaluated by a committee of faculty members) and the total academic record. As part of her study, Mindsets Through Language: Implications of Inferred Mindsets for Student Experience, Ceren was hoping to find if students’ intelligence mindsets could be… read more about Ceren Ebrem wins 2020 Zener Award »
Published by Duke Graduate School; written by Julian Daly, Communications Intern Intelligent. Clever. Bright. Smart. Odds are many Duke students have heard those words applied to them. Yet, what happens when you take thousands of smart people and throw them onto one campus where social comparison and feelings of imposter syndrome run rampant? “I think I am intelligent, however, I often question if I am smart enough to be at Duke.” “I believe myself to be intelligent, but only in certain disciplines…”… read more about Ph.D. Students Explore Duke Undergrads’ Mindsets about Intelligence »
“I've had so many people tell me over the last few weeks that they feel like they’re losing their identity,” said Sherilynn Black, Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement. “The work that they do—their teaching, research, scholarship—is so much of what makes them who they are.” Responding to the needs of faculty during the coronavirus pandemic, Black and her colleagues in Duke’s Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement are adjusting their programming with topics ranging from virtual student engagement and… read more about Duke Faculty Reexamine Their Roles as Scholars and Mentors in an Uncertain Time »
Fifteen Duke Ph.D. students have received prestigious awards from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) for 2020. Launched in 1952, the GRFP is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind. It supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing Ph.D. or research-based master’s degrees. Fellows receive a three-year stipend, coverage of tuition and fees, and opportunities for international research and… read more about 15 Ph.D. Students Receive Prestigious NSF Fellowships »
After an unprecedented semester caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Duke University delayed its formal commencement ceremony while Marking the Moment virtually campus-wide. This year, more than 1,800 undergraduate students received their bachelor’s degrees, and more than 4,000 completed master’s and doctoral work. In a message to Psychology and Neuroscience graduating seniors, Scott Huettel, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology &… read more about Class of 2020 Celebrates by "Marking the Moment" »
Bruny Kenou '20 graduated with honors in neuroscience and minors in both psychology and chemistry. Kenou – a Rubenstein scholar, former research assistant for Edward Levin and Nancy Zucker, and advisee of Minna Ng – now heads to a two-year research fellowship with the National Institutes of Mental Health. Kenou's full feature story below written by Susan Kauffman was published May 8, 2020 in Duke Today. Bruny Kenou: Rubenstein… read more about Honors Neuroscience Student, Bruny Kenou '20, Featured in Duke Today »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke juniors Monica Desjardins and Darien Herndon have been named two of 55 recipients of the Udall Scholarship, which recognizes students who have demonstrated a commitment to careers in the environment or Native American tribal public policy or health care. Both Desjardins, a psychology and global health major from Maricopa, Arizona, and Herndon, a biology major from Lumberton, North Carolina, have been recognized as scholars in the area of Native American tribal health care. Only 8 of the 55 scholarships… read more about Two Duke Students Awarded Udall Scholarships for Work in Native American Tribal Health Care »
Congratulations to the following student award winners from Duke University units in 2020. African & African American Studies John Hope Franklin Award for Academic Excellence: Elizabeth DuBard Grantland Karla FC Holloway Award for University Service: Beza Gebremariam Mary McLeod Bethune Writing Award: Jenna Clayborn Walter C. Burford Award for Community Service: Kayla Lynn Corredera-Wells Art, Art History & Visual Studies… read more about Student Honors and Laurels for 2020 »
Coronavirus is riding roughshod over American secondary education, creating myriad new problems for educators ranging from the basic logistics of classroom teaching to the challenge of helping children deal with a weighty new wave of confusion and anxiety. But this global pandemic may also present an opportunity for education leaders to substantially re-think long-held education practices that could use some improvement, three Duke experts said Wednesday. In a virtual question-and-answer session with journalists,… read more about How to Teach Kids at Home During Pandemic »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Eighteen Duke students and alumni have been awarded Fulbright placements to teach English, study and do research abroad during the 2020-2021 academic year. The Fulbright US Student Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, offering opportunities in over 140 countries. The Fulbright award is designed to facilitate cultural exchange and increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries. The awards are announced on… read more about Eighteen Duke Students And Alumni Awarded Fulbright Scholarships »
2nd-year CNAP student Rachael Wright and RA Jack Dolgin have been awarded National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships (NSF GRFs); 1st-year CNAP student Raphael Geddert, and P&N students Anna Smith and Morgan Taylor received Honorable Mention. The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics… read more about Ph.D. Student Rachael Wright and Research Assistant Jack Dolgin Receive Prestigious NSF Fellowships »
Faculty member Gregory Samanez-Larkin has been selected as a 2020 Bass Fellow and appointment to a Bass Chair as the Jack H. Neeley Associate Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience. Samanez-Larkin’s research lies at the intersection of human development, affective science, health psychology, cognitive neuroscience, behavioral economics and experimental finance. His four undergraduate courses, including an upper-level seminar and a foundational statistics/… read more about Gregory Samanez-Larkin Selected as 2020 Bass Fellow »
Five Duke professors with demonstrated excellence in research and undergraduate instruction have been selected as the 2020 Bass Fellows. “This moment of crisis has highlighted the importance of having faculty who excel, both in teaching and in research,” said Gary Bennett, vice provost for undergraduate education. “Bass Fellows represent the best that Duke offers -- faculty with a commitment to discovery and delivering a transformational undergraduate education, one that changes lives and strengthens our global communities… read more about Five New Bass Professors Named for Excellence in Teaching and Research »
Thomas Newpher, P&N Assistant Professor of the Practice, and Ben Thier, Neuro major (’20), delivered the first-ever TEDxDuke joint student-professor talk: The Changing Landscape of Higher Education, on February 8, 2020 at Reynolds Industries Theater at Duke University. “It was the most humbling and fulfilling experience to end my senior year at Duke by giving this TEDx talk with my… read more about Thomas Newpher and Ben Thier Deliver Talk at TEDxDuke »
Doctoral student Jaime Castrellon of Psychology & Neuroscience, along with Amanda Lazarus (Art, Art History & Visual Studies), has won the 2020 Bass Connections Award for Outstanding Mentorship. This award recognizes the vital role graduate students and postdoctoral scholars play in mentoring students on Bass Connections project teams. Among many strong nominations, those for Castrellon rose to the top. Nominations from fellow team members and leaders described the… read more about P&N Graduate Student Jaime Castrellon Honored for Commitment to Outstanding Mentorship »