2025-01-10 - This summer, Professor Renee Baillargeon will receive the 2025 Koffka Medal from the Department of Psychology at the University of Giessen in Germany. Dr. Baillargeon is the Director of the Infant Cognition Lab, an Alumni Distinguished Professor Emerita of the department, and a Center for Advanced Study Professor Emerita at the University. Her research focuses on early causal reasoning in four...

2024-12-11 - Andrew is a fresh addition to our staff on the psych building's third floor. He hit the ground running with new signs, organizational systems, and an enthusiastic spirit for attacking data.   1 – What is the most rewarding part of your job?  The most rewarding part of my job is making someone's day just a little easier. It is especially...

2024-11-21 - Assistant Professor Violeta J. Rodriguez has been selected to receive the American Psychological Foundation's (APF) Springfield Grant. This recognition highlights Dr. Rodriguez's impactful work exploring parenting experiences and health in LGBTQIA+ families from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. Supported by APF funding and with collaborator Dr. Qimin Liu at Boston University, Dr. Rodriguez...

2024-10-18 - We are excited to welcome Dr. Adam Steel to the Department of Psychology faculty as an Assistant Professor as of Spring 2025! Dr. Steel is primarily affiliated with the Cognitive Neuroscience area. Can you briefly share your academic and professional background that led you to the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? Before coming to...

2024-10-16 - In a recent article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, Professor Florin Dolcos and Research Assistant Professor Sanda Dolcos use behavioral measures, eye-tracking, and brain imaging to reconcile opposing findings regarding the relationship between emotional experience and memory for context....

2024-10-09 - The Undergraduate Psychology Association (UPA) is one of the fastest-growing student organizations in the department. It is dedicated to expanding our students' knowledge of psychology, providing helpful community engagement, and building a network of peers in a fun and supportive environment. Public Relations Chair Ashley Yang says she found out about the UPA through their Instagram page and...

2024-10-08 - Assistant Professor Violeta J. Rodriguez has been awarded the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s DP5 Early Independence Award from the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.  The Early Independence Award is designed for exceptional junior scientists who have recently completed their doctoral degrees, allowing them to bypass traditional postdoctoral training...

2024-09-11 - Join us on Friday, September 20th, at 4:00 p.m. at the Campus Instructional Facility Auditorium as we welcome Dr. Mitch Prinstein, the Chief Science Officer of the American Psychological Association.  He will be present his talk titled, "Social...

2024-09-09 -     Assistant Professor Susu Zhang has received funding under an Institute of Education Sciences (IES) research grant awarded to Digital Promise and UIUC to conduct a project entitled, "Analysis of NAEP Mathematics Process, Outcome, and Survey Data to Understand Test-Taking Behavior and Mathematics Performance of Learners with Disabilities". The National Assessment of Educational...

2024-09-03 - Associate Professor Dan Hyde and co-investigator Assistant Professor Bo Zhang have received a 5-year, $2.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to study the relationship between brain and cognitive development in the context of early numeracy in children from 3 to 6 years of age. We asked Professor Hyde to tell us more about this exciting and ambitious project...

2024-09-03 - Professor Kimberly Rios, PhD student Alexis Morales, and collaborator Michael Zarate at the University of Texas at El Paso have received a grant from the University of Pennsylvania's Adversarial Collaboration Project. Funded originally by the Koch Foundation (which gave a sub-award to UPenn), the project brings together researchers who have competing/opposing hypotheses...

2024-08-26 - We are delighted to welcome Professor Steve Maren as the Director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology! Can you briefly share your academic and professional background that led you to the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? I started my journey as a Psychology undergraduate at the University of Illinois that...

2024-08-26 - We are thrilled to welcome Associate Professor Caterina Gratton to the Department of Psychology faculty as of Fall 2024! Dr. Gratton is primarily affiliated with the Cognitive Neuroscience area. Can you briefly share your academic and professional background that led you to the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign? I am originally from...

2024-08-20 - Professor Eleanor Seaton is a Co-Investigator on a grant from the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism examining the etiology of alcohol use among racially-ethnically diverse populations using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The team is using a developmentally and culturally informed approach to study gene-environment interaction (G x E)...

2024-08-20 - Assistant Professor Dominik Mischkowski has received a National Science Foundation grant to study the role of physical pain sensitivity in regulating intimate relationship processes, specifically, perceptions of a partner being understanding, validating, and caring. The grant will support two studies (one lab experiment, one longitudinal field experiment) to test the hypothesis that...