Research Areas

Our researchers pursue specific topical interests in line with our three subfields: cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. We also have expertise in quantitative methods and clinical psychology. We draw upon our unique departmental research strengths in each area to produce innovative and high-impact work. Learn more about our approach to research and see our latest publications and research news on our Research overview page.

Cognitive psychology

Our faculty in cognitive psychology study cognitive and computational neuroscience, perceptual decision-making, attention, and awareness (Samaha); human performance, multi-tasking, information processing, and computational cognitive modeling (Seymour); language comprehension and cognitive control (Boudewyn); reading, speaking, and discourse processing (Fox Tree); bilingualism and multilingualism (Hoversten); causal inference, dyadic data analysis, multilevel modeling, large-scale assessments, and text data analysis (Kim); socially distributed remembering and collective memory (Yamashiro) remembering, forgetting, and metacognition in human memory (Storm, Hausman); and topics like face perception, multisensory integration, top-down control of perception, music cognition, and perception in virtual reality (Davidenko).

Megan A Boudewyn

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Google Scholar page
  • Lab Website

Nicolas Davidenko

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • Homepage

Jean E Fox Tree

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor
• Website
  • https://foxtree.sites.ucsc.edu

Hannah Hausman

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Personal Website

Liv J Hoversten

• Title
  • Assistant Professor

Hanna Kim

• Title
  • Assistant Professor

Jason M Samaha

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Google Scholar page
  • Lab webpage

Travis Seymour

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • UCSC Cognitive Modeling Lab Website

Benjamin Storm

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • http://people.ucsc.edu/~bcstorm/research.html

Jeremy Yamashiro

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Yamashiro Collective Memory Lab

Developmental psychology

Developmental psychology faculty study issues like contexts for learning, academic, and scientific achievement, and career identities of cultural minorities and women (Azmitia, Hwang, Leaper, Menendez, Rogoff); Conversations, narratives, and memory sharing as contexts for language and cognitive development and development of gender and personal and social identities (Akhtar, Azmitia, Callanan, Hwang, Leaper, Menendez, Rogoff); infants’ and children’s cognitive and language development through observation, overhearing, and exploration (Akhtar, Callanan, Hwang, Menendez, Rogoff, Wang); learning and participation structures in informal settings (Azmitia, Callanan, Leaper, Menendez, Rogoff, Wang); development and consequences of social biases, awareness of societal systems of oppression, and how to combat biases. (Azmitia, Hwang, Leaper, Manago, Rahal); the nature of culture and development (Azmitia, Leaper, Manago, Menendez, Rahal, Rogoff, Wang); and technology and media as cultural tools for the development of children, adolescents, and emerging adults (Azmitia, Manago, Menendez, Rogoff, Wang).

Nameera N Akhtar

• Title
  • Professor

Margarita Azmitia

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor

Maureen Callanan

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor
• Website
  • Callanan Personal Website

Hyesung Grace Hwang

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Personal website
  • Lab website

Campbell Leaper

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor
• Website
  • Campbell Leaper Web Page

Adriana Maria Manago

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Website
  • https://adrianamanago.sites.ucsc.edu/

David Menendez

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Personal website

Danny Rahal

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Health Equity in Youth Lab Web Site

Barbara Rogoff

• Title
  • UCSC Foundation Distinguished Professor
• Website
  • Developing Destinies Book
  • Rogoff Research
  • Learning by Observing and Pitching In

Su-hua Wang

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • Personal Webpage

Social psychology 

Our research in social psychology covers issues like educational access (Casanova, Covarrubias, Langhout); sexuality and sexual and gender diversity (Hammack, Zurbriggen); poverty and economic justice (Bullock); psychology and law (Haney, Grabe, Hammack); aggression and trauma (Haney, Zurbriggen); peace psychology (Bullock); intergroup relations (Bonam, Bullock, Hasan‑Aslih); social identity (Bonam, Casanova, Covarrubias); social policy analysis (Bullock, Covarrubias); structural inequality (Bonam, Bullock, Grabe, Hasan‑Aslih); intersectionality (Bonam, Bullock, Casanova, Hammack, Langhout); political psychology (Bonam, Bullock, Hasan‑Aslih); feminisms (Bullock, Grabe, Zurbriggen); cultural psychology (Covarrubias, Zurbriggen); and critical carceral studies (Haney).

Courtney M Bonam

• Title
  • Assistant Professor
• Website
  • Race & Social Justice Lab

Heather E Bullock

• Title
  • Director, Center for Economic Justice and Action

Saskias Y Casanova

• Title
  • Associate Professor
• Website
  • Migration, Identity, and Education Lab (MIEL)

Rebecca G Covarrubias

• Title
  • Associate Professor and Research Director, Center for Reimagining Leadership
• Website
  • Collaborative Research for Equity in Action (CREA)

Shelly A Grabe

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • shellygrabe.sites.ucsc.edu

Phillip L Hammack

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • Professional website

Siwar Hasan-Aslih

• Title
  • Assistant Professor

Craig W Haney

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor

Regina D Langhout

• Title
  • Professor
• Website
  • Research Webpage

Eileen Zurbriggen

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor
• Website
  • http://people.ucsc.edu/~zurbrigg/

Quantitative methods and clinical psychology

We use a wide range of data methods in our work and apply them to all facets of psychology. We have expertise in interval estimation problems, the analysis of categorical data, statistical methods for combining and comparing results from multiple studies, and sample size planning (Bonett). We also focus on techniques for causal inference, dyadic data analysis, multilevel modeling, large-scale assessment, and text data analysis (Kim). Additionally, some faculty apply a clinical psychology lens to study visual attention and links between emotion and cognition in relation to obsessive compulsive disorder and hoarding disorder and cognitive behavioral therapy for these conditions (Raila).

Douglas G Bonett

• Title
  • Distinguished Professor of Psychology
• Website
  • https://dgbonett.sites.ucsc.edu/

Hanna Kim

• Title
  • Assistant Professor

Hannah E Raila

• Title
  • Assistant Teaching Professor
• Website
  • Personal and Lab Webpage