Your July 2025 reads
This month’s featured titles include a look at the world’s first advice column, self-help for parents, and a scholarly book on Venezuela.
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In the Department of Psychology we focus on the investigation of behavior and its cognitive, neural and hormonal underpinnings in the full range of environmental situations. Our strengths lie in four broadly defined areas of development, cognition, neuroscience, and social and personality psychology. We develop and conduct theoretical and translational research to advance health and well-being.
Currently, we offer two majors and minors for undergraduate students. The Psychology major and minor are offered through the College of Arts & Sciences while the Human Development major and minor are offered through the College of Human Ecology. We also offer graduate degrees in the field of Psychology through the College of Arts and Sciences and the field of Human Development through the College of Human Ecology.
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Department News
Psychology Faculty win 2025 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence
Psychology faculty members Felix Thoemmes and Karl Pillemer were selected for 2024–25 State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence.
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Why are lefties more creative? Turns out, they’re not
“The data do not support any advantage in creative thinking for lefties,” said Daniel Casasanto, associate professor in the Department of Psychology and College of Human Ecology, and director of the Experience and Cognition Lab. “In fact, there is some evidence that righties are more creative in som...
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Where the gender bias grows: Coming-of-age novels rife with stereotypes
An article published June 7, 2025, in the Journal of Research on Adolescence by researchers including Department of Psychology faculty Jane Mendel and Misha Inniss-Thompson, highlighted the issue of rigid gender stereotypes in novels aimed at young adults. The Cornell researchers used computational...
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Conspiracy theorists unaware their beliefs are on the fringe
Overconfidence is a hallmark trait of people who believe in conspiracies, Cornell psychology researchers have found.
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Emotion – not just action – helps brain define, divide events
Study participants who watched scenes from popular movies showed emotion plays a larger role than previously understood in establishing event boundaries that help structure attention and memory.
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Why our attempts to avoid emotional discomfort often backfire
"As a clinical psychologist, I’ve learned that moments of anxiety can be golden opportunities to learn to tolerate distress," A&S psychology major Alissa Worly Jerud ’08 writes.
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Staff graduates recognized for academic achievements
More than two dozen staff members who earned degrees at Cornell or other institutions this year while also working at the university were celebrated in a ceremony June 10.
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Explore Academic Opportunities
Preparing undergraduate students for the future of psychological research and practice
Undergraduate students develop critical thinking skills, emphasizing the foundational nature of the science of psychology.
Learn at the nexus of graduate level scientific inquiry
The Department of Psychology embraces multidisciplinary and translational research and graduate training, viewing psychology as a “hub science” at the nexus of many other areas of scientific inquiry.
A cross disciplinary approach to research
The Department of Psychology embraces a “big tent” approach to methods, techniques and analysis that can be used to expand the frontiers of psychological science.
Expanding the psychological sciences at Cornell
On July 1, 2021, the College of Human Ecology’s Department of Human Development merged with the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychology to form a new psychology super-department. The new department retains the title “the Department of Psychology” and includes the faculty members from both departments. The evolution sets the stage to enhance collaboration in the psychological sciences and provide students with a rich education from a broad range of leading faculty.