News | Department of Psychology

Illustration showing an outline of a brain in white electronic-looking wiring

Brain-inspired AI model learns sensory data efficiently

With brain mechanisms as a guide, Cornell researchers are designing low-energy robotic systems inspired by biology and useful for a wide range of potential applications.

Roper Center announces 2025 student fellows advancing public opinion research

This year’s cohort includes the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellow and three Kohut Fellows. These emerging scholars will advance data-driven research by contributing original scholarly work that uses Roper iPoll’s extensive survey archive.

One person wearing graduation cap helps another with hers

They fled Afghanistan together – and now they're graduating

After escaping the Taliban, nine women matriculated on the Hill; the first to complete their degrees are in the Class of ’25

Doctor's stethoscope and blood pressure cuff

Surgeon General nominee is a prescription for ‘pseudoscience’

The nomination of Dr. Casey Means is the latest example of the administration’s disregard for scientific expertise and evidence-based policy, says a Cornell University expert.

'Every single course was mind-bending and life-changing'

Elizaveta Zabelina is a Robert S. Harrison College Scholar who is also majoring in mathematics and psychology.

'As an Afghan woman, simply being at Cornell was an act of resistance'

Diana Ayubi is a psychology major.

'Academic life becomes much more interesting when you see how its different areas can support one another.'

Aerin Mok is majoring in psychology and anthropology.

'I truly feel prepared for any challenge coming my way'

Michael Wu is a psychology major.

'The class challenged me to build a more intentional future'

Kimberly Bond is majoring in statistics and psychology.

'I have learned to navigate academic spaces on my own terms'

Kendahl Wesley is a psychology & Africana studies major.

trees with pink blossoms in front of a clock tower and a library building

Cornell Center for Social Sciences awards grants, invites new proposals

The Cornell Center for Social Sciences has awarded spring Seed Grants and the inaugural Grant Preparation Funds to support impactful social science research. Faculty can now apply for up to $115,000 in funding, with the next deadline approaching on June 1.

artificial intelligence graphic with brain, lights and circuits

Brain’s ‘blue spot’ key to healthy aging, early Alzheimer’s detection

Specialized MRI scans revealed dramatic changes over the human lifespan in the locus coeruleus, a finding that helps characterize healthy aging patterns.

Alumna earned congressional arguing chops on campus

Rep. Beth Van Duyne ’95, who represents Texas’ 24th Congressional District, recently won re-election to her third term.

Ask an Ambassador: How research makes a difference

Gloria's lab uses MRI imaging to study how exercise might be a powerful therapeutic treatment for Parkinson's Disease.

Four people stand in a circle, chatting and smiling

Finding friendship at first whiff

Two women meeting for the first time can judge within minutes whether they have potential to be friends – guided as much by smell as any other sense, according to new Cornell psychology research.

Bonobos Kanzi and Panbanisha with Sue Savage-Rumbaugh with the outdoor symbols "keyboard."

Celebrated bonobo Kanzi honored in workshop

Kanzi's legacy and the relation between great apes and language will be explored in a Humanities Lab Workshop on April 19.

Engaged Opportunity Grants fuel community-engaged learning for students

Seven projects are receiving a boost from the latest round of Engaged Opportunity Grants, awarded two times a year by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to teams of faculty or staff and their community partners.

Cornell's central campus with lake beyond

Cornell Center for Social Sciences names 2025-26 Faculty Fellows

12 faculty members from seven colleges have been named 2025-26 Faculty Fellows with the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.

Students gain decision-making insight from alumna Cheryl Einhorn

“If you’re outside of your comfort zone, then you’re on the right track."

Illustration of an adult holding a baby, both with speech balloons

Power of babble: Babies elicit simpler speech from adults

Across languages and cultures, parents simplify their speech in response to babies’ babbling and early speech, supporting language development, new Cornell research finds.

Short and sweet: Supportive texts give partners a boost

Supportive texts from a significant other can help people cope with stressful events in their daily lives, Cornell psychology research finds.

Peter Yarrow with guitar, tan jacket, white hair just at the back of his head, white beard and glasses in front of a microphone with three women and a child standing next to him

Folk icon Peter Yarrow ’59, of Peter, Paul and Mary, dies at 86

Musician Peter Yarrow ’59, who drew early inspiration from his time at Cornell before joining the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died Jan. 7 in Manhattan.

‘Politics, not policy’: Meta ending fact-check program

Psychology professor Gordon Pennycook, a misinformation expert, says he supports using crowdsourced fact-checking, "but removing third-party (professional) fact-checking strikes me as a major mistake.”

Illustration of three television sets, each with a pair of people showing on the screen

We mimic each other, like it or not

Mimicry appears to be a fundamental behavior that helps people understand each other, not just when they get along, new Cornell psychology research finds.

PRYDE Scholars spend summer helping celebrate 4-H’er contributions to communities

Two Human Development majors from the Department of Psychology coordinated a virtual showcase celebration to acknowledge and celebrate state 4-H youth and the contributions they have made to their communities.

Bringing visibility to Indigenous children in development science

Prof. Adam Hoffman spearheaded creation of a special section aimed at highlighting the psychological and developmental experiences of Indigenous children in the November 2024 issue of Child Development, the field’s leading journal.

Illustration of a sign "Fake News" on an easel

Could ‘inoculation’ limit election misinformation?

A popular strategy for combating misinformation can help people distinguish truth from falsehood – when combined with reminders to focus on accuracy, Cornell-led research finds.

‘Birding buddies’ build social and science communication skills

Cornell students and high school students with disabilities or communication challenges met for 12 weeks to explore birds and build communications skills.

diagram showing a crowd of people at the top

Empowering online communities with NSF grant

Nori Jacoby, assistant professor of psychology, has been awarded an NSF fellowship for a project to develop algorithms to more effectively harness the intelligence of crowds by improving the quality of collective evaluations

Fantastilcal ilustration showing a silhouette of a human face in pink, purple and blue celestial light populated by stars

AI succeeds in combatting conspiracy theories

Conversations with large language models can effectively reduce individuals’ belief in conspiracy theories, a finding that offers new insights into the psychological mechanisms behind the phenomenon as well as potential tools to fight conspiracies’ spread.

New Faculty: Nora H. Prior

Nora H. Prior, Psychology

New Faculty: Nori Jacoby

Nori Jacoby, Psychology

From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields

"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."

Dean Peter Loewen posing behind the A.D. White statue on the Arts Quad

New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’

Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.

Timely responses – even from a car – drive babies’ learning

The timing of others’ reactions to their babbling is key to how babies begin learning, Cornell developmental psychologists found – with help from a remote-controlled car.

Moral psychology summer institute hosted at Cornell

Directed by College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) faculty in psychology and philosophy, the NEH-funded institute featured presentations from many leading figures in moral psychology, which studies human thought and behavior in ethical contexts

Nexus Scholars study climate change inequality and infant language learning

The program provides undergraduates with summer opportunities to conduct research with and be mentored by faculty from across the college.

Thumbs down icon seen through a screen of water droplets, all of which reflect the icon as a thumbs up

Cornell expert on SCOTUS ruling in social media dispute

The Supreme Court has sided with the Biden administration over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts; associate professor of psychology Gordon Pennycook, who studies misinformation, comments.

Peter Loewen named dean of Arts and Sciences

Coming from the University of Toronto, where he was the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen began his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.

'I am grateful that my A&S education has taught me to be a contributing member of society with an open mind and room for learning new things.'

Wynne Williams-Ceci is a psychology and College Scholar major.