UA News

The University of Arizona psychology department is ending 2007 celebrating a bumper crop of achievements by its faculty, which department head Al Kaszniak says is good news for professors, students and the State of Arizona alike.

In the 2007 fall semester, three psychology professors were published in the prestigious journal Science, two professors received career achievement awards and three psychology professors were elected to leadership or fellow positions in prestigious societies. This summer, one professor got the nation's media outlets talking with his research on whether one gender is more talkative than the other.

Overall, psychology faculty are researching issues of direct relevance to the citizens of Arizona, such as aging and memory, Alzheimer’s disease and the role of emotion in economic decision making. “We have faculty that really do care about how we bring the best of basic science to bear on pressing issues in society,” Kaszniak said. “Whether it is the causes of suffering, things that bring prosperity or helping create fair and just society, we care about all of that.”

According to Kaszniak, UA students benefit greatly from being able to learn from people who are on the cutting edge of discovery.

“I think it is best for students that they learn from those who are most informed on the state of a science or an art. Perhaps even more importantly, someone who is vitally involved in research is going to have a passion for their area of investigation – those are going to be the kind of people who are inspiring to students,” Kaszniak said.

Kaszniak cites the ripple effect across the campus when faculty succeed in their research programs. “It is important to note all of the good things that productive research brings,” Kaszniak said. “Research creates opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, it brings new dollars to the university and helps us recruit new students and faculty.”

Achievements by psychology faculty this semester include:

Publications

Assistant professor Alan G. Sanfey’s article “Social Decision Making: Insights from Game Theory” was published in the Oct. 26 edition of the journal Science.

In the same edition, UA assistant professor Michael Frank and his colleagues published research citing the unintended consequences of deep brain stimulation, a popular treatment for Parkinson’s disease.

Psychology professor Bruce McNaughton and David Euston, assistant research scientist for Arizona Research Laboratories, published research that finds that, during sleep, the reactivated memories of real-time experiences are processed within the brain at a higher rate of speed. Their research appeared in the Nov. 16 issue of Science.

Awards

Assistant professor Stephanie Fryberg received the Louise Kidder Early Career award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

Kaszniak received the 2007 Distinguished Contribution to the Science of Psychology award from the Arizona Psychological Association.

Appointments

• Professor Mary Peterson was elected chair-elect of the governing board of the Psychonomic Society.
• Professor John Allen was elected president-elect of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
• Regents’ Professor of Psychology Carol A. Barnes and Regents’ Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Nancy A. Moran were honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in its new class of Fellows.

News Coverage

In July, UA assistant professor Matthias Mehl’s research, which challenged the notion that women talk significantly more than men, generated an overwhelming response from news organizations worldwide.

Mehl made appearances on "Good Morning America," "MSNBC News Live," National Public Radio and many other news programs and his research was cited in The New York Times, USA Today and hundreds of newspapers around the world.

Mehl’s research was reported in the July 6 issue of the journal Science.