Three major missions of the Psychology Department are to create new scientific knowledge in Psychology, to train graduate students to become active contributors of scientific knowledge, and to impart to undergraduates the excitement of studying Psychology through the scientific method.
The Psychology faculty at the University of Michigan are productive researchers, including many leaders in the field. We have numerous research labs that not only create knowledge but also provide myriad opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to participate in research. As a research university we believe that active participation in all aspects of the research process provides students with a unique, hands-on learning experience--deep learning experiences and opportunities that sharpen critical thinking skills.
The research findings of our faculty receive broad attention from national and international media, with stories that run the gamut across the field of psychology: suicide terrorism, the effects of TV violence on children, multitasking, women and depression, fear and the brain, the value of volunteering, differences between the modes of thought of westerners and those of Asians, and the list goes on. We have active research labs that study a wide variety of topics, including: African-American racial identity, solo status, human brain electrophysiology, human performance and cognition, visual and verbal working memory, affective neuroscience and biopsychology, neuronal mechanisms of movement and reward, sibling rivalry, decision-making, second language acquisition, the effects of schooling, and culture and motivation, among others.
One of the strengths of our Department--and of the University of Michigan more generally--is a commitment to interdiscplinary studies. This involves fostering cross-area research within various subfields of psycholology, as well as nurturing new research programs that bring together psychologists, researchers and scholars from across the social sciences, the humanities and the natural sciences.
To learn more about the particular research interests of our faculty and students, please view their individual profiles in the departmental directory.
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