Meaningful Conversation Matters More Than Location on First Dates Daisi Brand, a psychology Ph.D. student at UGA, is shedding new light on what really makes first dates successful. Her research shows that it’s not the setting that matters most, but the quality of the conversation and the connection you build. Whether in a cozy room or a plain space, meaningful dialogue can spark closeness. Read the full article on UGA Today to learn more about her study. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock Read more about Meaningful Conversation Matters More Than Location on First Dates
Show Up, Connect, Repeat: How Live Events Fight Loneliness New research from the University of Georgia and Brigham Young University, led by Richard Slatcher and Julianne Holt-Lunstad, finds that attending live, in-person events, especially with friends and on a recurring basis, boosts social connection and helps combat loneliness. The study shows that actively participating, rather than just attending, maximizes the benefits. Since the boost in connection is short-lived, regular engagement is important. Read more about Show Up, Connect, Repeat: How Live Events Fight Loneliness
Dr. Allison L. Skinner Receives Innovative Teaching Award from SPSSI We are proud to announce that Dr. Allison L. Skinner, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Georgia, has been awarded the Innovative Teaching Award by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). This annual award honors creative and effective teaching in areas related to the psychological study of social issues. Read more about Dr. Allison L. Skinner Receives Innovative Teaching Award from SPSSI
Psychology’s Brian Bauer joins UGA Faculty Innovation Fellows Program Assistant Professor Brian Bauer is one of seven University of Georgia faculty members selected to join the Innovation Fellows Program in its inaugural faculty cohort: Read more about Psychology’s Brian Bauer joins UGA Faculty Innovation Fellows Program
Psychology Offers Study Abroad in Amsterdam for First-Year Students Connect Abroad–Immerse: Psychology in Amsterdam By Susan Ambrosetti Designed exclusively for first-year psychology majors with an interest in organizational psychology, Connect Abroad-Immerse: Psychology in Amsterdam offers a unique spring-break experience in one of Europe’s most progressive cities. Taking place during Spring Break 2026, this one-credit experiential learning program invites students to explore the science of work through a global lens. Read more about Psychology Offers Study Abroad in Amsterdam for First-Year Students
Congratulations to our Summer 2025 graduate degree recipients The University of Georgia Department of Psychology proudly recognizes the following graduate students who have earned their doctoral and master's degrees this Summer 2025. Phd Olutosin AdesoganA Multidimensional Examination of Resilience Among Black AmericansMP: Justin Lavner Read more about Congratulations to our Summer 2025 graduate degree recipients
Sierra Carter Associate Professor, Associate Director of the Center for Family Research, Clinical Program My primary area of research focuses on racial health disparities and investigating how psychosocial and contextual stressors can affect both mental and physical health outcomes for marginalized populations, with an emphasis on Black American populations. My research focuses on utilizing novel techniques to examine stress biomarkers and physiological dysregulation linking psychosocial stressors with health and health behavior. I aim to implement innovative, interdisciplinary, and integrative approaches to the study of psychosocial stressors and health disparities in order to inform prevention-oriented interventions among disenfranchised populations. Of note: Dr. Carter will be reviewing applications for a new graduate student for Fall 2026 admission. Education Education: Ph.D., University of Georgia, 2016
Dylan Richards Assistant Professor, Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program Dr. Richards will be reviewing applications for new graduate students for Fall 2026 admission. I am a health psychologist whose research focuses on why people engage in health-promoting behaviors, particularly behaviors that reduce the potential harms of alcohol, cannabis, and other drug use. I have an early career development award from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to study the motivational processes of recovery from alcohol use disorder during and after participation in Dry January and Sober October. Recent interests include "natural" health behavior change (e.g., New Year's resolutions), multiple health behavior change, and alcohol-related risk for chronic disease (e.g., cancer). Education Education: PhD, Psychology (Health Psychology Concentration), University of Texas at El Paso (2020)MA, Experimental Psychology, University of Texas at El Paso (2018)BS, Psychology, George Mason University (2014) Research Research Interests: Alcohol; cannabis; substance use; health behaviors; motivation; health disparities; multiple health behavior change; natural change; chronic disease; psychometrics Grants: Understanding Recovery from Alcohol Use Disorder: Longitudinal Observation of Two Voluntary Temporary Abstinence Periods (K01AA030789, PI: Richards) Motivation for Weight- and Alcohol-Related Behavior Change (American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant, IRG-21-146-25-IRG) Selected Publications Selected Publications: Richards, D. K., Tuchman, F. R., Hallgren, K. A., Kranzler, H. R., Aubin, H.-J., O’Malley, S., Mann, K., Aldridge, A., Anton, R. K., & Witkiewitz, K. (2024). Reductions in World Health Organization risk drinking level are associated with reductions in alcohol use disorder diagnosis and criteria: Evidence from an alcohol pharmacotherapy trial. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 18, 418-424. DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001303 Richards, D. K., Schwebel, F. J., Field, C. A., Pearson, M. R., & Addictions Research Team. (2023). The associations of basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration with cannabis-related outcomes in a multi-site sample of college students. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 56, 177-186. DOI: 10.1080/02791072.2023.2191605 Richards, D. K., Pearson, M. R., & Witkiewitz, K. (2021). Understanding alcohol harm reduction behaviors from the perspective of self-determination theory: A research agenda. Addiction Research & Theory, 29, 392-397. DOI: 10.1080/16066359.2020.1863378 Richards, D. K., Schwebel, F. J., Sotelo, M., Pearson, M. R., & Marijuana Outcomes Study Team. (2021). Self-Reported Symptoms of Cannabis Use Disorder (SRSCUD): Psychometric testing and validation. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 29, 157-165. DOI: 10.1037/pha0000455 Richards, D. K., Pearson, M. R., & Field, C. A. (2020). Profiles of motivations for responsible drinking among college students: A self-determination theory perspective. Addictive Behaviors, 111, 106550. DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106550
Max Herzberg Assistant Professor, Behavioral and Brain Sciences Program Dr. Herzberg is recruiting graduate students this year, to begin Ph.D. studies in Fall 2026. Dr. Max Herzberg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Georgia, beginning in the Fall of 2025. He is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist interested in the impact of stressful environments on the developing brain and subsequent adaptive and maladaptive behavioral outcomes. Dr. Herzberg received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota in 2020, working under the mentorship of Drs. Kathleen Thomas and Megan Gunnar. He completed a T32 funded postdoctoral research fellowship with Drs. Deanna Barch and Joan Luby in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in St. Louis. Education Education: 2020 - 2025: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 2020: Ph.D., Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota 2014: B.A., Grinnell College Research Research Interests: My research interests are centered on the ways in which stressful environments impact structural and functional brain development and subsequent adaptive and maladaptive behavioral outcomes. I use a variety of analysis techniques for MRI data, including task-based fMRI analysis, seed-based and whole-brain approaches to resting-state functional connectivity, and, recently, new measures indexing plasticity in the developing brain. In my early research, I investigated the effects of early life adversity on brain development, particularly in youth who had experienced international orphanage care. These studies focused on brain structure and function and their impact on behavioral outcomes, including risk-taking behaviors and psychopathology symptoms. More recently, my research has focused on the ways in which socioeconomic status shapes brain structure, function, and risk for psychopathology, particularly the development of internalizing symptoms. Research in the lab will continue these themes while exploring new methods for better understanding individual differences in sensitivity to the environment via in vivo measures of neuroplasticity in infants and adolescents. Selected Publications Selected Publications: Herzberg, M. P., Nielsen, A. N., Luby, J., & Sylvester, C. M. (2024). Measuring neuroplasticity in human development: The potential to inform the type and timing of mental health interventions. Neuropsychopharmacology, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-024-01947-7 Herzberg, M. P., Nielsen, A. N., Brady, R., Kaplan, S., Alexopoulos, D., Meyer, D., Arora, J., Miller, J. P., Smyser, T. A., Barch, D. M., Rogers, C. E., Warner, B. B., Smyser, C. D., & Luby, J. L. (2024). Maternal prenatal social disadvantage and neonatal functional connectivity: Associations with psychopathology symptoms at age 12 months. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001708 Herzberg, M. P., Tillman, R., Kandala, S., Barch, D. M., & Luby, J. (2022). Preschool Depression and Hippocampal Volume: The Moderating Role of Family Income. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2022.04.018 Herzberg, M. P. (2022). Risk Markers Are Not One Size Fits All. Biological Psychiatry, 92(12), e49–e50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.019 Herzberg, M. P., McKenzie, K. J., Hodel, A. S., Hunt, R. H., Mueller, B. A., Gunnar, M. R., & Thomas, K. M. (2021). Accelerated maturation in functional connectivity following early life stress: Circuit specific or broadly distributed? Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 48, 100922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2021.100922 For a full list of publications, see my Google Scholar Profile
