Latest news
Taught at Uvic Winter 2012
Posted on Feb 6, 2012
TAUGHT is back again! For those who don't know, TAUGHT is the Undergraduate Psychology Conference at the University of Victoria. Every semester, the UVic student societies 'Psi Chi' and 'PsychOS' invite UVic professors to present their latest research in psychology. This event is free and open to everybody so feel free to invite anybody you'd like!
This semester we are honoured to have:
- Tanya Lentz
- Christopher Warren
- Ulrich Mueller
Find this event on Facebook
Psychology Honours Information Session
Posted on Feb 6, 2012
Considering the Psychology Honours Program?
UVic's Chapter of Psi Chi hosts its Annual Psychology Honours Information Session.
Get the facts to help you decide if you honours program is right for you.
Current honours students will discuss their experiences and answer your questions about doing an honours in psychology.
And and all interested students are welcome to attend!
Questions? Email psichi@uvic.ca
Tuesday, February 7th from 4:30 - 6:00pm
Elliot 064
Congratulations to all our 2011/12 donor award recipients!
Posted on Jan 27th 2012
- Kristina Brache
- BC Psychological Association Certificate Award
- Andreas Breuer
- Erich & Shelley Mohr Fellowship In Psychology
- Cassandra Brown
- Alice Lou-Poy Graduate Scholarship (through Centre on Aging)
- Valerie Caldeira
- Quality Move Management Inc/Allied International Vancouver Graduate Scholarship
- Correne DeCarlo
- W.H. Gaddes Scholarship
- Julie Irwin
- Norma M. Wilson Graduate Scholarship
- Justin Karr
- Dr. Robert Michael Peet Graduate Scholarship
- Janet Love
- R.B May Scholarship
- Rylie Moore
- Arthur Lester Benton Award
- Stacey Ross
- McCall Bros. Graduate Scholarship in Clinical Psychology
- Catharine Sparks
- Rotary Club of Saanich Scholarship (through Centre on Aging)
- Christopher Warren
- Robert, David & Douglas Vickery Award
Upcoming Oral Examinations
Updated on Jan 11th 2012
January 27th
Jeff Frazer
Examination for Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
“The Integrative Neuropsychological Theory of Executive-Related Abilities and Component Transactions (INTERACT): A novel validation study”
Abstract
Location: University Centre A207 - 3:00 pm
Prof. Jim Tanaka presentation at TEDx Victoria
Posted on Jan 9th 2012
Professor Jim Tanaka presentation at TEDx Victoria entitled Facing up to Autism: New Tools for Different Minds. Watch the full presentation.
Training tool helps autistic people become face aces
Posted on Dec 19th 2011
Making faces is the object of the game. National Globe and Mail reporter Justine Hunter interviewed UVic psychologist Dr. Jim Tanaka of UVic's new Centre for Autism Research, Technology, and Education, where a small team is developing software programs like FaceMaze to help people with autism learn to read others’ expressions. This article is on the front page of the BC edition of today's Globe and Mail.
(update) On December 19th, UVic psychologist Dr. Tim Tanaka was interviewed on the nation-wide CBC Radio evening program "As It Happens" about the new UVic centre for autism research (CARTe) and its FaceMaze program. Podcast
Volunteers needed for brain-exercise study
Posted on Dec 9th 2011
Does exercise improve memory and learning in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)? Dr. Brian Christie, a neuroscientist in the University of Victoria’s Division of Medical Sciences, is seeking community help to find out. He’s looking for children with FASD between the ages of six and 17 to participate in a 12-week exercise program. (learn more...)
RCMP to Pilot WITS Bullying Prevention Program
Posted on Dec 8th 2011
OTTAWA, December 8, 2011 - The RCMP and University of Victoria researchers have entered into a unique partnership to address the issue of youth bullying and suicide. On December 7, six RCMP officers from across Canada came together in Ottawa to take part in a pilot program where they received training in understanding and preventing bullying in elementary school children. Full Article (RCMP)
Big brains, big danger
Posted on Nov 4th 2011
Mental health professionals on campuses agree anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses are on the rise. This is the focus of one of the articles in the Maclean's special rankings issue, now on newsstands. Macleans.ca
Psychos Event: Sunglasses at Night
Posted on Nov 4th 2011
Psychos will have a bar night fundraiser (for a charity yet to be named) on Nov. 19th called Sunglasses at Night and All Things 80s Rock & Roll. Starts at 7PM at Soprano's, tickets are $5 and includes entry to the bar and a free drink. There will also be a Rock Band, video game competition with prizes! See the Poster of the Event.
Pshychos Clothing Sale
Posted on Nov 4th 2011
T-shirts, long sleeve shirts, hoodies and sweat pants that say UVic Psychology with a psi on the back. See the Poster.
Schools teaching anti-bullying
Posted on Nov 3rd 2011
An article in the New-Brunswick Telegraph-Journal discusses the popular anti-bullying program (WITS) initiated by principal researcher and UVic psychology professor Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater. New-Brunswick Telegraph-Journal
Cornett Building: New art tour on campus
Posted on Oct 3rd 2011
Last week, works of Coast and Straits Salish art were installed in the newly renovated Cornett Building as part of permanent and rotating exhibitions of contemporary art. The exhibited art comes from UVic Art Collections as well as generous gifts and loans to the Faculty of Social Sciences by George and Christiane Smyth. A self-guided art tour is available: visit this link and then click on the Coast Salish design for a PDF of the art tour.
UVic Psi Chi chapter wins Model Chapter Award for 2010-11
Psi Chi, the international honour society in psychology, was founded in 1929 to foster excellence in scholarship in the science of psychology (see www.psichi.org ). There are approximately 1,000 chapters of Psi Chi, almost all in the US. In 2003, UVic founded the first chapter of Psi Chi outside of the US. Last year our chapter was recognized as the best in the Western North America region (for which we received a plaque and $500). More recently, we received a Model Chapter Award for the 2010-11 academic year (for which we received a certificate and $100). We were one of only 36 chapters to qualify for this award for 2010-11, which is “presented annually to recognize and reward Psi Chi chapters that consistently maintain outstanding records of membership inductions, chapter correspondence, service projects, and other criteria associated with being an outstanding chapter.” For more information about our chapter, please visit http://web.uvic.ca/~psichi/ .
Danu Stinson | Miserable Cycle of Social Insecurity
A new study demonstrates the real-life social benefits of self-affirmation. Details here.
Danu Stinson | Mob Mentality
UVic psychologist Dr. Danu Stinson was interviewed for 'A' News coverage last night about the Vancouver riots and mob mentality. 'A' News (Video)
Bonnie Leadbeater | WITS Program
The WITS anti-bullying program, developed with community partners at UVic and now with funding of $180,000 the Public Health Agency of Canada, can expand into BC’s remote and rural schools and evaluate its success there. Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater, program leader and UVic psychologist, provides comment for this local article. Oak Bay News UVic News
Travis Baker receives award at Canadian Student Health Research Forum
Congratulations to Travis Baker who was recently nominated by the Psychology Department to present a poster of his doctoral research at the Canadian Student Health Research Forum in Winnipeg (June 7-9, 2011).
His research was awarded a silver medal in the CIHR National Student Research Poster Competition at the forum. See the following website for information about the forum and for a list of award winners (soon to be posted): http://www.umanitoba.ca/medicine/research_days/index.html
Here is the abstract from his poster presentation:
Genetic, Drugs, and Cognitive Control: Individual Differences Underlying Substance Dependence
Baker, T.E., Stockwell, T., Barnes, B., and Holroyd, C. B.
Recent theories of drug dependence propose that the transition from occasional recreational substance use to harmful use and dependence results from the impact of disrupted midbrain dopamine signals for reinforcement learning on frontal brain areas that implement cognitive control and decision making. Further, the development and expression of the dopamine system is determined in part by genetic factors that vary across individuals such that dopamine-related genes are partly responsible for addiction vulnerability. This study tested the hypothesis that many of the cognitive and behavioral impairments associated with drug dependence results from the impact of disrupted dopamine signals on frontal brain areas that implement cognitive control and decision making: By acting on the abnormal reinforcement learning system of the genetically vulnerable, addictive drugs hijack the control system to reinforce maladaptive drug-taking behaviors. Using electrophysiological and behavioral assays of the integrity of dopamine system and brain regions involved in cognitive control and decision making in young adults, we recently demonstrated that substance-dependent participants, compared non-dependent participants, produce a severely reduced feedback error related negativity (fERN), which is believed to reflect the impact of dopamine reinforcement learning signals on cognitive control areas in frontal cortex, and behaved abnormally on a decision-making task, the Frank Probabilistic Selection Task, a task thought to reflect dopamine role in decision making. Here, we examined whether these findings result in part from dopamine-related genetic differences across individuals by collecting genetic polymorphism data, (i.e. DRD2, DRD4, COMT), together with fERN and Frank PST data in a substance dependent and non-dependent population. These results highlight important neurobiological and behavioral differences between dependent users that can inform the development of individually-tailored treatment programs.
New Graduate Program Application Date -- December 1st!
Chen & Bharadia win Sara Spencer Awards
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