December 22, 2017

Wealth doesn't bring happiness, but it does change how a person experiences it, according to a new study by Paul Piff, assistant professor of psychology and social behavior. Higher income people tend to have positive emotions more focused on themselves, such as contentment, pride and amusement. Lower income people have positive emotions associated with others, such as compassion and love.

Piff's research was featured in numerous media outlets: CNN, The Independent, iNews, United Press International, Bustle, The Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, the Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, ZME Science, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The International Business Times.

Social ecologists probe positive, negative effects of digital technology

Studying the links between the digital and physical worlds will be crucial in the coming decades, predicts Daniel Stokols, founding dean of the University of California, Irvine’s School of Social Ecology and author of Social Ecology in the Digital Age, published in October.

December 16, 2017

Hip hop artist Russell Simmons has been accused by 12 women of sexual misconduct. He says the claims are "an insane pile on."

Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law and society, spoke with KCRW about the story.

December 16, 2017

California's sanctuary cities bill, which limits cooperation between federal immigration authorities and local police, is good for communities, writes Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law and society.

"Greater policing of immigrants by local law enforcement, it turns out, has not enhanced public safety and has resulted in significant human costs," Kubrin writes in The Hill.

December 14, 2017

When a Mercedes-Benz official suggested last year that it would be better for a driverless car to save its driver even if that meant sacrificing multiple other people, the ensuing media coverage and public indignation quickly prompted the company to do damage control.

The episode highlighted some of the difficulties of gauging how the public will react to and accept driverless cars, Azim Shariff, assistant professor of psychology and social behavior, told Science Magazine.

December 12, 2017

Parents, research has found, encourage less diversity of emotions in boys than they do in girls, a trend that has far-reaching consequences into adulthood, writes Jessica Borelli, associate professor of psychology and social behavior, in an article for Scientific American.

"Boys grow up in a world inhabited by a narrower range of emotions, one in which their experiences of anger are noticed, inferred, and potentially even cultivated. This leaves other emotions — particularly the more vulnerable emotions — sorely ignored or missing in their growing minds," Borellli writes.

December 12, 2017

Many parents worry that kids who spend hours upon hours on their phones are losing their ability to interact socially away from screens, and are missing out on activities that don't involve smart phones. But Candice Odgers, professor of psychology and social behavior, has done research showing some of the benefits smartphones bring to kids' lives.

"I don't think it's all a doom and gloom story," she told NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. "I think there are some really positive ways kids are using their phones to connect to people that they love and people who can support them in their lives."

December 8, 2017

A man serving a life sentence in prison insists he was wrongly convicted for a crime he didn't commit. But he doesn't have DNA evidence to prove his innonence.

That story of wrongful conviction is all too common, says Simon Cole, professor of criminology, law and society and director of the National Registry of Exonerations. Cole estimates that thousands or even tens of thousands of people have been wrongly convicted, he told The Atlantic.

December 5, 2017

In recent years, there have been major changes to criminal justice policy in California. In 2014, Proposition 47 downgraded many drug and theft crimes to misdemeanors, while in 2011, the Public Safety Realignment law took effect with the goal of shrinking prison populations.

Those reforms are unlikely to have changed statewide crime trends, says Charis Kubrin, professor of criminology, law and society.

December 1, 2017

An undocumented immigrant who was involved in a murder case in San Francisco that became a flashpoint in the presidential election was recently found not guilty of murder. He was found guilty of illegally possessing a firearm.

In general, immigration does not cause an increase in crime, according to research by Charis Kubrin, professor or criminology, law and society. The Wall Street Journal cited Kubrin's research.