Social Sciences (Faculty & Staff)

Alison Gopnik, a University of California, Berkeley, psychology professor whose research has transformed our understanding of how children learn and what they can teach us about ourselves, is...

In this interview, Elora shares the inspiration for her book, as well as the questions that guided her when writing Sisters in the Mirror. Taking both a historical and transnational approach, Elora analyzes the feminist movements that have emerged from Anglo-American West and Muslim South Asia. Elora also reflects on her introduction to gender and women's studies...

Groundbreaking research from UC Berkeley’s Department of Psychology is shifting the understanding of human decision-making processes by highlighting the importance of goal-oriented rewards. Conducted by Berkeley Psychology Professor Anne Collins and Berkeley Psychology doctoral student Gaia Molinaro, the study suggests that the value people attribute to outcomes is subjective, and heavily influenced by their personal goals and the context of the decision.

"Value isn't just determined by an objective reward or outcome,” Collins said. “Our...

In his new book In the Shadows of the Big House: Twenty-First-Century Antebellum Slave Cabins and Heritage Tourism in Louisiana (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2023), UC Berkeley African American Studies Professor Stephen Small sheds light on over 60 heritage sites in Louisiana's former slave plantations. Amid debates about Confederate monument removal, Small's work focuses on the less obvious remnants of slavery throughout the region. ...