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The indomitable human quest for power, influence and a foothold in the social hierarchy has long been a subject of fascination and study for UC Berkeley psychologist Sheri Johnson. “Some people really want to get to the top and others are happy in the middle, and others are just trying to avoid being at the bottom,” says Johnson in a Q & A just published in The Huffington Post.
Social science archive
Wealth, power or lack thereof at heart of many mental disorders
December 9, 2014: Donald Trump’s ego may be the size of his financial empire, but that doesn’t mean he’s the picture of mental health. The same can be said about the self-esteem of people who are living from paycheck to paycheck, or unemployed. New research underscores this mind-wallet connection, showing a strong link between self-worth and mental illness.
I School hackathon develops technological aids for Heifer International
December 3, 2014: Students from across the Bay Area came to the assistance of Heifer International, which fights world hunger and poverty by linking communities and helps bring sustainable agriculture and commerce to areas with a history of poverty.
Scholars and readers respond to Ferguson fallout
November 26, 2014: This week, readers responded with passion to law professor john a. powell’s post on the Berkeley Blog about the Ferguson decision. Meanwhile in California alumni magazine, social psychologist Jack Glaser discussed the “Burdens of Bias” and why the grand jury outcome came as no surprise to him.
$45 million in grants fund new cybersecurity centers at UC Berkeley, MIT and Stanford
November 18, 2014: Berkeley’s new Center for Long-Term CyberSecurity will map out what the cybersecurity problem will mean a few years down the road, and to stimulate interdisciplinary research efforts that will make a difference in resolving the threat.
Three free days of all-things-piano
November 13, 2014: Free lectures, performances, workshops and recitals are all part of the 2014 Piano Institute, taking place Friday through Sunday (Nov. 14-16). The Music Department program is open to the public.
Study identifies effective communication strategies for voter ID laws
November 5, 2014: A new study examining impacts of voter ID requirements finds some effective communications tools to help inform and prepare voters to be prepared when going to the polls.
Coexist or perish, wildfire analysis says
November 5, 2014: An international team of fire experts led by UC Berkeley’s Max Moritz concluded that it is time to stop fighting fires and instead develop strategies to coexist with fire. For example, zoning and building codes and evacuation protocols should be developed to allow people to live with fire, just as they now live with earthquakes and tornadoes.
Love and loss drive campus ‘Day of the Dead’ art show 
October 31, 2014: Jason Thomason claims no Mexican heritage. But since several of his friends died young from hard living, he has found solace in the Day of the Dead, which comes on the heels of Halloween. The art practice student has curated a Dia de los Muertos exhibit for his senior class project in Kroeber Hall.
Mavis Staples reflects on activism and music, past and present
October 28, 2014: Mavis Staples, whose campus visit Thursday (Oct. 30) culminated with a show presented by Cal Peformances, grew up singing as part of the Staples Singers, a family group that became widely known in the 1960s for songs that helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement. Staples, now going solo, says a lot of the older songs are still relevant today.
Bancroft opens stunning California Captured on Canvas exhibit 
October 21, 2014: The Bancroft Library is providing a window onto California’s unique history and culture with an new exhibit of oil paintings from its pictorial collection, some of which haven’t been publicly displayed before.
New post-bac at Berkeley may be hottest ticket to grad school
October 21, 2014: Aaron Fisher was a nanny for a successful actor in Manhattan when he applied for a post-baccalaureate in psychology. Emily Becklund was working in L.A., as a personal assistant for the reality-TV Kardashian family, when she did the same. Today their academic dreams have converged at UC Berkeley, where Fisher just launched a post-bac, inspired by his own success.
They like to watch, yes, but that’s just the beginning
October 13, 2014: Kai Huotari, a sometime filmmaker and former visiting scholar at Berkeley’s School of Information, analyzed thousands of tweets and interviewed 45 “TV live-tweeters” to learn why people would do such a thing. Note to TV producers: It’s not all about you.
Low birth rates can actually pay off in the U.S. and other countries
October 9, 2014: As birth rates decline in countries that include parts of Europe and East Asia, threatening the economic slowdown associated with aging populations, a global study from UC Berkeley and the East-West Center in Hawaii suggests that in much of the world, it actually pays to have fewer children. The results challenge previous assumptions about population growth.
Cybertools offer new channels for free speech, but grassroots organizing still critical
October 2, 2014: The communication tools of today have changed social movements since the Free Speech Movement 50 years ago. Whether it is an online petition or survey software that makes it easier for users to register their opinions for elected officials, more options are available for expressing views than ever before. Still, cautionary flags are raised about the limits of the Internet and online tools by many who know the behind-the-scenes work needed for a movement to be successful.
Berkeley’s Maria Echaveste nominated to become ambassador to Mexico
September 18, 2014: President Obama has nominated UC Berkeley’s Maria Echaveste to become the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and if confirmed, she will be the first woman to hold the prestigious post.
Human faces are so variable because we evolved to look unique
September 16, 2014: Why are human faces so variable compared to other animals? Berkeley biologists Michael Nachman & Michael Sheehan analyzed human faces and the genes that code for them and found a variability that could only be explained by selection for uniqueness, probably because of the importance of social interactions in human relationships and the need for all of us to be recognizable.
Where T-shirt culture meets the black protest tradition
September 8, 2014: For her dissertation research on T-shirts and the black-protest tradition, doctoral candidate Kimberly McNair has been known to visit street fairs and flea markets — to find new Ts and meet their vendors — as well as to read scholarly theory on performance, media and “remix” practices.
Study links honesty to prefrontal region of the brain
September 8, 2014: Lead author of new study linking honesty to a certain region of the brain says the findings have significant implications for understanding social interaction and cooperation within business organizations and beyond.
Experts’ panel to discuss controversial migrant youth immigration surge
September 3, 2014: A panel of experts hosted by UC Berkeley’s Center for Latin American Studies will explore “Child Migrants: A Journey of Desperation and Hope,” discussing the contexts of the current controversy around a surge in child migrants from Central America and Mexico, and future prospects.
Coming this fall: FSM, early America, vaudeville, sounds of the human condition
September 2, 2014: World politics, world-class artistry, Homecoming weekend — just some of what’s happening at Berkeley this fall. The semester brings the Australian Ballet, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Willem Dafoe, weekly discussions on the Middle East. And did we mention the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech Movement?
‘HackTheHearst’ to expand public discovery of ancient treasures
August 27, 2014: Hackers are being invited to compete in a contest to open up the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology’s digital collections to a wider public, making the museum’s treasures even more accessible to students, Native Americans, researchers and everyone else.
Gourmet Ghettos exhibit at Magnes to celebrate religious rituals around food
August 26, 2014: “Gourmet Ghettos: Modern Food Rituals,” is a new exhibit opening soon at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley.
Tech innovator does good by taking connectivity to people who need it
August 22, 2014: UC Berkeley postdoc Kurtis Heimerl never intended to focus on technology in underdeveloped areas. But stints with the big tech companies didn’t inspire him; working on tech issues in India did. Now, with support from the Blum Center for Developing Countries, he’s involved in development engineering in Indonesia. He was recently recognized by MIT for his innovative humanitarian work.
Troy Duster’s garden of plugged-in scholarship, and how it grew
August 20, 2014: During a day of thanks and tributes, former students and lifelong friends lauded the Berkeley sociologist for a 40-year career marked by prescient insights, generosity of spirit, twinkly activism and far-reaching influence.
‘Getting-by girls’ straddle gap between academic winners and losers
August 16, 2014: Everyone notices the academic superstars and failures, but what about the tens of millions of American teens straddling these two extremes? A new UC Berkeley study has spotlighted a high school subculture that has made an art of slacking, even with ample educational resources, and may be destined to perpetuate the nation’s struggling lower-middle class.
What was your high school clique? Berkeley students share
August 16, 2014: Jocks, STEM nerds, Mean Girls, band, debate team, (Harry) Potter heads, thespians, gangsta wannabes, Goths, stoners, fashionistas, goodie two-shoes, eco-warriors. You name it, there’s a high school clique dedicated to it. But what happens to these tribal affiliations when you go to college? We asked a diverse group of UC Berkeley students about which high school clique they belonged to, and where they fit in at UC Berkeley. Here’s what they told us:
Music department piano, instruments sale will be grand
August 12, 2014: An upcoming sale of lightly used pianos and other musical instruments will help provide instruments for UC Berkeley music students every year. The event is open to students, faculty, staff and the public.
Giving the ‘Breath of Life’ to endangered languages
August 5, 2014: For the past 20 years, dozens of California Indians hoping to save their native languages have gathered on campus every other summer. A short video on the Breath of Life conference, excerpted from an upcoming documentary, shows why.
Global economic losses from cyclones linger for decades, study finds
August 4, 2014: A new study co-authored by a UC Berkeley public policy professor debunks the idea that cyclones have no long-term, lasting economic impacts, and suggests the urgent need for revamping disaster policy around the world.
