Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst
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Student Spotlight
Kuan-Jung Huang receives 2022 Keith Rayner Memorial Graduate Student Research Award
Kuan-Jung Huang, a fourth-year student in the Cognitive Psychology program working with Dr. Adrian Staub, has received the seventh annual Keith Rayner Memorial Graduate Student Research Award. His project, titled "Morphosyntactic processing of compound words in Chinese reading", will examine the dynamic between two processes for visual recognition of complex words: direct form-meaning mapping and composition of sub-constituents, and test whether morphosyntactic structure and frequency of the word matter. The understanding will have implications for language learning (how writing systems shape our mental dictionary) and sentence processing (whether Chinese readers rapidly utilize morphosyntactic cues for online word segmentation).

Department News
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New survey conducted by UMass Amherst human security lab reveals Afghans’ views on peace, security, governance and human rights
The survey, answered by more than 20,000 Afghans from all areas of the country, was particularly designed to capture women’s voices and measure gender gaps in attitudes -
Welcoming the New Department Chair – Maureen Perry-Jenkins
The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (PBS) is pleased to announce that Professor Maureen Perry-Jenkins has been elected Department Chair, serving a three-year term. -
Study aims to understand the psychology that threatens American democracy
Amid an unprecedented democratic decline in the U.S., a new report by Beyond Conflict, co-authored by UMass Amherst social psychologist Linda Tropp, analyzes America’s current social divides through the lens of social science to understand how threats – both real and perceived – shape our sense of identity, our feelings of belonging and our perceptions of status and power relations in society.

PBS Newsletter
Catch up with the latest news including spotlights on our talented students, faculty, and alumni!
Alumni News
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Bill Knecht '65, LCSW, BACS
Private Practice Therapist, Social Work Supervisor -
Maheen Chaudhry '12
Clinical Pharmacist and Preceptor at Cooley Dickinson Hospital -
Kevin McGrath '13
Product Designer at 2U
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Award-winning teaching, research opportunities, and interdisciplinary programs in a diverse, inclusive community of excellence.