UW-Madison Department of Psychology

09/02/2026

Classes, lab meetings, thesis prep - it’s all happening! Congrats, , on an excellent first day of the semester! 👐

08/27/2026

We had such a lovely time bringing UW-Madison Psychology faculty, staff, and graduate students together for our annual academic year kickoff party last night 🎉

We are counting down the days till our undergraduates join us - we can’t wait to see you back at Brogden!

08/18/2026

“Reading is an encounter with difference, with a different kind of mind, a different place, a different approach to the world,” [Assistant Professor of Psychology Nick] Buttrick said. “And so a lot of the places where I think reading is most interesting are in places where it smashes this up with difference as strongly as it can.”

In a 2022 study of more than 5,000 people published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Buttrick and his colleagues found that those who grew up reading more literary fiction were more likely to become adults with more complex worldviews — with more nuance, more psychological richness and intellectual humility.

Read more from Prof Buttrick at

Reading fiction may strengthen the social skills we use to understand and connect with others.

08/17/2026

As a quantitative research intern with C+R Research this summer, senior Abby Opsahl is embracing the opportunity to combine all of the knowledge from both her majors - Psychology and Consumer Behavior & Marketplace Studies - into one job.

Although the research she’s doing is marketing-focused, she’s using skills from her on-campus research with the Gernsbacher Lab and tapping into foundational knowledge from Statistics for Psychology and Research Methods “all the time.”

“For example,” she says, “I work with large datasets similar to SPSS and have to be knowledgeable on many different research methodologies as the company’s clients come from all kinds of industries and have many different kinds of questions to be answered.

“As a whole, my psychology courses have taught me to be a curious and creative thinker, something that is imperative to working within market research!”

We love to hear it, Abby!

Have a summer experience you want to share with UW-Madison Psychology? Tell us at https://forms.gle/EBKcZmt6sYLXMfreA

08/13/2026

Summer internships can keep you close to home or take you somewhere totally new. Junior Annabelle Presly had never been to Little Rock, Arkansas, but her clinical services internship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital - where she’s doing pediatric hematology research, shadowing multiple specialties, and learning from incredible physicians - has made this summer unforgettable. The experience confirmed her passion for pediatric medicine and research, and allowed her to make amazing friends and connections.

📣 Shout out to Psych 225 which Annabelle says helped her develop many scientific writing skills that have been incredibly useful as she works through her summer project!

Tell us about your summer experience at https://forms.gle/VpuvY6huKCiEHtYK7

08/11/2026

The idea that children learn best when they feel secure may seem obvious, but new research from UW-Madison shows just how deeply a child’s trust in their parents shapes their willingness to explore. Led by Child Emotion Research Lab graduate student Lillian Xu, the study reveals that children who feel their parents are less reliable explore less – even when exploring is vital to learning and personal growth.

The idea that children learn best when they feel secure may seem ob...

08/10/2026

We’ve loved reading about our and the experiences they’ve gained this summer!

Senior Jenna Chapman has had the privilege of working with a community-based mental health program that provides individualized services and supports to people with mental health needs to strengthen individual skills and work towards the goals they have set for themselves. Along with knowing that she’s making a positive difference in the lives of the people she’s working with, she says that these experiences “have given me a better understanding of how different professionals collaborate to support clients and have helped me identify areas of clinical psychology that interest me as I consider future career paths.”

Have a summer experience to share with your fellow UW-Madison Psychology students? Tell us at https://forms.gle/bL5e7PW2qjb5Evuv8

08/04/2026

Congratulations to Professors Pollak, Schloss and Shutts who are among 42 UW-Madison faculty to be awarded fellowships from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research! 👏

Read more about these outstanding faculty and how their work drives discovery at https://go.wisc.edu/24c233

07/20/2026

If you love helping people and are considering a career as a counselor or advisor, senior and UW-Madison Psychology major Mia Braico recommends checking out Cross-College Advising Services.

📌 Pro tip: they are regularly hiring for SOAR and their residence hall offices!

Mia says she’s having a great experience as a Lead Peer Advisor this summer with Cross-College Advising Service at SOAR, meeting all of the new students and helping them enroll for classes. Thank you, Mia, for welcoming our newest Badgers! 🙌

Share your summer story at https://forms.gle/kT2jvGQu7XJRecjQ7

07/08/2026

Hannah Topoll left Madison for Atlanta, GA this summer to take a position with State Farm as a Property and Casualty Claims Intern. She is the only person there from UW–Madison and says she has made “an extensive commitment to positively represent our university!” We have no doubt you’re doing just that, Hannah!

Hannah is putting her UW-Madison Psychology training to work when working with insured customers: “Many people call after witnessing a peril which can be very difficult emotionally, so I have used psychological insight to properly approach tough situations. Psychology also plays a large role in the type of leader you choose to be, and is big in how you approach any situation.”

Way to go, Hannah!!

Do you have an experience to share? Tell us about your summer at https://forms.gle/PnLrXcBKFNpWYgHLA