News

In October, Elon Musk took control of Twitter in a $44 billion deal, saying he hoped to enhance Twitter’s mission as “a digital town square." His changes to moderation practices have since led civil rights groups to allege his actions will increase hate speech and misinformation. This week, Musk’s Twitter...

A chaotic rollout of tickets for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour has drawn renewed scrutiny of whether Ticketmaster unfairly dominates the ticketing industry, a charge that first surfaced in earnest in a 1990s skirmish with the grunge band Pearl Jam. We asked UCR experts whether Ticketmaster is a monopoly and should...

The Respect for Marriage Act ‘seems to be an evolution on same-sex marriage support. But I want to caution that we don’t conflate that with LGBTQ support.’

It’s long been said that writing an angry letter – but not mailing it —– is an effective way of venting without backlash. UC Riverside researchers say the converse — penning letters-never-sent expressing gratitude — carries a benefit, as well. There is an entire area of study in psychology devoted...

Study highlights potential for populist leaders to undermine democracy.

Educators have sought to avoid controversy by pulling back on teaching lessons in civics, politics, and the history and experiences of America’s minority communities.

In wake of a renewed COVID-19 lockdown, Chinese citizens protested openly in the streets the past several days. It's a rare display in China, where civil unrest is historically greeted with harsh government recriminations. We asked UCR professors Perry Link and Rich Carpiano to weigh in. Link co-translated The Tiananmen...

The narrative surrounding the virtues of yoga instruction inside prisons is incomplete, according to a UC Riverside professor who taught yoga in prisons for several years and has written a book about the experience. “There is a false narrative, which is ‘if you improve yourself, you won’t get incarcerated,’” said...

The complete skeletal remains of a spider monkey — seen as an exotic curiosity in pre-Hispanic Mexico — grants researchers new evidence regarding social-political ties between two ancient powerhouses: Teotihuacán and Maya Indigenous rulers. The discovery was made by Nawa Sugiyama, a UC Riverside anthropological archaeologist, and a team of...

The lessons in today’s preschool animated series are a moonshot from the anvil-dropping antics of their parents’-parents’ generation. Case in point: UC Riverside psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky is the “gratitude expert” for a new preschool animated series from Apple TV+, “ Sago Mini Friends.” The concept of gratitude is writ...

‘Seattle from the Margins,’ a new book by assistant professor Megan Asaka points to the overseen contributions of the Duwamish, Japanese, Filipino, Chinese, and other immigrant communities.

Most political scientists and prognosticators predict a GOP win in the U.S. House of Representativeson Nov. 8, and so much of the media’s focus has turned to a tighter suite of contests – those for U.S. Senate seats. UC Riverside political scientists and other social scientists were polled recently on...

Proposition 30 would call for Californians earning more than $2 million per year to help fund zero-emission vehicle purchases and infrastructure, and — to a lesser extent — to fund wildfire response and prevention. It would generate between $3.5 to $5 billion annually by taxing the personal incomes of 35,000...

Students often take camera-phone photos of slides during an instructor’s presentation. But the question has lingered whether this practice helps students remember information. A first-of-its-kind study answers the question, finding that taking pictures of PowerPoint slides during an online presentation helped students remember the slide content better than for slides...

UC Riverside psychologists’ experiments explain which choice rules daily life

More than 70 years ago, a pair of psychologists conducted a study in which they asked young Black girls to choose between Black and white dolls. The girls overwhelmingly chose white dolls, ascribing positive attributes to them. The Black girls’ choices and reasoning were interpreted by study authors to indicate...

Sept. 25, the Center for Social Innovation released a report based on census data that asserts only 11% of Latinos in the Inland Empire have a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared with 35% overall in California and 33% nationally. Latinos comprise 51 percent of the 4.65 million people who live...

Professor Alfredo Mirandé’s 1985 foundational sociology book has a completely revised second edition.

The past week has been one of alternately hopeful and discouraging news in the 7-months-long invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We asked Ukraine expert Paul D'Anieri for guidance on whether the developments signal a winddown in Russian aggression or if they foretell a next, more perilous chapter. D'Anieri wrote the...

Sept. 8, Queen Elizabeth II died at 96 after a 70-year reign, the longest of any British monarch in history. We asked a UC Riverside British history expert, Jonathan Eacott, and a British-born UCR political scientist, Shaun Bowler, to assess the future of the monarchy. Q: At the queen’s passing...