UCLA
SOCIAL
MINDS
LAB
UCLA
SOCIAL
MINDS
LAB
SOCIAL & EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
Department of Psychology
What We Do
We're a social psychology lab. Our research draws on interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives—from social psychology, cognitive + evolutionary anthropology, animal behavior, relationship science—to investigate how people's social minds both create + navigate our social worlds.
Dr. Krems is planning to accept a graduate student this year (applying December 2023, starting Fall 2024).
(Be on the lookout for news about a possible postdoctoral position in winter/spring.)
Current Research Projects
Our research aims to map the computational design of friendship psychology. Briefly, to have friends—and reap the associated benefits—people must solve an array of challenges (e.g., finding, making, competing for, keeping good, jettisoning poor friends). Our work (1) systematically identifies these friendship challenges and (2) tests predictions about how people solve them.
Our lab is also engaged in large-scale cross-cultural work to describe what friendship looks like across sex/gender, age, + other demographic + ecological features.
Reputation, information, + communication: Tactics for navigating interconnected social worlds
Social minds are sensitive to how other people see us. This sensitivity can influence the social information we seek (or share), the connections with make, + how we navigate our social relationships.
Our lab explores people's strategic navigation of their social worlds by investigating phenomena such as reputation, information-sharing, competition/aggression, + the subtle ways that people—and particularly people with 'lower power'—can act to ensure better treatment.
A new line of work here, led by David Pinsof, explores a novel theory of humor as a coordination device. We attempt to answers long-lived questions, such as: What do we find certain things funny? What does humor do?
Stereotyping, prejudice, + discrimination are at once the products of our social minds as well as hurdles in our social landscapes.
Our lab uncovers these phenomena. Much of our work here empirically describes people's stereotypes while at once assessing ground truth.
SOCIAL & EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY LAB
Department of Psychology
Current Research Projects
Many of our projects take place at the intersection of overlapping research projects that elucidate the fascinating ways that the social mind helps us actively create and strategically navigate our social worlds.
Friendship
Our friends make us happy, keep us healthy, and can even promote our reproductive fitness. But friendships remain understudied in social psychology. We explore these important bonds.
Female cooperation & competition
Every woman has at least two stories: One about how she could not have survived without the support of a female friend; one about how a female friend broke her heart. We explore the often-overlooked complexities underlying women's social relationships with one another.
Stereotyping & prejudice
We use a functional approach to stigma to revolutionize our understanding of classic research in social psychology.
(Ir)Religion, stereotyping & prejudice
Religious people are highly trusted--and even other atheists often distrust atheists. Some religious people are also likely to hold negative perceptions of gays, women's reproductive rights, recreational drugs. Why?
Reputation, information, and people: A social mind for navigating a social world
Our minds are sensitive to how other people see us, and this sensitivity can influence how we view other people, whom we condemn, how we navigate relationships, and whether and with whom we share information.
How do ecological variables shape everyday life?
Income inequality is a strong predictor of violence. Does increasing income inequality also change the ways that women compete? How does pathogen prevalence affect the job market?
Current Projects
Many of our projects take place at the intersection of overlapping research projects that elucidate the fascinating ways that the social mind helps us actively create and strategically navigate our social worlds.
Female cooperation & competition
Every woman has at least two stories: One about how she could not have survived without the support of a female friend, and one about how a female friend broke her heart. We investigate the often-overlooked complexities underlying women's social relationships with one another.
Friendship
Our friends make us happy, keep us healthy, and can even promote our reproductive fitness. But friendships remain understudied in social psychology. We explore these important bonds.
Stereotyping & prejudice
We use a functional approach to stigma to revolutionize our understanding of classic research in social psychology.
Reputation, information, and people: A social mind for navigating a social world
Our minds are sensitive to how other people see us, and this sensitivity can influence how we view other people, whom we condemn, how we navigate relationships, and whether and with whom we share information.
(Ir)Religion, stereotyping & prejudice
Religious people are highly trusted--and even other atheists often dislike atheists. Some religious people are also likely to hold negative perceptions of gays, women's reproductive rights, recreational drugs. Why?
How do ecological variables shape everyday life?
Income inequality is a strong predictor of violence. Does increasing income inequality also change the ways that women compete? How does pathogen prevalence affect the job market?
The social functions of emotion
A "disgust" sound is a most recognizable emotional vocalization. What would you do If someone made that sound at you, or looked at you with disgust? What if a friend looked at you with disgust--and did so just after someone you both found annoying entered the room? We're exploring disgust---and jealousy--and their often-triadic social functions.