About

Vanessa Woods received her BS in Biopsychology and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience, with an emphasis in Behavioral Pharmacology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was awarded the Harry J Carlisle Award in Neuroscience in 2006. Vanessa Woods joined the faculty at the University of California Santa Barbara in 2016 as an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. Her research and teaching focus on areas within the Psychological & Brain Sciences, contributing to the university's efforts in understanding cognition, perception, cognitive neuroscience, developmental and evolutionary psychology, neuroscience, behavior, and social psychology.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Mathematics education
• Pedagogy
• Social psychology
• Neuroscience

Selected publications

• Theory Informed Intervention and Evaluation: A Study of a Phenomena-Based Science Outreach Program on Students’ Science Interest

  Journal for STEM Education Research · 2026-03-30

  article1st author
  PublisherDOI

• Backyard Biophilia: A Survey Instrument to Measure an Attraction to Biodiversity in the Home Garden

  HortScience · 2025-08-05

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Biodiversity is threatened by rapid urbanization, yet research on people’s attraction to biodiversity remains scarce. The Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis proposes biophilia, defined as an attraction to biodiversity, as a temperament trait. We developed a short survey instrument to measure Backyard Biophilia (BB)—an attraction to biodiversity in the home garden—and tested it on a representative convenience sample (n = 2031). The BB scale met the first criteria for a temperament trait, individual variability along a normal distribution, as well as good internal consistency, and a two-factor solution (Gardening for Wildlife and Lawn and Order). Higher BB scores correlated with increased proenvironmental behaviors and were inversely correlated with biophobia, defined as a fear or aversion to biodiversity. BB was also negatively correlated with income, with the lowest income bracket showing the highest attraction to biodiversity. These findings emphasize the importance of understanding individual preferences in biodiversity conservation, particularly in residential settings, and suggest that the BB scale could provide initiatives aimed at fostering biophilic connections across diverse urban environments.

  PublisherDOI

• Practice what you teach: trust and asset-based practices as the foundation of professional collaboration at a large university

  The International Journal for Academic Development · 2025-06-20

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Fostering Belonging: Understanding Types of Social Support for First-Generation Latine College Students

  Journal of Hispanic Higher Education · 2025-04-11 · 1 citations

  articleSenior author

  First-generation Latine college students (FGLCS) can experience a cultural mismatch between their collectivistic cultural norms and the individualistic culture of American universities. Our study ( N = 145), conducted at an R1 west coast Hispanic-Serving Institution, examined how social support influences FGLCS’ experiences. Results showed family and friend support are important for university fit, and that friends, family, and use of campus services contribute to belonging. FGLCS’ who held more interdependent college motives reported lower university fit, contributing to an understanding of mismatch and college experiences.

  PublisherDOI

• Biophilia as a temperament trait, not a universal. Testing the Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis in a population children in the United States and Congo

  Research Square · 2025-09-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Perceived stigma, mental health, and campus support among Latina/o and White college students

  Journal of American College Health · 2024-12-12

  articleSenior author

  Campuses need to identify ways to provide Latina/o students with more mental health awareness and support.

  PublisherDOI

• Scaling up APA Guidelines 3.0 for large-enrollment classes.

  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology · 2024-12-05

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Giving Credit Where Credit is Due: An Artificial Intelligence Contribution Statement for Research Methods Writing Assignments

  Teaching of Psychology · 2024-06-06 · 4 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Background Citation practices are fundamental to teaching scholarly writing. With the emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, students need a structured way to cite when and how these technologies are used. Objective This paper introduces an instructor resource, an AI Contribution Statement, which provides students with an ethical and explicit framework for reporting on AI use during idea generation and writing in research methods. Method Students were guided to create an AI Contribution Statement that reports when an AI technology was used for a research paper, what prompts were given and text generated, and how the information was incorporated into a final written product. Results Sixty-four percent of students reported using AI assistive technologies. Of those, 33.12% reported using it more than twice, suggesting that, when allowed in a course, students’ use is relatively low. Conclusion Training students in best citation practices regarding ethical and transparent use of AI technologies is important, yet additional research is needed to understand how students are using it and how instructors can leverage this tool to foster equity. Teaching Implications An AI Contribution Statement is an important addition to research methods teaching to create equality in technology use and student success.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis: biophilia as a temperament trait, or more precisely, a domain specific attraction to biodiversity

  Journal of Bioeconomics · 2023-11-20 · 11 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract E.O. Wilson proposed the concept of biophilia as “the innately emotional affiliation of human beings with other living organisms.” While the idea has gained traction in diverse fields, including architecture and horticulture, the few empirical tests of the biophilia hypothesis are either inconclusive or fail to provide support. This paper reviews fundamental flaws in Wilson's biophilia hypothesis and proposes “the Biophilia Reactivity Hypothesis”: biophilia as a temperament trait, a theory that offers a falsifiable version of Wilson’s original concept.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Design of a phenomenon‐based science outreach program and its effects on elementary students’ epistemological understanding of, and attitudes toward, science

  School Science and Mathematics · 2022-02-01 · 8 citations

  article

  Abstract This study describes the design and implementation of a science outreach program (elementary; 2 nd –5 th ) and its associated student outcomes. Key features of the program include: (a) phenomenon‐based, NGSS‐aligned curriculum designed by science education experts and influenced by educational, sociocultural, and cognitive science theories, (b) active engagement by elementary students in experimentation and exploration of a common phenomenon (2 per year, called modules) across multiple sessions (6–8 per module), (c) professional development (PD) provided to scientists (mentors) and teachers to supply classrooms with multiple (5–7) adult more knowledgeable others (AMKOs), and (d) close classroom interaction between elementary students and mentors, allowing for students to participate in evidence‐based sense‐making through whole‐class and small‐group discussions. We examined the effects of program participation on students’ epistemological understanding of science (EUS) and attitudes toward science, as well as surveyed teachers to determine how they felt the program affected students’ attitudes and EUS. Student measures indicated they developed a deeper understanding of the process of scientific knowledge generation and were more likely to report liking science more than less. Similarly, teachers’ self‐reports corroborated these results, as well as showed teachers thought the structure of the program effectively integrated mathematics and language arts.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Brian Hare

  Duke University

  6 shared

• Nicole Alea Albada

  2 shared

• Melinda Knuth

  North Carolina State University

  2 shared

• Cate Mullen

  Tufts Medical Center

  1 shared

• Catriona S. Bradshaw

  University of Melbourne

  1 shared

• Matthew K. Leonard

  University of California, San Francisco

  1 shared

• Pamela Christofis

  1 shared

• Richard W. Wrangham

  1 shared

Education

• PhD, Psychological and Brain Sciences

  University of California Santa Barbara

  2006

Awards & honors

• Harry J Carlisle Award in Neuroscience (2006)
• UCSB Distinguished Teaching Award (2022)
• APA Conference Grant (2021)