Patricia M. Greenfield

Professor Patricia M. Greenfield is a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in interdisciplinary cultural psychology and human development. With a Ph.D. from Harvard University in Social Psychology/Personality Research, her research explores how social change, cultural evolution, and digital media reshape human cognition, values, and behavior.

Her work spans three generations of Maya communities transitioning from subsistence to commercial economies, cross-cultural value conflicts among Latinx immigrants, and pandemic-induced cultural shifts during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. She leads the Children's Digital Media Center @ Los Angeles and Weaving Generations Together projects, which examine technology's developmental impact and traditional skill preservation.

• Key research areas: Social change effects on creativity, mortality salience, intergenerational learning, digital media adaptation, and cultural value mismatches
• Methodological expertise: Mixed-method and qualitative approaches in cross-cultural research
• Global collaborations: Studies in Mexico, Israel, China, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia, and the U.S.

Scientific Honors:

• Elected member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2014)
• 133rd Faculty Research Lecturer at UCLA (2023)
• Jean Piaget Society Award for Distinguished Contributions (2022)
• Multiple prestigious awards from APA, SRCD, and cultural psychology associations

Her teaching includes undergraduate courses on Culture and Human Development and graduate seminars on qualitative methodologies. She has mentored numerous students, including co-founders of the Children's Digital Media Center.