He examines the ways in which people compare themselves to others, both better and worse off, and how those comparisons make them feel about themselves, others, and their environment. His work on intergroup relations in the U.S. and Western Europe focuses on the interplay of psychology and politics in ideology. Leach earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and had a chancellor's postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley. He comes to UCSC from Swarthmore College.