Emotions like anger and sadness may cause pain as well as being a result of it
While emotions such as anger or sadness are often thought of as being a result of stress or pain, findings recently published by Penn State researchers suggest that negative or mixed emotions could function as stressors themselves.
The manuscript, published in the journal Psychological Reports…
Researchers can build supercomputing skills in fall training series
Penn State researchers looking to build their high-performance computing (HPC) skills can get both basic and intermediate training through a series of workshops hosted by the Institute for CyberScience (ICS) this fall. Each session is free but requires registration as seating is limited.
The four-…
Simucase allows graduate students to practice with virtual patients
Graduate students studying communication sciences and disorders gain early clinical experience with simulated clinical scenarios offered through a specialized web-based program, which prepares them for true experiences as graduate clinicians.
Simucase is an online program that allows students…
Faculty invited to apply for Penn State Security Center Fellows Program
Penn State’s Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) invites Penn State faculty to apply for the CSRE Faculty Fellows Program. The deadline for spring 2019 applications is Nov. 1.
The CSRE fellowship program provides fellows with the opportunity to propose and lead an interdisciplinary…
Disparities in education studies most read
Paul Morgan, director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research, has co-authored several studies that were the most read articles in two different publications.
Three of his team’s empirical studies were the most read articles published in Educational Researcher, one of the education field…
National conference on child maltreatment to advance innovation through data
Penn State isn’t just a leader on childhood well-being through its Child Maltreatment Solutions Network — but is pushing others to be leaders, too.
“One of our charges is to bring together experts related to child maltreatment to think more broadly about how to address key issues facing children…
Penn State launches new child abuse prevention pilot programs
A new initiative spearheaded by Penn State researchers is aiming to revolutionize how policymakers understand and prevent child sexual abuse.
The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative officially kicked off Wednesday at the York County Children’s Advocacy Center, which marks the beginning of a…
Tight-knit teammates may conform to each other's behavior
Good relationships between teammates are essential to a team’s success, but athletes who feel more closely connected to their teammates may also be more likely to be swayed by their fellow players’ behavior.
In a study with NCAA athletes, researchers found that the more closely a player identified…
Security Center announces seed grant opportunities for Penn State researchers
The Center for Security Research and Education (CSRE) at Penn State is announcing its 2018-2019 Seed Grant Program to support security-related scholarship and educational programs at Penn State. University faculty and researchers are eligible to apply in the fall 2018 semester by Nov. 1, or in the…
Why Social Science? - Because It Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom
By Olugbenga Ajilore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, University of Toledo
Social science research provides evidence that helps us understand the drivers of social problems. A lot of times, this evidence is in contrast to the conventional wisdom and may on the face of it seem…
Officials raise Puerto Rico’s death toll from Hurricane Maria to nearly 3,000 people
By Aimee Cunningham
The Puerto Rican government has officially updated its tally of lives lost to Hurricane Maria to an estimated 2,975. That number, reported August 28 in a government-commissioned study by George Washington University in Washington D.C., dwarfs the island’s previous count…
Farmer Field School addresses food insecurity, gender inequality in Honduras
Studying for her dual-title doctoral degree in rural sociology and in international agriculture and development at Penn State, Paige Castellanos learned about the plight of families living in western Honduras, where many eke out a living in an economy marked by high poverty rates and subsistence…
Parents’ behavior during playtime may affect toddler’s weight later on
Parents who positively engage with their children during play time — and gently steer them to clean up afterward — may help toddlers with low-self regulation have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) later on as preschoolers.
In a study, researchers found that toddlers who had poor self-regulation skills…
"Translational Science in the Era of Big Data” to be held Sept. 6
The ability to work with and analyze large amounts of data for research is gaining in importance, especially involving the incorporation of electronic health records. Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute is planning for the future as it looks towards its renewal application for…
Morgan authors blog post for Psychology Today
Paul Morgan, director for the Center for Educational Disparities Research and professor of education and demography, authored a post for Psychology Today's blog "Children who struggle: Understanding and addressing educational disparities."
Research on neural signatures of inhibitory control in bilingual spoken production by SLEIC researchers Dr. Eleonora Rossi, Dr. Michele Diaz & colleagues
SLEIC researchers, Dr. Eleonora Rossi (who is now an Assistant Professor at California State Polytechnic University), Dr. Michele Diaz and other colleagues recently published a study on neural signatures of inhibitory control in bilingual spoken production. The goal of this event-related functional…
Using social media to solve social problems
Social scientist rely on data to study social problems, however data from traditional surveys can be difficult and time consuming to collect, as well as inaccurate since not all factors can be measured well. A National Science Foundation-funded Penn State project will evaluate the accuracy of using…
People with autism may not have trouble focusing on people in photos
While people with autism may avoid eye contact in one-on-one conversations, they may not avoid looking at people in photos, according to Penn State researchers.
Krista Wilkinson, professor of communication sciences and disorders and SSRI faculty co-fund, said previously it was thought that people…
Crowley receives NARSAD Young Investigator Award for work on the neurobiology of binge drinking
Nikki Crowley, assistant research professor of biobehavioral health, has received the NARSAD Young Investigator Award from the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. This award will support her work on the neurobiological underpinnings of alcohol misuse and comorbid neuropsychiatric…
Self-control develops gradually in adolescent brain
Different parts of the brain mature at different times, which may help to explain impulsive behaviors in adolescence, suggest researchers from Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh.
The team discovered that the brain’s salience network, a group of regions that work together to help people…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps Us Identify and Combat Misinformation
By Melanie C. Green, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Communication, University at Buffalo
To make good decisions, we need good information. Every day, people form opinions on health treatments, political policies, and consumer products. Social sciences help us understand how people can…
College students may face pressures from opioid epidemic's secondary effects
About one in five college students reported in a survey that they knew someone who was addicted to pain medications, and nearly a third said they knew somebody who overdosed on painkillers or heroin, according to a team of undergraduate Penn State Lehigh Valley researchers.
This secondary exposure…
Department head authors chapter on Autism Spectrum Disorder
Diane Williams, head of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Penn State, is author of a chapter in The Wiley Handbook of Memory, Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Law, released in July.
Williams authored the chapter, “Executive Function and Complex Processing Models,” which…
Learning to ask older adults better questions about their memory
Healthcare providers and researchers rely on screening questions to detect patients who may be at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease and other aging-related problems, but how these questions are worded may be confusing or trigger emotional responses. According to Penn State researchers, this…
Well-being of 'left behind' children in Kyrgyzstan focus of study
Growing up can be hard no matter what a family's circumstances, but it is often more so for children living in the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, one of the poorest countries in the world, known for its dry environment, high mountains, nomadic culture and animal-husbandry heritage.
Isolation,…