Expanding Empathy seminar series to kick off
We are under two weeks away from the first panel of Expanding Empathy 2024, which is supported by the Consortium on Moral Decision-Making.
The first panel, taking place March 19, 12 - 2 p.m. EDT on Zoom, will include talks by Sa-kiera Hudson, University of California, Berkeley; Felipe De…
Why Social Science? - Because It Makes An Outsized Impact on Policy
The new "Why Social Science?" post comes from Camille Gamboa from Sage who interviews Euan Adie, Overton's managing director, to learn more about the large impact that social science makes on policy and his work creating tools to connect the scholarly and policy worlds.
We know that…
SSRI cofounds participate in Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing
On March 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., a Capitol Hill Research and Policy Briefing will take place featuring two SSRI cofounds: Erica Frankenberg and Jennifer Van Hook.
The event will be hybrid with the in-person option located in the Russel Senate Office Building, Room 118, 2…
Obesity research seed grant now available
Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) in collaboration with the Social Sciences Research Institute (SSRI) announces the Interdisciplinary Obesity Research Seed Grant Program to fund innovative, interdisciplinary research related to obesity and obesity-related health outcomes…
Lecture to discuss behavioral factors that drive what, why and how children eat
Kathleen L. Keller, Penn State professor of nutritional sciences and food science and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member, will present the 2024 Pattishall Research Lecture, “Understanding Children's Eating Behaviors: The What, Why and How?”
The…
Two SSRI-funded Penn State Berks professors elected as INFORMS DEI Ambassadors
Penn State Berks has announced that two of its professors have been elected as 2024 INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences) DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Ambassadors. In this role, Sadan Kulturel-Konak, professor of management information…
Annual Substance Use and Addiction Conference to be held on April 29
The Social Science Research Institute’s Consortium on Substance Use and Addiction will host its fifth annual conference, in-person and via Zoom on Monday, April 29, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Barron Innovation Hub.
The all-day event is free, but all in-person and virtual…
Van Hook named distinguished professor
Jennifer Van Hook, Roy C. Buck Professor of Sociology and Demography, College of the Liberal Arts, was recently named distinguished professor by Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs.
The distinguished professor or distinguished librarian title recognizes outstanding…
Suicidality among individuals with substance use disorders increased in 2020
Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) were significantly more likely to consider, plan and attempt suicide than those without SUDs in 2020, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. Adolescents and women with SUDs were also more likely to experience suicidality — the term for…
Evaluating the quality of civilian transitions in post-9/11 veterans
Researchers at Penn State’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness (Clearinghouse) have developed a new framework for assessing the quality of military-to-civilian transitions (MTCTs) among post-9/11 veterans.
The Clearinghouse team recently published the details of the new framework…
Low voice pitch increases standing among strangers
If you’re looking for a long-term relationship or to boost your social status, lower your pitch, according to researchers studying the effects of voice pitch on social perceptions. They found that lower voice pitch makes women and men sound more attractive to potential long-term partners, and lower…
Consortium moving forward with events and new website
Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making is progressing with its mission to create an interdisciplinary, collaborative network of social scientists and scholars studying how people make moral and ethical decisions with upcoming events and a new seed funding program.
Directed…
Inter-Institutional Program for Diversifying Research (IPDR) opens call for proposals
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences in collaboration with the Social Science Research Institute, Materials Research Institute, the Institute of Energy and the Environment, the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences, the Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and…
Dear Colleague Letter: The Social and Behavioral Science of Bias, Prejudice and Discrimination
Dear Colleague:
Research supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorate has significantly advanced understanding of the science of bias, prejudice, and discrimination. SBE programs have supported transformative projects on many…
Why Social Science? - Because It Helps Us Incorporate Lived Experience into Health Research
The new Why Social Science? post comes from Dr. Monica N. Feit from the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) who writes about how social science can provide valuable expertise to help…
Monica Oakes joins SSRI
SSRI would like to welcome Monica Oakes, who recently joined our team as a Research Project Manager. She previously worked for Optum in the Natural Language Processing group leading collaborative efforts across various departments including client professional services projects and implementing…
Consortium on Moral Decision-Making Call for Seed Grants
The Consortium on Moral Decision-Making is seeking proposals for seed grants to support interdisciplinary research related to the conceptual and empirical study of human morality and ethical decision-making. How do people decide whether to help or harm others, whom to trust and cooperate with, and…
Workplace flexibility associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease
Workplaces have implemented changes since the COVID pandemic began almost four years ago. Some give employees more flexibility in hours and tasks.
A new study that Penn State took part in, finds the risk of heart disease was reduced for some workers who were offered more flexibility.
Orfeu Buxton,…
CSUA 5th Annual Conference call for posters and research talks presentations
We invite you to present your work on substance use and addiction during our Research Talks and Poster Session for the CSUA 5th Annual Conference on Monday, April 29.
We strongly encourage researchers, students, clinicians, community members and partner organizations to attend and participate in…
PSU researcher shares preliminary findings on how counties are spending opioid settlement funds
A Penn State professor is sharing preliminary findings from the Elevate Pennsylvania Initiative. It’s meant to maximize the impact of opioid settlement funds in the state.
Pennsylvania is getting about $2 billion as part of nationwide settlements involving the opioid epidemic.…
Race and ethnicity may affect whether and where hospitals transfer patients
Black patients in Florida are transferred to public hospitals more often than white patients, even when comparing patients from the same hospital with similar health conditions and the same insurance, according to new research led by Charleen Hsuan, assistant professor of health policy and…
Yanling Li recognized for APA contributions
The American Psychological Association (APA) recently recognized QuantDev's Yanling Li for her expertise in intensive longitudinal data. Her contributions "significantly advanced our ability to host a science training session 'Intensive Longitudinal Data: Latent Class Differences in Change…
Mortality rates among rural US residents vary based on race, ethnicity, region
Rural Black residents of the South have higher mortality, or death, rates than rural Black residents elsewhere, and so did Hispanic residents of the rural South and West, according to a new study by two researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
These populations have…
Veterans of color and female veterans reported more stress during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic led to illness and death, significant economic and employment problems, severe social restrictions and substantially altered family life — the effects of which researchers are beginning to understand. A recent study conducted by researchers at the Clearinghouse for Military…
Liberal Arts initiative to explore historical, societal impacts of immigration
Immigration is the focus of the current offering in the College of the Liberal Arts’ “Moments of Change” initiative — an undertaking that brings students, faculty, staff and alumni together to explore what it means to live through historic and contemporary times of change.
Through…