Consortium on Moral Decision-Making 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…
Ag student travels to Arctic for research training in a climate-changed region
The Arctic is filled with picturesque scenery and communities of people closely connected to the land and its history. Like many areas of the world, it’s also a region threatened by climate change. But the Arctic is especially vulnerable, with its temperatures rising four times more quickly than in…
Center for Socially Responsible AI awards seed funding to seven diverse projects
The Penn State Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) has announced the results of its most recent seed-funding competition. The center awarded more than $159,000 to seven interdisciplinary research projects representing eight colleges and campuses.
Each proposal was…
Army launches standardized toolkit to better support soldiers and families
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State, in partnership with the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff and the Installation Management Command, has successfully developed a comprehensive toolkit to support the Army's Relocation Readiness Program (RRP). This innovative…
Long-distance friendships may provide conservation benefits
While sustaining friendships from afar can be challenging, they may offer unexpected benefits for environmental conservation. These long-distance social ties can positively influence community-based conservation, according to a new study by an international team that includes Anne Pisor, assistant…
Increased area income improves birthweight rates, researchers find
Higher incomes are often correlated with healthier pregnancies and babies, but is it really the money that matters? Sedimentary rocks that formed 390 million years ago, surprisingly, help provide the answer, at least for those who live above the Marcellus Shale formation, according to a team led by…
Grants support research collaboration between Harrisburg, College of Medicine
Four teams of faculty from Penn State Harrisburg and Penn State College of Medicine, including SSRI cofunded faculty member Sujeong Park, have been awarded the inaugural planning and seed grants from the Penn State Inter-Campus Health and Medicine Research Program, a partnership created to support…
Choosing Empathy Is Critical to Democracy If we lose sight of why empathy matters, both individual dignity and democracy suffer
BY C. DARYL CAMERON for Scientific American
In the weeks before and after the U.S. presidential election, many of us are asking about the role of empathy in American politics. Does it matter whether candidates express care for their constituents, and what does a person’s vote says about their…
Pennsylvania ATV trail connector generated $23.5M in revenue over two years
While there are about 285,000 registered all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), also known as four wheelers, in Pennsylvania, there are only 11 public trails where people can legally ride ATVs.
In 2020, Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) launched a pilot project…
New module supports fathers and father figures in their parenting journey
The Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State (Clearinghouse), in partnership with the Department of Defense, has launched a new parent-education module specifically designed to support fathers and father figures in building stronger relationships with their children. This…
Social media buzz may predict election results earlier in tight races
With social media platforms serving as soapboxes for politicians, campaigns and voters alike, pollsters may be able to better predict election results by tracking the buzz around each candidate on social media, according to a new study published by a team of researchers from Penn State, Stanford…
New Book: Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity
New Book: Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity
In Texas-Style Exclusion, Population Research Institute Director Jennifer Van Hook (Pennsylvania State University) and sociologist James D. Bachmeier (Temple University) compare how Americans have responded to…
Social media users probably won’t read beyond this headline, researchers say
Congratulations. Reading this far into the story is a feat not many will accomplish, especially if shared on Facebook, according to a team led by Penn State researchers. In an analysis of more than 35 million public posts containing links that were shared extensively on the social media platform…
Murphy named associate dean of research and outreach for College of Education
P. Karen Murphy, distinguished professor of educational psychology in the Penn State College of Education, has been named associate dean of research and outreach for the college.
“In this role, my vision is for our college to stand at the vanguard of education transformation, equity and innovation…
New SSRI Working Group - Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities
Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities
The Collaborative on Population Aging Disparities (CoPAD) is an SSRI-funded working group that focuses on new and growing sources of inequality among aging adults, with attention to the ways that population dynamics and life course processes interact to…
How do formerly incarcerated individuals navigate community reentry?
Fifty years of punitive criminal justice policies have created a growing population of older incarcerated individuals who are now eligible for community release but lack the social or economic capital to rebuild their lives, according to a team of researchers from Penn State and the University of…
Social Science Research Institute accepting applications for inaugural SJRC Equity Fellows
The Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) is seeking applications for their inaugural Social Justice Research Council (SJRC) Equity Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year.
SJRC Equity Fellows are expected to engage in work, together or individually, that aligns with the…
Cognitive decline and loneliness linked in older adults over short time periods
For years, research has shown that older adults who are lonely are at greater risk for cognitive decline and conditions like Alzheimer's disease. Those studies, however, generally treated loneliness as a stable trait of someone’s life, but loneliness fluctuates from day to day and even over the…
Consistent bedtime linked with better child emotion and behavior regulation
Sleep can affect a child’s attitude and behavior, as many parents can attest, but a consistent bedtime may be more influential than sleep quality or duration, according to a new publication authored by researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development and Penn State College of…
Gatzke-Kopp named president-elect of Society for Psychophysiological Research
Lisa Gatzke-Kopp, professor of human development and family studies and Social Science Research Institute cofunded faculty member, recently was named president-elect of the Society for Psychophysiological Research. The presidential role spans three years, over which she will serve as president-…
Experts share research and best practices at Tenth Annual Addiction Conference
Penn State College of Medicine is marking a milestone of a decade of sharing expertise and best practices at the upcoming Tenth Annual Penn State Addiction Conference. The conference, scheduled for Nov. 11 and 12, is run by the Penn State Addiction Center for Translation with additional…
Contest explores artificial intelligence’s strengths, flaws for medical diagnoses
Penn State’s Center for Socially Responsible Artificial Intelligence (CSRAI) will host “Diagnose-a-thon,” a competition that aims to uncover the power and potential dangers of using generative AI for medical inquiries. The virtual event will take place Nov. 11-17.
The challenge is open to…
Penn State hosting community engagement and applied research symposium Nov. 7–8
A symposium centering around community engagement and applied research will take place Nov. 7–8 at Penn State University Park.
The event — hosted by faculty in the rural sociology program in the College of Agricultural Sciences and titled “Community-University Partnerships for Radical Community…
Conference to focus on moral decision-making research
Penn State’s Consortium on Moral Decision-Making and Moral Psychology Research Group are cohosting a conference Nov. 15-17 to highlight interdisciplinary research on moral and ethical decision-making.
There will be two keynote talks by Penn State alumni researchers beginning at…
Ask an expert: Immigration and the 2024 presidential election
Immigration remains a top concern for American voters, and a topic fueling much debate in the news and on social media. Penn State News spoke with Jennifer Van Hook, distinguished professor of sociology and demography and director of SSRI's Population Research Institute, about immigration and the…