10.20
Michele W. Berger
Senior Science News Officer
mwberger@upenn.edu
Psychology
‘The passionate pursuit of social justice’
‘The passionate pursuit of social justice’
The School of Social Policy & Practice addresses social inequities through research.
Sports psychologist talks athletes and mental health
Sports psychologist talks athletes and mental health
Andrea Wieland, the associate athletic director for sports performance at Penn Athletics, discusses athletes and mental health, Simone Biles, Ben Simmons, the yips, and the importance of seeing athletes as whole people.
Mapping words to color
Mapping words to color
Researchers led by postdoc Colin Twomey and professor Joshua Plotkin developed an algorithm that can infer the communicative needs different linguistic communities place on colors.
Remote learning affected high schoolers’ social, emotional health
Remote learning affected high schoolers’ social, emotional health
Research from Angela Duckworth and colleagues found that teenagers who attended school virtually fared worse than classmates who went in person, results that held even when accounting for variables like gender, race, and socioeconomic status.
Damian Pang may have discovered a new type of memory
Damian Pang may have discovered a new type of memory
The Penn LPS Online Certificate in Neuroscience let Pang gain additional knowledge and skills while still working full time as an airline pilot out of Hong Kong.
Dolores Albarracín appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Dolores Albarracín appointed Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor
Albarracín will be the Alexandra Heyman Nash University Professor, with joint appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the Department of Family and Community Health in the School of Nursing.
A link between childhood stress and early molars
A link between childhood stress and early molars
Penn researchers discovered that children from lower-income backgrounds and those who go through greater adverse childhood experiences get their first permanent molars sooner.
2021 cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity named
2021 cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity named
The competitive program, managed by Office of the Vice Provost for Research, is designed to support early career researchers and scholars while enriching the Penn community.
Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
Scientists say active early learning shapes the adult brain
Through the Abecedarian Project, an early education, randomized controlled trial that has followed children since 1971, Penn and Virginia Tech researchers reveal new discoveries about brain structure decades later.
A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID
A mental health checkup for children and adolescents, a year into COVID
As a whole, this group experienced a significant short-term psychological toll. Though the long-term consequences aren’t yet known, particularly given how the year disproportionately exacerbated adverse childhood experiences, Penn experts remain cautiously optimistic.
Media Contact
In the News
The New York Times
Managing ADHD is hard. These coaches want to help
Lisa Joy Tutttle of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about Penn’s Adult A.D.H.D. Treatment and Research Program, which provides clients with coaching and other support. “We’re really trying to help people develop their own insights and solutions,” she said.
FULL STORY →
Philadelphia Inquirer
Guided mastery: The scaffolding you need to grow stronger
Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences wrote about the importance of imbuing young people with a sense of personal agency. “Don’t tell anyone they have complete control of their destiny. That’s not true,” she said. “And yet each of us, no matter our circumstances, has some control, particularly over our own thoughts and actions.”
FULL STORY →
The New York Times
Trump true believers have their reasons
Clifford Workman, a postdoctoral fellow in the Perelman School of Medicine, co-authored research about the neuroscience of morality. “People are motivated by shared social values that, when held with moral conviction, can serve as compelling mandates capable of facilitating support for ideological violence,” Workman and colleagues wrote.
FULL STORY →
The New York Times
At the Ryder Cup, would 12 divided by 3 equal victory for the U.S.?
Charline Russo of the College of Liberal & Professional Studies weighed in on a new pod system that divides professional golf teams into subgroups based on compatibility. She compared the arrangement to World War II troops, the most effective of which were assembled from the same town. “It wasn’t just because they grew up together, there was also that accountability factor,” Russo said. “You didn’t want to go home and admit that you screwed up.”
FULL STORY →
The Washington Post
Why having too much free time can be as bad for you as having too little
Research led by Marissa Sharif of the Wharton School found that, when it comes to leisure time, there’s a point of diminishing return. “A moderate amount of discretionary time leads people to be better off or happier compared to having a large amount of free time,” she said. “And that’s because with a large amount of free time, people feel this lacking sense of productivity and purpose.”
FULL STORY →
WHYY (Philadelphia)
How to cope with the anxiety Ida left behind with all that damage
Lily Brown of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about how people can cope with catastrophic events like storms and floods. “I think an important first step is to give yourself space to feel what you need to feel. Because often, in the aftermath of a tragedy, we put our heads down and sort of, you know, grit our teeth, and do whatever we can to survive. And that’s appropriate in the immediate aftermath of a stressor or a trauma like this,” she said.
FULL STORY →