Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

Group Identity and Social Perception Lab

In a new paper in PSPB led by GISP alumnus, Hyun Joon Park, we assessed undergraduate students’ cortisol levels at the beginning and end of four classes around the first exam in a gateway STEM course. Because students reported the class to be stressful, we thought that their cortisol levels might increase in each class and as the exam approached. Instead, cortisol levels declined within classes and across classes. We also thought higher cortisol responses might predict worse performance. Instead, they predicted better performance and a greater likelihood of taking the next course in the sequence – but only for members of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups.

In a new paper in PSPB led by GISP alumnus, Hyun Joon Park, we assessed undergraduate students’ cortisol levels at the beginning and end of four classes around the first exam in a gateway STEM course. Because students reported the class to be stressful, we thought that their cortisol levels might increase in each class […]

Congrats to Dr. Samantha Stevens, who on May 8, 2023 successfully defended her dissertation, A Longitudinal Inquiry into Ph.D. Student Experiences and How Social-Psychological Interventions Differentially Predict Performance and Psychological Outcomes!

Congrats to Dr. Samantha Stevens, who on May 8, 2023 successfully defended her dissertation, A Longitudinal Inquiry into Ph.D. Student Experiences and How Social-Psychological Interventions Differentially Predict Performance and Psychological Outcomes!

GISP lab manager, Michael Ruiz, is a co-author on an article published in PNAS showing that discipline incidents escalate during the school year among middle school students, with the rate increasing more quickly for Black students, especially in schools that have a high degree of racial disparity early in the year.

GISP lab manager, Michael Ruiz, is a co-author on an article published in PNAS showing that discipline incidents escalate during the school year among middle school students, with the rate increasing more quickly for Black students, especially in schools that have a high degree of racial disparity early in the year.

In a new open-access paper published in PLOS ONE, Samantha, Jonathan, and our collaborators used latent class analysis to identify Ph.D. students experiencing psychological threats at the start of their doctoral education who may be at greater risk of dropping out.

In a new open-access paper published in PLoS ONE, Samantha, Jonathan, and our collaborators used latent class analysis to identify Ph.D. students experiencing psychological threats at the start of their doctoral education who may be at greater risk of dropping out.

A new paper from the GISP lab, led by Hyun Joon and published online-first in the Journal of Social Issues, shows that lower-SES Ph.D. students experience higher amounts of social disconnection in graduate school, both from academic colleagues and from their friends and family of origin.

A new paper from the GISP lab, led by Hyun Joon and published online-first in the Journal of Social Issues, shows that lower-SES Ph.D. students experience higher amounts of social disconnection in graduate school, both from academic colleagues and from their friends and family of origin.