When they're effective, data visualizations play a critical role in teaching and communication. In a rich new blog on data visualization, @scientificdiscovery.dev cites a 2021 review of research on what works in data visualization, coauthored by RCGD's Priti Shah.

Strongly agree!

🎵 WOOP! There it is... Follow Ethan Kross and @rcgd-isr.bsky.social for leading research on well-being.

Rich Gonzalez on dyadic data analysis: "Study, model, and celebrate interdependence!"

The application portal is now open for the 2026 Summer Data Immersion Program, hosted by the Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer's Disease, using #PSIDdata. Join us at @umisr.bsky.social in May. #Umich #AcademicSky

When Rich Gonzalez was in grad school, he wanted to study group decision making, but realized statistical methods didn’t allow him to study groups. In his @rcgd-isr.bsky.social talk today he is presenting on dyadic relationships, and methods that help us analyze groups and interactions.

Since I study changes in achievement in population studies, I’ve been looking at this data for a long time and the story has been the same-women get higher grades and the differences in standardized scores are negligible. This is what you see in these graphs as well.

A new @us.theconversation.com piece on resilience among federal workers references RCGD researchers' work on how social media influences well-being. #LookToMichigan for groundbreaking research on fostering wellness. (Ethan Kross, Oscar Ybarra et al): theconversation.com/a-hard-year-...

ICYMI: @aaas.org inductee @daviddunning6.bsky.social presented a lecture at the 2025 induction ceremonies -- exploring how people do and don't recognize the limits and depth of their knowledge. lsa.umich.edu/psych/news-e...

An @nhats-nsoc.bsky.social study finds caregiver stress is associated with higher concentrations of CRP, a measure of inflammation, in care recipients-- suggesting that addressing caregiver overload may benefit care recipient health.

@falklab.bsky.social's Emily Falk of @asc.upenn.edu talks with @thepulse.whyy.org about why nurturing connection is good for your health whyy.org/episodes/wha...

Icymi! @20thofmay.bsky.social

Emily discusses how different regions of the brain shape the big and small decisions we make every day with Marty Moss-Coane on @whyy.org. Listen to the podcast here: whyy.org/episodes/the...

Jess Francis-Levin is using RCGD's new VR Lab for a project on aging and connection among older adults. Join us TODAY at the @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar series on the science of social relationships! @um-src.bsky.social @micda-umisr.bsky.social buff.ly/eSVuAL4

💙💛 A new curriculum on substance use, piloted in Michigan and Alaska, could save lives by pairing research-based strategies with local knowledge. Read how new approaches from @elizabeth-evans.bsky.social et al are impacting communities where hope is needed: myumi.ch/W6nR5 #LifeChangingEducation

Collecting feedback from human subjects research participants can improve studies and combat declining engagement. A #BioSocialMethods exploratory study based on focus groups with researchers and experienced participants provides recommendations for feedback systems and surveys: myumi.ch/mRqyx

🎊 Congratulations to RCGD's Linda Chatters on receiving the James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award from the Gerontological Society of America in recognition of her outstanding dedication to mentoring minority researchers in the field of aging. #GSA2025 #PRBA

👀 Don't miss this thread by 2025 @aaas.org inductee and @rcgd-isr.bsky.social affiliate David Dunning @daviddunning6.bsky.social, and his featured talk -- sharing what we believe to be wisdom. #LookToMichigan #PsychSky @umisr.bsky.social

Jess Francis-Levin is using RCGD's new VR Lab for a project on aging and connection among older adults. Learn more and join us for the @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar series on the science of social relationships! @um-src.bsky.social @micda-umisr.bsky.social buff.ly/eSVuAL4

Loneliness isn’t just about having relationships, but also about feeling empowered in your own life. New research out in @nature.com by RCGD's Oscar Ybarra & Todd Chan suggests efforts to stem loneliness should focus on social ties and supporting autonomy. www.nature.com/articles/s44...

ICYMI: Michigan helped reignite the research career of cancer survivor Suzanne Perkins @20thofmay.bsky.social, who planned her career around the insight that education plays a key role in recovery for children who have been maltreated. #LifeChangingEducation feature story: myumi.ch/9pWk3

RCGD's Robin Edelstein explores the relationship between testosterone levels and relationship dynamics, with studies that find lower testosterone is associated with higher quality, nurturant relationships. 🧪

RCGD's Robin Edelstein finds testosterone in men and women plays a role, with tradeoffs, in close relationships. Join us for today's rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar!

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are innovative in their ability to create community through social media use. Jess Francis-Levin & Bolu Dolgari examine the differences in motivations behind social media use among older adults & young adults in the LGBTQ+ community #GSA2025 @rcgd-isr.bsky.social

Feeling supported by family can help reduce stress and depressive symptoms among mothers. New research on US and foreign-born Latina mothers, co-authored by Chris Dunkel Schetter @rcgd-isr.bsky.social, highlights the importance of culture in maternal mental health. psycnet.apa.org/record/2026-...

A set of experiments looks at the effects of witnessing gender bias in an academic setting, and how they compare to those of witnessing generic rudeness. The negative impacts were greater in the first case, for both men and women. Denise Sekaquaptewa coauthors: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

So many cool programs @um-src.bsky.social this was a fun talk with @d3center.bsky.social about the cool intervention research they do.

Older adults living alone are at especially high risk of experiencing social isolation. Does Facebook communication serve as a protective resource? Kristine Ajrouch presents work with Jess Francis-Levin at the upcoming #GSA2025. @um-src.bsky.social

Check out the full article at: doi.org/10.1080/1521...

The Research Center for Group Dynamics @rcgd-isr.bsky.social solves real-world problems by observing human behavior in social contexts. @umisr.bsky.social Please share and follow us on Bluesky *and* on LinkedIn! 🧪 #MichiganResearch #UMich www.linkedin.com/company/rese...

Making connections at #GSA2025? The @umisr.bsky.social Institute for Social Research is an extraordinary hub for studying aging. Follow us all with starter pack tabs from @um-psc.bsky.social @um-src.bsky.social and @rcgd-isr.bsky.social, and comment to be added! go.bsky.app/JcQbemD

For both men and women, testosterone may play an important role in maintaining close relationships. RCGD's Robin Edelstein presents findings from her lab at the next @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar. Join us!

A fantastic piece about me by our communications team and @tevahp.bsky.social Thanks to @rcgd-isr.bsky.social for helping me get #NIHfunding to restart my career! #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #DevPsyc #CogPsyc #AcademicSky #womeninstem #HigherEd #GoBlue futureoflearning.umich.edu/stories-and-...

Michigan helped reignite the career of cancer survivor Suzanne Perkins @20thofmay.bsky.social, whose research stems from the insight that education plays a key role in recovery for children at risk. Now she's crafting the future of learning: myumi.ch/9pWk3 #LifeChangingEducation #LookToMichigan

Today!! @adriennewood.bsky.social joins the RCGD @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar series with insights on how we explore social relationships: buff.ly/eSVuAL4

@adriennewood.bsky.social: Successful social exploration hinges not just on who we meet, but how we perceive them: perceived similarity, more than actual similarity, predicts outcomes like belonging and even shared laughter. Hear more at the next RCGD @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar! buff.ly/eSVuAL4

Tatum Jolink presents "Dating and Relationships from a Challenge and Threat Perspective" at today's @rcgd-isr.bsky.social RCGD seminar on the Science of Social Relationships. Join us! buff.ly/eSVuAL4

This methodology is an exemplar of the innovative field research for which the Research Center for Group Dynamics is famous, but the streetscapes fashion panache is all @ncamp.bsky.social. 👏🚦🛣️🎃🚗

Submissions are open for @psychscience.bsky.social APS 2026 meeting in Barcelona. #APS26BCN Please watch the video to hear about all the new and exciting programming that will be available for the first Annual Convention to be in an international location!!

The way fathers engage in parenting has been changing worldwide; a special issue of Parenting this month is devoted to fathering behaviors (not just involvement) and father-child relationships. Mark Bornstein and Brenda Volling co-edit: www.tandfonline.com/journals/hpa...

🤡 Thank you to @msapple70.bsky.social for presenting at the RCGD series on the science of social relationships-- arguing that attending to caregiving goals and strategies can help us better understand parenting behavior.

Older adults living alone are at especially high risk of experiencing social isolation. Does Facebook communication serve as a protective resource? Kristine Ajrouch presents work with Jess Francis-Levin at the upcoming #GSA2025. @um-src.bsky.social

TeKisha Rice Wallace presents at the @rcgd-isr.bsky.social seminar series TODAY -- on racism-related stress and Black Americans' romantic relationships. Join us! buff.ly/eSVuAL4

A @us.theconversation.com piece on "Rethinking Polygamy" puts Beverly Strassmann's study of the Dogon of Mali in the news this week; her research found higher risks of death and slower growth for children in polygynous families compared to monogamous ones. nz.news.yahoo.com/rethinking-p...

👀 With this brief visual overview, take a look at the recently completed ANCHRR project that will continue to serve as a model for decolonizing research-- centering Indigenous leadership and shifting the narrative in youth suicide prevention from risk to resilience. 💓 myumi.ch/y1PkW

Don't miss TeKisha Rice Wallace, joining the next RCGD Seminar to present on racism-related stress and Black Americans' romantic relationships. The lecture series runs Mondays at 3:30 at ISR.

Really looking forward to this discussion with the incredible folks at @rcgd-isr.bsky.social next week!!

Researchers from Annenberg's @falklab.bsky.social have found that smokers report higher levels of craving and smoked more cigarettes on days when their exposure to tobacco retail is higher:

@msapple70.bsky.social joins the RCGD seminar series on the Science of Social Relationships *today* to talk about how considering goals and caregiving contexts can enrich the field of parenting research. Join us! buff.ly/92KtRNS

Missed Dr. Sara Konrath’s seminar on the science of sustainable giving? Catch the recording on our YouTube! Learn how empathy and generosity improve well-being—and how to give meaningfully without burnout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM6VHXkdzBY #Empathy #Wellbeing #Generosity #MentalHealth