Spring 2020 Innovation Fund Recipients
Mapping Linguistic Traces of Attitudes and Beliefs: Examinations Across Human Development and History
This project addresses the fundamental question of whether, and how, our attitudes and beliefs about social groups change across history and across stages of human development, from childhood to adulthood; this research provides a novel perspective on these questions by integrating methodological advances from computer science and natural language processing (NLP) with theoretical frameworks from psychology. Social stereotypes based on group memberships (e.g., race, gender) exert far-reaching adverse impacts on social justice and equality, ranging from gender gaps in academic achievement and persistence to racial disparities in police use of lethal force. It is therefore crucial to understand what inputs (e.g., peers, parents, or media) are most consequential in the emergence of such stereotypes early in life, as well as what events or experiences are most consequential in changing such stereotypes across history.
Life Goes On After Dropout: Examining the Early Life Outcomes of Those with Some College, No Degree
This project examines the early life outcomes, both social and economic, of those who exit bachelor’s degree (BA)-granting educational programs without a degree. It particularly analyzes heterogeneity of experiences by race, income, and gender among those with “some BA-granting college” and in comparison to those who never have entered a BA-granting college, emphasizing outcomes pertaining to the labor market, family formation, and community participation. In taking the category of “some BA-granting college” as its focus, this project reframes conversations surrounding “college dropouts” to foreground the potential benefits of BA-granting college attendance—even without degree completion—for groups traditionally underrepresented in higher education.