Finding friendship at first whiff

Two women meeting for the first time can judge within minutes whether they have potential to be friends – guided as much by smell as any other sense, according to new Cornell psychology research.

Celebrated bonobo Kanzi honored in workshop

Kanzi's legacy and the relation between great apes and language will be explored in a Humanities Lab Workshop on April 19.

Engaged Opportunity Grants fuel community-engaged learning for students

Seven projects are receiving a boost from the latest round of Engaged Opportunity Grants, awarded two times a year by the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement to teams of faculty or staff and their community partners.

Cornell Center for Social Sciences names 2025-26 Faculty Fellows

12 faculty members from seven colleges have been named 2025-26 Faculty Fellows with the Cornell Center for Social Sciences.

Students gain decision-making insight from alumna Cheryl Einhorn

“If you’re outside of your comfort zone, then you’re on the right track."

Power of babble: Babies elicit simpler speech from adults

Across languages and cultures, parents simplify their speech in response to babies’ babbling and early speech, supporting language development, new Cornell research finds.

Short and sweet: Supportive texts give partners a boost

Supportive texts from a significant other can help people cope with stressful events in their daily lives, Cornell psychology research finds.

Folk icon Peter Yarrow ’59, of Peter, Paul and Mary, dies at 86

Musician Peter Yarrow ’59, who drew early inspiration from his time at Cornell before joining the legendary folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died Jan. 7 in Manhattan.

‘Politics, not policy’: Meta ending fact-check program

Psychology professor Gordon Pennycook, a misinformation expert, says he supports using crowdsourced fact-checking, "but removing third-party (professional) fact-checking strikes me as a major mistake.”

We mimic each other, like it or not

Mimicry appears to be a fundamental behavior that helps people understand each other, not just when they get along, new Cornell psychology research finds.

PRYDE Scholars spend summer helping celebrate 4-H’er contributions to communities

Two Human Development majors from the Department of Psychology coordinated a virtual showcase celebration to acknowledge and celebrate state 4-H youth and the contributions they have made to their communities.

Bringing visibility to Indigenous children in development science

Prof. Adam Hoffman spearheaded creation of a special section aimed at highlighting the psychological and developmental experiences of Indigenous children in the November 2024 issue of Child Development, the field’s leading journal.

Could ‘inoculation’ limit election misinformation?

A popular strategy for combating misinformation can help people distinguish truth from falsehood – when combined with reminders to focus on accuracy, Cornell-led research finds.

‘Birding buddies’ build social and science communication skills

Cornell students and high school students with disabilities or communication challenges met for 12 weeks to explore birds and build communications skills.

Empowering online communities with NSF grant

Nori Jacoby, assistant professor of psychology, has been awarded an NSF fellowship for a project to develop algorithms to more effectively harness the intelligence of crowds by improving the quality of collective evaluations

AI succeeds in combatting conspiracy theories

Conversations with large language models can effectively reduce individuals’ belief in conspiracy theories, a finding that offers new insights into the psychological mechanisms behind the phenomenon as well as potential tools to fight conspiracies’ spread.

New Faculty: Nora H. Prior

Nora H. Prior, Psychology

New Faculty: Nori Jacoby

Nori Jacoby, Psychology

From portfolios to pizza, fall A&S career events explore diverse fields

"Cornell alumni are generous with their time and efforts to assist students, to answer questions from students, or connect them to people and places."

New A&S dean relishes ‘life in a university’

Peter John Loewen says he's excited to support faculty in their research, meet students and showcase the value of a liberal arts education.

Timely responses – even from a car – drive babies’ learning

The timing of others’ reactions to their babbling is key to how babies begin learning, Cornell developmental psychologists found – with help from a remote-controlled car.

Moral psychology summer institute hosted at Cornell

Directed by College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) faculty in psychology and philosophy, the NEH-funded institute featured presentations from many leading figures in moral psychology, which studies human thought and behavior in ethical contexts

Nexus Scholars study climate change inequality and infant language learning

The program provides undergraduates with summer opportunities to conduct research with and be mentored by faculty from across the college.

Cornell expert on SCOTUS ruling in social media dispute

The Supreme Court has sided with the Biden administration over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts; associate professor of psychology Gordon Pennycook, who studies misinformation, comments.

Peter Loewen named dean of Arts and Sciences

Coming from the University of Toronto, where he was the director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Loewen began his five-year appointment as the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Aug. 1.

'I am grateful that my A&S education has taught me to be a contributing member of society with an open mind and room for learning new things.'

Wynne Williams-Ceci is a psychology and College Scholar major.

'I dream of investigating virtual reality and making an impact on the world'

Zixin Xu is a Computer Science & Psychology major.

'My research made me realize how fascinating psychology is'

Feifei (Lily) Ren is a psychology major.

'I'm a researcher in Cornell's Play and Learning Lab'

Fátima D. Martínez is a psychology major.

'I felt more empowered as a student and a woman'

Anya English is a Psychology major.

Newest EEG lab empowers faculty from multiple disciplines

Cornell University's newest interdisciplinary EEG Lab could help faculty make breakthroughs in fields ranging from psychology to neurology to artificial intelligence.

Lauren Korfine Honored with Carpenter Advising Award

Senior Lecturer Lauren Korfine was one of four Cornell faculty presented with a 2024 Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Advising Award.

'I learned how research can be applied to settings outside the lab'

Mara Xiong is a psychology major.

Talking with a friend can ease the sting of being left out

Small, simple forms of social connection can lessen the negative feelings and thoughts that come with being excluded, according to Cornell psychology researchers.

Musical alumnus: Pivoting to a new career was worth the wait

Paul Jensen ’85 had a successful career in public relations, but when he left his job at a big agency four years ago, he was longing to get back to something he loved and missed: his music.

Harrison speaks about benefits of charting your own path

Robert S. Harrison '76 talked about his interdisciplinary studies as a College Scholar of social psychology and government.

Persistent questioning of knowledge takes a toll

A new study highlights how demoralizing it can be for a person to work in a climate of repetitive skepticism and doubt.

Accuracy ‘nudges’ decrease misinformation-sharing on left, right

A collaboration between two research teams with opposing views found that, despite claims to the contrary, simply reminding people about the concept of accuracy improves the quality of information-sharing on both sides of the political aisle.

Racing toward her second Olympics, Taylor Knibb ’20 preps for Paris

The Arts & Sciences alum (psychology) and Big Red four-sport standout is set to compete in the women’s triathlon for Team USA.

Admitted Class of 2028 personifies Cornell’s founding principles

The 5,139 admitted students will bring with them a variety of lived experiences that will enrich the vitality and innovation of Cornell’s intellectual community.

Summer Experience Grant applications now open

The grants provide funding for students in unpaid or low-paying summer experiences to offset the cost of taking on those positions.

Eight students advance to 3MT finals

Three A&S-affiliated graduate students are among the competitors advancing to the final round of the 2024 Three Minute Thesis competition (3MT), having competed in a pool of 22 students in the preliminary round.

How to create safe spaces with and for Black girls

A study published Feb. 4 in the Journal of Black Psychology, specifically describes how spaces created with and for Black girls can offer them psychological safety and allow them to be their authentic, open and direct selves: by validating their experiences, emotions and self-definition.

For couples, negative speaks louder than positive

People with stronger negative implicit judgments about a partner are more likely to perceive negativity in daily interactions with them, which hurts relationship satisfaction over time, Cornell psychology research finds.

Twelve new Klarman Fellows to pursue innovative, timely research in A&S

This fifth cohort of Klarman Fellows is the largest since the program was launched in 2019.

Mouse social calls and distress calls linked to different neurons

“Vocal communication is central to our experience as humans and fundamental to social success for animals generally,” said Prof. Katherine Tschida.

December A&S graduates share stories of growth

The College hosted a new pre-graduation reception in the Groos Family Atrium of Klarman Hall for December graduates and their families.

Banerjee named Mellon Fellow in diversity network

Banerjee will participate in a two-year academic leadership and governance fellowship.

Brains! Collection is a (slightly spooky) artifact of an earlier era

Now overseen by the psychology department, the vintage cerebra draw many a visitor to the second floor of Uris Hall.

Registration for Winter Session 2024 is now open

Beginning October 16, students can enroll in a wide range of online courses taught by Cornell faculty.