Research Center for Group Dynamics launching new initiative
October 29, 2026
When the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD) was founded at MIT in 1945, its core mission was to ensure that technology advanced in ways that informed and accounted for human dynamics and interests. In the age of artificial intelligence, that mission is as important today as it was in…
Whatcha lookin’ at? Social anxiety heightens brain sensitivity to others’ gaze
October 15, 2026
Ever catch someone looking your way and wonder what they’re thinking? For people with social anxiety, that moment may trigger a heightened response in the brain, even though it does not improve their later judgments about what the gaze means.A new University of Michigan study found that young...
Your chances of Alzheimer’s disease vary based on where you live. Why is that?
October 13, 2026
Federally funded University of Michigan research will search for answers—and prevention possibilities—in data from 20 countriesWhat’s the study: A research team led by the University of Michigan School of Public Health will combine and standardize memory and thinking test data...
ISR heads discussion on risks of AI to social surveys
September 29, 2026
ANN ARBOR — Representatives from the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research (ISR), the NORC Center on AI & Data Quality, and leaders of both federally funded studies and their funding agencies convened recently for a daylong forum on threats to survey research from...
Insights talk investigates data gleaned from police body camera footage
September 28, 2026
ANN ARBOR — In the not-too-distant past, police use of body cameras was a rarity. Now, it’s practically ubiquitous; the technology has spread fast and far, giving police and those that monitor them an important tool for evaluating police conduct.But more than providing evidence for or...
Abuse and disability trap: 90% of incarcerated Michigan youth suffered prior abuse
September 28, 2026
ANN ARBOR—Nearly every incarcerated male youth in a new University of Michigan study experienced some form of prior physical abuse.Nine in 10 were exposed to at least mild physical abuse, one-third suffered severe prior sexual abuse, and two-thirds reported adverse childhood experiences,...
New Approaches, New Understanding: U-M Researchers Rethink How We Prevent Suicide
September 17, 2026
September marks Suicide Prevention Awareness Month; University of Michigan researchers are using new methods that go beyond the numbers to shape understanding and prevention.Every September, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month asks Americans to talk more openly about a leading cause of death that...
What ‘praising addiction’ looks like
September 16, 2026
EXPERT Q&A ANN ARBOR—What if, instead of shaming people for their addictions, we embraced the idea that we are all addicts? That’s the question Elizabeth Roberts, medical ethnographer at the University of Michigan, asked after spending years living in working class neighborhoods in...
RCGD Celebrates Rich Gonzalez’s Legacy of Leadership
September 16, 2026
This week, the Research Center for Group Dynamics (RCGD) gathered for its inaugural monthly community lunch with a special event to recognize Rich Gonzalez’s remarkable 11-year tenure leading the center. Incoming director Shinobu Kitayama opened the gathering honoring RCGD’s storied...
U-M piano students fight stage fright with VR
September 3, 2026
ANN ARBOR—As you walk onto the stage to perform a piano solo, you hear the echo of your shoes on the stage floor. You shield your eyes from the bright lights and take your seat at the grand piano. Your nerves spike as the buzz of the audience falls to a…
