APS Global Collaboration on COVID-19
The APS Global Collaboration on COVID-19 convenes psychological scientists and other behavioral science experts to assess how our field has contributed to combating the COVID-19 pandemic and identify gaps in our understanding that should be addressed through new research.
For this collaboration, APS is establishing working groups focusing on different areas of psychological science and how they pertain to COVID-19. These groups will be comprised of leading experts in the field who will make recommendations to the science community, policymakers, and/or the public.
The overarching questions each group will tackle are:
- How has psychological science been used to inform solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How could psychological science research have been better integrated into the COVID-19 response, and how could it be better used to address future public health challenges?
- What scientific knowledge gaps must be addressed through new research?
Throughout 2021 and 2022, there will be opportunities for APS Members to participate in this collaborative effort and follow along.
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Mental Health in a Global Pandemic: Lessons Learned From Psychological Science
Nearly 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic, an emerging body of literature is revealing the pandemic’s mental health impact on children, adolescents, and adults, including those who had previously been diagnosed with a mental illness.
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APS Urges Psychological Science Expertise in New U.S. Pandemic Task Force
APS has responded to urge that psychological science expertise be included in the group’s personnel and activities.
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APS COVID-19 Collaboration Offers Recommendations to White House on Community Mental Health
Experts from the APS Global Collaboration on COVID-19 have responded to a call for input on digital health from the White House.
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Psychology Meets Biology in COVID-19: Past, Present, and the Road to Recovery
Psychological scientists have long known that psychological and social factors can affect our responses to viral infections and vaccinations, but that critical connection seems to have eluded many of the public health officials and others charged with leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its early days.
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COVID-19 and Today’s Workplace APS Preconference
The workplace, the workers, and the work today has changed and been reframed dramatically during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This interdisciplinary program of speakers covers big data analyses, research methodologies, individual differences, and group inequities
Throughout the collaboration, the below working groups will evolve and more will form depending on APS Member availability and interest. Please stay tuned to this page for updates to working group topics and membership.
Working Group on Mental Health and COVID-19
This group will focus on the intersection of human development, COVID-19, and mental health. The group will examine how COVID-19 has affected mental health of children, adolescents, and younger and older adults, including those who were diagnosed with a mental illness before the pandemic started, among other topics.
- Leader: Allison Harvey – University of California, Berkeley, USA
- Martin Antony – Ryerson University, Canada
- Christopher Beam – University of Southern California, USA
- Iris Engelhard – Utrecht University, Netherlands
- June Gruber – University of Colorado Boulder, USA
- Derek Novacek – University of California, Los Angeles, USA
- Guangyu Zhou – Peking University, China
Working Group on Fundamental Memory Science and COVID-19
This group will examine the interplay between fundamental memory science and public health, especially as they pertain to COVID-19—for instance, how can our knowledge of how human memory functions help the practice of contact tracing?
- Leader: Maryanne Garry – University of Waikato, New Zealand
- Lorraine Hope – University of Portsmouth, UK
- Anne Scharling Rasmussen – Aarhus University, Denmark
- Linda Levine – University of California Irvine, USA
- Suparna Rajaram – Stony Brook University, USA
- Jennifer Talarico – Lafayette College, USA
Working Group on Work and COVID-19
This group will investigate the effects of new work realities pertaining to COVID-19, such as how different types of work and workers may be differentially affected by COVID-19, what we have learned about productivity, and how uncertainty and anxiety has influenced workers and employers.
- Leader: Adrienne Carter-Sowell – University of Oklahoma, USA
- Toni Schmader – University of British Columbia, Canada
- Katharina Block – University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Gabe H. Miller – Mississippi State University, USA
- Ashley Whillans – Harvard Business School, USA
Working Group on the Biology and Psychology of COVID-19
This group will explore the biology and psychology of infection and how these systems interact. Topics may include the short and long-term psychological effects of infection and what we’ve learned about brain biology from treating COVID-19 patients.
- Leader: Kavita Vedhara – University of Nottingham, UK
- Anna Marsland – University of Pittsburgh, USA
- Sarah Pressman – University of California, Irvine, USA
Working Group on Misinformation and Disinformation
This group will assess misinformation and disinformation as they relate to COVID-19, for instance, why people believe misinformation; the behavioral processes behind belief; and what factors influence susceptibility to misinformation.
- Leader: Norbert Schwarz – University of Southern California, USA
- Dolores Albarracín – University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
- Jay Van Bavel – New York University, USA
- Karen Douglas – University of Kent, UK
Working Group on Education and COVID-19
This group focuses on how psychological science can inform the intersection of education and COVID-19. The group will examine how COVID has affected education and learning as well as the interplay between COVID and college admissions processes.
- Leader: Jonathan Wai – University of Arkansas, USA
- Kathryn Asbury – The University of York, UK
- Drew H. Bailey – University of California, Irvine, USA
- Joni M. Lakin – University of Alabama, USA
- Fred Oswald – Rice University, USA
- Heiner Rindermann – Chemnitz University of Technology, Germany
- Frank C. Worrell – University of California, Berkeley, USA
Read more APS resources on COVID-19 by clicking here.
Questions about the APS Global Collaboration on COVID-19? Please email aps@psychologicalscience.org.
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Dispatches from Social and Behavioral Scientists on COVID
Watch this series of short videos from SAGE Publishing on how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic impacted how social and behavioral scientists view and conduct research.
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Research Briefs
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Psychology Meets Biology in COVID-19: Past, Present, and the Road to Recovery
Psychological scientists have long known that psychological and social factors can affect our responses to viral infections and vaccinations, but that critical connection seems to have eluded many of the public health officials and others charged with leading the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic in its early days.
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Vaccinating Against Bunk: Curbing Viral Misinformation
Online games and nudges aim to curb viral misinformation around vaccines and more.
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Disinformation: Misinformation’s Evil Twin
Through a variety of efforts—including the APS COVID-19 global initiative and a new white paper for policymakers, the scientific community, the media, and the public—APS and its members are researching and combating misinformation.