Event

This two-day interdisciplinary symposium — co-hosted by the Cornell Center for Integrative Developmental Science and Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research — will highlight advances in the fields of developmental science and well-being, along with their applications to illuminating new research initiatives promoting positive health and flourishing, with a particular focus on underrepresented populations, including ethnic and racial minority youth, LGBTQ communities, and older adults.

Speakers will present on our current understanding of human flourishing and the methods used in its investigation; address salient promotive and protective mechanisms; and consider promising scientific agendas at the intersection of race, ethnicity, culture, sexual minority status, well-being, and lifespan development that are currently creating significant interdisciplinary breakthroughs and which over the next several years is likely to yield major advances.

Organizers:

Anthony Ong, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology, Cornell University

Anthony Burrow, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology, BCTR director, Cornell University

Here is the two-day schedule of Zoom events, each day starting at 1 p.m. EDT:

Wed., Apr. 20 Flourishing in Context: Sociocultural Considerations

1:00 – 1:15 p.m.
Welcoming                  Anthony Ong and Anthony Burrow
Opening Remarks       Rachel Dunifon, Dean, Cornell College of Human Ecology

1:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Robert Sellers, Ph.D.
Vice provost for equity and inclusion, chief diversity officer, and the Charles D. Moody Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Education
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

The Role of Race in the Psychological Lives of African American Adolescents
Dr. Sellers’ research focuses on the role of race in the psychological lives of African Americans. He and his students have developed a conceptual and empirical model of African American racial identity. The model has been used by a number of researchers in the field to understand the heterogeneity in the significance and meaning that African Americans place on race in defining themselves. He has also published extensively on the topics of racial socialization and discrimination among African American youth. He has received numerous honors and awards including the Theodore Millon Mid-Career Award in Personality Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation, the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program Research Achievement Award, and the APAGS Kenneth & Mamie Clark Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Professional Development of Ethnic Minority Graduate Students.

1:45 – 2:15 p.m.
Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D.
Professor of psychology, Stephanie Johnson Rowley Collegiate Professor of Education
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Building Them Up: Racial and Ethnic Socialization and Flourishing among Racially Minorized Youth
Dr. Rivas-Drake’s work examines how school, peer, family, and communities can help adolescents navigate issues related to race and ethnicity, and how identity, socialization, and experiences of racism inform the academic, socioemotional, and civic development of young people. Her current work seeks to identify practices that disrupt racism and xenophobia and that set diverse young people on trajectories of positive contribution to their schools and communities. Her research has been funded by NSF, the Spencer Foundation, and the W.T. Grant Foundation. Her co-authored book, “Below the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity” (Princeton University Press), received the Social Policy Book Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence and the Eleanor Maccoby Award in Developmental Psychology from the American Psychological Association.

2:15 – 2:45 p.m.
Carol D.  Ryff, Ph.D.
Hilldale Professor of Psychology and director of Institute of Aging
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Realization of Personal Potential in Diverse Contexts: Contributions from MIDUS and Future Directions
Dr. Ryff’s work addresses aging as a multidisciplinary challenge that requires integration of many levels of analysis: sociodemographic characteristics, psychosocial resources, life stresses, health behaviors and practices, neurobiological risk and protective factors, and health outcomes (mental and physical). She is principal investigator of the MIDUS (Midlife in the U.S.) longitudinal study and its sister study in Japan, MIDJA (Midlife in Japan), for which she received an NIH Merit Award. Her model of psychological well-being is widely used with the measures translated to 40 languages. Her contributions have been recognized with the Baltes Distinguished Research Award, the Positive Health Award from the International Network of Positive Psychology, the Murray Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Network for Personal Meaning, and the Matilda White Riley Award from the National Institute on Aging.

2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Jeanne Tsai, Ph.D.
Professor of psychology
Stanford University

Cultural Variation in Ideal Affect: Implications for Well-Being and Flourishing in Across the Life Span
Dr. Tsai’s research is broadly focused on the cultural shaping of emotion and its implications for health, decision-making, and personal perception. Her work is currently funded by the National Science Foundation and has been funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Aging, and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression. She is former associate editor of the journal Emotion, and current fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and Society for Experimental Social Psychology.

3:15 – 3:30 p.m.
BREAK

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Panel discussion — Co-Moderators: Anthony Ong and Anthony Burrow

—————–

Thur., Apr. 21 Resilience and Flourishing Amid Adversity

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.
Suniya Luthar, Ph.D.
Professor emerita, Teachers College
Columbia University

Human Flourishing Across Diverse Contexts: Promoting Resilience Among Caregiving Adults
Dr. Luthar has spent her career studying vulnerability and resilience among various populations including children in families affected by mental illness, and youth as well as adults (especially mothers) in high-achieving, pressured communities. Her current focus is on expanding the reach of science-based interventions to foster resilience among adults who are in slient caregiving roles, both at home as well as in their work settings. She is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Fellow of the American Association for Psychological Science and the American Psychological Association. Among her many awards include a Research Scientist Development Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an American Mensa Education and Research Foundation Award for Excellence in Research on Intelligence,  and an award for Integrity and Mentorship from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD)’s Asian Caucus, and the Society for Research on Adolescents’ John P. Hill Memorial Award.

1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Kate McLean, Ph.D.
Professor of psychology
Western Washington University

Why we Need a Structural Approach to Understanding Identity Development
Dr. McLean’s research centers on adolescent and emerging adult identity development. This work broadly focuses on how people recall and interpret their life experiences in narrative form. She is an associate editor for the journal Personality and Social Psychology: PPID, and on the editorial board for Emerging Adulthood and Qualitative Psychology. She is the author of “The Co-authored Self” (Oxford Press).

2:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Daniel G. Solórzano, Ph.D.
Professor of social science and comparative education, Professor of Chicana and Chicano Studies, and Director of UC/ACCORD
University of California, Los Angeles

Racial Microaffirmations as a Response to Everyday Racism in Academic and Social Spaces
Dr. Solórzano’s research interests include critical race theory in education, racial microaggressions, racial microaffirmations, and critical race spatial analysis. Dr. Solorzano has authored more than 100 research articles and book chapters on issues related to educational access and equity for underrepresented student populations and communities in the United States. Among his many awards include the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award, the American Education Research Association (AERA) Social Justice in Education Award, and the Critical Race Studies in Education Association Derrick A. Bell Legacy Award. He is an elected fellow of the American Education Research Association and a member of the National Academy of Education.

2:30 – 3:00 p.m.
Paul Poteat, Ph.D.
Professor of counseling, developmental, and educational psychology
Boston College

Resilience and Flourishing Among LGBTQ+ Youth: Schools as a Promotive Context
Dr. Poteat’s research focuses on the school-based experiences of sexual and gender minority youth (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth). His research on gender-sexuality alliances has identified individual- and group-level mechanisms by which these school-based extracurricular groups promote empowerment and resilience among youth from diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. His work also examines bias-based harassment (e.g., based on sexual orientation or gender identity) using an ecological framework to consider individual and peer factors that contribute to such behavior or that buffer against its effects. His work has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). He has served as associate editor for the Journal of Research on Adolescence, American Educational Research Journal, and The Counseling Psychologist.

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.
BREAK

3:15 – 4:15 p.m.
Panel discussion — Co-Moderators: Anthony Ong and Anthony Burrow

4:15 – 4:30 p.m.
Closing remarks — Anthony Ong and Anthony Burrow