August 10, 2019

College Students, Social Media and Drinking

Many college students use social media. Research shows that students who often post comments and photos about drinking may be at greater risk for alcohol abuse. Then, a behavioral expert says gender equality at work is good for business, and shares quick, low cost ways that companies can use to reduce bias and boost performance.

Episode Segments:

Social Media and Alcohol Abuse Charee Thompson, PhD, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Ohio University was the co-author of a study of college students, drinking and social media. She discovered that having an "alcohol identity" puts college students at greater risk of having drinking problems. Her study also found that posting about alcohol use on social media sites is actually a stronger predictor of alcohol problems than having a drink. She discussed possible strategies to reduce alcohol abuse on college campuses.
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Gender Equality By Design Iris Bohnet, PhD is Professor of Public Policy , Behavioral Economist at Harvard University, Director of the Women and Public Policy Program, Co-Chair of the Behavioral Insights Group at the Kennedy School of Government, and is author of What Works: Gender Equality by Design. Dr. Bohnet discussed gender equality in the workplace and why it’s good business. She explained why diversity training programs have had limited success. She outlined the latest research into quick and often inexpensive ways that companies can address gender bias and improve performance
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Employee Ethics 2. Unethical behaviors by employees can tarnish an organization’s reputation, lead to considerable monetary losses, and even result in legal prosecutions. Matthew J. Quade, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management at the Hankamer School of Business, Baylor University led a study that found that, in many cases, employees will tolerate misdeeds from a coworker who has the reputation of being a high performer. He believes companies need to take a hard look at how they prioritize performance over ethics.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Charee Thompson Dr. Thompson specializes in interpersonal and family communication with a particular focus on challenging and stressful health interactions. She is most curious about the factors surrounding, and the communication within, these episodes. One line of her research draws from information management literature to understand how individuals talk about their health condition(s), and consequently, how this communication is perceived. For example, she is currently working with students on a project about “Crying Wolf” and questionable health conditions. They want to understand what happens when we doubt another’s health condition and the consequences for individuals and relationships. Some of her other research accounts for the social and cultural factors that make health interactions challenging and stressful, including stigma, norms, and cultural (mis)understandings. She has studied health issues related to adolescent and young adult cancer, weight management, mental health, chronic illness, college drinking, transgender health, and adolescent contraception. Her methodological toolbox includes: quantitative methods, primarily survey methods, structural equation (casual) modeling, and longitudinal designs. She also utilizes content, linguistic (LIWC), and thematic analyses. Dr. Thompson’s research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Health Communication, Journal of Family Communication, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Oncology Nursing Forum, Patient Education & Counseling, and Communication Research Reports. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in interpersonal and family communication, health communication, and quantitative methods. She enjoys reading, traveling, and being outdoors with her husband, Josh, and dog, Chloe. Learn More About Dr. Thompson

Iris Bohnet Iris Bohnet, Professor of Public Policy, is a behavioral economist at Harvard Kennedy School, combining insights from economics and psychology to improve decision-making in organizations and society, often with a gender or cross-cultural perspective. She is the author of What Works: Gender Equality by Design, published by Harvard University Press in 2016. Her most recent research examines behavioral design to de-bias how we live, learn and work. Professor Bohnet served as the academic dean of the Kennedy School, is the director of its research center, the Women and Public Policy Program, the co-chair (with Max Bazerman) of the Behavioral Insights Group, an associate director of the Harvard Decision Science Laboratory, and the faculty chair of the executive program “Global Leadership and Public Policy for the 21st Century” for the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders. She serves on the boards of directors of Credit Suisse Group and University of Lucerne, as well as the advisory boards of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, EDGE and Applied, as well as numerous academic journals. She is a member of the Global Agenda Council on Behavior of the World Economic Forum. Learn More about Dr. Bohnet