Peer Effects

Assistant Professor Brian Rubineau and research colleagues have received a grant from Cornell’s Institute for the Social Sciences to examine how a social system shapes the individual and vice versa.

The $8,157 award will fund the first year of a four-year project surveying students at 14 university campuses.

A pilot one-semester study has yielded insights into peer effects on voting behavior, career plans and health outcomes.

David Lazer of Northeastern University and Michael Neblo of Ohio State University are working with Rubineau, a member of ILR's Department of Organizational Behavior, on "The Co-evolution of Individuals and Their Social Setting: A Multi-site Longitudinal Study."

The study’s abstract can be seen at http://www.socialsciences.cornell.edu/grants/awards2010.html#Rubineau.