New & Noteworthy

How Partisan Moral Flexibility Shapes Beliefs in American Politics by Anastasia Dulle writes about research by Minjae Kim and colleagues who examined how Americans evaluate truth in political statements in their study in the American Journal of Sociology. Using online surveys, the researchers found that voters across the political spectrum often support factually false statements from politicians of their own party, even after being informed of their inaccuracy.

How the American Rescue Plan Transformed Child Poverty in the U.S. by Leo LaBarre covers research by  Zachary Parolin and Stefano Filauro in Demography lookings at the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which temporarily increased economic support for families. They found that the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) decreased from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, making the child poverty rate the lowest ever recorded in US history. 

From the Archives

Attacks on Sociology in Higher Education continue in the United States and across the globe. Check out ‘Sociological Gobbledygook’ and Public Distrust of Social Science Experts by Isabel Arriagada writes about the current public distrust of social science, rooted in perceptions of intellectual elitism and hidden biases, challenges researchers to bridge gaps by engaging more visibly in the public sphere to rebuild credibility and trust.

Backstage with TSP

TSP board member Leo LaBarre has graduated (see above pic)! Congratulations Leo – we will miss you!

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• parenting gender, from left to right by Elena G. Van Stee highlights Mallory Rees and Abigail Saguy‘s study, revealing surprising points of agreement, including shared beliefs in gender as an innate attribute and evolving perspectives on children’s gender expression.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Highlights from the 2024 CCF Workshop include the low-down of CCF’s “Families in Perilous Times: A Policy and Public Scholarship Workshop” from October in Baltimore. Check out the recordings here.

First Publics

• Embracing AI in the Sociological Classroom by JoAnna Boudreaux and Kendra Murphy call for instructors in Sociology to lean into the use of generative AI in the classroom – but thoughtfully and intentionally.