Dolores Albarracín is the 28th Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor and the Alexandra Heyman Nash University Professor, with joint appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. She also leads the Social Action Lab. Albarracín is an expert in social and clinical psychology and can provide insight on how the anti-vaccination movement and the spread of misinformation on social media are affecting the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, Albarracín was a professor of psychology, business and medicine at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her work has focused on COVID-19, substance use, HIV/AIDS and vaccines. Recent publications include her latest book, Action and Inaction in a Social World: Predicting and Changing Attitudes and Behavior; a study on the ways anti-vaccination social media posts influence vaccine behavior; and her April 2020 research finding that Americans who consume conservative media are more likely to believe conspiracy theories about the coronavirus.

Albarracín served as the editor in chief of Psychological Bulletin from 2014 to 2020. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1997, and was a tenured professor at the University of Florida.

Pronouns: She/her

Expertise: Social and clinical psychology, behavior and attitudes, communication, misinformation and public health

Location: Philadelphia, Pa.

Email: dalba@upenn.edu 

Twitter: @dalbarra

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