LAUSR

“Culture affects everything, from our nation to our neurons,” says Michele J. Gelfand, the John H. Scully professor in cross-cultural management and a professor of organizational behavior and psychology at Stanford University. Forging multicultural and multidisciplinary collaborations, she has advanced the scientific study of culture. Her work often addresses societal questions, ranging from negotiations and diversity to conflict, terrorism, and pandemics. Gelfand’s Inaugural Article (1), following her election as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021, reports the development of a computationally derived threat dictionary. The linguistic tool not only permits empirical examination of past threat effects, but also offers predictive insights into societal responses to masscommunicated threats, whether real or manipulated.