ABOUT US

Scientific Advisors

James Jaccard , Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor

State University of New York at Albany

James Jaccard, Ph.D., serves as a distinguished Professor at the University of New York at Albany.  He has conducted research on applications of theoretical psychology to the alleviation of social problems in the United States.  Dr. Jaccard has studied fundamental processes underlying how people make decisions and how their attitudes and knowledge influence their decision-making behavior. He has applied basic persuasion theory to the design of social interventions.  One research program is aimed at the influencing adolescent behavior and preventing pregnancy by increasing communication between parents and adolescents. Dr. Jaccard has conducted studies that show that parents can have a major impact on their teens’ behavior.  He is developing education programs to help parents communicate better with their teens’ about the important problems they face as they make the transition to adulthood.  Current research interests include developing an add-on component for school-based health programs; examining social/developmental models of binge drinking behavior; and parent-based interventions for reducing binge drinking.