Topics of inquiry
Using the methodological tools of social psychology, organizational behavior and related disciplines, the VTRI seeks to answer a range of questions related to the veteran transition experience. These include (but are not limited to):
- What are the stereotypes people hold of veterans and how can organizations, researchers, and the military itself best understand these stereotypes, reduce their use and impact, and bridge the military – citizen divide?
- What common factors influence veterans’ feeling of belongingness and fit in civilian organizations – corporations, universities and government?
- What type of interventions can increase veterans’ retention and successful contribution at organizations and in upper management?
- How can organizations more effectively communicate to veterans that their organizations are sincere in valuing their contributions?
- What are the unique challenges for African American veterans, Latinx veterans, female veterans, and partners or spouses of veterans?
- What are the conditions that lead to underemployment and interventions to head this off?
- What are the impacts of spouse employment stability in veteran job hunt success?
- What are the impacts of underemployment outcomes on self-esteem and confidence?
- How do common first encounters – phone screen, job fair, mentoring, preparedness via transition programs – affect underemployment, confidence and resilience in job seeking?
Recent scientific publications (published, in press and under review):
Shepherd, S., Sherman, D. K., MacLair, A., & Kay, A. C. (in press). The challenges of military veterans in their transition to the workplace: A call for integrating basic and applied psychological science. Perspectives on Psychological Science. See the article here (coming soon).
Shepherd, S., Kay, A. C., & Gray, K. (2019). Military veterans are morally typecast as agentic but unfeeling: Implications for veteran employment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 153, 75-88. See the article here