Andrew M. Parker is a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation, a member of the Pardee RAND Graduate School faculty, and former (and founding) codirector of the Center for Decision Making Under Uncertainty. His research applies core concepts in behavioral decision research to the understanding of decisions in complex, real-world situations. He has led or contributed to RAND projects on decision quality, risk perception, and individual differences, involving such content domains as health and financial behavior, aging, emergency preparedness and community resilience, climate change, and psychological health. Past projects have addressed low-income consumption decisions, adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior, retirement planning, drug and alcohol use, expectations for major life events, and public responses to risk information. Parker was principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project validating an adult measure of decisionmaking competence, which has been used to predict major life outcomes. He currently co-leads a National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases-funded project examining how influenza risk perceptions propogate across social networks and influence vaccination decisions. He received a B.A. in psychology and statistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; an M.S. in statistics and an M.S. behavioral decision theory, both from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Ph.D. in behavioral decision theory, also from Carnegie Mellon.
Selected Publications
Schlesinger, M., Grob, R., Shaller, D., Martino, S.C., Parker, A.M., Finucane, M.L., Cerully, J.L., & Rybowski, L., "Taking patients’ narratives about clinicians from anecdote to science," New England Journal of Medicine, 373(7), 2015
Hudomiet, P., Parker, A.M., & Rohwedder, S., "Cognitive ability, personality, and pathways to retirement: An exploratory study," Work, Aging, and Retirement, 4, 2018
Parker, A.M., Bruine de Bruin, W., Fischhoff, B., & Weller, J.A., "Robustness of Decision-Making Competence: Evidence from two measures and an 11-year longitudinal study," Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 31, 2018
Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A.M., Galesic, M., & Vardavas, R., "Reports of social circles’ and own vaccination behavior: A national longitudinal survey," Health Psychology, 39(11), 2019
Parker, A.M., Finucane, M.L., Ayer, L., Ramchand, R., Parks, V.A., & Clancy, N., "Persistent risk-related worry as a function of recalled exposure to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and prior trauma," Risk Analysis, 40(3), 2020
Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A.M., & Strough, J., " Age differences in reported social networks and well-being," Psychology and Aging, 35(2), 2020
Bruine de Bruin, W., Parker, A.M., & Fischhoff, B., "Decision-making competence: More than intelligence?" Current Directions in Psychological Science, 2020 (forthcoming)
Parker, A.M., Edelman, A.F., Carman, K.G., & Finucane, M.L., "On the need for prospective disaster survey panels," Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2020 (forthcoming)
