Tamkinat Rauf

Assistant professor of sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison

I’m interested in all sorts of processes that shape human happiness and suffering, ranging from macrosocial and cultural influences to biological differences, and the intervening social psychological, familial, and life course dynamics. Some of my research has examined the effects of life events and exposures, such as unemployment & reemployment, bereavement, income, and changes in the political context. Other work investigates the social processes involved in translating genetic influences on depression, e.g., via selection into adverse events and interpersonal evaluations in social interactions. In recent and ongoing work, I'm studying how social relationships and values shape happiness. 

These interests also extend to curiosity about how people make choices that ultimately impact their individual or collective outcomes, which motivates a second stream of my research on preferences and attitudes. I have studied social network influences on the political attitudes of college students and examined how exposure to information about happiness influences Americans’ attitudes about redistribution. In ongoing work, I have been thinking about the role of emotional memories in the cognitive processes involved in socialization.

I use a variety of quantitative methods and enjoy thinking about ways to improve research practices. I actively engage in opportunities to promote open science (see article on advances in open science practices) and to learn from metascience (see a study about lessons from an audit of 100 social science experiments).

I recieved my PhD in sociology from Stanford University. My dissertation examined the relationship between income and wellbeing. 

Working with me

If you're a current graduate or undergraduate student at UW-Madison, please feel free to email me to ask about opportunities to work with me.