Senior Behavioural and Social Scientist

Carra S. Sims is a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation working primarily in Project AIR FORCE and Arroyo Center on U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army manpower and wellness. Her current and past research includes investigating the effects of workplace stressors (including military deployment, discrimination, and sexual harassment) on job attitudes and performance; assessing quality of life issues faced by wounded warriors, military families, and caregivers; evaluating employee selection systems, including the use of the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test in the Air Force officer selection system; exploring the effects of organizational climate and culture on job attitudes and behaviors, and how best to change organizational climate and culture; and determining the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for success in various military and civilian jobs. Prior to joining RAND, Sims examined issues of climate, stress, and morale for the Army Trends Analysis Research Unit at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. She has published several RAND reports and her work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology, among other venues. She received her Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.