astronomy

Gregory D. Zimet

Gregory D. Zimet is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gregory D. Zimet rather than just read about it. In short: Gregory D. Zimet is an American clinical psychologist and academic researcher known for his work on vaccination attitudes and behavior, particularly regarding human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV), and for co-developing the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS).

Key takeaways

Gregory D. Zimet belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gregory D. Zimet to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gregory D. Zimet from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gregory D. Zimet is an American clinical psychologist and academic researcher known for his work on vaccination attitudes and behavior, particularly regarding human papillomavirus vaccination (HPV), and for co-developing the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). He is professor emeritus of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Indiana University School of Medicine, where he served on the faculty for three decades.

Early life and education Zimet earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Vassar College in 1978. He went on to receive both his Master of Arts (1981) and Doctor of Philosophy (1985) in clinical psychology from Duke University. He completed a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral training at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine from 1984 to 1986.

Career After his postdoctoral training, Zimet joined Case Western Reserve University as an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (1986–1987), then as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, a position he held from 1987 to 1993. In 1993, Zimet joined the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Adolescent Medicine. He was promoted to full Professor of Pediatrics in 1999 and also held appointments in the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Psychology at Indiana University Indianapolis, and the Indiana University School of Nursing. From 2006 until his retirement Zimet was a faculty member in the Cancer Prevention and Control Program of the Indiana University Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. He served as co-founder and co-director of the Indiana University School of Medicine Center for HPV Research (2012–2023). Following his retirement from Indiana University in July 2023, Zimet was appointed professor emeritus of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and has continued to collaborate on research related to vaccination and vaccine hesitancy.

Research Zimet's primary research program has focused on the behavioural and social science aspects of vaccination, with particular emphasis on attitudes toward and determinants of HPV vaccination. Beginning in the mid-1990s, his group was among the earliest to investigate adolescent and parental attitudes toward vaccines for sexually transmitted infections, work that predated the availability of HPV vaccines. His research has encompassed randomized clinical trials evaluating the effects of behavioral interventions on hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HPV vaccine uptake, as well as acceptance of HIV testing among adolescents and young adults. His federally funded investigations have also examined microbicide acceptability and herpes testing acceptance. Through nearly 15 years of involvement with the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network (ATN) for HIV/AIDS Interventions, Zimet investigated consent and ethical factors related to the recruitment of adolescents into biomedical HIV prevention clinical trials. More recently, Zimet has contributed to research on COVID-19 vaccination attitudes and prevention strategies. Zimet has authored or co-authored approximately 420 publications, including over 240 peer-reviewed research articles, review papers, and editorials specifically on vaccination topics in his career.

Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) In the 1980s, while at Duke University, Zimet co-developed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) along with several colleagues, including his mother, Sara Zimet. The MSPSS is a 12-item self-report instrument that measures perceived social support from three sources: family, friends, and a significant other. The MSPSS has become one of the most widely used instruments in social support research globally. It has been translated into more than 35 languages including Arabic, Chinese, French, Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu and has been validated across diverse populations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

Selected publications Zimet, GD; Dahlem, NW; Zimet, SG; Farley, GK (1988). "The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support". Journal of Personality Assessment. 52 (1): 30–41. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5201_2. Zimet, GD; Mays, RM; Sturm, LA; Ravert, AA; Perkins, SM; Juliar, BE (2005). "Parental attitudes about sexually transmitted infection vaccination for their adolescent children". Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. 159 (2): 132–137. doi:10.1001/archpedi.159.2.132. PMID 15699306. Fu, LY; Bonhomme, LA; Cooper, SC; Joseph, JG; Zimet, GD (2014). "Educational interventions to increase HPV vaccination acceptance: a systematic review". Vaccine. 32 (17): 1901–1920. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.01.091. PMC 4285433. PMID 24530401. Sturm, L; Donahue, K; Kasting, M; Kulkarni, A; Brewer, NT; Zimet, GD (2017). "Pediatrician-Parent Conversations About Human Papillomavirus Vaccination: An Analysis of Audio Recordings". Journal of Adolescent Health. 61 (2): 246–251. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.02.006. PMID 28455129. Head, KJ; Kasting, ML; Sturm, LA; Hartsock, JA; Zimet, GD (2020). "A National Survey Assessing SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Intentions". Science Communication. 42 (5): 698–723. doi:10.1177/1075547020960463. PMC 7520657. PMID 38602991. Zimet, GD; Lim, E; Matsunaga, M; Liebermann, E; Kornides, M; Fontenot, HB (2025). "Early Adolescent Immunization Schedule Preferences". Journal of Adolescent Health. 77 (2S): S14–S17. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2025.05.003. PMID 40716907.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gregory D. Zimet

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gregory D. Zimet claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gregory D. Zimet before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gregory D. Zimet ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gregory D. Zimet

In research: Gregory D. Zimet appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gregory D. Zimet in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gregory D. Zimet is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American psychologists, Clinical psychologists, Indiana University faculty, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gregory D. Zimet outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gregory D. Zimet in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gregory D. Zimet means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gregory D. Zimet out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gregory D. Zimet in simple terms?

Why does Gregory D. Zimet matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gregory D. Zimet?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gregory D. Zimet.