The report summarizes membership, activities, and finances of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) for the year 1976-1977. SSRC is a nonprofit corporation which has as its purpose the advancement of research in the social sciences. It endeavors to stimulate the development of theory and empirical knowledge concerning human behavior through the work of 25 interdisciplinary committees of social scientists and humanists from the United States and abroad. The bulk of this report reviews the activities of these committees. Sixteen research planning committee reports cover topics such as cognitive research, ethnicity, gifted children, mass communications and political behavior, and sociolinguistics. Fourteen foreign area committee reports describe activities in Eastern Europe, Japan, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and other regions and countries. Another section of the report contains an essay on a growing area of interest in the social sciences: studying middle and old age within the context of the entire life course. The report also lists recipients of SSRC fellowships and grants, cites publications that resulted from Council programs, and presents financial statements summarizing the year's receipt and disbursement of funds. (Author/AV)