The Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) invites members of the press to cover the latest advancements in the growing fields of personality and social psychology. Researchers from top universities across the globe will present at nearly 100 sessions covering substantial topics impacting cultures and communities. Guests from government, industry, and media will add to the discussion on select panels.
SPSP communications staff is able to arrange for one-on-one interviews between reporters and compelling researchers that can lead to new science sources and story ideas. More than 3,500 personality and social psychologists attend this international event.
Highlighted Sessions
- "Social and Personality Psychology in Industry: What Next?" Social and personality psychology can address unexplored questions and unsolved problems that impede progress in society and business. In this invited session, speakers from eHarmony, Lieberman Research Worldwide, and Facebook provide collaborative insights. Talks include "All You Need is Love (and Data): The Science Behind eHarmony," with a focus on using science to match employees and employers; "Consumers are Human: Applying Social and Personality Psychology to Understand Consumer Behavior;" and "Behavioral Science in Industry: Past, Present and Future" featuring Joshua Tabak from Facebook's Internet.org. Friday, January 20th, 9:45 AM
- "Black, White, and Blue: Threat and Bias in Police Interactions" How does race shape everyday interactions between police officers and citizens? This symposium bridges social psychology and public policy to examine how processes of bias and threat influence the experiences of police officers and citizens alike, potentially eroding police-community trust. Friday, January 20th, 11:15 AM
- "Puzzles of Well-Being: Parenthood, Politics, and the Good Life" Does parenthood make for a happier life? Does authoritarianism give life more meaning? Are conservatives more satisfied than liberals? How much are insights into well-being distorted by participants' self-enhancement motives? Four presentations address these issues drawing on experiments, cross-sectional data, and ecological momentary assessment techniques to illuminate complexities of well-being. Friday, January 20th, 2 PM
- "The Nature of Anti-Transgender Prejudice: Investigating Scope, Process, and Interventions" The transgender community faces staggering amounts of prejudice, even relative to other stigmatized groups. However, social psychological research on bias against transgender individuals has been surprisingly scarce. We present new work investigating the nature of transgender prejudice, focusing on scope, mediating and moderating processes, and effective interventions. Saturday, January 21st, 8:15 AM
- "Legacy Honoree Lecture Honoring Ravenna M. Helson" In addition to words from the eminent Ravenna M. Helson, SPSP's 2017 Annual Convention Legacy honoree, the program features talks from psychologists building upon Helson's legacy in personality psychology. Brent Roberts and Jen Lilgendahl will discuss their research with the Mills Study and a panel of researchers will recount high points from the Mills Study. Ravenna's work focuses on personality as more than "just traits" and must include a conceptualization of the whole person, and that personality can change in different ways for different people depending on their life experiences. Saturday, January 21st, 11:15 AM
- "How Ethnic Diversity Shapes Intergroup Relations in Urban Schools" Four interdisciplinary teams of researchers investigate how ethnic diversity and the relative representation of ethnic groups of urban schools shape intergroup relations, well-being and academics. Collectively, this work provides novel insights into how the ethnic context influences intergroup dynamics and sheds new light on social and developmental theories of intergroup relations. Saturday, January 21st, 5 PM
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Media Contact
Annie Drinkard
adrinkard@spsp.org
202-524-6543
@SPSPnews
http://www.spsp.org