SPSP has launched a new way to connect with other SPSP members—Free-Form Fridays. Small virtual meeting rooms (generally max. 10 attendees) will be hosted every Friday. These rooms are available for members to use for a variety of activities: finding researchers with similar interests, finding support from members tackling similar career challenges, feedback and brainstorming sessions, and more.
Take advantage of this opportunity to connect with other members.
Have an idea to host a Free-Form Friday session? Apply to host a future session (submit a meeting name, host, description, and preferred dates/times). Deadline for January: December 14.
December Free-Form Schedule
All Times U.S. Eastern Time Zone
Basic theory and industry research are often seen as distinct domains, each with little relevance to the other. However, theory and industry can have a more symbiotic relationship than is usually apparent. Using basic theory to design products and experiences results in more efficient processes and more impactful solutions. At the same time, conducting basic theory research in real-world contexts can introduce important nuances that are impossible to detect in the lab, thus advancing theory. As behavioral science expands in industry, there are more and more opportunities to solve real-world problems in industry. Approaching these problems with a basic theory lens is not only possible but has enormous potential for impact.
Host: Julie O’Brien (jdpobrien@gmail.com), WW International
The time between when applications are submitted and when you finally hear from programs about interviews or other next steps can feel like forever. Join us to discuss how to manage this time and what to expect, including the different ways in which programs go about their admissions process.
Hosts: Margaret Echelbarger (margaret.echelbarger@gmail.com), University of Chicago & Tissyana Camacho (tissyana.camacho@csun.edu), California State University, Northridge
In a sense, members of a body politic are in relationships with the other members of the body politic. And yet relationship science is largely absent from flood of conversation about our politics. Might relationship scientists have novel insights regarding the challenges confronting socio-political systems, such as the fraught dynamics between Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. today?
Hosts: Eli Finkel (finkel@northwestern.edu), Northwestern University & Amie Gordon (amiemg@umich.edu), University of Michigan
Are you curious about pursuing a career in higher education administration? In this session, we will discuss the nature of higher education administration and how one might prepare oneself for this career path. Topics for discussion include: the variety of roles that exist in higher administration, professional development opportunities, working with a recruiting firm, and the pros and cons of administration versus a traditional faculty role.
Hosts: Cindy Pickett (cindy_pickett@hotmail.com), Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, DePaul University & Camille Johnson (camille.johnson@sjsu.edu), Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Success, San Jose State University
Although a great deal of social and personality psychology is potentially relevant to the general public, as a field, we often struggle to relay our knowledge in ways that are interesting and understandable to ordinary people. After editing nearly 350 blogs as the editors of SPSP's Character and Context blog site, we have learned a good deal about the common pitfalls that undermine members’ efforts to write about research. In this session, we will discuss the mindset one must adopt to write effectively for the public, the common errors writers make, and quick fixes for writing more interesting and impactful blogs. This session is intended for members who wish to write more effectively for the public, including those who don't even know where to begin.
Host: Mark Leary (leary@duke.edu), Duke University
This session will address lab management in social-personality psychology. We will be discussing how to find and apply for positions, management techniques, how these positions can prepare you for graduate school, and how to talk about lab management in personal statements and interviews. People who should attend include: undergraduates curious about or actively searching for these positions, current lab managers, and former lab managers who want to weigh in with advice.
Host: Joshua Perlin (joshua.perlin@ufl.edu), University of Florida
