San Francisco hosts 1998 Annual Convention

Science programming has something for everyone.

By Jamie Chamberlin
Monitor staff

Science programming at APA?s 1998 Annual Convention in San Francisco includes engaging sessions for scientists and students and some innovative changes that can help scientists to make the most of the convention.

Among the highlights are a series of concentrated sessions on the mind, brain and behavior, a special miniconvention on alcohol research, a new format for poster sessions and a wine tasting in the Sonoma Valley. Most science-related programming is part of the concentrated Focus on Science programming that will occur on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the meeting.

Special division programming

'Mind, Brain and Behavior,' co-sponsored by APA Div. 3 (Experimental) and Div. 6 (Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative), features sessions on memory, ingestive behavior, vision, perception, attention, language, decision-making, learning and reinforcement, and sex hormones. The series is sponsored by five National Science Foundation programs: Human Cognition and Perception; Decision, Risk and Management Science; Behavioral Neuroscience; Sensory Systems; and Animal Behavior. A focal point of the series is a session on memory to be held on Sunday from 3 p.m.?5 p.m., which features psychologists Art Shimamura, PhD, University of California?Berkeley, John Gabrieli, PhD, Stanford University, Larry Squire, PhD, University of California?San Diego and John Kihlstrom, PhD, University of California?Berkeley.

Sessions on addiction

'Alcohol and addiction research: achievements and promise in behavioral science' is a special program on substance abuse research co-sponsored by divisions 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse) and 50 (Addictions). The two divisions collaborated with divisions 13 (Consulting) and 22 (Rehabilitation), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to develop the program.

Topics such as assessment and statistical innovations will be presented as they relate to substance abuse research, but include broad applications that will interest a wider audience. Highlights include 'Addictive behaviors in women, ethnic minorities and other underserved populations,' a multidisciplinary session that addresses creative methods for accessing special populations and the legal and ethical aspects of substance abuse research, a talk by Enoch Gordis, MD, director of the NIAAA, on the agency?s need for more psychologists involved in research and a guest lecture and award presentation by U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). >For new academics

A two-day workshop for untenured professors and new academics will provide insight on managing an academic job. The program is divided into two parts?morning lectures and smaller in-depth afternoon sessions that allow time for involved questions. 'The academic career: a beginner?s manual' will discuss coping with a new academic post, obtaining research funding and learning how an academic department operates. It also covers the procedures on getting tenure, the problems of academic couples, retirement planning and how to work effectively with graduate students.

Members interested in participating in the workshop or offering programming suggestions are encouraged to contact the program's organizer, Emanuel Donchin, PhD, .

Expanded poster sessions

More than 550 posters will be on display on Friday and Saturday of the meeting, in extended, thematically organized sessions.

The number of posters per session and the length of each poster session have been expanded this year, offering attendees more access to some of the most exciting work in the psychology field. Science-related poster sessions will be presented in four-hour blocks instead of the typical one-hour sessions to provide more time for in-depth discussion and encourage breakout discussions. Poster sessions will be grouped by themes rather than by division. Some of the themes include

applied psychology; learning, memory and cognition; psychology and the workplace; motivation and emotion; and psycho-pharmacology and substance use.

For students

The APA Science Student Council (APASSC) and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) will host three programs that can help students plan careers in psychological science:

? 'Distinguished scientists meet with students to discuss critical issues in psychological science' is a two-hour program that brings together three leading psychologists with varied research backgrounds for a discussion with students. This year?s discussants are Peter Nathan, PhD (clinical psychology); Claude Steele, PhD (social psychology); and Linda Bartoshuk, PhD (perception). The discussants will address questions generated by the Science Student Council.

? 'Women finding a balance: combining academia and personal lives,' is a conversation hour for students featuring psychologists Suzanne Bennett Johnson, PhD, professor of clinical psychology at the University of Florida, and Stephanie Johnson Rowley, PhD, a research instructor in the developmental psychology program at the University of North Carolina?Chapel Hill. Each will discuss her experience as a female researcher and topics such as mentorship and discrimination. This session will be held in the APAGS suite.

? 'Nonacademic employment for scientists: options and opportunities' is a one-hour discussion featuring Steve Breckler, PhD, of the National Science Foundation; Mary Carol Day, EdD, of AT&T Bell Laboratories; and Catherine Gaddy, PhD, of the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology. The discussants will describe their careers and offer insight on finding nonacademic jobs. The panel will discuss the critical issues of a nonacademic job search, such as how to turn a curriculum vita into a résumé, how to transfer the skills of academia into other jobs and how to negotiate a salary. This session is co-sponsored by the Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA).

Testing and assessment

Nearly 100 symposiums, papers, workshops, discussions and invited addresses in the overall convention programming cover the latest research on testing issues in the educational, employment and health-care fields and current initiatives in the testing community. Programming highlights include a symposium on assessment psychology training in clinical psychology, a symposium on ethical and legal issues is assessing individuals with disabilities and a discussion hour on test taker rights and responsibilities. The National Academy of Science?s Board on Testing and Assessment and the International Test Commission will each present their latest activities.

Invited addresses and awards

Psychologist Martha McClintock, PhD, a professor of psychobiology at the University of Chicago, will present the annual Neal Miller Lecture, sponsored by BSA, titled 'Human pheromones, sexuality and health.' BSA is also sponsoring the Master Lecture series, which spotlights some of the most impressive research in psychological science. This year?s Master Lecturers are Peter Ornstein, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina?Chapel Hill; Susan Mineka, PhD, professor of psychology at Northwestern University; Hazel Rose Markus, PhD, professor of psychology at Stanford University; A. Charles Catania, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Maryland?Baltimore County; and Ken Nakayama, PhD, professor of psychology at Harvard University.

BSA will also host two invited addresses with the Committee on Animal Research and Ethics and a symposium with the Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment on the measurement of treatment outcomes.

The top awards in psychological science will also be presented at the convention. APA?s Scientific Awards program honors scientists who have made significant contributions to psychological science and investigators who have made early career contributions to the field. The Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award addresses will be presented by Ellen Berscheid, PhD, Edward Smith, PhD, and Robert Wurtz, PhD, and Harold Stevenson, PhD, will give the Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology address. The Distinguished Scientific Early Career Award addresses will be presented by Dare Baldwin, PhD, Mark Blumberg, PhD, Thomas Bradbury, PhD, Michael Tarr, PhD, and Seth Kalichman, PhD.

Just for fun

APA?s Science Directorate is sponsoring 'Taste of the valley,' a trip to the Viansa Winery in Sonoma Valley, which includes a private tour of the winery and a gourmet wine and food pairing and tasting. A psychologist will lead the tasting. Tickets cost $25 each. The event will be held Sunday afternoon of the meeting.

There will also be a large, joint social hour for all science division participants held in the poster session room on Friday afternoon of the meeting.

Further Information

For more information on Focus on Science programming, contact the APA Science Directorate at the APA address, (202) 336-6000, or visit the Focus on Science section of APA?s web site at http://www.apa.org/science/fos98.html.