Volume 18: No. 2, February 2004

Regional Association Meetings Worth Attending!
by Jeanie Kelleher, Special Programs Associate

Each year, the seven regional psychological association annual meetings feature a wealth of programming on the latest in research, practice and education, continuing-education workshops and talks by prominent researchers and academicians. Listed below are meeting dates, locations, and program highlights.

Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA), March 10-13, Atlanta, GA
The SEPA meeting will celebrate the association’s 50th anniversary and feature symposia, posters, invited experts and distinguished speakers such as:

§ John Lochman of the University of Alabama, presenting “Cognitive-behavioral interventions with aggressive children: preventive effects on delinquency and substance use.”
§ Philip Kendall of Temple University, presenting “A lifetime of anxiety: from a research point of view.”
§ Anthony Spirito of Brown University, presenting “Adolescent attempted suicide: community treatment, clinical trials and the gap in-between.”
§ William Mikulas of the University of West Florida, presenting “Buddhist and Western psychologies: a practical synthesis.”
§ Tiffany M. Field of the University of Miami School of Medicine, who will present the APA G. Stanley Hall Lecture “Touch therapy research.”

The SEPA meeting will also offer continuing-education workshops. For more information, visit www.sepaonline.com.

Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA), April 8-10, San Antonio, TX
SWPA’s 50th anniversary meeting will feature invited lectures by APA CEO Norman Anderson, APA Past-president Robert Sternberg of Yale University, and APA President Diane Halpern of Claremont McKenna College. Joshua Aronson of New York University will discuss his research on stereotype threat, and Ludy Benjamin of Texas A&M University, will present a talk on Inez Beverly Prosser, the first African-American woman to earn a psychology doctorate. Other key speakers include:

§ Psi Chi National Past-president Jesse Purdy, presenting on the future of Psi Chi.
§ John Gabrieli of Stanford University presenting an APA Distinguished Scientist Lecture on “How the human brain regulates thoughts, feelings and memories: evidence from functional neuroimaging.”
§ SWPA President Kenneth Weaver, presenting “Flexibility inside the vise: high school psychology and state certification.”
§ C. Rick Snyder of the University of Kansas who will discuss his research on hope.
§ Lauren Scharff who will discuss her work on teaching circles to improve teaching quality.
§ Maureen McCarthy of APA’s Education Directorate, who will speak on what constitutes quality in undergraduate programs.

SWPA will also feature continuing-education opportunities and a workshop sponsored by APA’s Science Directorate on academic careers for graduate students and postdocs. For more information, visit https://www.swpsych.org.

Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA), April 15-17, Reno, NV
Speakers at the RMPA conference include:
§ Elizabeth Loftus of the University of California, Irvine, who will present the RMPA Distinguished Lecture on “Grand illusions of memory.”
§ Bill Hill of Kennesaw State University, presenting “Making ends meet: strategies and resources for enhancing your teaching in an era of declining budgets.”
§ Faye J. Crosby of the University of California, Santa Cruz, presenting the APA Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecture on “Teaching about and researching affirmative action.”
§ Paul Bell of Colorado State University, presenting the past-president’s address on “Progress in preventing and curing Alzheimer’s disease.”
§ Stephen F. Davis of Emporia State University, presenting the Council of Teachers of Undergraduate Psychology’s Invited Lecture on “Your cheating heart won’t cry: academic dishonesty in the 21st century.”
§ Giles Einstein of Furman University, presenting the Battig Memorial Lecture on “Parsimony or psychology: the flexibility of remembering to remember.”

RMPA will also feature symposia and panel discussions on teaching, including a workshop on “Developing your teaching philosophy and style,” led by Bill Buskist, of Auburn University, and Bill Hill. For more information, visit www.unco.edu/psychology/rmpa.

Eastern Psychological Association (EPA), April 15-18, Washington, DC
Featured speakers at EPA’s 75th anniversary meeting include: Lorraine Allan of McMaster University; Paul Costa of the National Institutes of Health; Nicola Clayton of Cambridge University; Howard Egeth of Johns Hopkins University; Shepard Siegal of McMaster University; Susan Goldin-Meadow of the University of Chicago, who will present the William James Distinguished Lecture; and Timothy D. Wilson of the University of Virginia, who will deliver an APA G. Stanley Hall Lecture on “Affective forecasting and the pleasures of uncertainty.”

Other highlights include an integrative symposium on hormones and behavior with Rae Silver of Columbia University, Bruce McEwen of Rockefeller University, and Gregory Ball of Johns Hopkins University. Also included will be a mini-conference on visual perception and attention and an Academic Career Workshop sponsored by APA’s Science Directorate. For complete and updated information on presentations and registration, visit www.easternpsychological.org.

Western Psychological Association (WPA), April 22-25, Phoenix, AZ
Notable speakers at the WPA meeting will include Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University; James McGaugh of the University of California, Irvine; Martin E.P. Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania; APA President Diane Halpern of Claremont McKenna College; Robert Cialdini of Arizona State University; Christina Maslach of the University of California, Berkeley; and M. Brewster Smith of the University of California, Santa Cruz. In addition, Cheryl Spinweber of the Scripps Mercy Sleep Disorders Center will deliver the Presidential Address, and C.Rick Snyder of the University of Kansas will give the APA G. Stanley Hall Lecture on “Questioning hope and finding positive psychology answers.”

Other highlights include four statistics workshops on various topics. APA’s Education Directorate, Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools and Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges will offer a workshop on teaching introductory psychology. For further, updated information, visit www.westernpsych.org.

Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA), April 29-May 1, Chicago, IL
The MPA program will feature presentations by Gary Wells of Iowa State University; James Pelligrino of the University of Illinois at Chicago; Nicki Crick of the University of Minnesota; L. Rowell Huesmann of the University of Michigan; and Alice Eagly of Northwestern University. In addition, Randy Gallistel, of Rutgers University, will present the APA Distinguished Scientist Lecture on “An information processing perspective on conditioning.” An Academic Career Workshop sponsored by APA’s Science Directorate is also being planned. For more complete and updated information, visit http://condor.depaul.edu/~psych/mpa.

New England Psychological Association (NEPA), October 15-16, Providence, RI
While NEPA is still in the planning stages for its 2004 meeting, Paul Cunningham is set to deliver the presidential address on “Transpersonal psychology: bridging science and spirit,” and Mahzarin Banaji of Harvard University, will give the APA Distinguished Scientist Lecture on “Mind bugs: the psychology of ordinary prejudice.” The meeting will be held in conjunction with the New England Conference on the Teaching of Psychology on October 15th. For more complete and updated information, visit www.nepa-info.org.