DIALOGUE Page 1 Volume 20, No. 2 DIALOGUE Dialogue—Fall, 2005 The Official Newsletter of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology Chris Crandall & Monica Biernat, Co-Editors Psychology in Shades: SPSP’s 7th Inside the Annual Meeting in Palm Springs Current Issue: By Tim Strauman conference. The convention center is in the heart of the Village of Palm Springs, with Information is now available online regarding SPSP Conference Program 2 shopping, restaurants, and tourist attractions Preview registration, hotel reservations, and program close by. Two first-class hotels will provide schedule for the 7th Annual Meeting of the accommodations for SPSPers: the newly- 3, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, renovated Wyndham Palm Springs (attached Letters, Passings, Announcements, Awards 12, to be held in Palm Springs, California on to the Convention Center) as well as the 30, January 26-28, 2006. Point your browser to Hilton Palm Springs Resort one block away. 31 http://www.taramillerevents.com/spsp2006/ for Both hotels boast a full range of facilities, information about registration, hotel, and other including pools, golf, and tennis. The Comings and Goings 6 aspects of the meeting. Convention Center and hotels are within easy walking distance of art galleries, casinos, The perfect climate, easygoing ambiance, and nightclubs, sidewalk cafes, and all the The State of SPSP: Good 8 impressive range of leisure activities make the amenities of an international resort and Threatened fashionable desert city of Palm Springs an destination. The entire complex is only two ideal location for the upcoming meeting. The miles from Palm Springs International locals say (and the data agree) that the sun Graduate Student 11 Airport, which is served by direct flights Committee Report shines 350 days per year. Expect excellent from many national airport hubs. Be sure to weather (average daytime highs in the low 70s make your flight reservations early to get the with cool clear evenings) and come prepared most convenient direct connections! Giner-Sorolla on Academic 14 Careers in Britain to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of this In terms of quality, strength, and diversity of desert city, first famous for its healing springs, content, the 2006 program promises to be the that continues to attract young and old alike. best yet (see story on p. 2). Once again there Baumeister and Tice ask 16 The Palm Springs Convention Center, the (Continued on page 19) “Are we losing our Niche?“ “Meeting Oasis,” is the site for this year’s What Happens to SPSP 18 Reis, Jackson Elected Society Officers Posters? Changes at PSPB 20 Last spring, Society Members SPSP, a position he left after Dunning, who left the voted in elections for the 10 years in 2004. He is Member-at-Large position positions of President Elect Professor of Psychology at to become Executive Reflections on Hurricane 21, and Member at Large of the the University of Rochester. Officer of SPSP in 2004. Katrina 25 SPSP Executive Committee. Dr. Jackson will now serve The Society’s new Member- a full 3-year term as The winner of the presidential at-Large is James Jackson, Diener on Science and APA 22 Member-at Large. election was Harry Reis, who Professor of Psychology and will serve as President-Elect Director of the Institute for Congratulations to our in 2006, President in 2007, Social Research at the colleagues, and may you Lee on Michigan’s New 24 and past-President in 2008. University of Michigan. have an eventful and Graduate Program productive three years in Dr. Reis previously served as Dr. Jackson had been filling office. ■ the Executive Officer of out the term of David President’s Column 26 Page 2 DIALOGUE The 2006 SPSP Conference Program By Jeff Simpson titled “The Partner (and the Participant) strove to find a fair and effective way in Personality and Social Psychology.” to handle the dramatic rise in symposia The 2006 SPSP conference program These are only a few of the many fine submissions (83 in 2005; 107 in 2006). promises to be another exciting, and stimulating sessions that will be We addressed this issue by (a) moving interesting, and intellectually engaging held at the conference. nearly all of the workshops and special event. The 2006 Program Committee training sessions to early morning (Lisa Feldman Barrett, William Because the 2006 conference is being times (prior to the start of the regular Fleeson, Serena Chen, Chris Fraley, held at a convention center, the sessions) and (b) running 7 symposia Chris Crandall, Paula Niedenthal, Program Committee was able to per regular time slot. Second, the Lowell Gaertner, Laurie Rudman, and orchestrate seven symposia per time Committee sought to ensure that the Jeff Simpson [chair]) was impressed slot rather than five or six. As a final program reflected the diversity of by the sheer quality of the record 107 consequence, 51 of the 107 submitted theory and research that exists in symposia that were submitted this symposia (47.7%) could be accepted SPSP. Accordingly, we built “content year. The symposia that will be this year. When reading and rating the diversity” into the formal evaluation presented at the conference cover symposia, the Program Committee process. Third, the Committee wanted nearly all of the major areas in considered the collective importance, to include as many people as possible personality and social psychology, strength, novelty, content diversity, and in the official conference proceedings. many of them will highlight emerging To accomplish this, we dramatically and cutting-edge subareas of the field, increased the number of accepted and several have a strong To open the symposia in 2006 relative to prior interdisciplinary flavor. years, and we also accepted a record conference, Brenda number of poster submissions. The 2006 program also has several Major’s Presidential special sessions. To open the The Program Committee also launched conference on Thursday evening, Symposium will focus four initiatives this year. First, we Brenda Major’s Presidential extended the timeframe between the Symposium will focus on social on psychological initial call for conference submissions psychological perspectives on the “red- perspectives on the and the submission deadline by blue divide” in the United States. This approximately three weeks, giving opening session will include invited “red-blue divide” in symposium organizers more time to talks by Marilynn Brewer, John Jost, the United States. get their sessions assembled. Second, and David Myers, each of whom will we set up a permanent website so that discuss unique theoretical perspectives all future program reviewing can be toward this important and timely topic. done entirely via the internet. The interest value of each submission in Program Committee would like to On Friday morning, Dr. Major will view of the general SPSP audience. thank to Shauney Wilson in particular deliver the 2006 Presidential Address for helping us establish the new titled “How Cultural Worldviews We also received (and were able to website. Third, as mentioned above, Shape Perceptions of and Responses to accept) a record number of poster we expanded the program to seven Prejudice.” Early that afternoon, Arie submissions this year, all of which symposia per time slot. If symposium Kruglanski will deliver the 2006 were evaluated by the chair of the submission rates continue to rise, SPSP Keynote Address titled “The Program Committee and a special sub- may want to consider adding early Psychology of Terrorism: Syndrome committee consisting of 17 graduate morning symposium sessions, which Versus Tool Perspectives.” Later on students (see the SPSP website for a list could run from 8:45-10:00 am. Finally, Friday, the winner of the 2006 Block of the sub-committee members). We working with David Dunning, Tim Award (Walter Mischel) will deliver a received a total of 1197 poster Strauman, and others, we attempted to special address titled “Lives in Search submissions and were able to accept clarify the submission instructions of Personality.” 1078 (90.0%) of them. Thus, the 2006 regarding the “one speaking role per program will be the largest in the conference” rule. Future committees On Saturday afternoon, the winner of history of the SPSP conference. will need to find more efficient ways to the 2006 Campbell Award (David monitor and enforce this necessary Kenny) will deliver a special address The Program Committee addressed rule. ■ three challenges in 2006. First, we DIALOGUE Page 3 for delinquent behavior was a and especially the chapter on the Letter to combination of Newcomb’s balance “Process of Organizational Role theory that I referred to as the A-B-X Taking.” The final copy of the study model, and Sutherland’s differential was never published because the the Editors association theory. I built this model on International Association of Chiefs of a base that reached back to Durkheim, Police, constantly demanding funding Colleagues: Cooley, Meade and other historical and for training were surprised regarding contemporary writers that were widely the outcomes on a wide range of I am responding to the President’s read in the 70s and beyond. Balance variables and terminated participation Column by Hazel Rose Markus on “A theory was used as a complement to the of the five cities that were the focus of Social Psychological Model of differential association theory and the study. Behavior,” which appeared in the explained the development of attitudes Spring 2004 issue of Dialogue, and behavior that led to delinquency. I However, I was able to obtain a Supplement No. 1. Needless to say I had two projects for the students to significant number of copies of the have fallen behind in my reading; I demonstrate how associations were Sterling publication and used the have life time memberships in the developed, and how balance theory fed publication for a course in Police Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences the process in the role development Attitudes and Behavior that I taught for and the American Society of process.