Taking time out of your schedule to focus on professional development is more important now than ever. With shifting priorities and changing demands, stay up to date with a variety of resources to reach your own professional and personal goals. Our curated collection of on-demand programs are categorized by topic area and cater towards members at all career stages. These offerings include professional development sessions from our annual convention, webinars, tutorials, and more. An active SPSP membership is required to view most presentations.
Upcoming Opportunities
Check back soon for upcoming professional development opportunities.
On-Demand Presentations
Writing a Trade Book: How Do We Even Get There
What's involved in writing a trade book? How do I get started? Do I need an agent? What are the highs and lows of the process? Catherine Sanderson (author of The Positive Shift and Why We Act) and Jessica Tracy (author of Take Pride) will describe their experiences in writing trade books and provide practical advice about the process.
Hosts: Catherine Sanderson, Amherst College and Jessica Tracy, University of British Columbia
Blogging about Behavioral Research for a General Audience
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.
Speaker: Mark Leary, Duke University
Presented December 2020
Beyond Academia: Alternative Careers Using your Social Psychology PhD
Many psychology PhDs who go into industry work in user-experience (UX) jobs, but many other non-academic jobs are available but less known. This session features three speakers who will share their experience in such jobs.
Speakers: Jo Anderson, Faunalytics; Brittany Gentile, Genentech; Monica Soliman, Government of Canada
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Non-academic Careers: Is a Non-academic Life for Me?
Curious about a non-academic career but not sure if it's right for you? Most who have transitioned out of academia have gone through some soul searching before taking the plunge. Two professionals discuss how they made the decision to start a new journey.
Speakers: Lily Jampol, People Scientist & D&I Strategist at ReadySet; Paul Litvak, Product Manager at Airbnb
Presented June 25, 2019
Is it Burnout?
According to the WHO (2019), burnout is a combination of work-related exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of inefficacy. Add global instability and endemic disease threat to the mix and burnout may seem like an overwhelmingly challenge. What should we do when burnout looms, for our students, colleagues, and ourselves? In this session, we’ll have a conversation about the psychological and structural components of burnout, including loss of meaning, control, and resources. We’ll identify how burnout manifests in the research lab, classroom, and other areas of work life, and talk about simple ways to refuel.
Speakers: Laura Niemi, Cornell University
Presented as a Free-Form Friday session in October 2021
Roadmap to Graduate School: Acing Your Application
This is the second installmant of a three-part series covering actionable tips for students who are considering applying for graduate school. In this session, SPSP Student Committee members Fernanda Andrade and Katie Austin discuss the materials typically submitted with graduate school applications. The session focuses on steps typically taken in early fall, tips for writing strong statements of purpose, and formatting CVs.
Speakers: Fernanda Andrade, Duke University and Katie Austin, University of Texas at Dallas
Presented as a Free-Form Friday session in September 2021
Approaching the Academic Job Market
Graduate students are consistently trying to determine how to be competitive for the academic job market. This session will include recent candidates for postdocs as well as R1, R2, and Liberal Arts College faculty. The goals of this session are to consult with a diverse panel of recently hired academics about their application process, as well as gain perspectives on different academic positions.
Speakers: Julian Scheffer, Penn State University; Clara Wilkins, Washington University in St. Louis; Xiaowen Xu, College of William & Mary; Ryan Lei, Haverford College; Bennett Callaghan, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Your Science, Your Story: Becoming a Psychology PhD Student
Applying to PhD programs can be a daunting task. We will walk you through the process of identifying potential programs, tackling application essays, and maintaining a sense of identity along the way. Our session will include an interactive presentation led by two NSF graduate research fellows and a panel discussion with SPSP members from various backgrounds, research areas, and institutions.
Speakers: Scott Blain, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Aisha Udochi, University of Minnesota Twin Cities; Moin Syed, University of Minnesota; Craig Smith, Vanderbilt University; David Matz, Augsburg University; Phuong Linh Nguyen, University of Minnesota
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Navigating Promotion & Tenure in the Time of COVID-19
In the best of circumstances, the processes for promotion and tenure (P&T) is confusing and stressful. Amidst a global pandemic, these concerns are amplified. Based on survey results, we will share early career members’ concerns about P&T in the context of COVID-19. Administrators from various institutions will join us to address these concerns and provide advice for successful P&T. (open to public)
Speakers: Sarah Huff, University of Denver; Franki Kung, Purdue University; Kristin Dukes, Allegheny College; Ying-yi Hong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Fiona Lee, University of Michigan; Daniel McIntosh, University of Denver
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Striving Towards Work-Life Balance in Academia
Work-life balance is a perennial concern in academia, and has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this panel, four speakers will discuss their experiences with establishing a work-life balance in academia. They will touch on their own struggles and successes, work-life balance at different career and stages, and how to avoid work bleed-over into personal life while working from home.
Speakers: Jay Van Bavel, New York University; Abigail Scholer, University of Waterloo; Sa-kiera Hudson, Yale University; Elizabeth Haines, William Paterson University
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Funding Agencies Offer Insights into Securing Support for Your Research
Funding for social and personality psychology is available from a number of public and private organizations, but it is highly competitive. Attend this session and you will learn how to target different funding opportunities and gain insights into the proposal and review process from representatives of funding agencies and foundations.
Speakers: Amber Story, American Psychological Association; Steven Breckler, National Science Foundation; William Klein, NIH/National Cancer Institute; Nicholas Gibson, John Templeton Foundation; Ximena Arriaga, National Science Foundation
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
The Ins and Outs of Grant-Getting for Early Career Scholars
Independent pre/post-doc grant funding protects your time, grows your CV, facilitates training, and increases chances of future funding. This panel of pre/post-doc grant awardees will discuss grant-writing tips, what agencies look for, public/private/(inter)national funding options, benefits/drawbacks to funding, and things we wish we had known before being funded by NIH, NSF, and SSHRC.
Speakers: Zachary Baker, University of Minnesota; William Chopik, Michigan State University; Kaitlyn Werner, University of Toronto; Megan Britton, University of Houston
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Applying for Positions at Teaching-Focused Institutions
Three panelists from teaching-focused institutions explain how to convey your interests, skills, and expertise through a well-crafted cover letter, CV, research statement, diversity and inclusion statement, and teaching statement. They also describe the recruiting process and what they look for in candidates.
Speakers: Leslie Zorwick, Hendrix College; Alicia Nordstrom, Misericordia University; Carrie Langner, California State Polytechnic University; Camille Johnson (moderator), San Jose State University
Presented July 30, 2019
Turning your CV into a Résumé
This conversational webinar leads attendees through the process of turning a curriculum vitae into a résumé suitable for seeking employment outside academia. Discussion topics include the differences between a CV and a résumé, and the process of developing the former into the latter. The intended audience is current graduate students, as well as recent graduate students who are early in their career since earning a graduate degree, but it may be of interest to any trained academic interested in pursuing a career outside the ivory tower.
Speakers: David A. Richards
Presented May 21, 2019
Theory and Practice of Bayesian Inference Using JASP
This webinar provides attendees with a friendly, gentle introduction to Bayesian statistics, and demonstrates how to perform Bayesian analyses using JASP statistical software. Attendees will come away understanding the "why" and "how" of Bayesian estimation and hypothesis testing. This workshop is relevant to any student or researcher who wishes to draw conclusions from empirical data.
Speakers: Alexander Etz, University of California, Irvine Julia Haaf, University of Amsterdam Johnny van Doorn, University of Amsterdam
Presented June 21, 2019
Creating Reproducible Research Reports Using R Markdown
R Markdown is a simple but very powerful way to mix R data analysis code and text. R Markdown documents are a great way to document your data analysis and create reproducible reports (e.g., that automatically render your graphs and tables and even your results section from your data). You can even use R Markdown to write your entire paper, avoiding copy-and-pasting your analyses, which can be a major source of errors in papers. The rendered documents look spiffy on the web and in print. In this workshop, we introduce R Markdown and show how it can be used as part of a reproducible writing workflow.
Presented by Michael Frank, Stanford University
Presented December 5, 2018
A Practical Guide to Multilevel Modeling: Part 1
This two-part webinar is ideal for newbies as well as researchers who have been exposed to Multilevel Modeling through a prior class or workshop but still have lots of questions. Topics include: Identifying if MLM is necessary and determining whether data violates assumptions of independence; Figuring out the nested structure of your data (including cross-classified models); Identifying the sources of non-independence in your data, including the possibility of cross-classification; and approaches to dealing with non-independence – when to deal with non-independence through random versus fixed factors.
Presented by Amie M. Gordon, University of California San Francisco
Presented September 26, 2018
A Practical Guide to Multilevel Modeling: Part 2
Topics include: The difference between fixed and random effects and what changes in the analysis process when random slopes are allowed in the model; Grand-mean versus group centering – what they are and when to use them, unconfounding within and between person effects; and the residual and random effects of covariance matrices.
Presented by Amie M. Gordon, University of California San Francisco
Presented September 27, 2018
Introduction to R
This eight-part video series provides an applied introduction to R for new users.
Presented by Danney Rasco, West Texas A&M University
Implementing Positive Structural Changes for Graduate Students in Psychology
A panel will share findings from a recent survey of 1,798 graduate students, focusing on mental health, academic experiences, and experiences of discrimination. Then, lessons from recent efforts led by doctoral students to institute structural changes will be presented. Finally, the panel and audience will develop an agenda to improve graduate students’ well-being and program experiences.
Speakers: Stylianos Syropoulos, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Deborah Wu, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Brooke Burrows, University of Massachusetts Amherst; Evelyn Mercado, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
How to Improve Your Teaching
In this session, three outstanding educators will share some tips on teaching. Discussion will touch on course design, assessing the effectiveness of your teaching, and making your teaching accessible and enjoyable to a wide variety of students. A question-and-answer period will follow.
Speakers: Michael Bernstein, Penn State Abington; Andrew Christopher, Albion College; Leslie Berntsen, University of Southern California
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Teaching online (or not) in the fall: Considerations for faculty at liberal arts institutions
With the pivot to remote teaching, what strategies can be used by faculty who teach at liberal arts institutions when planning their courses? How can high impact teaching practices translate from small classrooms to Zoom and other online platforms? What particular challenges are faced by faculty at teaching-intensive institutions when transitioning to teaching online, and what existing strengths can we draw upon to maximize the effectiveness of our classes?
Presented by Benjamin Le, Haverford College; Yanna Weisberg, Linfield College
Presented June 30, 2020
Psychological Reactance Theory: A theory of Motivation and Persuasion
The past two decades witnessed a surge in interest in psychological reactance theory (PRT). In brief, PRT is a motivation theory, used heavily in persuasion and health research, that outlines people's responses to freedom threats (e.g., being told what to do). The goal of this Free-Form Friday is to bring together scholars interested in investigating and applying this theoretical framework. We invite researchers with experience with PRT as well as those looking to learn the value of Jack Brehm’s theory.
Presenters: Benjamin Rosenberg, Dominican University & Jason Siegel, Claremont Graduate University
Presented as a Free-Form Friday session in October 2021
Connecting Undocumented Social & Personality Psychologists
Speakers: Joel Martinez & Jun Won Park, Princeton University
Presented at SPSP Free-Form Fridays
Leveraging Social Psychology to Increase Diversity, Representation and Inclusion in Academia
The aim of this session is to provide concrete steps to facilitate increased diversity, representation, and inclusion in the field of social psychology. A panel of members from diverse backgrounds will share their insights from their research, discuss emerging trends, identify areas for improvement, and offer practical suggestions. This session is geared towards all SPSP members.
Speakers: Ariel Mosley, University of Kansas; Adrienne Carter-Sowell, Texas A&M University; Ariel Mosley, University of Kansas; Christopher Marshburn, University of Kentucky; Evava Pietri, Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Creating and Maintaining Diverse and Inclusive Spaces
Wondering how to make your research and/or teaching space more diverse and inclusive in our current social context? Our panelists discuss best and worst practices on how to make your academic space and academia more broadly as inclusive as possible. (open to public)
Panelists: Drs. Valerie T. Taylor, Lehigh University; Jon Freeman, New York University; Kathleen Bogart, Oregon State University; Sarah Gaither, Duke University; Jim Everett, University of Kent
Presented December 10, 2020
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Hosted by the SPSP Student Committee, our guest speakers shared their experiences, skills, and resources to (1) assist SPSP members and others in learning about ways to become a better advocate, (2) inform people about concrete actions they could take to fight for DEI, and (3) exchange ideas on practical and tangible DEI initiatives and resources that people could bring back to their departments. (open to public)
Moderator: Cynthia Pickett, DePaul University Panelists: Denise Sekaquaptewa, University of Michigan; Markus Brauer, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Selena Kohel, Cottey College; Rubi Gonzales, The University of Texas at El Paso
Presented October 9, 2020
Bias, Use of Force, and Policing: A Discussion of Social Psychological Considerations
Two scholars at different stages of their careers but with a long-standing interest in bias and equity were brought together with SPSP members and the general public on Zoom for a live town hall/webinar to discuss bias, use of force, and policing in support of SPSP's Statement Against Racism. (open to public)
Presented by Jack Glaser, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley; Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Portland State University; Malik Boykin, Brown University
Presented June 10, 2020
Social Psychological Perspectives on the Racism Pandemic
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black people at the hands of police has brought heightened attention to the longer-standing racism pandemic. SPSP has put together a panel of experts to discuss social psychological perspectives on the racism pandemic: As a field, what do we know about how anti-Blackness operates, what can we do, and what should we do in our communities and our society? (open to public)
Presented by Denise Sekaquaptewa, University of Michigan; Patricia Devine, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Kristin Dukes, Allegheny College; James Jones, University of Delaware; Robert Sellers, University of Michigan; Kamiya Stewart, Tulane University; Linda Tropp, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Presented July 7, 2020
Collaborating Effectively: How to Start, Maintain, and Sometimes End Research Collaborations
This session will discuss developing and managing effective research collaborations, as well as tips for ending collaborations that are no longer working for you. We will discuss collaborations with both academic researchers as well as non-academic research partners. Feel free to join with specific questions about how to handle an ongoing research collaboration, or just to learn more about collaborating effectively in general. This session is geared toward grad students/postdocs, although all are welcome.
Speaker: Kate Turetsky, Barnard College, Columbia University
Presented as a Free-Form Friday session
Reaching the Hard-to-Reach: Conducting High-Impact Research with Underrepresented Populations
Conducting research that is inclusive of underrepresented and hard-to-reach populations is critical. Diversity and inclusion experts will share best practices to employ and pitfalls to avoid when reaching the hard-to-reach. The panel will cover a range of topics including: research question formulation, design and recruitment, funding, framing manuscripts, and making an impact beyond the academy. (open to public)
Speakers: Mindy Truong, University of Southern California; Andrea Dittmann, Emory University Goizueta Business School; Peter Belmi, Darden School of Business; Jessica Remedios, Tufts University; Drew Jacoby-Senghor, UC Berkeley; Sarah Gaither, Duke University
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Journal Editors Discuss Diversity in Publishing
The past year has seen renewed focus on racism and diversity issues worldwide and in our field, notably Roberts et al. (2020)’s analysis of how psychology publishing lacks racial diversity. This panel of six past and present editors will discuss problems, prospects and solutions for diversifying the racial and cultural perspectives of research, authors, editors, and reviewers. (open to public)
Speakers: Roger Giner-Sorolla, University of Kent; Colin Leach, Barnard College-Columbia University; Chris Crandall, University of Kansas; Margo Monteith, Purdue University; Denise Sekaquaptewa, University of Michigan; Marlone Henderson, University of Texas at Austin; David Sherman, UC Santa Barbara
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Conducting Social Psychological Research in non-WEIRD settings: Challenges and Opportunities
This workshop will bring together speakers from world regions underrepresented in mainstream social psychological and personality research. They will provide insight into the status of social psychology and personality research in their regions and discuss the challenges and opportunities they face as researchers working in a scientific community dominated by other world regions. (open to public)
Speakers: Ayse Uskul, University of Kent; Yuichi Shoda, University of Washington; Rim Saab, American University of Beirut; Allan Bernardo, De La Salle University; Purmina Singh, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; Roberto Gonzalez, P. University Católica de Chile
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
From Your Lab to Capitol Hill: Connecting Research with Policy
How can social/personality psychology researchers engage with and influence public policy? Our panel includes renowned scientists, a federal lobbyist, and a researcher with the Ontario (Canada) Public Service. Each will share advice on how to conduct research likely to impact policy; how to communicate effectively with policy-makers; and whether a career in public policy might be right for you.
Speakers: Jason Plaks, University of Toronto; Michelle Shiota, Arizona State University; Robert Cialdini, Arizona State University; Jack Glaser, Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley; Lindsey Cary, University of Toronto; Wendy Naus, COSSA
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Conducting Research with Non-Academic Partners and Working as a Consultant
In this panel, four speakers with extensive experience working with non-academic partners, including doing consulting and contract research work, will discuss their experiences. They will focus on how to find and pitch to potential industry partners; how expectations, deliverables, and the research process differ from those in academia; and answer questions from the audience.
Speakers: Elliot Berkman, University of Oregon; Elliot Berkman, University of Oregon; Tessa West, New York University; Wendy Wood, University of Southern California; Megan Shen, Weill Cornell Medicine
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Charting Uncertainty: How to Let the Data Speak Instead of Your Ego
As researchers we often get very invested into our theories and hypotheses, which can be problematic for the advancement of science more broadly. In this panel, speakers will discuss how to remove your ego from your work, including how and why to question your own research, moving on from failed projects, and adversarial collaborations.
Speakers: Michael Inzlicht, University of Toronto; Michael Inzlicht, University of Toronto; Norbert Schwarz, University of Southern California; Naomi Ellemers, Utrecht University; Eric Robinson, University of Liverpool
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
The Next Generation of Prejudice Reduction Research: An Interactive Workshop
What should the next generation of prejudice reduction intervention and research look like, in terms of theory and methods, to have the highest possible impact? We present lessons from our recent meta-analysis (Paluck et al 2020) and link them to small group and collaborative brainstorming based on participants’ interests to produce a roadmap for the future.
Speakers: Betsy Levy Paluck , Princeton University; Chelsey S. Clark , Princeton University; Roni Porat , Hebrew University
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
How Computational Modeling Can Force Theory Building in Psychological Science
Computational modeling guides us towards better science by forcing us to conceptually analyze and formalise intuitions which otherwise remain unexamined. We present scientific inference as a path function. Furthermore, we explain how to formalise, specify, and implement a computational model, emphasizing that the advantages of modeling can be achieved by anyone with benefit to all.
Speakers: Olivia Guest, Radboud University; Andrea E. Martin, Radboud University and MPI for Psycholinguistics
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
Learning about Machine Learning: An Introduction
Machine learning algorithms accommodate big data of the sort that traditional statistics cannot. This session introduces attendees to broadly applicable principles of machine learning: e.g., bias vs. variance tradeoffs, robust prediction and clustering, and quantitative vs. text-oriented analyses. R code and sample APA write-up will be provided to equip and inspire those attending.
Speakers: Fred Oswald, Rice University
Presented at SPSP 2021 Annual Convention.
