Media Advisory (December 2012)
Press Briefings for the SPSP Annual Meeting
January 17-19, 2013, New Orleans, Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Announcing the following press briefings on gender stereotypes, gratitude and spending, and social media – including abstracts, speakers, and related meeting sessions – as well as other special events and sessions...

How Stereotypes Shape Women's Identities and Careers
Friday, January 18, 2013, 1:30-2:15 p.m., Room 223

Although women's power in the workplace is at an all-time high, many still do not pursue high-status opportunities or career paths that stray from traditional gender roles. Research is finding that gender stereotypes form from a young age and appear to be influenced strongly by a mother's role in both the workplace and home. New studies that explore how these attitudes develop are helping personality and social psychologists chart new routes for women in society.

Speakers:

Related symposiums:

• "Unpacking Gender Stereotypes: How Gender Cognitions Develop, Change, and Conflict from Childhood to Adulthood”
  Friday, January 18, 9:45-11:00 a.m., Room R07 – R09

• "When and Why Women Step Back from Status: The Enduring and Self-Reinforcing Power of Traditional Gender Roles”
  Friday, January 18, 3:30-4:45 p.m., Room 225 – 227
  
  

Giving, Getting, and Gratitude
Saturday, January 19, 2013, 8:45-9:30 a.m., Room 223

The acts of giving and receiving have many social facets that go beyond mere happiness over receiving something new. New work suggests that young children often know how to best help others, and that basic biological functions, like sleep, influence feelings of gratitude. Researchers are further finding a wealth of data on how to better make purchases and appreciate the benefits of giving – from why people prefer to spend money on others than themselves to why gifts of experience are more fulfilling than material ones.

Speakers:

• Amie M. Gordon, University of California, Berkeley
• Amit Kumar, Cornell University
• Michael I. Norton, Harvard Business School
• Kristina Olson, Yale University

Related symposiums:

• "On Doing and Having: 10 Years Of Answers to "The Question” of Experiential Versus Material Consumption”
  Friday, January 18, 3:30-4:45 p.m., Room R02

• "Beyond 'Thanks': Diverse Perspectives on the Antecedents, Behaviors, and Consequences of Gratitude” Saturday, January 19, 9:45-11:00 a.m., Room 206-207

• "New Answers to Old Questions: Novel Approaches to the Study of Human Prosociality”
  Saturday, January 19, 9:45-11:00 a.m., Room R02

• "What Does Money Buy? Happiness, Love, Status, and Reproductive Rewards”
  Saturday, January 19, 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Room 211 – 213
  
  

Bullying, Relationships, and Personality: How the Social Media World Maps to Social Reality
Saturday, January 19, 2013, 1:30-2:15 p.m., Room 223

Online social networks can reveal much about people and their personalities. Just how much is an area under increasing study. Social media sites offer new opportunities for interpersonal communications, some of which can be damaging, for example, spurring cyber-bullying among teens or negatively affecting romantic relationships. This press conference will present new research that looks at how people's online environments and relationships reflect and influence their real-world ones, in addition to how social media tools generally shape our communication.

Speakers:

• Jonah Berger, University of Pennsylvania
• Diane Felmlee, Pennsylvania State University
• Lindsay Graham, University of Texas
• Juwon Lee, University of Kansas

Related symposiums:

• "Facebook: Friend or Foe? Effects of Online Social Networks on Close Relationships”
  Friday, January 18, 9:45-11:00 a.m., Room 228 – 230

• "Tweeting, Texting, and Talking: Technology’s Impact On Social Interaction”
  Saturday, January 19, 3:30-4:45 p.m., Room 211 – 213

• "Harvesting and Distilling Big Data in the Information Age: Applications and Advances in Social and Personality Psychology”
  Saturday, January 19, 3:30-4:45 p.m., Room 208 – 210

Other special events:

• Thurs., January 17, 3:00-4:30 p.m.: "Online Dating in the Scientific Spotlight.” This special session, part of the Close Relationships Preconference, will have a lineup of relationship experts discussing how recent research can inform the practice, and business, of online dating.

• Thurs., January 17, 5:00-7:00 p.m.: Presidential symposium on the "Contributions of Personality to Health, Biological and Clinical Psychology.” Three distinguished personality researchers will describe research connecting personality with important psychological issues, including the DSM-5 and lifespan studies on health.

• Fri., January 18, 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Symposium session on "Openness in Scientific Reporting: Potential and Reaction,” in the wake of recent controversies over data reporting practices in psychology.

• Fri., January 18, 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m., AND Sat., January 19, 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Data Blitz – split into 2 sessions this year. Each wraps a different variety of topics – financial risk-taking, long-distance in relationships, morality, political psychology, self-regulation, and health goals – into 75-minutes.

Register for the annual meeting now at spspmeeting.org.

Abstracts for all symposia are available on the meeting website.

Discounted hotel rooms are available at the Hilton Riverside, just steps away from the conference center.

For all media inquiries, please contact:

Lisa M. Pinsker Munoz
Public Information Officer, SPSP 
703-951-3195, spsp.publicaffairs@gmail.com
Twitter: @SPSPnews #SPSP2013