What are College Teacher Evaluations Really Based on?


In his TED talk, Chris Anderson reminded us that nonverbal communication and its enormous impact were fine-tuned and perfected by millions of years of evolution. He believes that online video lectures, such as TED and MOOCs, will revolutionize the spread of ideas in a magnitude similar to the impact that the Guttenberg print-revolution had on the spread of ideas in printed language.

Our research demonstrates that teachers’ expressiveness and enthusiasm plays a critical role in engaging students. Since higher education is going through vast changes towards a digital revolution, nonverbal communication becomes more critical than ever and thus, should have a salient presence in the methodology of evaluating teaching effectiveness.

How Is Instructor Effectiveness Typically Measured?

In the standard method (Students' Evaluations of Teaching or SET), students evaluate their teachers via questionnaires at course end, focusing on aspects such as clarity, organization, and exams. The consensual view is that these evaluations reflect "student satisfaction" as a proxy for learning outcomes and "objective" lecturer evaluations that are more difficult to measure.

Is There Another Way?

Yes. A different approach exists, which measures the teacher’s nonverbal cues of expressivity and enthusiasm that are called nonverbal immediacy or NVI. However, this approach and the SET approach have been totally estranged from each other for decades! And this is despite research showing that ratings of brief instances of instructors' nonverbal behavior also predict overall student evaluations. SET scholars reject the validity of teachers' nonverbal expressivity, viewing nonverbal predictors of teaching effectiveness as potential biases that might disguise unsatisfactory pedagogy, for example a teacher who is charming and likeable but whose students don’t learn much.

The estrangement between the two approaches could have been resolved long ago by administering both sets of questionnaires in the classrooms of the same teachers. That is exactly what we did in our 2021 research, hypothesizing that both sets of data reflect components of teaching effectiveness. Kahneman's theory of "fast and slow thinking" perfectly describes how NVI and SET might fit together in student evaluations. Students’ impressions of the teacher’s nonverbal expressiveness and enthusiasm, reflecting “fast thinking,” are formed intuitively right at the beginning of the course. Ratings of clarity, content, and didactic organization at the end of the course reflect slow and reasoned thinking.

At different points in time during their courses—with several hundred instructors in two colleges—we gave students both types of questionnaires. Correlations between the two sets of evaluations were extremely high, meaning an instructor either got high ratings on both, or low ratings on both—in other words, the two kinds of evaluations were close to being interchangeable. Thus, teaching effectiveness can be validly measured by both conventional didactic SET and expressive NVI delivery style. For three quarters of the teachers, their high or low standing matched on the two kinds of evaluation, and only for a quarter of the teachers was there a discrepancy—for example, where the traditional SET ratings were high while the nonverbal NVI ratings were low. Thus, a teacher can be good by conventional standards while being rather dull nonverbally, and vice versa, but such instances are very much in the minority.

The Importance of Teachers’ Nonverbal Communication

Thus, instead of viewing fast, intuitive evaluations as biased and educationally irrelevant, they must be viewed as effective predictors of subsequent slow evaluations. We actually believe it is likely that the later evaluations are heavily affected by the earlier impressions, meaning students are fitting their late, more complex judgments to their already existing intuitive judgments.

We maintain that in the 2020s, the emphasis of effective teaching is shifting from didactics to the style of delivery—from conveying information in a clear and organized manner, to inspiring enthusiasm and curiosity in students. The digital revolution of the last decades has been fully cemented by the COVID-19 epidemic and the necessity to abandon conventional frontal classroom teaching. Nonverbal communication plays a critical role in this revolution. Interactive online videos take center stage in online learning. Students would probably prefer to substitute a dull old-fashioned teacher with a charismatic and inspiring MOOC or TED instructor.

TED talks, in fact, are a good example of "acquired charisma." The long and massive training involved in the preparation of TED talks suggests that charisma and enthusiasm are trainable, rather than being some kind of natural endowment. Teachers will have to undergo massive training for improving their delivery style and nonverbal communication skills. And these aspects would need to be measured in student evaluations collected as early as possible in the course, so as to allow timely and effective feedback to the teachers.


For Further Reading

Babad, E., Sahar-Inbar, L., Hammer, R., Turgeman-Lupo, K., & Nessis, S. (2021). Student evaluations fast and slow: It's time to integrate teachers' nonverbal behavior in evaluations of teaching effectiveness. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 45,  321–338.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-021-00364-4

Kahneman, Daniel (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Macmillan.

Pinto, M. B., & Mansfield, P. M. (2010). Thought processes college students use when evaluating faculty: A qualitative study. American Journal of Business Education, 3(3), 55-61. 


Elisha Babad is Professor Emeritus in educational and social psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. His research includes teacher expectancy effects in classrooms and the teacher's pet phenomenon. More recent research is on the influence of TV interviewers’ nonverbal behavior on viewers' perceptions of the interviewee, voters' wishful thinking, and the role of nonverbal behavior in student evaluations of teachers.

Ronen Hammer is the head of the Center of the Advancement of Teaching and an instructor at the Instructional Technologies Department at HIT - Holon Institute of Technology, Israel.

Limor Sahar-Inbar is an instructor at the Industry Engineering and Technology Management Department and a team member at the Center of the Advancement of Teaching at HIT Holon Institute of Technology, Israel. Her research examines consumers' preferences between volume and similarity in electronic word of mouth.

10 Ways to Conduct Cost-Effective Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

Maintaining an active research program at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) can be difficult, not only because we generally have more teaching and service obligations, but often because we have access to fewer resources. For PUI faculty coming out of grad school, the transition from being at a research-intensive institution with (generally) more time and resources for research can be especially daunting. It is worthwhile spending time thinking and reflecting on what research means and how it fits into your broader professional goals. Importantly, PUIs are not homogenous, and expectations for research are still going to vary widely. Regardless, how can PUI faculty advance their research program given the constraints?

  1. Classroom data. Collect data in your classes (from pilot studies to bigger projects that may need multiple semesters to increase your N), which not only may advance your research but also serve as a pedagogical tool appropriate for almost any course. Students can also advertise studies on social media accounts to help recruit participants. 
     
  2. Establish psych participant pools. If your institution does not have a participant pool, think about setting one up-and not only for gen psych courses; my program (Psychological and Social Sciences at Penn State Abington) requires students in stats and methods courses to participate in research, too. However, you also must consider administering and managing the participant pool. Sona Systems is a popular participant management tool and costs around $1-2k per year (which depends on the number of sessions you run). You can also consider offering extra credit to students instead of making research participation a requirement. 
     
  3. Using students' projects to advance your research agenda. If you have students doing independent research/theses, you can direct them to do an offshoot of your own research agenda. Although you may think there may be an issue with getting buy-in from students, some students want more direction, but even more independent students can get on board if you give them a range of ideas and enough creative license (e.g., Vasturia*, Webster, & Saucier, 2018; Webster, Morrone*, Motyl, & Ayer, 2021a; Webster, Morrone*, & Saucier, 2021b; Webster, Vasturia*, & Saucier, 2021). 
     
  4. Focus on behavioral research. If you have smaller participant pools, you may think about doing more behavioral research, which generally requires smaller ns. Behavioral research also provides really fun opportunities for undergraduates to serve as confederates. However, you do need adequate lab space to run such studies. (I also do realize that this option may not be the most appropriate right now b/c of COVID restrictions, but hopefully will be more feasible once the pandemic abates.) 
     
  5. Apply for PUI-focused grants. Applying for grants can be time-consuming, but the payoff is often worth it. For example, SPSP has its own small-grant program (up to $1,500) that is geared toward funding PUI faculty projects. NSF also has Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) (beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/...). NIH offers funding opportunities geared toward PUIs (grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/r15.htm), too.
     
  6. Do shorter, more focused studies, especially on more cost-friendly participant recruitment platforms. Sometimes it is better to do 2-3 shorter, more focused conceptual replications (vs. one longer study/experiment) to create a multi-study paper. However, it seems like more journals are offering short report submissions, which I have taken advantage of (e.g., Vasturia et al., 2018; Webster, Vasturia, & Saucier, 2021). I will also note that Prolific offers competitive pricing and perhaps better data quality than other platforms. (Note: I am not a paid sponsor of Prolific!) 
     
  7. Reach out to colleagues. You may have existing colleagues that have larger participant pools or funds to collect data on platforms like Prolific; you may offer to help with data analysis or writing for access to their participants (or think about using each other's participant pools to complete multi-study projects). Perhaps post on this PUI forum or the general SPSP forum to foster collaborations.
     
  8. Snowball on social media. When I wanted a non-college sample and did not have funds to pay participants, our research team advertised on social media to voluntarily get participants (Fluke, Webster, & Saucier, 2014); we were able to obtain a fairly diverse sample of over 200 participants in a few weeks. 
     
  9. Meta-analyses. If you do not have access to participant pools or funds for recruitment platforms, meta-analyses are a great option because they rely on existing research and present a great pedagogical opportunity for undergraduates, too. 
     
  10. Large-scale replication projects. Lastly, PUI faculty could consider contributing to large-scale replication projects, such as those with the Psychological Accelerator, that might have limited funds available to support replication work. It's also a nice way to integrate open science and ethics into courses, too.

If you have additional ideas not mentioned here, please reply to this post; we would love to hear your ideas! Otherwise, happy researching colleagues!

Russell J. Webster, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology, Psychological and Social Sciences (PSS) at Penn State Abington College.

References:

*Undergraduate co-author

*Fluke, S., Webster, R. J., & Saucier, D. A. (2014). Methodological and theoretical improvements in the study of superstitious beliefs and behavior. British Journal of Psychology, 105, 102-126. [Early View Online Article] doi: 10.1111/bjop.12008

*Vasturia, D., Webster, R. J., & Saucier, D. A. (2018). Demons with firepower: How belief in pure evil relates to perceptions and evaluations of gun violence perpetrators. Personality and Individual Differences, 122, 13-18. doi: doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.09.037

Webster, R. J., *Morrone, N., Motyl, M., & Ayer, R. (2021). Using trait and moral theories to understand belief in pure evil and belief in pure good. Personality and Individual Differences, 173, 110584. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110584

Webster, R. J., *Morrone, N., & Saucier, D. A. (2021). The effects of belief in pure good and belief in pure evil on consumer ethics. Personality and Individual Differences, 177, 110768. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110768

Webster, R. J., *Vasturia, D., & Saucier, D. A. (2021). Demons with guns: The effect of belief in pure evil on attributions of gun violence perpetrators. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 35, 809-818. doi: 10.1002/acp.3795

Oh Psychology Professor, Heal Thyself: Tips for Having a Productive Summer

If you've been living through the same pandemic as I have, then you are probably just as surprised as I am to learn that it is already the end of the academic year. This means it's finally time to get to those projects you've been pushing off 'til summer. But, it also means figuring out how to actually get those to-dos crossed off your checklist. As experts in human psychology, you would think that we would all be exceptional at goal setting and time management, but where would the irony be in that? 

Here are three tips with concrete suggestions that I have found personally useful for mapping out my summer breaks. 

Set concrete, realistic goals

In many ways this is so obvious that including it on the list seems condescending, but honestly, how many of you have sat down to work and just drawn a huge blank on what work you're even supposed to be doing? During the semester, most of us are teaching, and our work is driven by what is in the syllabus and other external deadlines. In the absence of the structure provided by teaching, work becomes more abstract. For this reason, I recommend spending the first days of the break listing your goals for the summer and breaking these goals into digestible parts and setting concrete deadlines for yourself. For example, if you have a grant proposal due, you might list all of the components required for the submission. You might need to break parts of these components down even further. After you have your to-dos listed, ask yourself how long you will need to complete each of the components and set concrete deadlines based on these estimates. Breaking down a larger, abstract task makes the task much more psychologically manageable. If you have multiple goals for the summer, this process can help you assess how realistic your goals and timelines are. Sticking to deadlines for manuscripts can be trickier, because there are often no hard deadlines for submitting papers. But, you can easily impose a deadline. After you break down your paper into manageable components and figure out how long you will need to complete each component, you can ask a colleague whether they would be willing to read your manuscript before you send it in for review. With that, I'll segue into my second recommendation!

Be accountable

As social scientists, I'm sure that you don't need to be sold on the value of data, but how many of us concretely quantify our work output and keep records of our productivity? According to a 2016 meta-analysis1, physically tracking goal progress was linked to goal progress. In his book How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing, Paul Silvia recommends tracking something as simple as words written in a day and charting your progress. Figuring out how to operationalize your productivity and recording this every day can be a valuable tool for holding yourself accountable and figuring out factors that promote more effective work days. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the previously mentioned 2016 meta-analysis also found that publicly sharing your goals and progress can further boost the effectiveness of monitoring goal progress. Posting something on social media under the #14daywritingchallenge with a hashtag of the day you're on: #day1...#day14 could prove motivating. Or, committing to a summer writing workshop (like the one the SPSP Early Career Committee is organizing) or creating a writing group with friends could be an easy way to hold yourself—and each other—accountable.  

Take breaks

As academics, we have the luxury of being able to work from almost anywhere. But, of course, that comes with the burden of constant (and unwarranted) guilt for not working everywhere. Yet, on this point, the research is clear: Taking breaks—both short breaks throughout the workday and vacations from work—improves productivity, creativity, and health. As you plan out your summer, make sure to schedule periods for legitimate breaks. These can (and should) take the form of days off scheduled into your workweek and longer vacations. Put these into your calendar and make them official and make sure you hold yourself to these days off. Of course the looming nature of work and reliance on our personal devices makes work just a couple taps away, so create ways to prevent yourself from accessing work. Head out to nature, where connectivity is poor, or temporarily uninstall applications from your devices that draw you into work mode. If you're more prevention-focused, think about avoiding that overwhelming feeling of exhaustion that you will feel in the fall if you don't take this time to recharge. If you're more promotion-focused, think about how much more effective you'll be after your break.

References

1. Harkin, B., Webb, T. L., Chang, B. P., Prestwich, A., Conner, M., Kellar, I., ... & Sheeran, P. (2016). Does monitoring goal progress promote goal attainment? A meta-analysis of the experimental evidence. Psychological Bulletin142(2), 198-229.

2. Silva, P. J. (2007). How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. Blackwell.

Job Searching During a Pandemic: Insights from Graduate Students

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically disrupted the labor markets around the world over the course of the past year. While recent economic data suggests that the job market is slowly recovering (see Mutikani, 2021), the impact of COVID-19 on the availability of jobs remains a pressing issue. Many social and personality psychologists seeking either academic or non-academic work throughout the pandemic also have experienced this difficult market firsthand. The SPSPotlight co-editors reached out to several SPSP graduate student members who recently were on the job market to learn about their experiences.

A Change of Perspective

Beyond altering the number of jobs available, the COVID-19 pandemic also influenced many individuals’ broader perspective on applying to jobs. For some, it brought on a greater sense of anxiety about the future. For example, for Friedrich Götz, a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge who recently accepted an offer to join the faculty at the University of British Columbia as an assistant professor this fall, the pandemic created a greater sense of urgency in searching for jobs. He shared, “[the pandemic] made me feel that the pyramid was getting even steeper (regardless of whether that is actually the case).” Similarly, Fred Duong, a PhD student at Northeastern University who will be a postdoc at the University of Toronto this fall, noted that the pandemic made him worry about his chances of obtaining a position after graduation. However, Fred also commented that while there may have been fewer faculty positions available this cycle, he felt there may have been a surge in postdoctoral positions which kept him busy while on the job market.

For others, the pandemic allowed for a re-evaluation of what mattered to them. Susannah Chandhok, a PhD student at the University of Michigan who will be a user experience (UX) researcher at Google following the completion of her studies, reflected that the pandemic encouraged her to take a closer look at her personal and professional values. She shared, “With the pandemic being unpredictable and isolating, I personally gravitated toward pursuing a non-academic job so I could have more daily (albeit right now virtual) interactions with other people, as well as more structure and community day-to-day.” She was also inspired by many people she met in the non-academic world while completing a summer internship with Google, and she wanted to pursue similar careers to them. Comparably, Joshua Jackson, a PhD student at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill who recently accepted a postdoctoral position at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, found that the pandemic led him to apply more narrowly than he initially expected. He remarked, “Moving during a pandemic seemed like a challenge, so I only wanted to move if it was for a position that made me really excited.”

The Idea of a Plan B

It is not uncommon to have a backup plan in mind when on the job market even in the absence of a pandemic. Fred Duong commented that he knew he would need to have a job by August 2021 when his stipend ends, so he kept other options in mind throughout the application process with obtaining an academic job as his “Plan 1A” and a non-academic job as his “Plan 1B.” Susannah Chandhok was similarly discerning her path between academic and non-academic jobs during her search. She commented that it was difficult keeping both the option to remain in academia and the option to pursue a career in industry open at the same time. However, she feels “optimistic that academics will come to appreciate that it's natural to explore multiple career options, especially when both the academic and non-academic job markets are competitive.” Finally, she believes that many people can flourish in either academic or non-academic careers, and sometimes it just comes down to timing or luck in choosing one path.

In contrast, Friedrich Götz felt passionate that remaining in academia was his "favorite choice" for the time being, so he chose to focus on devoting his energy and time only to the academic job market this cycle. In his words, “I was extraordinarily lucky and privileged in that when I was starting to seriously worry, I received offers” and that throughout the process he had “wonderful social support from mentors, colleagues, friends, family and my partner” to get him through the difficult moments."

Surprising Benefits

Although the pandemic has certainly posed challenges for those in the job market, it also offered unforeseen benefits. Fred Duong shared that while the transition to working from home full time was challenging at first, the ability to spend more time with his wife and son was a major benefit and helped him keep his sanity throughout the job application process. Similarly, Susannah Chandhok noted that being able to interview and immediately decompress by playing with her dog was a highlight of her experiences of applying and interviewing during the pandemic. The virtual interview process itself also had other benefits. Joshua Jackson commented that the pandemic afforded him extra time to put together application materials, which he felt was a blessing.

Friedrich Götz, as an applicant based in the United Kingdom, participated in virtual interviews with a nine-hour time difference and at times had to stay up until two in the morning to complete interviews. Despite these challenges, he felt the virtual interview process was positive. He shared, “During the cocktail hour, all of a sudden, I was in the living rooms of some of my gracious hosts, academic heroes (and now soon-to-be colleagues). It was an absurd situation, but there was a lot of camaraderie, kindness, and humaneness to the whole process that I never thought could be conveyed through Zoom.”

Words of Advice

Because the application and interview process can be different for each person, there is not a blanket statement of advice for navigating this particular unprecedented job market. However, the SPSP members who were interviewed spoke to what they found helpful during their own job search process.

For Joshua Jackson, he focused on letting go of rejections, only applying to places he absolutely wanted to be, and remembering what excited him most about his own research. Fred Duong thought deeply about knowing what he wanted and what he was willing to trade-off. He made a list of his values and goals and ranked them. Susannah Chandhok found it valuable to talk to people in non-academic jobs as she was choosing between pursuing academic and non-academic jobs. Finally, Friedrich Götz reflected that what helped him most during this time was going for long runs, eating good and healthy food, seeking out advice from friends and colleagues, and reminding himself that his value as a human being is not determined by his job status.

For more insight on this topic, see the #SPSPchat: Job Searching During a Challenging Economy.

Special thanks to Friedrich Götz, Fred Duong, Susannah Chandhok, and Joshua Jackson. Responses have been edited for clarity and grammar. Direct quotes were printed with permission.
 

Sources

Mutikani, L. (2021, March 05). U.S. labor market roars back; full recovery still years away. Retrieved April 12, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-labor-market-roars-back-full-recovery-still-years-away-idUSKBN2AX0CY

Strategies and Insights About the Non-academic Job Market

In recent years, employment in non-academic jobs for individuals graduating with a doctoral or master’s degree in psychology has grown. Non-academic jobs are highly variable and cover a range of fields including work in industry, government, non-profit organizations, K-12 education, non-teaching positions in higher education, and more. Although there are hundreds of job opportunities in non-academic fields, psychology graduate students tend to receive minimal exposure to these types of career paths, and exploring alternatives to academia may even be discouraged in some departments. Still, more students are considering alternative paths outside of academia. Recognizing the growing interest in non-academic jobs and the lack of information regarding the non-academic job market for social and personality psychology graduates, the 2020-2021 SPSP Student Committee wanted to demystify the non-academic job market for graduate students who are interested in pursuing this path by surveying recent master’s, Ph.D., and soon-to-be graduates who were on the job market for positions outside of academia in recent years to hear about their experiences.

Specifically, the committee aimed to investigate the strategies of psychology graduates recently on the job market in search of non-academic employment. In their survey, they focused on quantifiable information including features of the applicant profile (e.g., number and types of internships, skills, publications), job search strategies, and employment outcomes for recent graduates. Fifty-three respondents provided information on these topics. These are the main takeaways:

What kind of jobs do social and personality psychology graduates usually take? The most popular fields were in research and analysis, consulting, advocacy, and training and content development.

What do psychology graduates look for in industry jobs? Intellectual or skills fit, work/life balance, and applied/practical application of knowledge were reported as the most important factors when searching for jobs.

Is it common to limit the geographical scope when searching for non-academic positions? Geographical flexibility seems to be a perk of industry jobs. About 76% of respondents limited the geographical scope of their search in some way. Compare that to only 33% of respondents in the SPSP Student Committee’s academic job market survey.

What are the chances of receiving a job offer? Approximately 80.4% of respondents reported receiving at least 1-2 job offers. Of the respondents who received offers, 91.8% accepted a full-time position, 4.1% received an offer but did not take it, and 4.1% accepted a temporary, contract position.

What institutional resource is the most important? Advisor support was reported to be one of the most important institutional resources that psychology applicants have when seeking non-academic positions.

What can I do in graduate school to become a more competitive applicant? You may want to hone in on sharpening skills related to quantitative data analysis, survey design, experimental design, qualitative data analysis and lab management. Another important factor is networking—create and make use of networking opportunities. Also, take advantage of this time while in graduate school and complete industry-related internships.

Let’s talk about statistics:

Over 90% of our respondents reported still using regression, ANOVA, and multivariate analyses in their current positions as well as running experimental designs and being in charge of data management and analysis.
Over 50% of our respondents reported using linear models, multilevel modeling, structural equation modeling, and survey sampling in their current position.
Over a third of our respondents reported using qualitative data analysis, probability, nonparametric statistics, applied statistics and meta-analyses in their jobs.

What statistical software programs (or programming languages) are most useful in industry? Over 50% of our respondents indicated that they still use Excel (very popular), SPSS, R, and PROCESS macro for SPSS, SAS, and R. A majority now use SQL (Structured Query Language), Python, S-Plus, and Stata, but they were not experienced with these software programs while in graduate school.

Market yourself! These skills and experiences made the respondents stronger candidates:

Certifications (e.g., PMP - Project Management Professional Certification)
Computer programming
Consulting experience (e.g., DEI)
Data analysis experience
Data camp programs
Grant writing
Experiential knowledge
Management experience (e.g., project management)
Non-academic writing experience
Personal experience with the community in which the applicant currently works with (e.g., being a military spouse who now conducts military-related research)
Post-doctoral position
Presentation skills (general)
Presenting to non-scientific audiences
Prior work experience
Program evaluation experience
Qualitative methodology experience
Research assistantships
Teaching experience
Volunteer positions
Writing skills

How do I find jobs? Most respondents used job search websites (e.g.,  LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor) and personal referrals and connections to find jobs.

When searching for a job, applicants found the following keywords helpful:

Advocacy
Analytics/Analyst
Behavior/al
Consultant/ing
Data
Education
Equity
Media
Mentoring
Policy
Program Evaluation
Project-focused
Psychology/ist
Qualitative
Quantitative
Social Researcher/Scientist
Statistics/al/ian
Survey/s

Our respondents recommend using the following keywords to market your skills:

Advocacy
Analysis/Analyst
Application/Applied research
Attention to detail
Behavioral/behavioral insights
Collaboration
Communication
Consultation/Consulting
Data
DEI
Impact
Intervention design
Mixed methods
Networking
Organizational behavior/behavior
People analytics/management
Policy
Presentation Skills
Product oriented/Results-oriented
Program evaluation/Programming
Psychology
Public policy
Qualitative data analysis/methods/research/skills
Quantitative data analysis/methods/research/skills
Research design/organization
Researcher/Statistician
Social and behavioral/behavioral change
Social justice/psychology/research
Statistical analysis/packages
Teaching
Work ethic

Citation: Stewart D.K., Vu, H.A., Austin, K.W., Andrade, F.C., Tissera, H., Conrique, B.G., & Vuletich, H.A. (2021). Careers Outside of Academia for Social and Personality Psychologists: Strategies and Insights about the Non-Academic Job Market: A Technical Report by the SPSP Student Committee. Retrieved from the website of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology: 

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Trading Academia for Industry: 3 Career Stories

Disillusioned with academia? Tenure out of reach? Tired of teaching? Rest assured, there are challenging and fulfilling alternative career paths for social and personality psychologists. Three SPSP members share their stories of change, and why working at a different pace, collaborating with different people, and using news skills to solve new (and different) problems has been the right path for them.  

Eliane Boucher, Research Scientist at Happify Health

Eliane Boucher headshot


As a Research Scientist, I work closely with the science team to design and implement research projects, which include observational research, randomized controlled trials, and qualitative research. Industry research can be very different—it moves at a faster pace and you have to consider your stakeholders and not just your independent research agenda. Much of what I do involves meeting with the leads from our various departments to learn what claims they’d like to make and then develop studies to support their needs. I also communicate our research findings to internal stakeholders and to clients, submit publications, and I’ve even had the opportunity to collaborate with our marketing team to develop infographics based on our research.

Digital therapeutics is a fast-paced and exciting environment, and startup culture involves wearing a lot of hats and learning a lot of new skills, so it’s not for everyone. Personally, after 10 years in academia, where days started to all feel the same, I really enjoy that my days are unpredictable and I frequently have the opportunity to solve new problems.

Ryne Sherman, Chief Science Officer at Hogan Assessments

Ryne Sherman headshot


While there were multiple factors that played into my decision to leave academia, the most important was the opportunity to make a bigger impact. As Hogan’s Chief Science Officer, I help leaders ranging from small nonprofits to major international companies make critical personnel decisions. When organizations make better decisions about personnel, those organizations thrive. When those organizations thrive, their employees, investors, and customers thrive. When companies, employees, investors, and customers thrive, the global economy thrives. And when the global economy thrives, the quality of life for many people improves. In this regard, I truly see my work as having an indirect impact on millions of people.

Perhaps the most notable difference from an academic job is that I spend far less time doing the things I never enjoyed (grading, faculty meetings) and far more time focused on solving real problems in real-time. For example, a client recently came to us asking for help hiring managers who will prioritize staff diversity and inclusion. Using my knowledge and skills as a personality/social psychologist to help them solve that problem was an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Kate Rogers, Senior Behavioral Scientist at Zillow

Kate Rogers


I joined the Behavioral Science team at Zillow in 2019 after about 4 years in my tenure track position. Ultimately, my decision to leave academia came down to how I wanted my life outside of my job to look. I had always worked my life around my job, but I took a step back and quite literally wrote down a list of what I wanted out of my life and then listed how different careers could best help me achieve that. While there were many great aspects of my tenure-track position, for me the industry position fit better.

The primary work I do at Zillow is similar to what I did as a professor—I do research (often experiments) from idea generation stage to dissemination. Two of the biggest differences for me are that the project lifecycle is much quicker (typically weeks) and the goal is always to inform a business decision. Additionally, communicating research to business stakeholders is a bit different than an academic audience.

I get to work with people who have diverse training and I have learned an incredible amount from them. Broadly, my work and work environment are intellectually stimulating, fast-paced, supportive, and often pretty fun. I really enjoy working in an environment where people are excited about the research and seeing it implemented is incredibly rewarding.


SPSP is committed to advancing the promotion of careers in personality and social psychology—both inside and outside academia.  The SPSP Applied Psychology Committee works to achieve this goal and in addition to developing a resource page, they have created opportunities to showcase applied work at the annual convention. More than 500 convention attendees participated in a professional development session at the recent convention.  

Recap of SPSP’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Webinar

As part of SPSP’s ongoing commitment to support efforts to change the culture of racism, the SPSP student committee recently hosted a webinar on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). This webinar aimed to assist SPSP members and others in learning about ways to become better advocates, inform people about concrete actions they could take to fight for DEI, and exchange ideas on practical and tangible DEI initiatives and resources that people could bring back to their departments. Dr. Cynthia Pickett, Associate Professor of Psychology and Associate Vice-Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at DePaul University moderated the panel during this webinar. Other panelists included Dr. Denise Sekaquaptewa (University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan), Dr. Markus Brauer (Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Dr. Selena Kohel (Associate Professor of Psychology, Cottey College), and Ms. Rubi Gonzalez (PhD Candidate, University of Texas at El Paso).

Broadly, the panelists discussed concrete actions and steps toward confronting racism in universities at individual, interpersonal, and broader departmental and institutional levels. As noted by several members of the panel, it can be particularly hard for students to advocate for DEI at their institutions or in their organizations because students often lack the power to and the avenues for creating fundamental change. However, a few panelists also discussed ways students can and should get involved with DEI at their institutions and in their organizations.

On the broader level

Many departments and organizations put out letters regarding systemic racism and calls to action over the summer related to DEI. Ms. Gonzalez recommends following up with those individuals to “pick the conversation back up if you feel it’s lagged.” Dr. Pickett noted that this can be hard for students, especially if they feel they don’t have a voice in the department. She suggested that if you’re not comfortable reaching out to the people with power, try to turn to a faculty member you trust who can advocate with you.             

On the interpersonal level

Many students teach or TA, and several panelists discussed how to incorporate DEI into the courses taught. Dr. Kohel highlighted that in classes, teachers can map, bridge, and integrate cultural differences to raise awareness of and impart knowledge regarding the diverse experiences students face. Specifically, Ms. Gonzalez suggested diversifying the syllabi used (i.e., intentionally including articles/books from underrepresented researchers) as well as building in constructive discussion time for important societal issues. In a TA role, there may be less opportunity to make these changes to courses, but students could approach the instructors of record if they’re comfortable doing so to open the conversation toward more inclusive instruction.

Students can also talk with their PIs to see how their own labs can work toward DEI. For example, this may include reading articles as a lab from a diverse set of scholars or brainstorming ways to recruit underrepresented students.

On the individual level

One key way students can work for DEI is by continuing to educate themselves on systemic racism and highlighting underrepresented voices and perspectives. Ms. Gonzalez discussed how social media can be a great tool to learn more about others’ experiences with racism as well as uplift voices of color. She also talked about how educating oneself first is crucial to carrying out change on broader levels.

As a number of panelists mentioned, authentic allyship or being a “co-conspirator in the fight against racism” is hard work. There are many barriers to engaging in anti-racist work at all levels, but students can find this especially challenging. Dr. Pickett highlighted that lasting change requires policy change, but students can play a key role in improving DEI at their institutions and in their organizations by reflecting upon and taking action within each person’s own purview.

watch the webinar

To learn more about what SPSP is doing to confront racism, visit the Diversity & Inclusion page.

New Community for SPSP Members at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions

As part of the 2019 election cycle, SPSP membership voted to create a new Member-at-Large position on the SPSP Board of Directors that would focus on the unique needs and concerns of SPSP’s members who primarily work with undergraduate communities. Last year, SPSP past president Linda Skitka appointed Jarret Crawford to fill the position.

“As Member at Large to the SPSP Executive Board for Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), I am looking to determine ways to enhance the profile, productivity, and experience for our members who call PUIs their home,” says Crawford. One way he hopes to do this is through the creation of an SPSP Connect! Community focused on the needs and concerns of social and personality psychologists working at institutions that primarily serve undergraduate psychology students.

“We hope that this community space will be a resource not only for faculty who currently work at PUIs, but for graduate students who are considering such institutions in their career path. Members can use this community to address the particular concerns or needs associated with PUIs, from relatively limited financial resources, smaller participant pools, managing teaching and research loads, training undergraduate student researchers, and other relevant topics.”

The PUI group joins a wide-ranging collective of niche communities that are available for SPSP members, and access to Connect! is one of the many benefits of membership.  

At a time like this when you are unable to network in person, a member resource like Connect! can help foster these virtual relationships. In addition to the PUI Community, some of the current and active online communities include:

  • Applying Social Psychology
  • Attitudes and Social Influence
  • Close Relationships 
  • Early Career Members  
  • Educators 
  • Grad Student Parents' Community
  • Group Process & Intergroup Relations 
  • Media Psychology
  • Nonverbal
  • Open Forum
  • Persons of Color 
  • Political Minorities in Social-Personality Psychology 
  • Primarily Undergraduate Institutions 
  • Sexuality 
  • Sustainability
  • Violence Against Stigmatized Groups 

The Open Forum is by far the most popular discussion group on Connect, with more than 5,600 active members. For the period of April 15 – May 15, for example, the Open Forum featured more than 60 different discussions.

Now is the perfect time to join the Open Forum, the PUI Community Group or one of our many online communities to share ideas and spark collaborations. 

Resources for Members: Remote Teaching, Coping, and More

To support our members and the community, SPSP is maintaining this list of resources during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please check back periodically as this list will be updated regularly.

Updated May 14, 2020

SPSP Articles

SPSP Resources - You can find several teaching resources on our website: http://spsp.org/resources/teaching

Including:

SPSPchat 

Other Helpful Links from Academic Organizations

More from social and personality psychologists

You’re Finally a Faculty Member! Now What?

“You made it!” Applause spread across the room to congratulate the people who had recently accepted their first faculty position at a university. To shed some light on what comes next for these soon-to-be junior faculty members, a diverse panel of early career professors spoke about their pre-tenure experiences. Drs. Shantal Marshall, Lindsey Rodriguez, Justin Troisi, and Jackie Chen represented schools that vary in size, demographics, location, and expectations. They shared how teaching, service, and research each have played a role in their progress toward tenure. While expectations for each of these three components clearly varied across universities, the panel offered several pieces of advice that would benefit any junior faculty member.

Teaching takes time. Time is needed to design and prepare courses. Time is needed to become familiar with a new student population. Time is needed to respond to student emails. For these reasons, members of the panel suggested negotiating for course reductions or waivers as first-year faculty members—a standard practice at many schools. To assist in this teaching transition, future professors were also advised to integrate their research into their teaching. Doing so can make instructors feel more confident and competent, which can result in more positive student and peer teaching evaluations.

Service takes time. The panel insisted that there will be far more opportunities to participate in service than there will be time to do it all. Therefore, they overwhelmingly encouraged the audience to learn to say “no” when it comes to service as a new faculty member. For people who may find refusing to be difficult, panel members shared that deferring or delaying responses to requests can be another effective strategy. In addition, faculty mentors can help junior faculty determine which opportunities should be pursued.

Research takes time. Setting up a lab and managing a new set of research assistants are a couple of activities that junior faculty must do that may hinder the progress of research. Panel members recommended selecting graduate or undergraduate students thoughtfully to be able to delegate. Being able to demonstrate a vision for your research program is important for tenure at schools that emphasize research, so pre-tenure professors were encouraged to guide students’ research in a direction that aligned with that vision.

“You can always find something to do.” These words were echoed by members of the panel. In sum, new faculty members must adjust to the seemingly endless time commitments expected of them. Acknowledging how rough the first years of being a professor can be, the panel closed by highlighting the importance of self-care. Get sleep. Take a hobby. Eat well. Doing these things can help you have the energy to survive and thrive as a junior faculty member seeking tenure.


Written by: Malachi Willis, M.A.

Presentation: Thriving and Surviving those First Years Post-PhD and Pre-Tenure held March 3, 2018

Speakers: Dr. Shantal Marshall, Dr. Lindsey Rodriguez, Dr. Jordan Troisi, Dr. Jackie Chen