Steven J. Heine: University of British ColumbiaA core psychological motivation for people is to view themselves positively, yet for decades the vast majority of evidence for this motivation came from North American samples. More recent research finds that this motivation varies importantly across cultures, because there are different kinds of positive views that are prioritized […]
Frances Chen: University of FreiburgSocial relationships are a source of support and comfort in our lives, as well as a source of stress and conflict. Thus, the ability to regulate responses to both positive and negative emotions and cognitions arising from social interactions can significantly influence both physical and mental health. In my talk, I […]
Rafael Nunez: The University of California, San DiegoTime, a fundamental aspect of human experience, is elusive and abstract. We cannot perceive time directly through the senses in the way we perceive color, texture, or heat. In order to make sense of, and talk about, temporal experience we must construe it in a stable and tractable […]
Christina Palmer: The University of California, Los AngelesPrenatal/obstetric complications are implicated in schizophrenia susceptibility. Some complications may arise from maternal-fetal genotype incompatibility, a term used to describe maternal-fetal genotype combinations that produce an adverse prenatal environment. As will be described, maternal-fetal genotype incompatibility can occur when maternal and fetal genotypes differ from one another, or […]
Georg Striedter: The University of California, Irvine. Human brains are much larger than one would expect for primates of our body size. They also feature more neurons and a proportionately larger neocortex. Prefrontal cortex, in particular, is significantly larger in humans than in other species. Although these features make the human brain unique, most of […]
Scott A. Reid: University of California, Santa BarbaraThere is evidence that humans have adaptations to avoid outgroup members who potentially harbor novel pathogens. However, intergroup contact can produce fitness costs (e.g., violence and disease), or benefits (e.g., trade, mates, and technologies), which suggests that it would be beneficial to possess an adaptation that enables the […]
Aaron Lukaszewski: Loyola Marymount UniversityTwo basic questions in the study of personality origins are (1) Why do people vary in their personality trait levels? and (2) Why do distinct trait dimensions covary in consistent patterns within individuals, rather than varying independently? The current presentation describes an integrative evolutionary framework within which both of these questions […]
James W. Pennebaker: University of Texas at AustinThe smallest and most frequently used words in English are function words -- pronouns, prepositions, articles, auxiliary verbs, etc. These overlooked words are profoundly social and can signal the ways people think, feel, and relate to others. Using a variety of text analysis methods, it is possible to […]
Mark Handcock: University of California, Los AngelesIn this talk we give an overview of social network analysis from the perspective of a statistician. The networks field is, and has been, broadly multidisciplinary with significant contributions from the social, natural and mathematical sciences. This has lead to a plethora of terminology, and network conceptualizations commensurate with […]
Ben Karney: University of California, Los AngelesAmong strangers, no variable has as much power to predict interpersonal judgments as physical appearance. In particular, more physically attractive people are judged as more desirable romantic partners, and generally males have been found to be more affected by a partner’s physical appearance than females. But does physical appearance […]
