2024 SWPA Convention

Dr. Nicole Weiss
Department of Psychology - University of Rhode Island
Director of the STRESS Lab

Keynote Address

Dr. Nicole Weiss is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Rhode Island and Director of the STRESS Lab. Dr. Weiss received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Jackson State University following completion of her Clinical Internship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Weiss completed a NIDA T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Substance Abuse Prevention Research at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Weiss is the author of over 180 peer-reviewed articles, and her research is currently supported by grants from NIAAA, NIDA, and NIGMS and has been recognized through several awards (e.g., APS Rising Star, ISTSS Outstanding Mentorship Award, URI Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award).

Talk

Regulate Yourself: Emotion Dysregulation in Substance Use Disorders

Empirical investigations of emotion regulation have increased exponentially over the past decade. Across these studies, emotion dysregulation has emerged as an important factor underlying the etiology and maintenance of clinically relevant outcomes including substance use. These results underscore the transdiagnostic nature of emotion dysregulation, highlighting the potential utility of addressing difficulties in emotion regulation in evidence-based treatments for a wide range of clinical concerns. Indeed, studies indicate that psychological treatments that improve emotion dysregulation are efficacious across diagnostic groups. Together, this research highlights the importance of emotion regulation within clinical research. The goal of the current talk is to highlight recent research on the role of positive emotion dysregulation in risk for substance use. There is growing evidence that individuals may also experience dysregulation of positive emotional systems, and early findings provide support for the role of positive emotion dysregulation in substance use. For instance, research suggests that individuals may be nonaccepting of positive emotions, perhaps because they elicit aversive physiological arousal or competing negative cognitions, and that this aversion to positive emotions may motivate them to suppress positive emotions, such as through substance use. Findings have the potential to inform innovative approaches for addressing substance use.

Dr. Samuel Y. Kim
Department of Psychology and Philosophy - Texas Woman's University
Coordinator of the School Psychology Ph.D. Program

Keynote Address

Dr. Samuel Y. Kim is an associate professor and coordinator of the School Psychology Ph.D. program at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Emory University and his Ph.D. from Georgia State University. His research interests include positive psychology as well as fostering relationships among youth and their families. In addition to being a Licensed Psychologist in both Colorado and Texas, he has worked in a variety of settings, such as schools, community mental health clinics, and university clinics in Georgia, Michigan, Kentucky, Colorado, and Texas, and provided a range of psychological services, including counseling, assessment, and consultation. As a child of immigrant parents from South Korea, Dr. Kim is keen on bringing awareness of mental health to the Korean American population. To this end, he works closely with a non-profit organization (www.mustardseedgeneration.org) by becoming chair of their research committee and being a member of their executive board. In the spirit of sharing knowledge to empower, Dr. Kim and the past executive director of Mustard Seed Generation have started a podcast to translate current research on Korean and Asian Americans to practitioners and the general public called “Research Sense for Korean American Therapy” (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/research-sense-for-korean-american-therapy/id1612729853). The aim of the podcast is to cultivate greater mental health awareness and cultural empathy.

Talk

Going through graduate school, many students are frequently asked if they want a career in academia or enter some sort of practice. Even within academia, students are asked if they would like to spend more time doing research or teaching. It’s interesting the dichotomies that exist in the profession of psychology and how subtle, often well-meaning questions create these choices. Like many others, I chose a career in academia and took a job in an institution that has more of a teaching emphasis than others. Though this is how this career began, these questions and dichotomies make it easy to lose sight of other questions in shaping a career in psychology. More than academia or practice, how about asking whom do you wish to serve or what problems do you have the skills to address? This shift in perspective helps to navigate one’s career from ticking off checkboxes, such as promotion and tenure, to applying skills in a manner that is meaningful. In this talk, I plan to talk about the mistakes of my early career steps and how I ended up finding non-traditional ways of providing consultation and service to the Korean American community. Parallels will be drawn between my own lifelong journey in understanding my identity and how that was used to inform my own work. In this example, I hope to present skills that psychologists have that can be tailored to bring insight and understanding to the unique needs of a specific population.

Dr. Millie Cordaro
Department of Psychology - Texas State University

Keynote Address

Dr. Millie Cordaro is a trauma-informed applied developmental psychologist, therapist, and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Texas State University. In addition to her teaching vocation, Dr. Cordaro’s research interests include the study of traumatic stressor events, generalized anxiety, and major depression disorders. She has recently published several articles on faculty mental health, compassion fatigue, and burnout in academia.

In 2022, Dr. Cordaro completed her 500-hour yoga teacher training. She has a private practice in Austin, TX using mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, and yoga with clients. She maintains a personal meditation and yoga practice as part of her daily mental health routine. Dr. Cordaro serves on several Society for the Teaching Psychology (STP) committees, including chair of the International Travel Grant Committee and the STP Diversity Committee, and worked with the STP DEI and Internationalization Presidential Task Force in 2021. You can follow her at instagram.com/mindful.teaching.psychologist.

Talk

Welcoming all of you: Faculty mental health, compassion fatigue, burnout, and cultivating resilience

Faculty mental health, compassion fatigue, and burnout are critical yet overlooked areas of concern across the United States higher education system. Compassion fatigue, consisting of both secondary traumatic stress and burnout, along with symptoms and risk factors, will be discussed. In addition, protective factors, including cultivating a mental health routine and professional resilience practice, will be addressed. This talk will culminate with a brief, trauma-informed guided meditation. Given the ongoing work demands in higher education, it’s essential for faculty to be aware of compassion fatigue to mitigate potential psychological and emotional consequences. When faculty are well, the students will benefit.

Dr. Jon Grahe
SolarPros

Keynote Address

Dr. Jon Grahe is a sales representative for SolarPros and the sales director for Illumin Analytics after 25 years of teaching undergraduates. In his academic career, he held the positions of President for both Psi Chi and the Western Psychological Association (WPA). He also served as Editor for The Journal of Social Psychology and as Senior Advisor for the launch of Routledge Open Research. Beyond his academic roles, Dr. Grahe has contributed to multiple open science crowdsourcing projects for students. Notably, he recently co-edited Volumes 1 and 2 of Early Contributions of Women of Color to Psychology.

Talk

Psychology in the Anthropomorphic Age

Within the last century, the Earth passed into the Anthropomorphic Age. This is so characterized because the planet is changing more as a function of human action rather than geographic forces. This is reflected in climate change and impacts to geology, such as rocks made of plastic and changing growing conditions. The field of psychology will be critical for healthy adjustment to changing environments for humans and animals alike. This talk will generally review the intersection between psychology and the changing world from both a historical and forward-looking perspective. This timeline will be considered within the context of diversity, social justice, and sustainability and invite attendees to reflect on how this might intersect with their own intended careers. From either research or practitioner approaches, there is important work to be done. Moreover, the choices we make in professions beyond traditional psychology fields also contribute to the long-term health of the planet and society. Regardless of our future personal goals or our ideal future for the planet, psychology offers us an opportunity to make impactful career decisions in the anthropomorphic age.

Dr. Loretta Neal McGregor
Department of Psychology and Counseling - Arkansas State University
President of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology

Keynote Address

Talk

This presentation will explore the relationship between the concepts of perfectionism and the Imposter Phenomenon. According to Clance and Imes (1978), the Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is characterized by intense feelings of intellectual and professional phoniness in high-achieving individuals. Imposters entertain these thoughts and feelings despite evidence suggesting outstanding academic and professional accomplishments. Imposters also report symptoms of generalized anxiety, are highly critical of themselves, and experience frustration related to their inability to meet self-imposed high standards of achievement (Clance & Imes, 1978).

Several of the characteristics used to describe “imposters” are also considered integral in the definition of other psychological concepts, such as depression and perfectionism. As mentioned above, persons who demonstrate symptoms of being an imposter are inclined to criticize themselves over the smallest errors. These self-critical thoughts are similar to the ruminations of individuals who present characteristics of mild depression (McGregor, 2008). Furthermore, Dudău (2014) found a strong correlation between scores on the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale (CIPS) and a component of perfectionism identified as self-evaluative perfectionism. Self-evaluative perfectionism is characterized by feelings of anxiety over making mistakes, a need for approval or validation from others, and the tendency to “obsessively worry about past errors, less than perfect performance, or future mistakes” (Hill et al., 2004, p. 83).

My research continues to explore the relationship between the Imposter Phenomenon and perfectionism. Participants completed the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Scale and the Big Three Perfectionism Scale. The Big Three Perfectionism Scale assesses three higher-order global factors of perfectionism: rigid perfectionism, self-critical perfectionism, and narcissistic perfectionism. Rigid perfectionism assesses one’s belief that one's performance must always be “...flawless, perfect, and without errors” (Smith et al., 2016, p. 671). Self-critical perfectionism examines a participant’s concerns over making mistakes, doubts about one’s actions, self-criticism, and the perceived expectations that others demand perfection from the performer. Narcissistic perfectionism examines a person’s idealization of being perfect or superior to others, one’s hypercriticism of others, the tendency to hold unrealistic expectations, and the devaluation of others. The results and implications of my research will be discussed in this presentation..

Dr. Christopher G. Beevers
University of Texas at Austin

Psi Chi Distinguished Speaker Address

Short Biography

Dr. Beevers received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Miami and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University. He joined the Department of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and is currently a Professor and the Wayne H. Holtzman Regents Chair in Psychology. He has published over 150 scientific articles and has received numerous grants and awards. Dr. Beevers' primary research interest focuses on understanding the causes and treatment of depression in adults using an experimental psychopathology framework and data science methods.

Talk

Cognitive Bias Modification for Depression

Cognitive theories of depression suggest that negative cognition has a causal role in the disorder. For instance, thinking negatively about the self or persistently focusing on negative information are thought to maintain an episode of depression. However, there have been relatively few studies using research designs that allow for strong tests of this hypothesis. Cognitive bias modification provides a research framework that allows for such tests. Specifically, cognitive bias modification targets a specific cognitive bias, attempts to remediate it, and then examines whether symptoms subsequently improve. This talk will review recent research from my laboratory where we attempted to modify negatively biased self-referential cognition and attention among depressed adults. Results provide preliminary causal evidence for the role of these biases in depression. Future directions for this work will also be discussed.

For a more in-depth review of this work, please see our pre-print review of the topic: https://doi.org/10.18738/T8/ZUU9DB.

Individuals who pre-register for the convention may obtain full or partial registration fee refunds.

• Full refund if requested by February 28, 2024.
• 50% refund if requested between February 29, 2024 and March 20, 2024.
• No refund if requested after March 20, 2024.