Three Days in the Belly of Social Psychology

I have mixed feelings about the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). For all its flaws, though, there is no better place to take the temperature of social and personality psychology at SPSP’s annual convention. This year, I’d say the conference was mid. Some personal things happened but I’m keeping those to myself you filthy animals. When I got home, a close friend told me I’d made a mistake by attending a graduate student party. And though that sounds tame, there was drama throughout the 3-day marathon event.

There was a well-attended session asking whether SPSP is a healthy scientific organization, a presenter who had enough chutzpah to deliver his talk using 100% AI-generated slides, and a heartfelt memorial for a dearly departed psychologist. I’m going to get personal and name some names, so I’m putting this behind a paywall to give me the freedom I want and you, the gossip you expect.