Regional Conference Update – Western Psychological Association Conference 2022
By Helen Greenbergs
Western Regional Vice-President
WPA 2022 was a huge success! Meeting in Portland, Oregon from April 27-May 1, faculty and students gathered in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition to many presentations related to the themes of diversity, social justice, and sustainability, there were several; notable Psi Beta events.
At the Psi Beta poster session, more than 40 students had the opportunity to share and discuss their research. While the quality of all the posters was very high, two posters earned the top ratings from our faculty judges. The first winning poster was titled “The relationship between problematic social media use and time spent on social media: Exploring neuroticism as a moderator” by Nicola M. Schmelzer, Talia M. Westphal, Joseph Bennett, Darwin M. Buckner II, Melanie L. Johnson, and Abel Picardo from San Diego Mesa College. Winner number two was “Do masks hide our feelings? The effect of masks on emotion recognition and social interactions” by Shilpi Banka, Bryan Barton, Andre Johnson, and Ulliana Vasiliev from Foothill College. The lead authors of these posters were awarded a graduation package from the Psi Beta store (graduation stole, honor cord, and Psi Beta medal). Congratulations to all our poster presenters!
Following the poster session, we had a lively chapter exchange where students and advisors shared creative ideas for recruitment, induction, fundraising, research activities, community service, and social events. Some of these ideas will be shared in the fall newsletter! Advisors and students at WPA also made connections to people in Psi Beta chapters at other colleges, sparking interest in future collaborations. Thank you to all who participated in our chapter exchange!
