Presenting at a Regional Conference for the 1st Time: Experience, Etiquette, and Tips

-By Alana Gregoire ’11, Psychology Content Tutor

What is it like to present at a regional conference for the first time? Prior to a month ago, I wouldn’t have had an answer. However,  I recently attended my first psychological conference. Dr. Vozzola and Professor Rondinone (two of our very fabulous psych professors here at SJC) encouraged me last fall to submit a proposal to the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) to present my summer research findings. I was honored, but slightly intimidated. Prior to this experience, I had absolutely no idea what it was like to present at a regional conference. Of course, I wanted to do it, so submitted the proposal. As it turns out, I  was accepted. Unfortunately, no one from  SJC was able to make the conference this year.  It appeared as though I was on my own: embarking on new territory. In the end, I dragged my mother along to 81st Annual Meeting of the EPA at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriot. This is the deal: unless you happened to be a professional, key-note speaker, your research findings are presented in poster format. Basically, what that means, is that they reserve a large spot on a portable wall for you to hang up your poster. The poster is essentially an out-lined version of your research (there are professional agencies that can help you make one). Poster sessions last approximately an hour and a half, in which you are expected to stand by your poster and answer questions as people walk by.

The EPA Experience

As it happens, my time slot was the first “session” of the weekend; Saturday morning from 9-10:30 a.m. Thus, while my mother finished putting on her make-up, I proceeded down the elevator alone (not quite knowing what to expect) into a large room with many isles composed of posters tacked on portable walls. The posters weren’t just student posters either; professors and professional researchers were there to share their findings as well. Furthermore, many of the presenters were in groups of 2 or more, and there I was; little undergraduate me from a small private college. I must admit, initially I was a bit intimidated by the whole scene. After all, I really didn’t know what to expect. As soon as the clock hit 9 a.m.,  people began to approach my poster. I waited eagerly for their questions. I wasn’t exactly versed in conference etiquette, however.  In other words, I wasn’t sure if it was “appropriate” to speak to people about my research unless they asked a question. After all, it seemed rude to interrupt someone who appeared to be reading so intently. Unfortunately, the first couple of people who approached me failed to ask any questions. I recall thinking, there has to more than this. Why aren’t they asking any questions? Aren’t they interested in my research? It involves drugs: aren’t people interested in drug abuse? A few minutes later, I made an important observation. Rather then waiting patiently for people to “finish reading”, other presenters simply offered anyone who happened to approach them the option to be “walked through” the research. Finally, an ice-breaker! As soon as I adopted this method, things picked up. The awkward, academic silence lifted, and I found myself answering many questions. People were interested in my research. In an effort to save a future presenter 15 minutes of awkward uncertainty, I decided to share a few tips.

TIPS ON HOW TO HANDLE YOUR FIRST CONFERENCE

1. Familiarize yourself with (i.e., review) your research prior to the conference. That way, you will be prepared to answer any questions. This should increase your confidence level.

2. Don’t hesitate to offer to “walk spectators through your research”. It isn’t necessary to wait for people to ask questions first. Plus, it’s good practice to explain your research to fellow students and professionals in the field.

3. Bring hand-outs. Many people requested additional info regarding my research. In such cases, supplemental hand-outs and contact info can save the day. Plus, it will make you appear more experienced than you really are.

4. Don’t be afraid to peruse the room, and ask others about their research. Not only can this be interesting, it can be educational.

5. Network. Do not be afraid to make conversation and possible contacts with others in the field. These contacts may be beneficial in the future for both grad school or employment opportunities.

All in all, it was a great experience. Below is a sample abstract of the research I presented. After you read the abstract, I will “walk you through” my research.

The Effects of Negative and Positive Life Events on Substance Use Relapse

The present study examined the relationship between stressful life events, perceived stress, substance availability, and substance use cravings and/or relapse. Life events were categorized as negative or positive stressors. Participants included 44 opiate-addicted individuals enrolled in a methadone maintenance treatment facility. Results suggest a positive correlation between negative life events and substance use cravings and/or relapse. In addition, positive stressors may function as buffers against relapse.

-For those of you who are unfamiliar with methadone, it is synthetic opiate agonist used to treat heroin, oxycontin, and other chronic opiate addictions. As it happened, I had unusual access to this population.

- My primary objective was to examine the effect that perceived stress had on substance use relapse.

- Participants were administered a life-events checklist including 41 events that were categorized as either positive or negative stressors. Participants were instructed to rate on a 4-point scale “how stressful” they perceived each event that they had experienced within the past year, along with the effect that the event had on their recovery.

-”Effect on recovery” was also rated on a 4-point scale: 1=no effect, 2= wanted to use, but did not due to ‘willpower’, 3= wanted to use, but did not due to inability to access drugs or alcohol, 4 = used

- Results suggest that the nature of the stressor may play a more critical role than perceived stress in determining the likelihood of substance use relapse. For example, negative stressors such as “troubles at current place of residency” were associated with high levels of perceived stress and a high incidence of substance use cravings and/or relapse.

- Meanwhile, life events categorized as positive stressors perceived as highly stressful (i.e., “seeking employment” and “changes in work or school responsibilities”) may initially induce substance use cravings. In the end, however, such events were associated with a low incidence of substance use relapse.

-  In addition, positive stressors such as “going back to school” and “outstanding personal achievement” received variable stress ratings, but were associated primarily with either no desire to engage in substance use or a desire that was curbed due to “willpower”. These findings suggest that positive life events, regardless of the level of perceived stress, may function as buffers against relapse.

Writing Papers for SOCL 101

How to Write Papers for Sociology 101

 -Casey Shaw

1. Brainstorm your topic

            -must have a sociological basis

2. Determine areas of the topic that will be discussed

            -keep in mind, the topics will need to be analyzed sociologically

3. Brainstorm a list of concepts that go with your topic

            -recommend at least 7-10 concepts/terms

            -go through chapters of text/notes

                        -hint: at the end of each chapter is a list of concepts

4. Formulate an outline, matching topic areas with concepts

            -concepts must be throughout paper

5. Begin writing!

            -don’t forget a strong thesis, including areas of topic covered and the main

  concepts that form the structure of the paper

-be sure to maintain a focus – when reading over the paragraph, ask “does this

  relate to the thesis?”

Basic Steps within a paragraph/idea:

• 1. Make a statement that involves a sociological concept/term with the topic

-use some piece of literature about the topic

• 2. Define the concept/term using text
• 3. Explain why the concept/term goes with the topic/defend statement made in step 1

-use the definition of the term to reinforce the statement

-be thorough in explanations – try looking at it from different angles

                                               – look at it from ALL aspects

Example:

[#1. statement] Saint Joseph College, with about 62 departments and services on campus, can be said to exhibit qualities of structural functionalism (www.sjc.edu, 2009). [#2. define concept/term] Structural functionalism refers to a framework that sees society as complex, yet its parts work together to promote stability (Macionis, 2001). [#3. explanation] The roughly 62 departments on the Saint Joseph College campus, all take responsibility for some aspect of students, staff, and/or faculty needs so that not one department carries all of the weight. Due to this division of labor, each need can be addressed with care and quality, keeping SJC stable and running smoothly…[more]

Cliques and Crowds in the 80′s

-By Casey Shaw, undergrad psyc tutor

 

After the discussion on cliques and crowds today in Psyc 241, I decided to see what was out there on the internet about these. I came across a website showing the different groups that were present in high schools during the 80′s. Read below or go directly to the website - It’s just something fun to look at in comparison to how your high schools were!  Feel free to comment too!

Cliques of Eighties Teens

This page is an attempt to summarize the different cliques that could be found in an eighties high school environment. The Breakfast Club and Heathers are both great reference material for this type of page and were my inspiration. I had started this as a complement to the glossary of eighties terms page that I started, and realized that not all groups had their own lingo, so I broke it apart.

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These are the Cliques Currently Defined

• The Popular Group
• The Jocks
• The Nerds
• Valley Girl
• Rapper
• Skater
• Surfer
• Hacker
• Losers
• Outcasts

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Stereotypical Eighties Cliques

• Hacker (a subset of the nerds group)
  The geeks had their own language, and it was rarely verbalized. Around the time that Wargames reached mall movie theatres around the world, the BBS scene had given rise to a whole new class of speech. Mostly this subset relies on misspellings of common words, some extremists would actually substitute every o in their words for zeros. The required equipment for this type of person seemed to be a Commodore 64 which was the machine of choice for teenagers who didn’t know better.
• The Jocks
  This crowd consisted of the athletic geared people in any school. Most of them prayed for scholarships if they wanted to go onto college, most that didn’t get them, ended up working in less than glamourous jobs. Jocks generally had their own events (athletic in nature of course) and could be seen at most popular group functions as well
• The Losers
  These were generally the type of people who were rebelling against any authority figure they could. They generally spent their time cutting classes, and had awful academic performance. They rarely were invited to parties, but were known to show up anyways. They sometimes threw their own, but mostly they would just find a good hiding place for small drinking parties for the members of their group.
• The Nerds
  Also known as “the geeks”. Mostly filled with students of higher academic pursuits, they were generally lumped into one catch all category. Some in this group could actually move into other groups, such as the popular group or the jocks, but would still be labeled as that particular groups nerd. Hackers, when actually at school, would fall into this group as well, since most tended to be the academic sort (at least in computers and math). Generally their outward appearance set them off from the rest of any group since they were never dressed quite like the rest of the groups.
• The Outcasts
  Generally someone who didn’t dress like everyone else was dressing, and had a little fashion sense would easily fit into this group. This was the group with the most artistic inclinations, and tended to be the type of people who weren’t real interested in going to a kegger. This group usually remained low key and could almost go unnoticed. Unlike the the nerds, this group didn’t require academic performance to be of high standards. Usually though, members fell into the middle of the road academically though.
• The Popular Group
  This was generally the crowd that came from middle and upper class families and consisted of people who generally were well liked by most groups except those that they came in direct contact with. Generally they gravitated towards the jocks when it came to invites for parties, and some people were generally considered to be members of both groups. In California valley girls were also included in this subset, in the “Valley” of course. Outside of it, they were tolerated, though not always considered to be acceptable. Since nationally, the Valley Girl phenomenon lasted a short period, most imitators generally fell in line with the rest of the popular group.
• Rapper
  As rap music gained popularity, so did the parlance surrounding them. Mostly fans of rap music could be found talking like this. This is real unfortunate when it’s a skinny white loser in a mall who thinks he’s cool. Anybody who doesn’t grow up in the ‘hood shouldn’t talk like this without risking looking like a poser.
• Skater
  Typically this is someone who actually skates. Emphasis is on the word “dude” which is used a lot like the word “like” is by valley girls. Slang is mostly skating related. Depending on the region of the country and their attention to clothing, they could be considered a subset of other groups as well.
• Surfer
  Typically this is someone who actually surfs. I’ve rarely seen imitators of this type. Mostly limited to California, received wide recognition when Sean Penn’s character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High was introduced. Slang is mostly surfing related, which dates to the sixties for the most part. Generally considered to be a subset of the loser group since their academic standing was sub-par due to excessive hanging time on the beach.
• Valley Girl (a subset of the popular group)
  Popularized by the Frank Zappa song of the same name with his daughter Moon Unit. Before this song, it was a regional dialect limited to the “Valley” in California. Afterwards however, teenagers across the country were unfortunately imitating (or at least attempting to). Watch the movie of the same title to get a good solid look at a “Val” in action. The pre-requisite to being fluent in Valley-speak, would be a lobotomy and Daddy’s credit card. The word “like” is often repeated and has several different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.

Adolescent Sexuality

-by Casey Shaw, Psych tutor

To wrap up the discussion on Adolescent Sexuality, I found this article  about teenagers’ “virginity pledges.” Similar to what was discussed in class, this article mentions how those who pledge abstinence are at higher risk of pregnancy and STD’s. Research is also showing that these pledges are short lived – what does that say about adolescence and commitment? If they cannot commit to their own sexuality, how committed can they be to others? …to their own identity? Post any thoughts!

 

Virginity Pledges Don’t Change Sexual Behavior

By Psych Central News Editor
        Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on December 30, 2008

Tuesday, Dec 30 (Psych Central) —

While teenagers’ pledges to remain a virgin until marriage may make them feel good about their sexuality choices, it apparently does little in actually changing their sexual behavior. A new study just published suggests that such premarital abstinence pledges are simply ineffective. The analysis from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at data gathered from a nationwide survey of 11,000 teens, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

The study found more than half of youths surveyed engaged in sexual activity, regardless of whether they had made a pledge to remain sexually abstinent.

Researchers also discovered something not entirely unexpected — virginity pledgers were 10 percent less likely to use a form of birth control. Virginity pledges are often tied to a person’s religious beliefs, which may also teach against using birth control.

The researchers focused on 934 high school students from about 3,400 students who had never had sex or had taken a virginity pledge in 1995. Investigators compared students who had taken a virginity pledge with those who hadn’t.

After five years, those who had taken a pledge did not differ from teens who hadn’t taken a pledge in rates of premarital sex, oral or anal sex, or sexually transmitted diseases.

The study also found that, after 5 years, more than 80 percent of virginity pledgers had retracted their promises.

The findings suggest that “virginity pledges” do little to deter teenage sexuality. It also suggests that people who take such pledges are at a slightly increased risk for pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases when they do have sex, due to their decreased use of condoms or other birth control.

The findings were published in the January issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Source: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

 

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/12/30/virginity-pledges-dont-change-sexual-behavior/3568.html

Gender and identity among adolescent females–PSYC 241

For all of you in Adolescent Development, I found a set of articles off of the APA website (link: http://www.apa.org/pi/cyf/adolesgirls.html) that will give you more to think about as you finish up Identity and move on to Gender.

These articles address some of the issues that adolescent girls face. In particular, there are two; one of gender, titled, “Why Do Parents Treat Girls Differently Than Boys?” and then one of gender and self esteem, titled, “What Can I Do to Make Myself More Confident in Sports?” Both articles cover many of the topics Dr. Vozzola discussed in class, followed by some questions to think about. Even think back to your own adolescence…

If you have any thoughts regarding the articles, please post them!

 

GENDER
“Why Do Parents Treat Girls Differently Than Boys?” Age 14

          Gender is a psychological and cultural term that refers to the meanings attached to being female or male in a particular culture. It is distinct from sex, which refers to the biological aspects of being female or male. Across the United States, expectations for gender roles vary according to culture, socioeconomic class, and sexual orientation. These expectations present a variety of pressures for adolescent girls as they develop into womanhood.

          Between the ages of 8 and 11 years, girls tend to be androgynous. They view themselves as strong and confident and are not afraid to say what they think. However, as they cross over into adolescence, girls begin to experience pressure toward more rigid conceptions of gender roles; they become more concerned with how women are ”supposed to behave” and with their physical and sexual attractiveness. Although research shows that self-esteem decreases for both sexes after elementary school, the drop is more dramatic for girls. Compared with boys of the same age, adolescent girls are more anxious and stressed, experience diminished academic achievement, suffer from increased depression and lower self-esteem, experience more body dissatisfaction and distress over their looks, suffer from greater numbers of eating disorders, and attempt suicide more frequently.

          And yet, across cultural groups, adolescent girls hold more flexible and liberal attitudes than boys about the rights and roles of women. White adolescent girls who hold traditional attitudes toward women’s roles tend to have lower self-esteem than do girls who hold more liberal views.

          Important sources of resistance to and liberation from negative cultural messages for adolescent girls include the following: a strong ethnic identity, close connections to family, learning positive messages about oneself, trusting oneself as a source of knowledge, speaking one’s mind, participation in athletics, non-traditional sex typing, feminist ideas, and assertive female role models.

Research Agenda: Gender

• What factors contribute to resilience in adolescent girls who resist stereotyped and negative cultural messages about women?
• What factors support adolescent girls’ formation of positive and optimistic perspectives on their developing womanhood and future roles?
• In what ways are adolescent expectations about gender roles influenced by racial and ethnic identities, socioeconomic status, religious values, health, and sexual orientation?

          Across adolescent girls’ group status (ethnic and racial, sexual orientation, socioeconomic, and religious), how do gender-related biological, psychological, and cultural factors interact during adolescence?

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GENDER AND SELF-ESTEEM

“What Can I Do to Make Myself More Confident in Sports?” Age 17

          Many aspects of girls’ self-perceptions and mental health do not decline during adolescence; on most measures, the variations among girls are much larger than the differences between girls and boys. Girls’ self-concepts of ability and self-esteem vary significantly across domains and ethnic groups. Competence beliefs for both girls and boys are related to the gender stereotyping of the activity. Girls have higher expectations of success than boys in their general academic abilities across domains and in their social skills, whereas boys are more confident about their math and sports abilities.

          High school senior girls and boys are equally confident of their success in business and law and in their leadership, independence, intellectual, and computer skills. Girls and boys are equally invested in future careers, but girls place less emphasis on money and job status. Their career preferences show differences related to traditional gender expectations. Many adolescent girls still believe there is an inherent conflict between feminine goals and values and competitive achievement activities. This belief does limit their future opportunities. For many adolescent girls, sensitivity to failure limits their willingness to take risks for higher rewards or more demanding opportunities.

          Declines in self-esteem during adolescence are not inevitable consequences of either pubertal or school changes. Both girls’ and boys’ self-esteem decreases during the high school years; but girls’ self-esteem tends to drop more over time. African American girls’ self-esteem does not decrease over the high school years and tends to be higher than both White and African American boys.

          It is important to note that these gendered patterns have been observed to decrease over time. Young women today are more likely to aspire to traditional male-stereotyped fields. In addition, young women today are much more involved in athletic activities than both their mothers and grandmothers.

Research Agenda: Gender and Self-Esteem

• What factors account for the cultural and ethnic differences in patterns of adolescent girls’ self-esteem?
• How can adolescent girls be encouraged to resist traditional gender role expectations in considering academic pursuits and future careers?
• How can adolescent girls be encouraged to attribute their academic success to their ability as well as to their effort and hard work?