YUTSPA 2011

Congratulations to all of the presenters at YUTSPA Conference held last week at St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto. YUTSPA is an annual conference where the latest research being conducted by graduate students in the social and personality areas at York and at the University of Toronto is showcased. This year four graduate students from York presented, Katrina Fong (What does my WiiMii say about Me-Me? Inferring personality from avatars), Curtis Phills (Attitude behavior link: Changing attitudes by changing behaviours), Chelsea Ferriday (Forlorn and fervent: Religious radicalization of the meek), and Andy Ng (Culture moderates the exhibition and pliability of ambivalent attitudes). Congratulations are also in order for Jennifer Steele who was this year’s key note speaker (When math=male: Examining the hidden barriers that gender stereotypes can impose). Thank you to our hosts at U of T for organizing a wonderful event.

Congratulations are in order for Michelle Lustman, supervised by Dave Wiesenthal, who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation “Just Can’t Put the Brakes on Aggressive Driving: Narcissism, Impulsivity, and Driver Aggression” on May 5th. Congratulations are also in order for former members of the Wiesenthal lab, Dwight Hennessy, and ChristineWickens, both graduates from the SP area. Dwight recently published his second book (Traffic psychology: An international perspective, 2011), and Christine was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. This will enable her to continue her joint research with Prof. Vingilis (UWO), Dr. Bob Mann (CAMH), and David Wiesenthal.