Psychology Conference Features 300 Student Presentations

The 44^th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference is being held Saturday, April 18 at the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph.

The conference promotes undergraduate research in the field of psychology and will feature paper and poster presentations of student research. Approximately 300 students representing 18 Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin colleges and universities – including students from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University – will present research at the conference, which is hosted by the CSB and SJU Department of Psychology.

Laura King, professor of psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia since 2001, delivers the keynote speech at 11:30 a.m. at Alumnae Hall, Haehn Campus Center, CSB. Dr. King is a personality psychologist whose talk is titled “The Secrets of a Happy, Meaningful Life.”

In 2001, King received a Templeton Prize in Positive Psychology for her research on the positive effect of daily goals on well-being. Her research, which has been funded by the National Institute for Mental Health, has focused on a variety of topics relevant to the question of what it is that makes for a good life. King’s work reflects an enduring interest in studying what is good and healthy in people.

Go to Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference 2009 for more information. 

Aubrey Immelman, associate professor of psychology and director of the Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics at CSB|SJU, supervised three research projects on the personality characteristics and leadership style of 2008 presidential and vice presidential candidates. Following are excerpts from the research abstracts.

The Personality Profile of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin

By David Wutchiett, Angela Rodgers, Andrea Schiebe, Sean Wold, and others.

The Personality Profile of Vice President Joe Biden

By Jaclynn Beier, Brianna Ricci, Lindsey Holm, and others

The poster presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of Vice President Joe Biden. The profile reveals that Biden scores highest on dominance (controlling), followed by moderate outgoing (congenial) and ambitious (confident) tendencies. The combination of dominant, outgoing, and ambitious patterns in Biden’s profile suggests a “dominant extravert” personality composite.

The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications

By Sarah Moore

The poster presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of President Barack Obama. The profile reveals that Obama is ambitious and confident; modestly dominant and self-asserting; accommodating and cooperative; and relatively conscientious. The combination of ambitious, dominant, and accommodating patterns in Obama’s profile suggests a “confident competitive, conciliator” personality composite.

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4/18/09 Update: Conference Photos

Sarah Moore with Obama poster at MUPC

“The Personality Profile of President Barack Obama: Leadership Implications.” Research poster presented by Sarah Moore, 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, April 18, 2009, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn. (Supervisor: Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.)

Lindsey Holm and Jaclynn Beier with Biden poster

“The Personality Profile of Vice President Joe Biden.” Research poster presented by Jaclynn Beier, Brianna Ricci, Lindsey Holm, et al., 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, April 18, 2009, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn. (Supervisor: Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.)

Andrea Schiebe, Angela Rodgers, and David Wutchiett with Palin poster

“The Personality Profile of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin.” Research poster presented by David Wutchiett, Angela Rodgers, Andrea Schiebe, Sean Wold, et al., 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference, April 18, 2009, College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, Minn. (Supervisor: Aubrey Immelman, Ph.D.)

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IRAQ UPDATE

Blast Kills Four, Wounds Eight in Baghdad

April 17, 2009 

BAGHDAD – An explosion killed four people and wounded eight on Friday in Baghdad’s eastern neighborhood of Diyala Bridge, police said.

They said the blast was a mortar attack but Baghdad security spokesman Major-General Qassim Moussawi said a boy had accidentally triggered unexploded ordnance, killing himself and a passer by and wounding two other people.

Roadside bombs are common in Iraq despite a fall in violence over the past year.