Psychology Conference Features 300 Student Presentations

The 44th annual Minnesota Undergraduate Psychology Conference is being held Saturday, April 18, 2009 at the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.

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.

Click on image for larger view

The poster presents the results of an indirect assessment of the personality of 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The profile reveals that Palin’s most prominent personal attribute is a dominant, dauntless quality. Her scores also indicate ambitious, outgoing, and contentious tendencies. Palin’s constellation of personality patterns is congruent with several personal qualities associated with success in politics, including assertiveness, determination, ambition, and personal charisma. The combination of ambitious, dominant, dauntless, and outgoing, patterns in Palin’s profile suggests an “ambitious competitor” personality composite.

2010 Update

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The Personality Profile of Vice President Joe Biden

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

Click on image for larger view

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

Click on image for larger view

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 “competitive, confident conciliator” personality composite.

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April 18, 2009 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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December 6, 2010 Update

2012 Presidential Election Preview

Eye on 2012: The potential candidates

Now that the 2010 midterm elections are over, speculation begins about potential Republican presidential contenders in 2012.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

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January 3, 2013 Update

Joe Biden’s Friskiest Moments from the Senate Swearing-In

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October 22, 2015 Update

Joe Biden Concludes There’s No Time for a 2016 Run

A life-size cutout of the vice president was seen in June 2015 in the window of a Draft Joe Biden 2016 office in Chicago. (Photo credit: Andrew Nelles / The New York Times)

By Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman

October 21, 2015

WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. announced on Wednesday [Oct. 21, 2015] that he would not run for president, ending a period of remarkably public agonizing and clearing away one of the biggest potential obstacles to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s path to the Democratic nomination in 2016. …

Full story

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December 31, 2019 Update

The Political Personality of Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Working paper, Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics, St. John’s University/College of St. Benedict, December 2019. Abstract and link for full-text (21 pages; PDF) download at Digital Commons: http://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/psychology_pubs/122/

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Related reports on this site

Joe Biden’s Second Act? 2020 “Ridin’ with Biden” (May 31, 2017)

Psychological Profiles of 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Democratic Candidates (April 25, 2019)

Paige Steinberg, Madison Sharp, Skya Jandt, Christian Giminez, and Sarah Lommel present their poster, “The Personality Profile of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden,” at Scholarship Day, College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN, April 25, 2019. (Click on photo for full-size image)