Convergence: Connecting Levels of Analysis in Psychological Science
In the past, our field harbored distinct, and often competing, schools of thought that tackled different problems and produced findings that often appeared to diverge. Today, investigators attack shared problems at complementary levels of analysis and produce results that converge. Studies of people in a social world; mental systems of cognition and emotion; and biological mechanisms of the genome and the nervous system interconnect and yield an integrated psychological science. The APS 23rd Annual Convention displays, and celebrates, these advances in our field.

Invited Symposium

New Directions in the Psychology of Meaning

Saturday, May 26, 2012, 10:00 AM - 11:20 AM
Michigan

Chair: Travis Proulx
Tilburg University, The Netherlands

Roy Baumeister will discuss consciousness and its implications for free will. Ian McGregor will describe the neural and motivational mechanics of meaning. Aaron Kay will present data supporting the link between personal control and a desire for political stability. Finally, Travis Proulx will discuss the generative behaviors that follow from meaning violations.

Roy F. Baumeister
Florida State University

Roy Baumeister will sign copies of his books, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength and Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men immediately following this program from 11:30 AM-12:00 PM outside of the Michigan room.

Roy F. Baumeister in the news: Real Simple (January) , The New York Times (Jan 5, 2012), The Montreal Gazette (Jan 22, 2012), The Atlantic (Jan 30, 2012), ScienceNews (Jan 30, 2012), The Guardian (Feb 7, 2012), Financial Times (Feb 17, 2012), The Wall Street Journal (Feb 20, 2012) and The New York Times (Mar 23, 2012).

Aaron C. Kay
Duke University

Aaron Kay in the news: Daily Mail (Nov 22, 2011), Wiener Zeitung (Dec 30, 2011) , The Washington Post (Jan 23, 2012) and The Huffington Post (Feb 8, 2012)

Ian McGregor
York University, Canada

Subject Area: Social