Eli presents his work at the SPSP annual convention

Author: Eli Schwartz-Yermack | Major: Psychology | Semester: Spring 2023

My research aims to explain a debate in the political extremism research literature. Some research has found extremists to be more politically informed and engaged than moderates, while other research has found extremists to lack deep understanding of political issues. My research attempts to reconcile this debate by looking for a link between political extremity and preference for complex vs simple explanations of political issues.

I traveled to the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s 2023 annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia to present my research. SPSP is the flagship conference in social psychology research, so presenting here is an impressive addition to my academic resume. This will make me a more competitive applicant to graduate school and jobs. Presenting also allowed me to get some initial feedback on my research, all of which was positive! People seemed to be interested in the premise of my research and agreed with my hypotheses. Presenting research is an experience that most people don’t get as an undergraduate, so having this experience has made me more prepared for future endeavors, and allows me to demonstrate my skills to future mentors and employers.

While at the conference, I also had the opportunity to attend several talks by other presenters. I used these as an opportunity to learn about research being done in various areas of social psychology. Some of the presentations I attended were within the bubble of political psychology, with which I am more familiar and within which I do my research. However, I also made an effort to attend presentations on research in areas that I’m less familiar with, such as sustainability psychology and gender issue perception. These were great opportunities to expand my knowledge of the field in which I work and learn about new research that I could use as a foundation and inspiration for my own future research.

I would highly recommend that other students who do social psychology research attend and apply to present at the SPSP annual convention. Attending the conference was a very positive experience for me. After presenting my research, not only do I have another addition to my CV, but I also feel more confident in my research and my abilities. Attending conferences such as SPSP is also a great way to network with others in the field. While I didn’t get a chance to network as much as I wanted, I did meet several people who also do political psychology research.

I’m currently working on a bigger research study related to the one that I presented at SPSP. I’m hoping that this one will deliver more promising results and possibly lead to a publication or another presentation. Graduation is fast approaching for me, and as I work on the final steps of my honors thesis, I’m glad that I took the time to attend a conference that allowed me to gain experience sharing my work with others and gave me a glimpse into the world that I’ll be working in after I’m done with school.