NEEPS Presenting
Author: Caitlyn Moore | Major: Biology | Semester: Spring 2024
My name is Caitlyn Moore, and I am pursuing a major in biology with a minor in psychology at the fulbright college. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Northeastern Evolutionary Psychology Society (NEEPS) conference in buffalo, NY. The purpose of my attendance was to present my research on Preliminary Evidence for Women’s Mate Preferences Based on Comic Styles.My research originated when I became interested in the various types of humor and that they all have an effect on mating preferences. I was able to further determine the best types of humor a woman wants in a mate in both long term relationship and short term relationships (i.e. a one night stand). This was further found to help with mate selections and reproductive success.
When arriving in Buffalo on April 17th, I was able to go with my mentor and fellow colleagues to Canada and see Niagara falls and explore the city around us. During our stay, we had many opportunities to eat dinner with other conference attendees. On the first day of the conference, I attended all of the talks and got lunch in between with some new professionals I had met that day. I continued watching talks and got dinner with my mentor and fellow colleagues in Canada that evening. On friday, I got up early to watch several professional psychology speakers and present my own research at the convention center. I was able to thoroughly describe my research to others who were interested and answer any additional questions they may have had. The next day, we continued to encourage our other colleagues while they presented their research.
Presenting my research at NEEPS further helped forward my research because I got many professional words of encouragement and advice for my future research. It was a great learning experience that gave me many new ideas that I plan to pursue. I got various feedback on what could help with my upcoming honors thesis from one particular PHD student. He guided me through his comments, concerns, and what could make my studies even better. The trip contributed to my professional development because I have never been to a conference before. It allowed me to contribute to the professionalism around me and think about my findings from different viewpoints. Being able to contribute to this experience was eye opening to me because I was able to develop relationships with various professionals and get many different psychological views on my research which will help me with future research, including my thesis. I met several peers and experts within the field who I was able to discuss other ideas with. From this, I was excited to talk to my mentor about starting a new project.
I presented my research as a poster at NEEPS. This was the first presentation I have done and I learned so much from it. I have learned how to make professional connections and how to effectively deliver my presentation. I have learned how to engage in meaningful conversations about my research and other psychological concepts with professionals and colleagues. Overall, I recognize that this conference was an ideal platform for exchanging ideas and gaining insights for future research.
My advice for others would be to take the opportunity to attend the professional conferences. You learn and gain so much experience from a professional standpoint. It is an eye opening experience with many professionals from different states that are eager to help guide your studies in the right direction.
Currently, I am focused on improving my current research so that I can publish my work and continue conducting my study for my honors thesis.