This Thursday and Friday proved to be a whirlwind of activity as I traveled to Charlottesville for the University of Virginia’s Undergraduate Psychology Conference. I had been planning to present on my sentence memory work for some time, but it was nice to be able to tag along with the folks in Psi Chi, also headed to the conference with faculty advisor Dr. Jeanine Stefanucci.
You can see my poster here (click), but make sure to hear the rest of the story after the cut!
We left around 5:00pm on Thursday. The ride was pleasant and not altogether too long (thanks Carrie and Andrew!) and before we knew it, we were pulling in to the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn just a few steps from campus. After an evening of Thai (delicious) and a unique introduction to Virginia’s nightlife and Psychology faculty, we settled in to prepare for a long day of our favorite topic.
The next morning, getting to the Rotunda was a bit more difficult than expected due to a horde of prospective students mobbing the Grounds, but the group of us made it with plenty of time to enjoy a delicious light breakfast. We hung up our posters and settled in for a number of great presentations including Effects of a Picture Training Task on Social Implicit Associations and General Anxiety by Emily Cumming, Linking Eating Concerns and Cognitive Distortions Using Thought Suppression by Caryl Huynh, and my old classmate Rachel Fried’s The Role of Pain Length and Personality Characteristics in Predicting Positive and Negative Affect.
Before too much longer it was time for the poster presentations. I fielded a few questions from other presenters and faculty, but nothing too serious due to the relatively small size of the conference, which is only in its second year. Perhaps this was for the better, as I’ve learned I definitely prefer the oral format over the poster one!
Lunch was tasty sandwiches and pasta salad; as we ate in the Colonnade Club, Virginia’s Dr. Vikram Jaswal kept us company and helped acquaint us with life in Charlottesville.
Another round of oral presentations and before we knew it, it was practically time to jet back to William & Mary in time for the King and Queen’s Ball. First, though, the highlight of the conference: a presentation by Dr. Isabel Gauthier on the cognitively unique nature of face recognition.
Despite a little bit of traffic on I-64 on the way back home, we made it back in plenty of time for the evening’s festivities. Worn out, I grabbed a power nap, but before too much longer I was telling my friends over a Red Lobster dinner how eager I am to head back next year!
Edit: here are some great shots of me and the group that I thought I’d stick in, courtesy of Sarah:
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