Social Psychology Section Annual Conference 2023

29 August 2023 - 30 August 2023Scotland
  • Social and behavioural
Registration from £87
People in office talking and smiling
Conference
Social Psychology Section

About

The Social Psychology Section Annual Conference will be held on 29/30 August 2023 at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh Campus.

The theme of this year's conference is: Promoting a useful social psychology: Understanding social issues and creating sustainable social change.

We are currently facing several significant social issues all of which have serious consequences on our society. These issues include, but are not limited to, the uncertain future of a post Brexit Britain, climate change, the rise in cost of living, unfair wages, the persistent spread of discrimination and racism, and continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable.

Our 2023 conference will adopt a single-stream format allowing us to deeply engage with the breadth of research, innovation, development and impact within our discipline relating to addressing social issues and implementing sustainable social change. We aim to celebrate the critical work being done as well as highlight areas where further focus is required most urgently.

We welcome symposia submissions, individual blitz talks and posters from all areas of social psychology and are keen to represent the full breadth of topics and methods that social psychology comprises. We expect symposia submissions to bring together presenters from different institutions and career stages.

Through our 2023 conference, we will not only showcase the very best of social psychological research, but also facilitate a space where social psychologists across all career stages can equally participate in stimulating discussions, developing networks and opportunities for new collaborations both with colleagues within the discipline and beyond.

We look forward to welcoming you in August!

Registration closes 21 August 2023 6PM BST 

Contact

Have a query?

Contact us at [email protected]

    Registration

    Registration is available online only. 

    All rates listed are inclusive of VAT at 20%.

    Registration closes - 21 August 2023 6PM BST

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      Single Day Attendance

    2 Day Attendance 

    BPS Concession Member £87 £94

    Social Section Member

    £124

    £180

    BPS Member £134

    £186

    Non-BPS Member £165 £228
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    Conference Dinner

    Conference Dinner at The VooDoo Rooms (3 course dinner + glass of wine/soft drink) on Tuesday 29th August.

    The cost of this dinner is £40, and can be booked through the registration form.

    Welcome BBQ

    Welcome BBQ @ Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh Student Union on Monday 28th August, this is free of charge and bookable through the registration form.


    Returning Customers (members and non-members)

    In order to register for the event you will need to sign in using your BPS website log in details.

    We have implemented a new Membership Database and if you haven’t received your pre-registration email you will need to request your unique registration link.

    Once you have the link, you can complete your registration on our portal.

    Once you have registered on the portal please use your username and password to log in and register for the event.

    If you have forgotten your log-in details, you can reset your username or password here.

    Non-returning customers (members and non-members)

    If you are not a returning customer, you will need to create your BPS account on the portal. The process is straightforward and takes just a few minutes.

    Once you have registered on the portal please use your username and password to log in and register for the event.

    Programme

    Monday 28 August

    • Social Psychology Committee AGM - 5.00pm - 6.00pm, Room 202 in The Postgraduate Centre
    • Welcome BBQ 

    Tuesday 29 August

    • Social Psychology Conference 2023 - Post Graduate Centre, Heriot-Watt University Campus, Edinburgh
    • Conference Dinner - The VooDoo Rooms, 19A W Register St, Edinburgh EH2 2AA

    Wednesday 30 August

    • Social Psychology Conference 2023 - Post Graduate Centre, Heriot-Watt University Campus, Edinburgh

    Download the full programme

    Funding 

    Symposia funding competition

    As part of this year’s annual conference, the SPS committee introduces a symposia competition which will fund conference attendance.  We would like to encourage the submission of symposia which link to the key issues identified by the BPS as part of their research and policy agenda. This includes topics relating to climate change and sustainability, social class and equality/inequality, diversity and inclusion/exclusion. In addition, we will be looking for symposia that fit well with the conference theme: Promoting a useful social psychology: Understanding social issues and creating sustainable social change.

    As an incentive and to increase accessibility we will fund 1-day attendance registration for up to four symposia to our annual conference this year on a competitive basis.  

    Symposia can include 4-5 speakers and we encourage you to consider including a diverse range of speakers (e.g. gender, ethnicity, different career stages from students to senior academics). In addition, at least one speaker must be a BPS Social Section Psychology member.

    Submissions to the symposia competition will be assessed based on the fit of the research with the themes described above, composition of the presenting team, and a justification for why your symposium should receive funding.   

    To submit your symposia to the competition, please select the box in the form and provide a brief explanation as to how you meet the competition eligibility criteria and why your symposium should be selected.  You will also be asked how many 1-day registration spaces you would like to request (max 1 per talk, up to 5 talks per symposium). Whilst we have funding for 4 symposia (5 speakers each), if you do not require all speakers to be covered (e.g., due to other/institutional funding availability), we will be able to fund more symposia speakers who require support.   

    Access Submission Guidelines and Submit Symposia 

    Speakers

    Dr Eleni Andreouli - Keynote
    Dr Eleni Andreouli

    Eleni Andreouli is a social and political psychologist based in the School of Psychology & Counselling of the Open University, UK. Prior to joining the Open University, she worked and studied at the London School of Economics. Eleni’s research develops a social psychology of citizenship seeking to extend citizenship studies into engagement with everyday politics. A particular interest is understanding how societal change and ‘crisis’ translate into the emergence of new forms of political common-sense. Eleni’s work includes studies on Brexit, European identities, migration and nationalism. Another strand of her research focuses on youth citizenship and education. Eleni Andreouli has co-edited books on social representations theory and everyday politics and has authored many articles in social and political psychology and cross-disciplinary journals.

     

    AWARD WINNERS

    Associate Professor Blerina Kellezi - MCR Award

     https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/social-sciences/blerina-kellezi 

    Dr Blerina Kellezi is an Associate Professor in Social and Trauma Psychology at Nottingham Trent University. Dr Kellezi has completed her PhD in psychology at the University of St Andrews, and masters in  Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham. Dr Kellezi’ s research is multidisciplinary and investigates collective experiences and impact of mass human rights violations in time of war, dictatorship, conflict and peace. Before joining Nottingham Trent University, Dr Kellezi held postdoctoral positions at the Freedom from Torture, University of Oxford, University of Middlesex and University of Nottingham. Her research is funded by the NIHR, British Academy, AHRC, UNDP, Open Society Foundation and many local organisations. Her recently produced documentary on the long term impact of missing people in war titled ‘Blood in the Blackbirds’ Field: A story of war, justice and resistance’ is currently being screened in several international film festivals was awarded ‘Outstanding Achievement’ by the Scandinavian International film Festival in 2023.

    Talk Title: The role of social groups in understanding and responding to mass human rights violations.

    Dr Evangelos Ntontis - ECR Award 

    https://www.open.ac.uk/people/en3343 

    Evangelos Ntontis is a social psychologist and currently a lecturer at the School of Psychology and Counselling at the Open University, UK. His interests lie in collective behaviour as it manifests across various social and political contexts. One such area concerns extreme events such as flooding and pandemics, with past projects exploring how people cope with and response to such incidents, as well as how the environments that people live in become conducive to the development of stress or resilience. Another area of interest concerns social movements, leadership, and mass mobilization for political purposes. Various collaborative projects have explored for example the rhetoric used by neo-Nazis in Greece, the mobilization of collective hatred by Donald Trump, and the discourses employed by antiabortion activists. Evangelos is currently an Associate Editor at the British Journal of Social Psychology.

    Talk Title: Social psychology and human responses to extreme events and the climate crisis

    In this talk I will take the opportunity to discuss what psychology has told us about how people have responded to past extreme events and disasters. Emphasis will be paid to the ways in which communities have emerged to respond to the face of catastrophe and to help those in need. However, equal attention will be given to the long-term trajectories that emergent groups follow, the problems that arise for victims of extreme events in the long-term aftermath of catastrophes, patterns of exclusion and neglect, and the need to focus on environments and structures that increase vulnerability. I will use those and other past findings to reflect on what humanity will face in the future in the face of the climate breakdown, as well as about the role that psychology can play in supporting policies that can reduce vulnerability to the climate crisis.

    Location

    This event will be held at:

    • PostGraduate Centre
      Heriot-Watt University Campus, Edinburgh
      Second Gait
      Currie
      EH14 4AL

    Download a map of the campus

    We have also included some useful links below to help with your experience at Heriot-Watt University:

     

    Accommodation

    Paul Stobart Building (book at registration, limited number of spaces available)

    There is a limited number of accommodation places available to book on a first come first serve basis. 

    The Double En-Suite Bedrooms are located in the Paul Stobart Building, Heriot Watt University Campus, Edinburgh for the nights of 28th and 29th August only.

    The booking is for a minimum of 2 nights, for the above dates only, and is a single occupancy rate. The cost of the two night stay is £168.

    This can be booked through the registration form. 

    Please see some further hotels nearby below: 

    Ibis Budget Edinburgh Park

    Crosskeys Edinburgh

    Marriot, Riccarton

    Novotel Edinburgh Park

    Edinburgh Park Premier Inn

    Edinburgh Park Travelodge

    Things to do in Edinburgh

    The Conference Dinner will be taking place at The VooDoo Rooms19A W Register St, Edinburgh EH2 2AA 

    Edinburgh Castle

    Palace of Holyrood House

    National Museum of Scotland

    The Royal Mile and Grassmarket

    Edinburgh Dungeons

    The Real Mary King's Close

    Arthur's Seat

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