"The Next Big Ideas in Psychology" Division 1 Conference
First Division 1 Conference Ever!
APA Division 1 held the first conference in its long history on February 23 and 24, 2024. Seventy people attended.
Our hosts were our generous colleagues at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. They even arranged gorgeous weather!
The focus of the conference was “The Next Big Ideas in Psychology.” The mission of Division 1 is to promote creative integrations across subdisciplines of psychology as well as connections to related fields: sociology, anthropology, history, evolutionary biology, and so on. Above all, Division 1 is devoted to promoting big ideas, the original concepts and theories that resonate across psychology and beyond, and that inspire new research and new ways of thinking for decades to come. This conference reflected that mission.
On Friday evening, February 23, there was a poster session where 21 people presented. The topics ranged from multicultural competency to new approaches to gender identity and trauma. Many lively discussions resulted.
Saturday, February 24, was a full day of invited talks, beginning with the keynote “What Makes an Idea Big in Psychology?” by Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Eight invited speakers followed. Their talks included topics of psychedelic treatments for PTSD, prospective psychological consequences for human reproductive cloning, and a new theory of established adulthood for ages 30 to 45. Each hour included ample time for discussion and questions.
In sum, this D1 conference was a big success, and will hopefully be the first of many!
Photos from The Next Big Ideas in Psychology Conference, 2024
