WPA 2011 Convention - Call For Papers
2011 WPA Convention
2011 WPA Convention

The 2011 WPA Convention will be in Los Angeles from April 28 to May 1, 2011 at the Wilshire Grand. The Terman Teaching Conference will be held on April 27, from 9am to 5pm. The hotel is very close to the LA Live Entertainment Complex, Disney Hall, and other downtown attractions. It is next to a metro station to take you to Union Station, Hollywood, and Universal City. More information >>
Quick Convention Links
2011 Call-for-Papers & Submission Forms
Writing a Conference Abstract: Some Suggestions and Common Errors
Student Guide to the WPA Convention
Classifieds
Washington Dept of Corrections Job Opening
The Department of Corrections Health Services Department is seeking a highly motivated and qualified individual for the position of Psychologist 4 at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center in Connell, Washington. (more >>>)
UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND - Visiting Assistant Professor
The Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Portland invites applications for a one year Visiting Assistant Professor position in psychology. (more >>>)
The instructions for completing your submissions are presented below. Please read the instructions carefully before you begin. We also urge you to read our new article on preparing abstracts for submission to WPA: Writing a Conference Abstract: Some Suggestions and Common Errors. The deadline for submission is midnight (PST) on November 15.
All authors planning on making a presentation at the convention must be registered for the convention at the time of submission or by the November 15 deadline (online via credit card or postmark for those mailing in registrations). All persons who attend the convention must register for the convention. Mail-in and Credit-card registration forms are available on the website. Please note that if you are an author on multiple proposals, you need to register only once. Proposals that do not have at least one author registered for the convention on November 15 (online via credit card or post mark for those mailing in registrations) will not be reviewed.
Types of Presentations
Our convention is designed to provide a forum for the exchange of research and ideas. You may submit proposals for poster presentations, one-speaker papers, or symposia.
Posters: Poster presentations are organized by topic in sessions with 40-50 posters per session. Each poster session lasts for 75 or 90 minutes.
One-speaker papers: These oral presentations are generally organized into 3-5 paper sessions. Each paper is given 15 minutes of presentation time, including time for questions.
Symposia: Usually 3-5 papers are presented in a topical session organized by the Symposium Chair. Symposia are limited to a maximum time of 90 minutes. See special instructions below for submitting symposia.
Who May Submit Proposals and Registration Fees
Members of WPA and interested non-members may submit proposals for the 2011 convention, with the stipulation that every person who plans to make a presentation must pay the appropriate member or non-member Convention Registration Fee at the time that his/her proposal is submitted or by November 15. Please note that $15.00 of each registration fee is collected as a non-refundable proposal processing fee. In the event that your proposal is not accepted for presentation and you then elect not to attend the convention, the remainder of your convention fee will be refunded promptly upon receipt of your written request, provided that your request is received prior to the March 15 pre-registration deadline. Please note that persons who submit more than one proposal are required to pay only one convention registration fee.
Convention Registration Fees
The following table lists the Convention registration fees for Members of WPA and Non-members. Convention registration and WPA Membership forms are provided on the WPA web site. Members are those who have paid their dues for the current July 1-June 30 academic year. Prior members who have not paid their current dues are considered non-members. Students and professionals wishing to become members or renew membership may also do so by completing the online membership forms. Please note that membership and convention pre-registration ends on March 15.
- Current year WPA Professional Member $75
- Professional Non-Member $150
- Current year WPA Student Member $35
- Student Non-Member $75
- Non-Professional Spouse/Partner/Family Member of Registrant $35
Please Note: Convention pre-registration ends on March 15. After March 15, registration is on-site only. On-site registration fees will increase by $15 in each registration category. Current year memberships are also not accepted after March 15 and are not accepted on-site at the Convention.
Student Scholarships
WPA Student Scholarships are dependent on the availability of funds. We anticipate that we will be able to award a limited number of scholarships to eligible students. To be eligible a student must:
- Be a Student Member of WPA
- Be registered for the convention
- Be the first author of the submitted paper
Please indicate on your Submission Form that if the first author is a Student Member wishing to be considered for a scholarship. Recipients of these scholarships will be determined on the basis of a blind review by the Program Review Committee. These scholarships are intended to help defray the costs of attending the Convention and presenting the award-winning research. Receipt of the monetary scholarship is contingent on the scholarship recipient attending the Convention and presenting the research. Scholarship recipients (only) will be notified by e-mail on or about February 15. The names of the scholarship recipients will be published in the Convention Program and awards will be presented at the WPA Awards session during the convention.
Submitting a Symposium Online
The chair of the symposium should fill out the Symposium Submission Form. A synopsis of the symposium (as you wish it to appear in the WPA Program) is required. The chair of the symposium should enter the e-mail addresses of the first authors of the presentations in the symposium on the Symposium Submission Form. Chairs will be given a Symposium ID number (WPAS followed by a number) in this process. Chairs must communicate this Symposium ID to other presenters in the symposium. The first authors of the presentations in the symposium should each subsequently fill out a Presentation Submission Form. They will be asked, during this process, if their submission is part of a symposium. At this point presenters MUST enter the Symposium ID so that the program can link these individual presentations with the symposium. Please contact the WPA Office if you have questions about this process.
Psi Chi Submissions
Students holding membership in Psi Chi may elect to submit proposals for posters only for presentation in either a special poster session that WPA has reserved for Psi Chi or in the WPA Regular Program. Psi Chi members presenting in the Psi Chi Poster Session will also be eligible for a Psi Chi Research Award. As has been the case in previous years, Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, will sponsor and organize the Psi Chi Poster Session. Please note the following when submitting a proposal to the Psi Chi Program:
- Psi Chi has requested that these presentations be in poster format only. Submissions should be empirical research that has been completed.
- Be sure to indicate the appropriate option on the Submission Form for your preference for presentation in the Psi Chi Session Only or the WPA Regular Program.
- Like every other individual who submits a proposal to the convention, members of Psi Chi must register for the Convention at the time their proposal(s) are submitted.
- Poster submissions that are not accepted for the Psi Chi Poster Session will be reviewed for inclusion in the regular WPA program.
STP Teaching Activities Exchange
WPA and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology will again organize the STP Teaching Activities Exchange. The purpose of this poster session is to provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of innovative ideas that are of interest to those concerned with quality teaching. If you wish to have your poster in this session, please select the STP EXCHANGE option on your submission form.
Request For Space For Special Meetings
As we have done in the past, WPA will make space available at no charge to organized professional groups who wish to hold meetings which are generally consistent with the purposes and goals of our association. If you wish space for a special meeting, submit a request to the WPA Office describing the nature of the meeting, who will host or chair it, and how you would like it to be listed in the program. These requests should be received by November 15. Because the space available for such meetings is limited, these requests will be honored in the order in which they are received. All such meetings will be scheduled so that they do not conflict with the program. Your meeting will be listed in the program without charge. The WPA Executive Board expects that all persons who participate in these meetings will register for the WPA Convention.
Submitting Your Proposal
Before you enter the submission site, we suggest that you have the following available, ideally in an open document so you can copy/paste into the submission form. Please proof for possible errors.
- Title of presentation, limited to about ten words.
- Author information - for each author, you will need to have the name typed exactly as it should appear in the program, author affiliation/institution as it should appear in the program (be careful of abbreviations), and e-mail address. When listing authors, do NOT use degrees (e.g., PhD) or licenses (e.g., LMFT).
- 350-word abstract with text only--no figures.
- You will need to identify a corresponding author. This is the person that will be notified via e-mail of acceptance or rejection or phoned if there are questions about the proposal. We will also list this person’s e-mail address in the printed program. Make sure the person has an address that will accept e-mail from cozby.wpa@gmail.com (some student mail systems do not allow mail from outside the university; other mail systems may require you to authorize mail addresses that you will receive in your inbox). The corresponding author does not have to be the first author.
Submission Forms: To enter the site containing the submission forms, please click on this link.