WPA 2012 Convention - Call For Papers
2012 WPA Convention

The instructions for completing your submission are presented below. Please read the instructions carefully before you begin. We also urge you to read our article on preparing abstracts for submission to WPA: Writing a Conference Abstract: Some Suggestions and Common Errors. The deadline for submission is midnight (PST) at the end of the day on November 15. Note: The computer that is used to process submissions is located on the east coast; therefore, the date and time on your receipt is Eastern Standard Time. The deadline remains midnight PST.

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. You may register for the convention as a non-member. If you wish to register at the member rate, please process your membership prior to registering. 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. Most poster submissions describe empirical work. We recognize that research may not be complete when submitted in November. However, it is expected that there will be data collection and results ready for the conference. Thus, posters that do not reflect data collection and results are not acceptable and should be withdrawn.

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 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 31 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 31.

• 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 31. After that date, 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 31 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 first 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. Next, chairs must communicate the 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 Poster Session Submissions

Students holding membership in Psi Chi may elect to submit proposals for a special poster session that WPA has reserved for Psi Chi. 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 on the Submission Form that you wish to have your poster considered for presentation in the Psi Chi Session.
• 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.

Requesting 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 that 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). The WPA format for authors is simply Firstname Lastname. Do not use APA reference style. Please check the preferred name and spelling with all authors – this will help us avoid making expensive corrections to the program and unfortunate situations is which the same person has different names on each of several papers.
• 350-word abstract with text only--no figures.
• You will need to identify a corresponding author. This is the person who 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. Only the corresponding author is notified of acceptance of a submission – if you do not hear about your paper by Feb. 15, please contact the corresponding author.

Submission Forms:  

You must create a new submission account to begin the submission process. Click on Create New Submission Account to create an account and begin preparing your submission.

Click on this link to Edit a Submission or Create a New Submission after you have established your account.