June 6-9, 2008, Kazimierz Dolny, Poland
Small Group Meeting on Dehumanization: Determinants and Consequences of Perceiving Others as Less Than Humans
Organisers: Miroslaw Kofta, Jacques-Philippe Leyens, Emanuele Castano, Michal Bilewicz
Contact: Michal Bilewicz and Miroslaw Kofta

In recent years, research concerning various forms of dehumanization (e.g., infra-humanization, mechanistic dehumanization, moral exclusion) has flourished. Publications, presentations and posters at the Würzburg EAESP general meeting, several symposia at SESP annual meeting, at SPSP General Conference and Pre-conference, and a soon-to appear special issue of Social Cognition are all events that witness the centrality of this topic in social psychology research.
The process of dehumanization, and its links to intergroup violence, has attracted the interest of psychologists and social scientists in general for decades. However, with few exceptions, its discussion has mostly been theoretical or characterized by the consideration of limited and anecdotal empirical evidence. On the contrary, the new interest innovates by a more systematic effort to test experimentally the hypotheses deriving from various theoretical models and to develop measures of dehumanization. Its detection mobilizes techniques as diverse as content analyses, questionnaires, implicit measures, or neuro-imaging. In other words, research on dehumanization is now akin to, although it greatly expands upon, traditional research in stereotyping, prejudice, and intergroup bias.
Dehumanization is a complex process. It takes different forms in strong, protracted conflicts than in milder ones. It seems to differ depending on the relationship between the ingroup and the outgroup, sometimes being akin to animalization of the other, while at other times equating the target to an emotionless machine. And while it occurs in subtle forms in everyday life, it can be used to prepare for intergroup violence, or to justify past violence against another group. We are also interested in the opposite process: How people humanize themselves, ingroups or (sometimes) outgroups? When one thinks about how to combat dehumanization, it is very natural to focus on the processes allowing to perceive others - also outgroupers - as full-scale human beings.
Recognizing the complexity of this phenomenon, the aim of the small group meeting is to bring together researchers representing this great variety in situations, theories, and techniques to assess it, with the goal of drawing a map of the existing research, and to facilitate exchange and cross-fertilization among researchers.

If you are interested in particpating in this meeting, please send an email with an abstract to Miroslaw Kofta or Michal Bilewicz until March 15, 2008.

June 6-9, 2008, The Neterlands
Small Group Meeting on Emotions, Social Identity, and Intergroup Conflict
Organisers: Sabine Otten & Ernestine Gordijn, University of Groningen
Contact: Sabine Otten

Suicide bombings in Irak or Israel or violent protests against globalization are illustrative examples of how social identifications and a pronounced categorization in “us” versus “them” can seriously intensify conflict situations. But also in less spectacular daily encounters, ingroup and outgroup distinctions substantially determine emotional reactions and subsequent behavioral intentions, such as the intention to retaliate or to punish. Memberships in social groups and structural and functional aspects of intergroup relations, such as power relations or interdependence, affect the probability of escalation and deescalation in social conflicts, and group-based emotions are relevant mediators in this process. Conversely, collective shame or guilt can help instigate conflict resolution and reparation. Undoubtedly, group-based emotions are relevant for our understanding of intergroup conflict. Therfore, 15 years after Intergroup Emotions Theory (IET) was published by Eliot Smith in 1993, we would like to instigate a meeting providing a survey and possibly integration of the rich body of empirical evidence collected since then, and inspiring a reflection on future perspectives in this field.

The current meeting aims at bringing together postgraduate, junior and senior researchers in the field. Besides submissions focussing directly on intergroup emotions and conflict, we also welcome contributions from other domains that can be applied in this field. The format of the meeting will be single session (no parallel tracks), and we will pay specific attention that the schedule will provide ample space for discussion. We believe that this meeting will be succsful in bringing existing lines of research together, and in inspiring future cooperations. We explicitely ask for indications of interest and submissions by both junior and senior researchers.

If you are interested in particpating in this meeting, please send an email with an abstract (max. 250 words) to Sabine Otten (s.otten@rug.nl) until November 1, 2007.

June 6-8, 2008, Nijmegen, The Neterlands
Medium Size Meeting on Affective Processes in Evaluation: The 3rd EAESP Meeting on the Psychology of Attitudes
Organisers: Pablo Briñol, Geoff Haddock, Rob Holland, Greg Maio, Rich Petty
Contact: Geoff Haddock

Since the beginning of the last century, many influential social psychologists have argued that the attitude concept is an indispensable construct within social psychology. Much recent research within the attitudes literature emphasizes the role of affective processes, and there have been several recent developments in the theories of emotion. For instance, various studies have focused on the contribution of affect to implicit and explicit measures of attitude. Furthermore, abundant recent evidence has focused on the roles of mood and affective orientation in attitude formation and change. At the same time, there have been developments in theories of emotion. In particular, prototype views of emotion are challenging traditional, dimensional conceptions, and showing how divergent processes can be elicited by seemingly “similar” positive emotions or “similar” negative emotions. In addition, there is increasing knowledge and sophistication in the assessment of emotion over time and at conscious and non-conscious levels (e.g., with implicit measures). Also, there is more knowledge about relevant individual differences in affective and evaluative experience and about relevant biological and sociological factors. All of these developments point to a pressing need to begin focused discussions of how affective processes are integrated within attitudes, attitude change, and relations between attitudes and behavior. The aim of the proposed meeting is to facilitate this integration.

The meeting will take place from June 6 to June 8, 2008, at Radboud University Nijmegen, immediately prior to the EAESP General Meeting in Opatija (Croatia). We plan to include 40-50 participants, with at least 50% being EAESP members. In addition to some keynote talks, up to 20 participants will be asked to give a 30-min presentation. The remaining participants will present posters. During the poster session, there will be several opportunities for informal interaction and discussion. A roundtable discussion on contemporary issues with respect to emotion and evaluation will also take place. If you are interested in attending this meeting, please send an abstract (between 100-200 words) to Geoff Haddock (haddockgg@cardiff.ac.uk) before December 14th, 2007.

IMPORTANT: Please note that for individuals who would want attend this meeting AND the EAESP General Meeting, the deadline for submissions to the EAESP General Meeting is the 1st of November. Information on the General Conference can be found at http://www.eaesp2008.com.

CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS

Pablo Briñol, Department of Psychology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco. 28049 Madrid, Spain. email: pablo.brinnol@uam.es

Geoff Haddock, School of Psychology, Park Place, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AT (Tel: +44 2920 874 007; email: haddockgg@cardiff.ac.uk)

Rob Holland, Behavioral Science Institute, Department of Social Psychology, Radboud University Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands. email: r.holland@psych.ru.nl

Greg Maio, School of Psychology, Park Place, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AT (Tel: +44 2920 874 007; email: maio@cardiff.ac.uk)

Rich Petty, Department of Psychology, Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210. email: petty.1@osu.edu

August 28-30, 2008, Marburg, Germany
EAESP-SPSSI Joint Meeting on „Intergroup contact: Recent advancements in basic and applied research”
Organisers: Oliver Christ (Christ@staff.uni-marburg.de), Miles Hewstone (miles.hewstone@psy.ox.ac.uk), Linda Tropp (tropp@psych.umass.edu), Ulrich Wagner
(wagner1@staff.uni-marburg.de)
Contact: Oliver Christ

This small-group meeting aims to bring together international scholars on the topic of intergroup contact, including those with basic and applied interest and expertise. In recent years, academic interest in intergroup contact has intensified, leading to a number of theoretical advances and modifications of intergroup contact theory. Contact remains one of the most powerful approaches in the social sciences for improving intergroup relations and reducing intergroup conflict. This positive effect has been shown in carefully-controlled laboratory experiments, cross-sectional and longitudinal surveys, and in a number of applied fields and interventions. Contact is a proven intervention in cases of deeply-rooted societal conflict, such as Northern Ireland or South Africa, but also in local organizations and schools. The central aim of the meeting is to bring together researchers who explore basic approaches with those who try to apply this knowledge in cases of real intergroup conflict. We are focused on advancing both theory and research, so we would particularly welcome papers offering: novel theoretical understanding of how contact works, integration with other theories in social psychology, cross-fertilization across disciplines beyond social psychology, and new research techniques and methods.

The meeting will be held at the Department of Psychology in Marburg, Germany. Marburg is a beautiful small university town in the centre of Germany. Philipps-University Marburg is the oldest university in the world that was founded as a Protestant institution and has been a place of research and teaching for nearly five centuries. The city of Marburg is located 80 km to the North of Frankfurt and thus is easily reached by plain and/or train. No fees will be charged for the meeting and most meal expenses will be covered. Participants will be responsible for their transportation and their hotel costs. Some additional support may be available especially for young researchers and those without access to research support.

The meeting will have a maximum of 30 participants. We hope to have a mix of senior and junior scholars (including graduate students), and joint applications to present work by senior and junior scholars are welcome. We plan to have approximately equal representation of SPSSI and EAESP members. Those interested in participating should submit a one-page summary of the work they would present at the meeting. In addition, please send a brief abstract (100 words or less) that could be included in the conference program, as well as a cover page indicating your name, affiliation, contact information, and membership status in SPSSI and/or EAESP. Depending on the number of promising applications we are keeping open the option of having some presentations in one or more poster sessions.

Applications should be sent to Oliver Christ, christ@staff.uni-marburg.de before February 29, 2008.