Letter from President

Dear ARP Members,

As we are approaching the 8th biennial meeting of ARP in July, I’m getting excited to see y’all in person after this extended hiatus due to the pandemic. It’s been too long since we had a chance to meet in person, share our research, exchange ideas, and reconnect with friends and colleagues. In this newsletter, I would like to take the opportunity to update you on some of the latest ARP initiatives and express my gratitude to all of those who have contributed to make ARP what it is today.

What’s new with ARP?

  1. New(-ish) journal

I have exciting news to share about recent developments involving the journal Personality Science (PS). Spearheaded by the European Association of Personality Psychology (EAPP), ARP agreed to contribute to the relaunch of PS in early 2024 as a diamond open-access journal at SAGE as part of a collaboration between the following five personality societies:

Publishing PS at SAGE will come with several opportunities for us and the field. PS will benefit from more views and voices, and it will become more globalized as a result. We hope that the collaborative and international leadership of the journal will positively impact diversity initiatives and community-building efforts. The diamond open-access status means that there won’t be any fees for authors and readers. A long-term goal for this journal would be to become an inclusive and prestigious outlet for cutting-edge research from scholars around the world. The first Editor-in-Chief of PS will be Jaap Denissen (Utrecht University). We will soon be in touch with further news about the journal and ARP’s role in its leadership.

  1. International personality confederation

Last year, I had the opportunity to represent ARP at the first meeting of six international research societies in personality science and individual differences (PSID). Together with representatives from the Australasian Congress for Personality and Individual Differences (ACPID),  the European Association of Psychological Assessment (EAPA), the European Association of Personality Psychology (EAPP), the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID), the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), and the World Association of Personality Psychology (WAPP), we discussed potential connections among our societies’ missions and opportunities for collaboration. A concrete action point that emerged from this meeting was that the societies agreed to coordinate the dates and timing of future conferences. We further discussed joint efforts to work on sustainable solutions for meetings and conferences and the inclusion of further personality societies to create a global confederation of personality organizations to promote inclusive research and training in personality science. Stay tuned for more updates after the next PSID meeting.

  1. Sustainable conferencing

You like deep-dish pizza and jaw-dropping skyscrapers? Great! The next two ARP meetings in 2025 and 2027 will again be held in Chicago. We chose Chicago as a sustainable travel hub, because of its international airport and train connections. In doing so, we hope to reduce multi-stop flights and encourage train travel. We are currently working on more ways to promote sustainability goals, including e.g., Amtrak discounts and hybrid conference solutions. Please contact me or Jenn Lodi Smith, if you are interested in working with us on promoting sustainability.

  1. Promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion

As we strive to better understand the complexities of human personality, it is essential that we embrace diverse perspectives and experiences. We are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work, including our programming, publications, and leadership. At this year’s meeting, we will continue our conversation about how we can build a more inclusive personality science. In addition to several symposia, talks, and posters dedicated to this theme, we are delighted to host a plenary panel on the relevance of personality science to social justice. We extend our thanks to Joanne Chung, Jillian Fish, Theo Klimstra, and Onnie Rogers who will lead this discussion and share their valuable insights with us. It is encouraging to see ARP’s efforts to address issues of diversity, but there is still much more to do. If you have suggestions about additional opportunities for ARP to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse personality science, please do not hesitate to contact me or our diversity officer.

  1. Big thanks

I would like to express my gratitude to Rich Lucas, our past-president, outgoing board members, Joanne Chung and Rodica Damian, and outgoing postdoctoral and student representatives, Jessie Sun, Ted Schwaba, and Suri Serrano, for their dedicated service to the organization. A warm welcome to Kira McCabe and Eranda Jayawickreme, who join Felix Cheung, Tammy English, Chris Soto, and Jenny Wagner as members at large. I also thank David Condon and Sara Masland for their work on the ARP website and John Rauthmann, our EAPP representative.

I would also like to acknowledge the hard work of our conference host, Dan Mroczek, and the conference program committee members chaired by Kate McLean and Jordan Booker as well as Erica Baranski and Sara Masland, editors of the P newsletter. I am also grateful to Jon Adler, Erika Carlson, Katie Corker, Erik Noftle, Susan South, Nicole DesJardins, Kai Horstmann, Joanna Lamkin, Robert Latzman, Marius Leckelt, Chris Martin, Rick Robins, Cornelia Wrzus, Doug Samuel, Aidan Wright, Olivia Atherton, Stephen Antonoplis, Sara Weston, and Dulce Wilkinson for their contributions to various ARP committees.

Finally, I want to give special recognition to our Secretary/Treasurer Jenn Lodi-Smith and our Executive Officer Brent Donnellan for their efficient and effective work in keeping ARP running. I am extremely grateful for the time they spend on ARP business.

Running a professional society like ARP is not an easy task, and I am aware of the considerable time and effort that go into planning conferences, raising funds for awards, and travel grants, and making decisions that align with our values. The dedication and behind-the-scenes work of the individuals mentioned above is vital to the success of the organization, and I hope you will join me in thanking them for their contributions.

As we move forward, I am excited about the possibilities for future initiatives and continued progress in our field. With your continued support and engagement, we can work together to advance our understanding of personality.

Thank you for your commitment to ARP and to the field of personality psychology.

Sincerely,

Wiebke Bleidorn

ARP President