2021 Northern Lights Psychology Conference
The 2021 Northern Lights Conference will be held in-person on Saturday, October 16th, 2021.
8 a.m. - 5 p.m. | UND Memorial Union (Grand Ballroom - Rm. 214)
The conference is open to community members, faculty, and students. Attendees can enroll during the morning of the conference.
The conference is being sponsored by UND’s department of Psychology and will be free to all, although attendees with be encouraged to make a donation to our graduate student research scholarship fund. CEUs will also be made available for some conference programming.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. David Buss
Dr. David Buss
David Buss is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. Buss previously taught at Harvard University and the University of Michigan. He is considered the world’s leading scientific expert on strategies of human mating and one of the founders of the field of evolutionary psychology. His books include The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating; Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind; The Dangerous Passion: Why Jealousy is as Necessary as Love and Sex; The Murderer Next Door: Why the Mind is Designed to Kill; and Why Women Have Sex (with Cindy Meston).
Buss has more than 300 scientific publications. In 2019, he was cited as one of the 50 most influential living psychologists in the world. His new book: When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault (2021) uncovers the evolutionary roots of conflict between the sexes and will be topic of his keynote address.
Keynote Abstract
When Men Behave Badly: The Hidden Roots of Sexual Deception, Harassment, and Assault
Sexual conflict—manifest as deception, persistence, coercion, and force—occurs in sexually reproducing species, from water striders to rhesus macaques. Its profound influence on our psychology and institutions has not been fully recognized. Sexual conflicts occur at all levels of human social life. It is ubiquitous within mating markets, within existing mateships, and in the aftermath of romantic breakups. It occurs within step-families, within biologically intact families, and within coalitions. It permeates status hierarchies, in which power asymmetries can facilitate sexual exploitation. It can motivate kidnapping, terrorism, and warfare. Given its pervasiveness, it would be surprising if humans had not evolved multiple offenses and co-evolved defenses in perpetual sexually antagonistic co-evolutionary arms races. The impacts of sexual conflict are further complicated by modern environments. These enable novel offensive tactics in which defenses can by disabled by drugs, isolation from protective kin, and through hijacking components of our evolved psychology. This talk highlights what is currently known and unknown about the evolutionary psychology of sexual conflict and offers tentative suggestions for reducing sexual conflict.
Northern Lights Conference Schedule
All events will be held in several conference spaces of the Grand Ballroom (Room 214) on the 2nd floor of the NEW Memorial Union. A detailed schedule and conference program will be available approximately one week before the conference.
Saturday, October 16th, 2021
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:00 – 9:00 a.m | Registration and Breakfast |
| 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Paper Session I |
| 10:00 – 10:15 a.m. | Networking Break |
| 10:15 – 11:15 a.m. | Continuing Ed Activities (1 hour of CEU available) |
| 11:15 – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch On Own (Memorial Union Restaurants available) |
| 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. | Paper Session II |
| 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. | Poster Session |
| 3:00 – 3:15 p.m. | Networking Break |
| 3:15 – 3:30 p.m. | Student Awards |
| 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. | Keynote Address: Dr. David Buss (remote via Zoom) |