NEPA & NECTOP 2026 Conference
NECTOP Conference
Friday, November 6th, 2026
NEPA Conference
Saturday, November 7th, 2026
Confirmed Symposiums and Speakers
Four Perspectives on the Psychology of AI Use
University of New Hampshire researchers Marley Ireland, Evelyn L. Lindenburg, John D. Mayer, Ryan Moran, and Nick Smith, J.D./Ph.D., examine the psychology of AI use from four distinct perspectives. The symposium explores the evolution of technology-mediated communication, personality and character archetypes in large language models, AI companionship, and the philosophical questions surrounding AI-mediated relationships.
Don’t Burn the Witches! How to Use the Supernatural as a Teaching Tool
Melissa Maffeo, Ph.D.Associate Teaching ProfessorAssociate Director, Program of NeuroscienceWake Forest University What do witch trials, ghosts, aliens, and psychics have to do with the teaching of psychology? Quite a lot, actually. About three in four Americans...
How to Conjure Data-Literate Students Across the Psychology Curriculum: Data Literacy as the Magic Ingredient for Brewing Our Students’ Career Skills
As the need for data literacy continues to grow, psychology classrooms offer an ideal opportunity to build students’ quantitative skills. Discover practical strategies for making math and data less intimidating while preparing students for success beyond college.
Witching it Weren’t So: Viewing the Salem Witch Trials through a Behavioral Cultural Lens
The Salem Witch Trials remain one of history’s most compelling examples of fear, intolerance, and injustice. This presentation explores the psychological and behavioral processes that shaped these events while examining how similar patterns continue to influence individuals and groups today.
2026 Calls for Submissions
NECTOP Priority Submission
NECTOP welcomes a wide range of presentation formats to accommodate diverse interests and teaching contexts. Whether you’d like to share empirical research, showcase an innovative teaching strategy, lead a collaborative discussion, or present a session on pedagogy, we encourage you to submit a proposal.
NEPA Priority Submission
NEPA invites the submission of papers and posters with clear and detailed articulation of research questions, procedures, data analyses, and implications of the results.
Theoretical and literature review submissions will be considered as papers provided that they present new ideas, models, or frameworks for future research. Papers and posters may be qualitative or quantitative in concept and methodology, provided that a sufficient description of data sources/evidence, evaluation procedures, and substantiated conclusions is provided.
Psychology of Horror, Witchcraft, and the Paranormal
In recognition of Salem’s unique history and cultural legacy as “Witch City,” the New England Psychological Association invites submissions for special-themed sessions at the 2026 Annual Conference.
This session will highlight scholarly work that explores psychological research or applied practice related to horror, witchcraft, the occult, paranormal beliefs, folklore, superstition, fear, and the macabre.
Honorary Undergraduate Scholar (HUS) awards will be presented at NEPA’s Annual Meeting, which is being held on November 7, 2026, to recognize individuals with outstanding undergraduate records in psychology and to encourage promising students to pursue careers in the discipline.
Students pursuing associate and baccalaureate degrees are eligible for HUS awards, and the Experiential Activity criterion recognizes potential differences in curricula and opportunities across institutions.
The New England Psychological Association’s (NEPA) Distinguished Contribution Award (DCA) for 2026 will be presented to a psychologist with a current or prior association with New England who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to the field.
The award recognizes individuals who have advanced the science of psychology, applied psychological knowledge to meaningfully improve individual and community well-being through service, or conducted sustained programmatic research or professional work that is making significant strides in expanding psychological knowledge.
The DCA also honors psychologists who have shown an extraordinary commitment to teaching and mentoring, reflecting innovation, leadership, and dedication well beyond the expectations of standard professional practice.
CONTACT
Association Coordinator's
Mailing address:
Michael Amico, Ph.D.
Housatonic Community College
900 Lafayette Blvd
256 Beacon Hall
Bridgeport, CT 06604
NEPsychological@gmail.com
Phone: 203-362-5163
