Western Psychology Conference (WPCUR)
This year marks the 51st Anniversary of the Western Psychology Conference for Undergraduate Research (WPCUR). The conference will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The doors will open at 8:00 a.m.
Focusing on undergraduates, the conference offers students the opportunity to present their research in a professional setting and interact with students and faculty members who share similar interests.
In 2019, Best Presentation were awarded to Max Bjorni, Natalie Rovero, Alex Quan, Patrick Brebner, & Lindsay Hallady (Sant Clara University) and to Mercedes Ball & Carla Strickland-Hughes (University of the Pacific).
Conference Registration
Registration and Abstract Submission will open Monday, March 31 and close at 5:00 p.m., Friday, April 11
More Information: Contact Professor Keith Ogawa at kogawa@stmarys-ca.edu
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Kristine Buckman
Navigating Invisible Wounds of War: Addressing Traumatic Stress, Addiction, and Moral Injury among Veterans
Preparing The Abstract
WPCUR is April 26, 2025. The guidelines for WPCUR are explained below.
Submission:
Submit abstracts electronically when you register for the conference. Please write "conference abstract" in the subject line. Only the "first" author needs to submit the abstract when registering for the conference.
Submission Deadline:
The abstract receipt deadline is Wednesday, April 11, 2025. You will receive an E-mail confirming the receipt of your abstract.
Preparing the Abstract:
Please prepare your abstract using the following guidelines.
- Format: Abstracts should be written in 12-point font using Times New Roman font. The body of the abstract should be single-spaced, with full justification using a standard word processing program, e.g. Microsoft Word.
- Length: Your abstract should not exceed 2,300 characters, including spaces and punctuation. This is roughly 440-480 words.
- Title: Please write your title in bold font, capitalizing the first letter of the first word and the remaining letters in lowercase (See Abstract Example).
- Author(s) and Affiliation: Provide the full name of author(s) - first name, middle initial, last name - and institution affiliation of each author, including state, city and zip code.
- Body of Abstract: The abstract should state the study's objective, a brief description of the methods used, summary of results, and conclusions. It is not satisfactory to say, "The results will be discussed.".
- Abbreviations: Please use standard abbreviations.
- Support: Please list source(s) of contributed support, e.g. faculty development grant, public or private foundation grants.
- Replacement Abstract: If you discover a minor typographical error after you submit your abstract, you may submit a replacement abstract no later than Friday, April 18, 2025.
Abstract Example
Alpha power differences in adolescents with autism. Mitchell S. Jensen, Department of Psychology, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.
According to the CDC, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 68 children in the United States, and more children are being diagnosed than ever before. Despite the increase in prevalence of ASD, the exact neurophysiological cause still remains unclear (Anderson, 2015). In the present work, we examine a cortical inhibition hypothesis of ASD by contrasting the differences in alpha power (8-13 Hz) in eye-closed versus eyes-opened states in both typically developing adolescents and adolescents who have been diagnosed with ASD. Using a dense 128 channel electrode array, we observe a significant reduction in left-central/occipital alpha power in the eyes-open state versus the eyes-closed state in typically developing adolescents that is not observed in adolescents diagnosed with ASD, F(44) = 5.6, p = .02. Because alpha is associated with the functional inhibition of a brain region, this failure of ASD participants to suppress alpha in the eyes open condition suggests that a neurophysiological aspect of ASD may involve the failed inhibition of behaviorally relevant brain regions in response to sensory input and task demands.
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