Conference Summary
48th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society
November 15-18, 2007, Long Beach, CA

Xiaomei Qiao
PhD Candidate
Second Language Acquisition and Teaching GIDP

As one of the most prestigious conference in psychology, the annual meeting of the Psychonomic Society features high quality talks since all presenters are required to have doctorate degree. I feel honored to have the opportunity to go to this conference, and I especially appreciated the Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs Advisory Council for awarding me the Herbert E. Carter Travel Award so that I was able to attend this fabulous conference.

In general, my experience in the 48th Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society is very successful. First, it has been a very good learning experience in preparing the talk and answering the questions. Although it's my advisor Dr. Ken Forster gave the talk, I was actively involved in the preparation. After the talk, one question from the audience was addressed to me to clarify the results from the language of Chinese. After the questions session more audience came up to me to ask more questions. The whole process of preparing for the talk and responding to questions and comments made me feel I have learned a lot. At the same time, I have gained more confidence that will definitely help me in giving presentations in the future.

Second, it is also a very good social experience. There are about 320 talks and 600 posters in the conference. Most of them are closely related to my current research. I was excited to be able to listen to the most recent studies and ask questions that have been puzzled me for a long time. I also enjoyed the opportunity to communicate with the authors, not only about the research, but also about the stories behind all those publications. Both will greatly assist me in my future research and professional career.

It is a wonderful experience to attend the 48th Annual Meeting of Psychonomic Society. I cannot express the extent of my gratitude for having been given this opportunity by GIDP. It will inspire me to continue my research and study and looking forward to the greater progress.