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Kendon Smith Psychology Lectures to Examine Theories of Self

GREENSBORO – Psychologists from top universities across the country will converge at the O.Henry Hotel in Greensboro Nov. 15 for the annual Kendon Smith Lecture Series sponsored by the Department of Psychology at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The conference is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with presentations beginning at 9:30 a.m., and resuming at 1:30 p.m. after a lunch break. It is free and open to the public.

Dr. Kendon Smith, for whom the lecture series is named, died on Sept. 2 of this year at age 84. A memorial celebration of his life will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 16, in the UNCG Alumni House. Smith retired as the Alumni Professor in UNCG's Department of Psychology in 1983. He was head of the Department of Psychology from 1954-67, and held an Alumni Professorship there from 1969 until his retirement. He was a graduate of the University of Minnesota and held master's and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University. The lecture series began in 1984 through an endowment created by Janice Stewart Baucom of Concord.

The Kendon Smith Lecture Series is an endowed annual lecture series that brings international experts to UNCG to discuss a topic related to mind and behavior that is of general interest to both the academic community and the public. This year’s theme is “The Self as an Organizing Construct in Psychological Science.”

Presenters will discuss theories of self and the interplay between self, culture and society, as well as self-esteem, depression, motivation and self-control, among other things. Presenters and lecture titles include Carol S. Dweck of Columbia University,  “Self-Systems: Their Impact on Achievement, Self-Esteem and Depression;” Roy F. Baumeister of Case Western Reserve University, “The Cultural Animal: Human Nature, Social Life, and the Self:” Walter Mischel of Columbia University, “Attention Control in the Service of the Agentic Self,” and Hazel R. Markus of Stanford University, “Sociocultural Diversity in the Construction of Action.” Mark R. Leary of Wake Forest University will serve as facilitator and discussant.

For more information or a program, call (336) 334-5480 or check the Web at www.uncg.edu/psy/lecturesandcolloquia/kendonsmith.html
 
 

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