CALL FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS: Apply for a “seed grant” (up to $3,000 per project) for well-designed, well-powered research projects with the potential to advance the field and stimulate further work in existential psych. Applications due Nov 15. issep.org/seed-grants

We're so thrilled to be awarded the APA's 2023 William James Book Award! 🍾 Honoured to be the first winners outside of North America, amongst previous winners such as Philip Zimbardo, Steven Pinker & more 🙏 Thank you American Psychological Association, and excited to speak at your USA convention in 2024!

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: Nominate yourself/others for our... ▪️Distinguished Career Award ($1000). ▪️Early Career Award ($1000). ▪️Outstanding Student Award ($500). ▪️Best Paper Award ($500). All nomination materials due November 15. issep.org/annual-awards

Awe... a sense of vastness, a need to accommodate new info beyond our previous comprehension. Josh Perlin argues it quiets the ego, promotes interdependence, prosocial motivation, and transforms one's autobiographical narrative—that it promotes growth. issep.org/article/awe

1 week left to submit abstracts for the Existential Psychology SPSP Preconference! (deadline: Oct 18). Keynotes, talks, posters, data blitz, & funded awards! Submit here: spsp.wufoo.com/forms/2024-pre…

We're also on Blue Sky and have a bunch of invite codes bsky.app/profile/theiss… DM us for an invite code. #BlueSkyInviteCode

Excellent overview of "The 4 Pillars of a Meaningful Life" by Dr. Joshua Hicks, at Texas A&M University! youtube.com/watch?v=JQBuj0…

12 days to nominate yourself/others for our annual awards. ▪️Distinguished Career Award ($1000). ▪️Early Career Award ($1000). ▪️Outstanding Student Award ($500). ▪️Best Paper Award ($500). All nomination materials due Nov 15. issep.org/annual-awards

12 days left! CALL FOR GRANT APPLICATIONS: Apply for a “seed grant” (up to $3,000 per project) for well-designed, well-powered research projects to advance the science of existential psych. Applications due Nov 15. issep.org/seed-grants

Congratulations to the recipients of our 2024 Annual Awards! ▪️Dan McAdams won Distinguished Career. ▪️Dr. Samantha Heintzelman won Early Career. ▪️Megan Edwards won Outstanding Student. ▪️Mengdi Huang & Fan Yang won Best Paper. What a strong field! Excellent work!

Congratulations also to the recipients of our 2024 Research Grants! Very exciting projects on meaning, purpose, authenticity, self-transcendence, and awe!

Due June 30: Applications for the Ernest Becker Honors. Up to $15,000 per research grant, $500 for best paper award, addressing ideas of Ernest Becker via the science of existential psychology. See site for details. issep.org/ernest-becker-…

John Jost's research on system justification explores how existential concerns motivate defense of tradition and the status quo, impacting gender, economics, and general politics. Interesting video and data illustrations! issep.org/article/system…

McKenzie Lockett studies the intersection of sexual objectification and existential isolation—how being treated as an object can undermine shared subjective experience. She told us about her research and its connections to books, movies, sports, and more. issep.org/interview/lock…

Are superheroes the new gods? Two correlational and two experimental studies find religious ppl with high death anxiety are bigger fans of the fundamentally good, powerful, and immortal superheroes. Andy Scott & Jeff Schimel explain. issep.org/article/modern…

Gulnaz Kiper's research studies "whether the ‘difficulty as growth’ mindset might serve a core existential function, framing various aspects of life as a hero’s journey, giving them meaning and significance." Check it out here! issep.org/interview/kiper

Roy Baumeister considers data from apes to humans to learn how the "existential agent" makes meaningful choices, in a limited amount of time, and directs its actions in an interpreted world – indeed, perhaps several worlds: physical, social, cultural. issep.org/article/meanin…

Harrison Schmitt uses mixed methods to study the experience of chronic environmental contamination, which can lead to social fragmentation, ambiguous moral responsibility, and communal stress and suffering. Chatted abt its implications for society/culture. issep.org/interview/schm…

Research on freedom and reactance can help us better understand why, during the pandemic, some officials were actively banning public health orders and some citizens were resisting public health recommendations, and what to do about it going forward. issep.org/article/freedo…

Mira Gruber studied whether parasocial relationships w/ humanoid vs. non-humanoid caregiving robots could soothe existential concerns (isolation, death) among the elderly. The (uncanny) humanoid amplified existential concerns. Also Blade Runner and Bowie. issep.org/interview/grub…