Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology
Encyclopedia
The Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP) is a small academic organization of research psychologist
s who have interests in multivariate statistical models
for advancing psychological knowledge. It publishes a journal, Multivariate Behavioral Research
.
and others as an organization of scientific researchers interested in applying complex multivariate quantitative methods to substantive problems in psychology
. The two main functions of the society are to hold an annual meeting of scientific or quantitative psychology
specialists and to publish a journal, Multivariate Behavioral Research. The first meeting of the Society was held in Chicago in the fall of 1961. Beginning in 1993, the meeting has been held annually.
The president of SMEP is elected by the membership and the list of former presidents includes many prominent psychology methodologists, including Raymond B. Cattell
, Donald W. Fiske
, Jacob Cohen
, Harry Harman, Peter Bentler and Jack Block
.
SMEP and Taylor & Francis also cooperate in the publication of a series of books on applications of multivariate quantitative methods to important substantive research issues. The book series is edited by Lisa Harlow.
The Society uses revenue from the journal to fund programs that promote learning of statistical methods in psychology and education, with a special emphasis on increasing the number of persons from under-represented groups in quantitative psychology.
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
s who have interests in multivariate statistical models
Multivariate statistics
Multivariate statistics is a form of statistics encompassing the simultaneous observation and analysis of more than one statistical variable. The application of multivariate statistics is multivariate analysis...
for advancing psychological knowledge. It publishes a journal, Multivariate Behavioral Research
Multivariate Behavioral Research
Multivariate Behavioral Research is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology....
.
History
SMEP was founded in 1960 by Raymond CattellRaymond Cattell
Raymond Bernard Cattell was a British and American psychologist, known for his exploration of many areas in psychology...
and others as an organization of scientific researchers interested in applying complex multivariate quantitative methods to substantive problems in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. The two main functions of the society are to hold an annual meeting of scientific or quantitative psychology
Quantitative psychology
Research in quantitative psychology develops psychological theory in relation to mathematics and statistics. Psychological research requires the elaboration of existing methods and the development of new concepts, so that quantitative psychology requires more than "applications" of statistics and...
specialists and to publish a journal, Multivariate Behavioral Research. The first meeting of the Society was held in Chicago in the fall of 1961. Beginning in 1993, the meeting has been held annually.
Membership
The new members of SMEP are elected by existing members, and membership is considered to be honorific. To promote interaction among participants in the annual meeting, the membership is limited to 65 active members under the age of 65, as well as to emeritus members (active members aged 65 and older who attend the annual meeting regularly). The Bylaws of SMEP stipulate that there should be twice the number of nominees for membership as available slots.The president of SMEP is elected by the membership and the list of former presidents includes many prominent psychology methodologists, including Raymond B. Cattell
Raymond Cattell
Raymond Bernard Cattell was a British and American psychologist, known for his exploration of many areas in psychology...
, Donald W. Fiske
Donald W. Fiske
Donald W. Fiske was a nationally recognized psychologist with specialty in methodological issues in personality, ability, and trait research. He was, with Donald T. Campbell, co-author of a landmark paper regarding the Multitrait-Multimethod approach to evaluating construct validity. He died April...
, Jacob Cohen
Jacob Cohen
Jacob Cohen was a US statistician and psychologist best known for his work on statistical power and effect size, which helped to lay foundations for current statistical meta-analysis.He gave his name to Cohen's kappa and Cohen's d...
, Harry Harman, Peter Bentler and Jack Block
Jack Block
Jacob "Jack" Block was a notable psychology professor at UC Berkeley. His main areas of research were personality theory, personality development, research methodology, personality assessment, longitudinal research, and cognition...
.
Annual meeting
The annual meeting spans two and one half days and consists exclusively of presentations by members in a single session. The program is arranged to allow ample discussion of each presentation. Since 2003, a half-day graduate student pre-conference has been held in conjunction with the annual meeting. PhD students sponsored by SMEP members present their research to those attending the annual meeting. In addition, the Society awards an annual Saul Sells Award and Raymond B. Cattell Award for new investigators. The meeting also elects a new president.Journal
The SMEP journal, Multivariate Behavioral Research (MBR), publishes research articles on multivariate methodology and its use in psychological research. The 2010 Editor of MBR is Joseph L. Rodgers, and the journal is published by Taylor & Francis Group.SMEP and Taylor & Francis also cooperate in the publication of a series of books on applications of multivariate quantitative methods to important substantive research issues. The book series is edited by Lisa Harlow.
The Society uses revenue from the journal to fund programs that promote learning of statistical methods in psychology and education, with a special emphasis on increasing the number of persons from under-represented groups in quantitative psychology.