The Psychology of Ghosts. Invited "Fireside Chat" at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, October 29, 2024.

​

Engaging in Civil Public Dialogue in the 21st Century: Why It is so Difficult, and How to Make It Happen. Invited presenter & panelist at a meeting of the Knox College Board of Trustees, Chicago, February 23, 2024.

​

Disseminating Scientific Output: Connecting Your Gossip research With The Public. Presentation at the Force of Gossip Conference, VU University, Amsterdam, July 6-7, 2023

​

Why do some people see ghosts while others don't? The Academic Minute (NPR), October 31, 2022

​

Is Physically Risky Heroism a 'Guy Thing'? The Academic Minute (NPR), September 26, 2022.

 

Why some people are more likely to have paranormal experiences. Invited talk delivered at “When Fear is Fun 2022,” a workshop on recreational fear sponsored by the Recreational Fear Lab at Aarhus University, Denmark, June 14, 2022.

​

The Psychology of Haunted Houses. Invited class lecture (virtual) at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, January 4, 2022.

​

Why people see ghosts. Invited virtual lecture to the “Rationality Enhancement Group” at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, Tübingen, Germany, December 9, 2021.

​

Encounters with Ghosts. Invited lecture delivered as part of the "Profs and Pints" Lecture Series. (Virtual Presentation), October 20, 2021.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program.

(Virtual Presentation), September 21, 2021.

​

Evolutionary perspectives on the personality of leadership. Hogan Distinguished Lecture Series, Hogan Assessments, Tulsa, Oklahoma, June, 2020. (Canceled because of the pandemic).

​

GOSSIP: Is it a Social Skill – or a Character Flaw? Invited talk given at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities Campus, Moline, Illinois, November 14, 2019.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, October 7, 2019.

​

“Gossip in Work Organizations: A Double-Edged Sword?” Invited talk at the Business Psychology Graduate Program of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (Chicago), September 28, 2019.

​

Creeped-Out: The Psychology of Creepiness & Horror. Invited talk given at Western Illinois University, Quad Cities Campus, Moline, Illinois, October, 2018.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, September, 2018.

​

Academic careers in evolutionary psychology at teaching-focused institutions. Symposium Chair and Presenter at the annual meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Boise, Idaho, June, 2017.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, October, 2017.

​

The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip. Invited address to the Department of Organization Sciences, Vrije University (VU), Amsterdam, October, 2016.

​

Creeped Out: Evolution, Psychology, & Creepiness. Invited talk to the Evolutionary Psychology Lab Group at Vrije University (VU), Amsterdam, October, 2016.

​

Alpha Male or Omega Male? Precarious Manhood and the Violence of Young Men. Invited Lecture at the C. G. Jung Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico, September, 2016.

​

Why High School Never Ends. The Academic Minute (NPR), September 6, 2016.

​

Creep: The psychology of paranormal experiences. Invited talk given as part of Mortar Board’s Lecture Series "Teach Me Anything." Knox College, Galesburg, IL, January, 2016.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, October, 2015.

​

The unavoidable awkwardness of family life. Invited Lecture at The Peoria Riverfront Museum in conjunction with a photography exhibit of “Awkward Family Photos,” Peoria, IL, September, 2015.

​

The “Sword of a Woman?” – Gossip and Female Aggression. Invited talk delivered as part of a symposium on “Female Aggression: The Often Overlooked, but Functionally Sophisticated, Ways Women Compete” at the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), Long Beach, California, February, 2015. [Abstract appears in program, but presentation not made because of medical emergency.]

​

Invited speaker, Interpersonal Relationships Lab, Department of Psychology, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, December, 2014.

​

The Evolution of Human Environmental Preferences. Guest lecture to the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) program on “Ecology and Human Origins,” Tanzania, October, 2014.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, October, 2014.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, November, 2013.

​

Invited speaker as part of Carl Sandburg College’s “Lunch with a Scholar” program. Galesburg, Illinois, October, 2013.

​

"Gossip and the Management of Reputation. Workshop sponsored by the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) at the Lorentz Center, Leiden, Netherlands, August, 2013.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Presentation sponsored by the Graduate School at the University of Missouri at Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” Program, October, 2012.

​

The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip. Invited talk in the Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri – Columbia, October, 2011.

​

Teaching careers at liberal arts colleges. Workshop presentation sponsored by the Graduate School of the University of Missouri –Columbia as part of their “Preparing Future Faculty” program, October, 2011.

 

The Selfish Hero? Invited talk in the Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri –Columbia, October, 2011.

​

The Selfish Hero? An invited address at the University of Limerick, Ireland, September, 2011.

​

The Science of Gossip: Why You Can’t Stop Yourself. Keynote Address delivered at the ILLOWA Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Monmouth, IL, April, 2011.

​

The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip. Wabash College, Crawfordsville, Indiana, March, 2011.

 

The Evolutionary psychology of Gossip. Invited Presentation at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, September, 2010.

​

The Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip. Invited presentation at The University of Missouri at St. Louis, April, 2010.

​

Evolutionary perspectives on popular culture. Invited Class Lecture at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, July, 2009.

 

What Should Study Abroad in Psychology be About? Panelist/Chair of Panel at an International Educators Workshop sponsored by The Danish Institute for Study Abroad, Copenhagen, Denmark, June, 2009.

​

Evolutionary perspectives on popular culture. Invited Class Lecture at the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, July, 2008.

​

The Evolutionary psychology of Gossip. Invited presentation at Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida, March, 2008.

​

Information Age Media and Stone Age Minds: How the Entertainment Industry Succeeds by Pressing the Right Buttons in Our Hunter-Gatherer Brains. Invited Keynote Address at the first annual IDeoGRAMS Conference 2007: Contemporary Media. Leicester, England, September, 2007.

​

The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited presentation at the Buss Evolutionary Psychology Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, October, 2006.

 

The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited presentation at the Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, October, 2006.

​

The psychology of gossip. Invited presentation at Carl Sandburg College, Galesburg, Illinois, November, 2005.

​

The psychology of gossip. Invited presentation at Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, October, 2005.

​

Gossip as entertainment: Why does bad news feel so good? Invited Presentation at a conference on Media and Universals 2005 – Focus on Film and Print, Universitat Siegen, Siegen, Germany, February, 2005.

​

The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited presentation at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, December, 2004.

​

Why is Gossip so Irresistible? Explorations in the Evolutionary Psychology of Gossip. Invited paper presented at a symposium of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society, Berlin, Germany, July, 2004.

 

The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited talk presented at Colby College, Waterville, Maine, February, 2003.

​

The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited Colloqium presented at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, November, 2001.

​

Of tabloids and family secrets: The evolutionary psychology of gossip. Invited colloqium presented at SUNY-Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, September, 2001.

​

Teaching careers at small liberal arts colleges. Invited talks at the University of New Mexico & SUNY-Binghamton, November & September, 2001.

​

Social and Psychological Factors to Consider in the Construction of Carrying Capacity Models. Invited Workshop presentation at the Florida Keys Carrying Capacity Study Scenario Workshop, Marathon, Florida, January, 2000.

​

Evolutionary Psychology and the Naming of Children. Keynote address delivered at the Annual Congress of the Psychological Society of South Africa, Johannesburg, September, 1996.

​

Industrial and Organizational Psychology in the United States. Invited Address presented to the Department of Industrial Psychology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, September, 1996.

​

Workshop Facilitator at the Institute for Child & Family Development, University of the

Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa: Conducted a three-day workshop on the founding of

interdisciplinary graduate program in family studies, September, 1996.

​

Involving Undergraduates in Field Research in Social Psychology. Invited presentation at a symposium of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, May, 1996.

 

The Biological roots of Environmental Attitudes. Guest lecture to the graduate program in environmental studies, University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, IL, April, 1995.

​

The Psychology of Environmental Planning. Invited address at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Springfield, IL, April, 1995.

 

The evolution of human environmental preferences. Invited talk presented at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, March, 1992.

​

The Green Experience. Convocation address delivered at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, September, 1990.

​

Why apes have eyebrows: Evolution and human nonverbal communication. Invited talk presented at the University of Scranton, Scranton, Pennsylvania, November, 1989.

​

Worker motivation in the face of technological change. Invited address delivered to the Illinois Newspaper Production Conference, Galesburg, Illinois, September, 1983.