The 2017 jSchool

The 2017 jSchool was hosted in Dubrovnik, Croatia, from the 16th to the 23rd July 2017. Dubrovnik, UNESCO heritage city on the Mediterranean Sea, is a fortified city whose walls became even more famous after starring in Game Of Thrones series, and is a national symbol of independence and fine arts. Also nicknamed The Pearl of the Adriatic, Dubrovnik is rich in both historical and cultural heritage, as well as its tradition of science and innovation.

Where Central and Southeast Europe meet Mediterranean, in the very heart of Europe, lies the Republic of Croatia. It is difficult to find any tourist agency that would not recommend visiting Croatia: from its long coastline on the Adriatic Sea, over 1.000 diverse islands, up to clear rivers, waterfalls and lakes to the peaceful mountains, there is something for everyone’s taste. Apart from its natural beauty, the unique geographical position of Croatia also accounted for numerous cultural influences and subsequent diversity that shaped its art, architecture and its worldwide famous cuisine.

Theme

The theme was Decisions: The psychology of choice, allowing students to research across a the broad spectrum of psychological science.

Projects

The following projects were started in the 2017 jSchool, and presented at the 2018 JRPC. Further information can be found here.

1. To share or not to share? The effect of privacy policies on the valuation of personal data and product choices online.
2. Instant connection: Does intense use of Facebook increase social connectedness – or vice versa?
3. From identity leadership to work commitment. How this relationship is moderated-mediated participation in decision-making and collective efficacy?
4. Parental decision making on childhood vaccination.
5. Eating for two? Social norms in nutrition among pregnant women.
6. Nudging charitable behaviour: Increasing donations by targeting the moral foundations of Facebook users.

Guest Speakers

Dr Sander van der Linden is a University Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Cambridge, Director of the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab and a Fellow of Churchill College. He has won numerous awards for his research from organisations such as the American Psychological Association (APA), the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP) and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI). He received the Frank Prize in 2017 for outstanding research in the public interest. Prior to Cambridge, he held positions at Princeton and at Yale University. He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). His latest research explores the possibility of developing a psychological vaccine against “fake news”. At the 2017 jSchool he covered the following topic: The psychology of consensus: How Social Norms Influence Decision-Making.

Zvonimir Galic is an Associate Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology at the University of Zagreb, Croatia. His research has been published in outlets such as Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Personality Assessment, International Journal of Selection and Assessment, Journal of Personnel Psychology, European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, and Journal of Economic Psychology. He was Fulbright’s Visiting Scholar at Purdue University in the U.S. (ac. year 2012/13). Currently, he is working on a project of development and validation of measurement procedures that capture automatic processes in personality (i.e., System 1 in personality).

Well known in judgment and decision-making literature, the distinction between the two systems of cognitive processes can also be applied to the field of personality. While System 2 (i.e., explicit, conscious processes) research dominates the field, some recent developments in implicit social cognition have provided us with potentially valuable tools for measurement of implicit, automatic personality processes (i.e., System 1). During his lecture, he presented two paradigms for implicit personality measurement (conditional reasoning tests and the Implicit Association Tests for self-concept measurement) and described the research programme that tested their validities in predicting various outcomes.

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Venue

The jSchool 2017 activities were held in the Center for Advanced Academic Studies (CAAS), only a 5-minute walk from the historical centre of the city, and the sea. This allowed students to work in an academic setting, while also having the opportunity to explore the surrounding city and beaches.