About The Southern Minnesota Conference on Psychology (SMCP)

The Southern Minnesota Conference on Psychology is an annual conference hosted by the Department of Psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato. The goal of the conference is to promote psychology and highlight student research from a variety of disciplines within the field of psychology. The conference is intended to involve a wide audience of students, faculty, and community professionals.

2025 Southern Minnesota Conference

The 2025 SMCP will be held on Thursday, April 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the South Ballroom of the Centennial Student Union on the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus.

The 2025 SMCP theme is "Recognizing Skills for Success."

Additional information for SMCP 2025:

This year’s conference is student-focused with speakers and panelists in the morning describing how the skills they learned studying psychology here at Minnesota State University, Mankato have prepared them for their careers.
A lunch will be provided for attendees. During lunch, there will be a short ceremony celebrating Psychology students and faculty, and other department accomplishments.
In the afternoon, students will present their research in a poster session, along with additional break-out groups, a panel, and psychology demonstrations. Attendees will be able to learn more about psychology and undergraduate research in these interactive and hands-on sessions.

Registration Details

Interested individuals can register for the Southern Minnesota Conference on Psychology 2025 using the following link.

Course Registration Details

Minnesota State University, Mankato students can attend the conference and enroll in a 1-credit Psychology course (PSYC 490 or 590). Students seeking course credit must receive permission to register for the course (contact Dr. Lisa Perez at lisa.perez@mnsu.edu to request permission to register AND to receive a syllabus describing course guidelines).

Additional registration questions can be sent to Dr. Karla Lassonde at karla.lassonde@mnsu.edu.

For More Information

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Karla Lassonde, at 507-389-5827 or at karla.lassonde@mnsu.edu.

Undergraduate Research Presentations, 2025 Southern Minnesota Conference on Psychology

*Student Author(s)*	*Faculty Mentor*	*Poster Title*
Mooyoung Lee, Ryan Compton, Ella Littlejohn	Emily Stark	"Evaluating Critical Thinking in College Students for Workplace Readiness"
Ava Stier, Will Anderson, Jaylene Perez, Ava Kampf, Sophie Privette, Lauren Schammel, Alex Much, Joey Vobr, Lilah Amon, Haley Klingenberg, Hannah O’Brien, Brooke Morris, Audrey Wertish	Sarah Myers	"Comparative Analysis of Satisfaction and Stress Levels between Collegiate Athletes and Club Athletes"
Abby Heisinger, Jessa Broesder, & Allison Chaffee	Emily Stark	"Critical Thinking: A Key Workplace Skill"
Shalynn Mahady	Emily Stark	"Understanding Beliefs in Pseudoscience: The Misleading Science Behind Complementary Medicine"
Matthew Ling	Felix Pambuccian	"Tripping with Purpose: Exploring the Role of Intention in Psychedelic Experiences"
Maria Del Carmen Mendez-Martinez	Andi Lassiter	Mental Health Treatments Past & Present