Cultivating Connections
Building a Flourishing Community Through Kindness, Compassion, and Respect.
March 26-29, 2026
The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
San Diego, CA 92101
About the Event
The Society for Consumer Psychology (SCP) Annual Conference will take place from March 26 to 29, 2026, at The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter in San Diego, California.
This year’s conference theme is “Cultivating Connections: Building a Flourishing Community Through Kindness, Compassion, and Respect.”
Early Bird (ends Jan 15)
Full Member – $750
Student/Retired – $500
Regular (ends Mar 13)
Full Member – $825
Student/Retired – $575
On-site (starts Mar 26)
Full Member – $900
Student/Retired – $650
QUICK LINKS
Dates & Deadlines
June 17, 2025 — Call for Papers
August 15, 2025 — Submission Deadline
November 10, 2025 — Notification
November 17, 2025 — Registration Open
March 26-29, 2026 — Conference
HOTEL BLOCK OPEN
Rooms are now available in the hotel block. Please follow the link below to book.
Congratulations to the Conference Award Winners
Best Special Session
“Misaligned Temporal Cues in Consumer Decision Making”
Kristin Whitmeyer, Duke University
Chethana Achar, Northwestern University
Indeesh Mukhopadhyay, The Ohio State University
Wendy De La Rosa, University of Pennsylvania
Best Working Paper
“Art Exposure as a Pathway to Sustainable Lifestyles”
Jiajia Zhang, University of International Business and Economics
Haojun Chen, University of Hong Kong
Jin Sun, University of International Business and Economics
Hongwei He, The University of Manchester
Sumin Kim, The University of Manchester
Best Paper – Conference Theme
“Conversation and Consumer Connection:
How Everyday Interactions Shape Community and Judgment”
Juliana Schroeder, University of California Berkeley
Brendan Pagan, Washington University in St. Louis
Amit Kumar, University of Texas at Austin
Feiyi Wang, University of Pennsylvania
Best Competitive Paper
“Financial Hubris: How Credit Card Debt Structure Shapes Consumer Spending”
Mehrdad Aghayari, University of Arizona
Dr. Jennifer Savary, University of Arizona
This year’s theme—Cultivating Connections—is a call to action and a celebration of what’s possible when we prioritize kindness, lead with compassion, and treat each other with respect. A central goal of this year’s gathering is to build a thriving community. We aim to support scholars, across all career stages, as they create meaningful connections, foster friendships, and collaborate with others.
Cultivating Connections has the potential to shape the future of consumer psychology by encouraging more constructive and empathetic feedback in professional interactions (e.g., review, talks, mentoring), by strengthening networks that support career development, and by inspiring research that serves as a force for good in both the marketplace and society.
Conference Programs and Documents
SCP 2026 has accepted 144 competitive papers and 120 working papers. The preliminary program is now available. Please note that this program is subject to change.
The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter
Venue and Convention Hotel
910 Broadway Circle
San Diego, CA 92101
The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter is a modern, upscale hotel in the heart of downtown San Diego, offering easy access to the historic Gaslamp Quarter’s vibrant dining, shopping, and entertainment. Just steps from the San Diego Convention Center, Petco Park, and Seaport Village.
You’ll relax in stylish, residential-inspired rooms, enjoy locally inspired cuisine at Bronze Bird® Food Wine & Spirits, or unwind at the outdoor rooftop pool. With its prime location and refined amenities, The Westin Gaslamp Quarter provides a comfortable and convenient stay in San Diego for SCP 2026.
Call for Papers
Submission Deadline: August 15, 2025
This year’s conference theme is “Cultivating Connections: Building a Flourishing Community Through Kindness, Compassion, and Respect.”
This year’s theme—Cultivating Connections—is a call to action and a celebration of what’s possible when we prioritize kindness, lead with compassion, and treat each other with respect. A central goal of this year’s gathering is to build a thriving community. We aim to support scholars, across all career stages, as they create meaningful connections, foster friendships, and collaborate with others.
Cultivating Connections has the potential to shape the future of consumer psychology by encouraging more constructive and empathetic feedback in professional interactions (e.g., review, talks, mentoring), by strengthening networks that support career development, and by inspiring research that serves as a force for good in both the marketplace and society.
This conference theme is participatory and reaches beyond scholarly presentations to introduce programming to bring scholars together through inclusive engagement. One way we’ll do this is through the introduction of “Cultivating Connections” sessions. These sessions will consist of activities and events that are geared towards connection by having people engage in a more holistic and meaningful way. More information about these sessions will be provided later this summer.
We welcome all submissions, regardless of their direct fit with the conference theme, across various formats, including competitive papers, special sessions, roundtables, and working papers. Outstanding contributions will be recognized with awards for Best Overall Competitive Paper, Best Overall Special Session, Best Overall Working Paper, and Best Paper exemplifying the Conference Theme.
Plenary Speaker — Colin Fisher
We are delighted to welcome Colin M. Fisher, Associate Professor of Organisations and Innovation at UCL School of Management, as our plenary speaker. In this plenary, Colin will explore how groups create meaningful connections and collective excellence—not by focusing on individual talent alone, but by shaping the structures that allow people to work well together.
Drawing on his research on teams, creativity, and collaboration, as well as insights from his book The Collective Edge, he will examine how shared goals, roles, norms, and group composition influence collective effectiveness. The session offers a fresh, collective perspective on why some groups thrive while others struggle, and what leaders and communities can do to foster stronger connections.
This plenary speaks directly to our conference theme, Cultivating Connections: Building a Flourishing Community Through Kindness, Compassion, and Respect, by emphasizing how connection is not accidental but intentionally cultivated—within teams, organizations, and scholarly communities alike.
Cultivating Connections Events
Smartypants PowerPoint Party
What happens when you combine a random topic, a ticking clock, and a group of strangers tasked with becoming “instant experts” for the sake of comedy? You get SCP Smartypants PowerPoint Party, a collaborative session inspired by the hit Dropout series Smartypants, where the slides are made up and the points don’t matter (but the laughs definitely do)! (Pre-registration required)
Improv Training Session: Enhancing Academic Excellence through Improv
Join us for an engaging and transformative improv training session designed specifically for academics seeking to enhance their teaching, research, and collaborative skills. Where research meets creativity, teaching meets energy, and collaboration meets yes, and…. (Pre-registration required)
EMPATHY Framework Reviewer Workshop
In this workshop, led by Cait Lamberton and Karen Page Winterich, you will work in small groups, applying best practices in constructive peer review using the EMPATHY Framework (featured in a 2025 Journal of Marketing Editorial by former Editor-in-Chief Hari Sridhar). (Pre-registration required)
Morning Coffee and Cultivating Connections
Are you a fan of caffeine? Do you like conversing and learning about other people? Would you like to leave SCP having made a new friend? Well then, this activity is just for you! Join us in the morning for a warm cup of coffee and great conversations aided by conversation game cards that were created to help drive connection between you and other members.
Superconnector Lounge
Looking to meet new colleagues, expand your network, or get personalized guidance during SCP? Meet our SCP Superconnectors—a group of highly engaged, well-respected scholars who are passionate about helping others build meaningful connections within the consumer psychology community.
Affinity Group Meetup
The Affinity Groups Meetup is a community building initiative intended to facilitate social connection within SCP. Affinity groups are broadly defined as a group of people connected by a common goal, identity, value, or interest.
Conference Events
The Superconnectors sessions offer a unique opportunity to connect informally with some of the most respected and generous scholars in the SCP community.
Superconnectors are senior, well-embedded members of our field who are known not only for their intellectual leadership, but also for their willingness to mentor, advise, and connect others.
Held in the Superconnectors Space, located in the Coronado Room on the 3rd floor, these 30-minute, open Q&A sessions are designed as relaxed, drop-in conversations. Whether you are a PhD student, junior faculty member, or mid-career scholar, this is a chance to ask questions, seek guidance, exchange ideas, and build meaningful connections in a supportive and welcoming environment.
Superconnectors will host sessions in pairs, allowing for complementary perspectives and a dynamic exchange. We warmly encourage all interested conference attendees to stop by, listen in, ask questions, and make new connections.
- 10:00 – 10:30
Ryan Hamilton, Emory University
Stefano Puntoni, University of Pennsylvania - 11:00 – 11:30
Kelly Haws, Vanderbilt University
Peggy Liu, University of Pittsburgh
Andrea Morales, Arizona State University - 11:30 – 12:00
Matt Isaac, Seattle University
Keith Wilcox, Columbia University - 12:00 – 12:30
Rajesh Bagchi, Virginia Tech
Rebecca Reczek, The Ohio State University
Julio Sevilla, University of Georgia - 2:30 – 3:00
David Wooten, University of Michigan
Joe Goodman, The Ohio State University
Vanessa Patrick, University of Houston - 3:00 – 3:30
Vanessa Patrick, University of Houston
Melissa Bublitz, University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh
Adriana Samper, Arizona State University
This event is limited to 100 attendees. You must be a SCP Student Member to participate.
The Saturday Closing Soirée will take place at the San Diego Museum of Natural History in Balboa Park, on Saturday, March 28. Hors d’oeuvres buffet style and an open bar will welcome guests, who are free to move about the many exhibits.
The reception will take place from 7:00pm – 11:00pm, and transportation will be provided to and from the Westin.
Conference Team
Our leadership is the key to a memorable and impactful experience for our members.
We are thankful for their dedication to SCP 2026.
Tracy Rank-Christman
Co-chair
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Sonja Prokopec
Co-Chair
Essec Business School, Singapore
Anthony Salerno
Co-Chair
Vanderbilt University
Chethana Achar
Doctoral Consortium Co-Chair
Northwestern University
Andrea Luangrath
Doctoral Consortium Co-Chair
University of Iowa
Social Chairs
Chris Cannon, University of Hawaii
Allie Lieberman, UCLA
Morgan Poor, SDSU
Competitive Paper Track Chairs
Kirk Kristofferson, Ivey Business School
Stephanie Lin, INSEAD
Kelley Wight, Indiana University
Working Paper Track Chairs
Corinne Hassler, University of Kentucky
Kevin Sample, University of South Carolina
Linda Hagen, University of Illinois Chicago