NWC to host social science conference

Northwestern College will host the Siouxland Research Conference on Thursday, April 22, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. More than 100 students are expected to attend, representing Northwestern, Briar Cliff, Buena Vista, Dordt, Morningside and Mount Marty.

The conference will feature research presentations by dozens of students majoring in psychology, social work and sociology. Among them will be 21 from Northwestern.

Dr. Thomas Bouchard Jr., the retired director of the Minnesota Center for Twin and Adoption Research, will be the keynote speaker. He will speak on “Genetic Influence on Psychological Characteristics: How Much?” at 10:30 a.m. in the Bultman Center. The session is free and open to the public.

World-famous for his Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart, Bouchard received the Kistler Prize in 2005 in recognition of his scientific research regarding human individual differences caused by genetic and environmental influences. He has also received the American Psychological Association’s Distinguished Scientific Speaker Award and the Dobzhansky Memorial Award for a Lifetime of Outstanding Scholarship in Behavior Genetics. He is a former president of the Behavior Genetics Association and the author of over 170 publications.