Earlier this year, BABLab staff attended the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) Annual Convention 2026! We were so grateful to attend and present our research at the conference.

Here are some highlights from our team: 

BABLab PI Dr. Patty Van Cappellen and Post-Doctoral Associate in the
Dr. Megan Edwards of BABLab both presented at the “New Directions in Existential Psychology for the Religious and Nonreligious” symposium.

Dr. Van Capellen’s talk was titled ” Beyond Rainbows: Religious and Existential Dimensions of Hope.”
And Dr. Edwards’ talk was titled “Hope in the Dark: Hope More Strongly Predicts Meaning in Life Among Those Who Need It”

BABLab Lab Manager Jenna Faith McClear, M.T.S. & BABLab Lab Manager Camryn Yeager, B.A., both presented posters at the SPSP Main conference!

Camryn’s poster was titled “Campus Economic Inequality May Shape Feelings of ‘Falling Behind’ and Reduced Student Well-Being.”

Jenna’s Poster was titled “Immediate Emotional Benefits of Religious Service Attendance: Evidence From a Natural Experiment at Easter.”

Additionally, BABLab research assistant Jennifer Hu also presented her poster “What Makes Us Human?: Sociality as a Key Dimension of Mind Perception” at the first poster session of the main conference.

Finally, we were glad to catch up with all of the past BABLab alumni at the BABLab reunion dinner!

We had such an amazing time at SPSP ’26!

We are beyond thrilled to share that an article written by our BABLab P.I. Patty Van Cappellen, PhD, and Postdoctoral Researcher Megan E. Edwards, has been featured on the International Society for the Study of Existential Psychology (ISSEP) website (read the article here!)

The article is titled “Where There is Hope There is Meaning” and expands on the idea that hope is a meaning-making emotion with great existential significance, as it helps us to persevere or take action during times in which we are suffering.

To demonstrate this, Megan and Patty highlight the history of the study of hope and highlight findings from both qualitative and quantitative studies of hope.

Congratulations, Megan and Patty, on this achievement!

We are so happy to announce that our lab manager, Jenna Faith McClear, M.T.S., has accepted her offer to work in Sarah Schnitker’s lab at Baylor University toward her Ph.D. in social and personality psychology.

She is excited to continue her interdisciplinary work in psychology, theology, and joy & human flourishing throughout her time there.

We will miss her, but we are incredibly proud and grateful for all the work she has contributed in her nearly 2 years as lab manager here. Jenna, we wish you the best of luck on your journey. Your Duke family will always be here, rooting for you!