25th Occasional Temperament Conference
Texas A&M University is happy and honored to be hosting the 25th Occasional Temperament Conference (OTC25) in 2025. Our Organizing Committee consists of members across 3 Colleges (Education & Human Development, Arts & Sciences, and Agriculture & Life Sciences).
The Occasional Temperament Conference (OTC) welcomes researchers, students and practitioners from around the world who have a special interest in the study of temperament and its use in a variety of contexts. Given that it brings together prominent experts in the field into a small-scale setting, the OTC offers a unique opportunity for networking with leaders and colleagues who are passionate about the study and applications of temperament.
Event Details
November 6th – 8th, 2025
Thursday morning through Saturday evening
Contact Dr. Jeffrey Liew with questions regarding the event:
For participants, registration fees include all coffee breaks, two lunches (November 6th & 7th) and the Gala dinner (November 6th). For spouses, registration fees include two lunches (November 6th & 7th) and the Gala dinner (November 6th)
Preconference Workshops: November 6th (1pm – 5:30pm)
Symposia: November 7th & 8th
Poster Presentations: November 7th
Awards Gala & Dinner: November 8th
Registration
| Pre-Conference Registration Fees | Early Bird Rate (Before August 1st) |
Regular Rate (Until September 1st) |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty & Professional Attendees | $75 USD | $100 USD |
| Students & Postdocs | $50 USD | $75 USD |
| Conference Registration Fees | Early Bird Rate (Before August 1st) |
Regular Rate (Until September 1st) |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty & Professional Attendees | $350 USD | $400 USD |
| Students & Postdocs | $250 USD | $300 USD |
| Partner or Non-academic Guest | $250 USD (reception & gala) |
Pre-Conference registration fees include both Pre-Conferences. (Innovative, Rigorous, and Equitable Research Methods in Temperament Research and Temperament in the School and Classroom Contexts: Research and Practice)
Conference registration fees include all a welcome reception on the evening of November 6th, coffee breaks and lunches on November 7th & 8th, and the Awards Gala & Dinner (November 8th).
Directions From the Major Airports
Flying into Houston
2 options:
• George Bush Intercontinental Airport (airport code: IAH)
• William P. Hobby Airport (airport code: HOU)
From IAH or HOU, there are two convenient options to get to College Station:
1. Ground Shuttle
a. To schedule a ground shuttle from Houston Airport to College Station, visit:
https://www.groundshuttle.com/
2. Connecting flight to Easterwood Airport in College (airport code: CLL)
3. Rental Car and driving 1.5 hours
Flying into Austin
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (airport code: AUS)
From AUS, there are connecting flight to get to College Station or driving 2 hours:
1. Connecting flight to Easterwood Airport in College (airport code: CLL)
2. Rental Car and driving 2 hours
Conference Hotel
A guest room block for OTC is available at the Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center located on the Texas A&M University campus. This site will host the preconference workshops, welcome reception and guest room block. Conference Day 1 & 2 locations are a short walk from the hotel. Parking in the Gene Stalling Boulevard Garage (SBC) is included with conference room block reservations. Room availability is limited. Utilizing the OTC room block for your hotel reservation will assist with conference hosting logistics.
Pre-Conferences
- Innovative, Rigorous, and Equitable Research Methods in Temperament Research Chairs: Amanda Sheffield Morris; Oklahoma State University and Elizabeth Planalp; University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Temperament in the School and Classroom Contexts: Research and Practice Chairs: Kathleen Moritz Rudasill; Virginia Commonwealth and Robert Pianta; University of Virginia
Symposium Themes
- Temperament in sociocultural, school, and family contexts Chair: Dr. Nicole Perry, University of Texas at Austin
- Genetic and neurobiological aspects of temperament Chair: Dr. Kathryn Lemery-Chalfant, Arizona State University
- Temperament applications in childcare, education and clinical practice Chair: Dr. Sean McDevitt, University of Pennsylvania
- Temperament during prenatal, infant, and early childhood development Chair: Dr. Cynthia Smith, Virginia Tech
- Temperament and personality across the lifespan Chair: Dr. Katherine M. Lawson, Rhodes College
- Temperament in health, adjustment, and psychopathology Chair: Dr. Liliana Lengua, University of Washington
- Early contextual influences on temperament Chair: Dr. Daniel Choe, University of California at Davis
2025 Keynote Speakers
Dr. Martha Ann Bell
Martha Ann Bell is University Distinguished Professor, College of Science Faculty Fellow, and Professor of Psychology at Virginia Tech. Her research team examines individual differences in the development of executive function and emotion regulation across infancy and childhood, with her and collaborators’ work funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Bell is Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
She is past recipient of the Senior Investigator Award from the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, as well as the society’s Rovee-Collier Mentor Award. She also has received Virginia Tech’s top awards for research (Alumni Award for Research Excellence) and mentoring (Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award – College of Science). Bell has served in leadership roles in the field, including past Editor of the journal “Infancy” and past chair of the NIH study section “Cognition and Perception.”
Dr. Xinyin Chen
Dr. Xinyin Chen is Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methods at the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His research focuses on children’s and adolescents’ socioemotional functioning and its role in social, school, and psychological adjustment from a contextual-developmental perspective. He has conducted a series of longitudinal projects on socioemotional functioning and cultural contexts in Chinese, North American, and other societies.
Chen has received multiple awards in recognition of his research excellence, including a Scholars Award from the William T. Grant Foundation, a Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD). He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA, Div. 7), the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Chen has served in leadership roles in the field, including President of ISSBD and Associate Editor of Child Development.
OTC25 Organizing Committee
Chair: Jeffrey Liew
Co-Chairs: Rebecca Brooker, Jeffrey Gagne, Jun Wang, Zhe Wang
Symposium and Poster Submissions
Submit up to 3 symposia with the option to have your symposia submission to be reviewed as a potential poster if not accepted. You also have the option to submit a stand-alone poster.
The deadline for submission of abstracts for paper or poster presentations is August 1, 2025.