General Information
 

• Purpose

• History

• Past Participants

• Collaborations arising out of Duck Conferences

• Sponsorship and Affiliation

• Location

• Organization

• Invitation Procedure

• Criteria for Invitation

• Finances and Expenses

• Living Arrangements

• Meals

• Talks

• On-site Activities

• Off-site Activities

• Maps

Purpose

The Duck Conferences on Social Cognition are designed to encourage the exchange of information and the strengthening of professional relationships among social cognition researchers.  Conferences are structured so as to maximize interactions among participants and to minimize outside distractions.  Consequently, invitations are generally restricted to actual participants, though rare exceptions are made for individuals who would not be able to attend without bringing a child or significant other.

The majority of researchers at each conference are drawn from those who conduct social cognition studies within social psychology, but an attempt is made to include those with related interests in other areas of social psychology, cognitive psychology, marketing and other disciplines.   An effort is also made to balance professional rank and geographical home, and to include new participants each year.  Past conferences have succeeded in fostering a number of important collaborations (See Duckee Achievements: Miscellaneous).

History

The Duck Conferences on Social Cognition were an outgrowth of Bibb Latane's Nags Head Conferences, which devoted separate weeks to different subareas of social psychology, beginning in 1980.  The first Nags Head Conference devoted to social cognition took place in 1982, with Tom Ostrom as organizer.  After several years, disagreements arose between Bibb and participants in the social cognition conference regarding the organization and conduct of the conference. 

In 1987, a group of participants in the Nags Head Social Cognition Conference rented a single house in Ocean Sands, to the north of Duck, immediately after the end of a Nags Head Conference.  This group was motivated both by the desire to explore prospects for conducting a conference independently and by the need to remain on the Outer Banks for the weekend in order to obtain cheaper airfares.  (In this era, airline tickets were considerably cheaper if they included a Saturday night stayover).

The following year, in 1988, Jim Sherman organized a second meeting, which may have been the first Duck meeting that involved participant talks.  Unfortunately, the informality of the earliest Duck meetings makes it difficult to ascertain dates and details except by probing the vague memories of those who were involved.  The numbering of past conferences has sometimes been inconsistent, but has recently assumed that the 1989 meeting was the first actual Duck Conference, leaving the 1988 meeting with uncertain status.

A central characteristic of this first Duck Conference was that the conferees themselves took considerable responsibility for conducting the conference.  Cooking and cleanup and similar activities were shared by the participants, as were rental and grocery expenses.  Decisions regarding scheduling, recreational activities and so on were made by, or in consultation with, the participants.  In essence, then, the conference organizer was more of a facilitator than a chief executive officer.  This philosophy has persisted during the entire history of the Duck Conference. 

Jim Sherman organized the first several Duck Conferences, followed by very brief stints by David Hamilton and Eliot Smith.  Eliot Smith and Don Carlston co-organized the conference in 1994, with Don taking over as sole organizer in 1995 when Eliot and Dave became co-organizers of the Person Memory Interest Group.   Don had visited with the organizing group in Ocean Sands in 1987, but continued attending the Nags Head Conference for another year before switching over to Duck.  He continues as the organizer of the Duck Conferences today. 

Over the years the conference has expanded from around 10 to as many as 25 participants, with a systematic effort made to extend invitations to new participants, including many from foreign institutions, from cognitive psychology, and from business schools.  The housing facilities have been upgraded to include luxury homes with pools and other amenities.  And an effort has been made to increase resources for participants, including rosters and programs, as well as this web site.  In keeping with the spirit of the original Duck Conference, major changes have generally been made only after consultation with current and past Duckees.   

Of course, as the size and cost of the Duck Conference have increased, some formalization has crept in.  The Conference is now covered by cancellation and damage insurance, advance deposits are required, and tentative schedules are created in advance.   Importantly, however, as much decision making as possible has been left in the hands of the participants and every effort is made to ensure that the conference retains the spirit and purpose for which it was spawned.

Postscript:  After the original social cognition group broke off to begin the Duck Conference, the Nags Head Conferences continued for many years, though without regular conferences devoted exclusively to social cognition.  Eventually the Nags Head Conferences moved to Florida where they were housed in a hotel until they ended in 2000.  Despite those early disagreements regarding the conduct of the Nags Head Conferences, senior social cognition researchers recognize the significant role that those conferences played for the field and appreciate Bibb's vision in fostering the idea of small, intense professional conferences for social psychological researchers.

Concrete Benefits arising from the Duck Conferences

Participants typically receive extensive feedback on their presented research, both during the formal sessions, and informally afterwards.  For a partial list of published work that explicitly acknowledges feedback and suggestions provided at the Duck Conference, please see "Publications acknowledging the Duck Conference" on the  "Duckee Achievements" pages.

In addition, a number of professional collaborations have grown out of discussions and interactions during the Duck Conference.  For a partial list of such collaborations, see "Collaborations Growing out of the Duck Conference" on the  "Duckee Achievements" pages.

Sponsorship and Affiliation

The Duck Conferences on Social Cognition are neither sponsored by, nor affiliated with, any institution or organization.  Neither do they receive any funding from, or pay any fees or overhead to, any institution or organization (excepting those fees paid to the realty in connection with the housing rentals).  All expenses are divided among participants so that the conference is run on a break-even basis.  The absence of institutional affiliation permits the conference to be run by, and for the exclusive benefit of, the participants.

Location

The Duck Conferences are held in rental homes located near the oceanside beaches of North Carolina, to the north of the community of Duck.  Over the years, houses have been rented in Ocean Sands, Whalehead Beach, Pine Point, and Corolla, with the current location being Buck Island.  This is a small gated residential area within easy walking distance of the Timbuck II shopping, restaurant and recreation area.  For more detailed location information, see "Maps."

The houses we rent always include one oceanfront house (usually the main house) along with one or two secondary houses, which may be as far as a block off the ocean.  Every attempt is made to obtain houses that are within easy walking distance from each other. 




Organization

The Duck Conferences on Social Cognition are organized annually by Prof. Donal E. Carlston at the behest of a small group of senior researchers who originated the conferences towards the end of the 1980s.  To this end, he makes necessary logistical arrangements, extends invitations, organizes paper presentations and other activities,manages the finances. sets policy and maintains this website.  Beginning in 2021 he has been advised and assisted by the Duck Advisory Committee (The DACK),  a four-person panel consisting of senior past participants ("Duckees")..




Invitation Procedure

Invitations are issued sequentially up to the date of the conference, with continuous adjustments made to achieve balance as it becomes clear who can or cannot attend.  Additionally, last minute replacements may sometimes be invited to keep the group at the desired size even in the face of cancellations.




Criteria for Invitation

Because of the small and intimate nature of the Duck Conferences, invitations are based on a variety of professional and personal criteria. In general, senior invitees are expected to be established figures in their fields and junior invitees are individuals who are expected to eventually become established figures in their fields.  Some of the accomplishments of past Duckees are highlighted under the menu item: "Duckee Achievements."

Invitations are normally limited to those holding full-time academic positions at the Assistant Professor level or above.  Researchers holding post-doctoral appointments may sometimes be included as late replacements or under other special circumstances.  Graduate students and non-academic significant others are excluded.

Efforts are also made to select individuals whose professional interests and interpersonal styles fit well with the overall group.  Because conference participants live together for a week in restricted quarters, it is imperative that everyone get along well.  Consequently, recommendations from other Duckees play an important role in determining the suitability of potential invitees.  At the same time, efforts are made to avoid excessive in-breeding and to ensure that newcomers are invited and made to feel welcome in the group.




Finances and Expenses

The Duck Conferences are financed by the participants, who share most expenses, including rent for the facilities, food, insurance, and so on.  (Travel, restaurant meals, and personal items are excluded).  The presumption is that all expenses will be shared equally by all participants, though minor adjustments are made for such considerations as room quality and dietary considerations (e.g., non-drinkers get a break on meal costs).

Although an effort has always been made to keep expenses reasonable, inflation and reduced post-pandemic housing options have driven up conference cos.  Duck nonetheless  remains less expensive than virtually any other conference in the field of social psychology.  Current cost is expected to be around $1400 total per person ($200 per day inclusive of room, meals, snacks, drinks etc.).

Participants are asked to provide a non-refundable deposit of $400 to ensure attendance and to help defray advance expenses (a large portion of the housing rental is due 6 months before the conference).  In cases of financial hardship, some or all of this deposit may be waived.  The deposit counts towards each participant's final bill. 

In recent years the organizer has purchased insurance in case the Duck Conference needs to be cancelled because of an impending hurricane (in which case pre-paid rents are not otherwise refundable) or some kind of damage occurs to the rental houses during our stay. The cost of this insurance is included in the expenses borne by participants. 




Living Arrangements

The Duck Conferences on Social Cognition are held in two or three beach-area rental homes in a residential area on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  In recent years these houses have generally been quite nice, including such amenities as large living rooms and kitchens, swimming pools, hot tubs, pool tables, and so on.  Meetings and meals are generally held in the main, beachfront house. 

Rooms range from large suites with private bathrooms to smaller bunk rooms designed for children.  With rare exceptions, no more than two people are assigned to a room, and input is solicited regarding desired room type and arrangements.  The organizer ultimately assigns rooms based on this input, seniority, gender and other considerations.




Meals

Dinners are prepared and served communally in the main house.  Participants are assigned to cooking and clean-up teams, and shopping runs are arranged to buy necessary ingredients, as well as breakfast, lunch and snack supplies.  Participants are technically on their own for breakfast, with supplies provided to each house, but volunteers often step in to prepare omelettes or other menu items.  Participants also make their own lunches in the main house from dinner leftovers and other supplies.

Tradition is to have one night out, so that participants have an opportunity to sample from some of the fine local restaurants.  In some years, the entire group has made arrangements to eat out on the same evening.  In some years, dinners have been ordered out and then brought back to the main house.  And most recently, small groups have been assigned to go out on different evenings, which facilitates the formation of new friendships, and makes the size of the dinner group remaining at the main house more manageable.

Talks

Participants are encouraged but not required to present a talk over their research.  Newcomers are especially encouraged to give a talk.  Talks are generally one half hour in length, though longer talks may be solicited when the schedule permits.  High levels of discussion and interaction are encouraged, so presenters should generally plan on speaking for no more than 1/2 to 2/3 of their allotted time. 

The talks are presented in the living room of the main house and all participants attend (there are no parallel sessions, as there would be at a larger conference).  Computer and projection facilities are available, and most presenters use PowerPoint for their presentations.  However the setting is quite informal and more audience participation is expected than would typically be true at professional meetings. 

To see the kinds of talks given at past conferences, click this link:  "Past talks."

Duckees interested in more detail regarding the nature of talks and the conditions under which they are given, along with guidelines regarding their length, detail, etc., should see the page on Talks in the "For Current Duckees" section.

On-site Activities

The Duck Conferences are structured so that there is ample time for recreation and interaction among participants.  Frankly, much of this time ends up being devoted to small group discussions of research ideas, recent publications, material presented in talks, and so on.  Opportunities for such unstructured professional interactions are central to the mission of the conference.

However the conferences also encourage researchers to get to know each other personally, and many recreational opportunities contribute to this objective.  The beach and ocean often beckon, multiple pools are usually available, the houses have TVs, VCRs, pool tables and exercise equipment, and participants often organize board or card games, volleyball matches and other recreational activities.  However, there is no formal recreational program, and so such activities tend to revolve around the particular interests of those who attend.

Off-site Activities

The current location of our rental houses is within easy driving distance of kayaking, miniature golf, shopping, horse-back and bicycle riding, go-karts, sight-seeing, and tennis facilities.  Real golf, windsurfing, jet-skiing and other common tourist area activities are also available, though somewhat further away.  In recent years, large groups have most commonly visited the miniature golf course that is within walking distance of the houses.