The Abstracts of the 6th Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference 30 June − 3 July 2005 Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort, Gold Coast, Qld

The 6th Australian Industrial and Organisational Psychology Conference was held at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort on the Gold Coast between 30th June and 3rd July 2005. The theme of the conference was: 1995-2005: A Decade of Progress in Science and Practice, to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the conference since it began in 1995. As a member of the organising committee for the first conference, it was an honour to act as convenor of the sixth and I am especially indebted to my committee and the APS conference team for their assistance in organising the conference. I am also grateful to all the participants who submitted papers and to the reviewers who reviewed them. The outstanding quality of this conference has always been maintained through blind review by two reviewers of full paper submissions. In spite of unprecedented, unseasonable bad weather the day the conference began, which closed Coolangatta airport and delayed many delegates, the conference was an outstanding success. As the enclosed abstracts will attest, there was something for everyone, from cross-cultural studies of leadership in China, through stress in the workplace, organisational justice, ethics and counterproductive work behaviours to the limitations of open plan office designs. All major topics of interest to industrial and organisational psychologists were represented. An initiative of this conference, highly practical “How to” sessions were also very well received. Professor Kevin Murphy, from Pennsylvania State University, opened the conference with a personal appraisal of recent developments in the field with a presentation entitled I-O Psychology’s Greatest Hits and Misses. This got proceedings off to a great start, generating much debate over personal “Top 10’s”, although it was probably Kevin’s “Bottom 10” that caused most discussion. Professor Mike O’Driscoll, from the University of Waikato, provided the closing address, recapitulating Kevin’s theme with a more regional perspective. The following abstracts capture some of the excitement that was felt at this conference. Should you wish to obtain a copy of any of the papers, please email the author concerned.