Old Bylaws (Revised August 2005, Superseded August 2011)

​The purpose of the Social Psychology Section is to foster development of this branch of Sociology through stimulating research and communicating knowledge. This Section facilitates communication among its members and to social behavioral scientists generally by holding meetings and by fostering publications. Social Psychology is interpreted according to its inclusive and traditional use in sociology to encompass such broad fields as socialization, interpersonal relations and social interaction, attitudes and public opinion, and collective behavior.

Officers of the Section: The officers of the Section shall be the Chair, the Chair-elect, the Secretary-treasurer, and Council members. The Chair-elect automatically becomes Chair in the following year. The Secretary-treasurer shall be elected for a period of three years. The Council shall consist of seven elected members (one of whom is a graduate student at the time of election) and six ex-officio members, with the secretary-treasurer and the chair as voting, ex-officio members and the rest non-voting, ex-officio. With the exception of the student member, the elected members serve for three years, with two of the six council seats being vacated each year. The student member will serve for a two-year term. The Chair, the Chair-elect, the Secretary-treasurer, the Editor of Social Psychology Quarterly, the section newsletter Editor and the section Webmaster are the ex-officio members of Council. The Section Chair presides at Council meetings. Officers shall not succeed themselves in the same position.
No person shall hold two elective offices in the Section simultaneously. If an elected officer is elected to another office, the prior office shall be declared vacant. When an elective office is vacated before the term is completed, it shall be filled through appointment by the Chair for the unexpired term, subject to confirmation by the Council.

Powers of the Officers: The Council is vested with the power to carry out all necessary operations for the Section, acting as the representative of the Section membership. Any action of the Section may be brought to a vote of the Section by the Council, or by petition of ten percent of the Section members or 25 Section members, whichever is less. Changes in the by-laws shall be brought to the membership for mail ballot. Questions that are interpreted by the Council to be matters of new development of program or policy shall be brought before the membership for discussion.

Elections and voting: The elections of the Section shall be carried out in cooperation with the American Sociological Association and coordinated to their schedule. The members shall be invited to suggest nominees for each vacant office prior to each election.

Committees: There shall be a Committee on Nominations, appointed each year by the Council. The Committee shall consist of five members, one of whom is designated as the chair by the Council. The Committee Chair shall have served as a member, but not the chair, of the Committee on Nominations the previous year. All other committee members shall be non-overlapping from year to year. One committee member shall be chosen from the graduate student members of the Section. Two candidates shall be presented for each office by the Committee on Nominations.

There shall be a Committee on Professional Affairs, appointed by the Council, membership to be for three years, with the term of at least one member expiring each year. The members with the longest tenure on the committee will serve as chair. The purpose of this committee shall be to monitor the profession and political developments relevant to social psychologists and to report to the Council on matters affecting the discipline.

There shall be a Committee on Graduate Student Affairs, appointed each year by the Council. The Committee shall consist of five members, one of whom is designed as the chair by the Council. The Committee chair shall have served as a member, but not the chair, of the Committee on Graduate Student Affairs the previous year. All other committee members shall be non-overlapping from year to year. One committee member shall be chosen from the graduate student members of the Section. The Committee shall be responsible for deciding each year on the recipient of the Graduate Student Paper Award.

The Section Chair is responsible for the Section program at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, and is assisted by a program committee which he or she appoints upon assuming office as Chair-elect. The size and composition of each Program Committee is determined by the appointed Chair-elect, in consultation with Council. The Council shall insure that over a period of years diverse perspectives are represented on the Program Committees.

Other committees shall be appointed by the Chair with the approval of Council or by Council on an ad hoc bias.

Membership: Dues shall be set by Council to cover operation of the Section, in accordance with the requirements of the American Sociological Association. In addition, members of the Section may be assessed as necessary to carry out any programs undertaken by the Section.
​
Awards: There shall be a Committee on the Cooley-Mead Award, appointed each year by the Council. The Committee shall consist of five members, one of whom is designated as Chair by the Council. The Committee Chair shall have served as a member, but not the chair, of the Cooley-Mead Award Committee the previous year. All other Committee members shall be non-overlapping from year to year. The Committee shall be responsible for deciding each year on the recipient of the Cooley-Mead Award.