Cognitive Psychology Section

The Cognitive Psychology Section's Annual Award recognises outstanding published contributions to research in the area of Cognitive Psychology.

Eligibility

Eligible publications are limited to scientific journal papers reporting novel observations and providing significant theoretical insight into human cognition.

The Award Panel will give greater consideration to studies with broad appeal and widespread implications, particularly studies that address longstanding problems and that advance conceptual understanding in unexpected or counterintuitive ways.

Nominated publications for the 2025 award should have a publication date of 2023, 2024 or 2025, and should not have been nominated for the award previously.

'Online first' articles with a DOI which can be downloaded as full published text are also eligible.

The majority of the work should have been conducted in the UK and at least one of the authors of the paper should currently be based in the UK, but they need not be a member of the BPS.

It is customary for a UK-based winner of the award to present a keynote address at the Annual Cognitive Section Conference, will take place in Liverpool on 26th to 28th August 2025.

All eligible, nominated publications will be considered by the Award Panel, comprising a subgroup of the Cognitive Psychology Section Committee in consultation with expert assessors, if necessary.

How to submit

An electronic copy of the relevant publication should be submitted, along with a supporting statement of not more than 500 words from a nominator (which might be one of the authors).

It is the responsibility of the nominator to ensure that the authors consent to their work being considered for the award and that the authors are available to present the keynote address at the conference.

You will need the following information:

Nominee(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number (if applicable)
5. Email address

Nominator(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number (if applicable)
5. Email address

You will also need to provide:

• a nomination statement(maximum 500 words in narrative format)
• supporting documentary evidence(an electronic copy of the relevant publication)

The closing date for nominations is 18 April 2025.

Submit a nomination here

For any queries relating to this award please contact [email protected].

The Allan McNeill Postgraduate Poster Prize is awarded during the annual conference. 

The Undergraduate Project Prize recognises outstanding research conducted by undergraduate students in the area of Cognitive Psychology.

Eligible projects should report novel observations and provide theoretical insights into cognition.

The work must have been conducted in the UK and students graduating in 2024 are eligible.

Criteria

Projects must be nominated by supervisors.

An electronic copy of the project abstract should be submitted, along with a supporting statement of not more than 500 words from the research supervisor.

It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that the student consents to their work being considered for the prize.

There should be no more than one submission from a psychology department per academic year (maximum of two). The nominee does not need to be a member of the society or section.

Nominated projects will be considered by the Award Panel, comprising a subgroup of the Cognitive Psychology Section Committee in consultation with expert assessors, if necessary.

The winner of the prize will be invited to present a poster at the Annual Cognitive Section Conference.

Conference registration will also be offered free of charge to the prize winner. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that the student is available to present the poster at the conference.

Guidance for nominations

You will need the following information:

Students:

1. Name
2. Organisation/affiliation
3. BPS membership number (if applicable)
4. Email address

Supervisors:

1. Name
2. Organisation/affiliation
3. BPS membership number (if applicable)
4. Email address

You will also need to provide:

• a nomination statement (maximum 500 words in narrative format)
• supporting documentary evidence (an electronic copy of the project abstract)

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on 17 July 2024.

Submit your application or nomination here

Annual Award

2022

• Mauro Manassi
• David Whitney

Manassi, M., & Whitney, D. (2022). Illusion of visual stability through active perceptual serial dependence. Science advances, 8(2), eabk2480.

2021

• Sam C. Berens
• Blake A. Richards
• Aidan J. Horner 

Berens, S.C., Richards, B.A., & Horner, A.J., (2020) Dissociating memory accessibility and precision in forgetting. Nature Human Behaviour, 4, 866–877

2020

• Richard Cooper
• Catherine Byde 
• Roberto de Cecilio
• Chelsea Fulks 
• Danila S. Morais 

Cooper, R. P., Byde, C., de Cecilio, R., Fulks, C., & Morais, D. S. (2018). Set-shifting and place-keeping as separable control processes. Cognitive psychology, 105, 53-80.

2019

• Deborah Talmi
• Lynn J Lohnas
• Nathaniel D Daw

A retrieved context model of the emotional modulation of memory. Psychological review, 126(4), 455.

2018

• Joanne Taylor (Aston University)
• Kathleen Rastle (Royal Holloway, University of London)
• Matthew Davies (University of Cambridge)

Comparing and validating methods of reading instruction using behavioural and neural findings in an artificial orthography. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 146(6), 826.

2017

• Kay Ritchie
• Mike Burton
• Rob Jenkins
• Robin Kramer

Identity from variation: representations of faces derived from multiple instances. Cognitive Science, 40, 202-223. 

2016

• Coral Dando
• Thomas Ormerod

Finding a Needle in a Haystack: Toward a Psychologically Informed Method for Aviation Security Screening. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144, 76-84.

2015

• Colin Hamilton
• Debra Griffiths
• Kenny Coventry

Spatial demonstratives and perceptual space: Describing and remembering object location. Cognitive Psychology, 69, 46-70.

2014

• Andrew Young
• Richard Harris
• Tim Andrews

Morphing between expressions dissociates continuous from categorical representations of facial expression in the human brain. PNAS 18 December 2012, 109, 51.

2013

• Morten Christiansen
• Padraic Monaghan
• Stanka Fitneva

The arbitrariness of the sign: Learning advantages from the structure of the vocabulary. Journal of Experimental Psychology, General, 140, 325-347.

2012

• Dietmar Heinke
• Eirini Mavritsaki
• Glyn Humphreys
• Gustavo Deco
• Harriet Allen

2011

• Paul Warren 
• Ulrike Hahn

2010

• Gruffydd Humphreys 
• Marc Buehner

2009

• Gordon Brown
• Ian Neath
• Nick Chater 

2008

• Brenda Jansen
• Han van der Maas
• Mark Rendell 
• Olaf Booij
• Philip Quinlan

2007

• Andrew Calder
• Andrew Young 

2006

• Aleksandra Hirst
• Essi Viding 
• Jan de Fockert
• Nillie Lavie

2005

• Annette Kinder
• David Shanks 

2004

• Cecilia Heyes

2003

• George Sperling
• Shui-I Shih

2002

• Charles Spence
• David Shore
• Ray Klein 

2001

• Debi Roberson
• Ian Davies
• Jules Davidoff

2000

• Mike Burton
• Peter Hancock
• Vicki Bruce 

Allan McNeill Postgraduate Poster Prize

2020

Clodagh Towns (UCL)

Group biases influence neurotypical adults' ability to take the autistic perspective

2019 

2018

Christopher Atkin (Nottingham Trent University)

The same or different? Capacity limitations in visual imagery versus visual memory of simple structural objects

2017

Charlotte Fry et al. (Cardiff University)

Profiling Executive Functions in Homeless Youth: Comparison with Housed Peers.

Emma Morgan (Cardiff University)

Comparing Methods of Categorisation

2016

Anna Mas-Casadesus (University of Edinburgh)

Cross-modal selective attention in synaesthetes: Evidence for better filtering abilities

Natalie Gentry (University of Kent)

The eyes have it! The role of specific facial features for identity matching

2015

*Salgado-Montejo, A., Alvarado, J.A., Velasco, C., Salgado, C.J., Hasse, K.. & Spence, C. (*Crossmodal Research Lab, University of Oxford, UK)

The influence of angularity, symmetry, and the number of elements on shapevalence and shape-taste matches. (2015)

*Shah, P., Sowden, S., Happe, F., Cook, R., & Bird, G. (*MRC Social, Genetic, & Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, UK)

Orienting towards face-like stimuli in early childhood. (2015)

2014

Frederic Vallée-Tourangeau, Sue Anthony & *Nicholas Shipp (*University of Hertfordshire & Kingston University, UK)

Looking at hands, objects or words? Tracking eye movements on an action-based based categorisation task

2013

Peter, M (University of Liverpool, UK). 

The role of verb bias in structural priming: Evidence from children and adults.

2012

Graham Hole, Peter J B Hancock & Sarah Laurence (University of Sussex, UK).  

The contribution of low-level adaptation to face identity after-effects.

2011

Hallett, R (Keele University, UK). 

The influence of age and music on exercise outcomes and affect for gym-based sessions.

2010

Morson S, Moulin C., & Souchay, C (University of Leeds, UK)

Parlez-vous Français? Feeling of knowing and ageing in a novel learning task.

2009

Manfredi, V., Bonfiglio, S., & Borelli, V.(University of Pavia, Italy).

Facial expression recognition in context.

Brown, J., Aczél, B., Jiménez, L., & Plaisted-Grant, K. (University of Cambridge, UK & University of Santiago, Chile).

Determining Implicit and Explicit Contributions to Sequence Learning in ASC.

Jeyaratnam, P., Irvine, K., & Laws, K. (University of Hertfordshire, UK). 

Sex differences in the cognitive abilities of Alzheimer's disease sufferers: A meta-analytic study.

Undergraduate Project Prize

2021

Christina Sarantopoulos (University College London)

'The Effects of Pronunciation Ease and Contextual Diversity on Word Learning Through Reading' - Supervised by Dr Jo Taylor

2018

Annie Morsi (University of Manchester)

Investigating individual variation in face recognition and extraversion 

2017

Luiza- Diandra Bretfelean (University of Greenwich)

Super-recognition: Long-term reliable memory of unfamiliar faces following a 'fleeting glimpse'

The Cognitive Psychology Section aims to provide some financial assistance to help postgraduates attend and present posters/papers at the conference.

The award will take the form of full conference registration and accommodation for two nights.

You can apply for a bursary following successful submission of an abstract for the conference.

Please note: recipients are required to support with stewarding at the conference and to write a piece for the Cognitive Section Bulletin.

Eligibility

The award is open to postgraduates registered for research degrees at any UK or Republic of Ireland institution. To apply, postgraduates must be members of the BPS Cognitive Psychology Section and should be presenting research conducted as part of their current PG course.  

Guidance for nominations

To apply you will need the following information:

Nominee(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number

You will also need to provide:

• a copy of the abstract submitted to the conference
• a cover letter containing any other relevant information
• details of any funding required (accommodation/registration/travel/etc)
• a signed supporting statement from student's supervisor (if the student's supervisor is not available due to annual leave, we can accept a statement from another academic at the student's institution who is familiar with the students work)

Further conditions

Retrospective applications will not be considered. The number of bursaries available each year will depend on resources and award of a bursary cannot be guaranteed even if all requirements for eligibility have been met. Precedence will be given to those who have not been awarded a Cognitive Section PG Bursary before.

Decisions will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding unsuccessful applications.

Note: To join the Cognitive Section, individuals must already be a member of the British Psychological Society.

Submit a bursary application now

The deadline for applications is 17 July 2024.

The Cognitive Psychology Section aims to provide some financial assistance to help supervisors attend presentations or poster delivered by their postgraduates at the conference.

The maximum value of awards is £150 per applicant to cover one day's conference attendance.

Awards could contribute towards registration, accommodation at the conference venue, or travel to the conference.

You can apply for a bursary following successful submission of an abstract by a student you supervise for the conference.

Eligibility

The award is open to supervisors of postgraduates registered for research degrees at any UK or Republic of Ireland institution.

To apply, supervisors must be members of the BPS Cognitive Psychology Section

Guidance for nominations

To apply you will need the following information:

Nominee(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number

You will also need to provide:

• a copy of the abstract submitted to the conference
• a cover letter containing any other relevant information

Submit an application now

The deadline for applications is 17 July 2024.

Further conditions

Retrospective applications will not be considered.

The number of bursaries available each year will depend on resources and award of a bursary cannot be guaranteed even if all requirements for eligibility have been met.

Precedence will be given to those who have not been awarded a Cognitive Section PG Bursary before.

Decisions will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding unsuccessful applications.

Please note: to join the Cognitive Section, individuals must already be a member of the British Psychological Society.

The Cognitive Psychology Section aims to provide some financial assistance to help those who have organized a symposium attend the conference.

The award will take the form of full conference registration and accommodation for two nights.

Eligibility

The award is open to any named chair of an accepted symposium at the annual conference.

To apply, supervisors must be members of the BPS Cognitive Psychology Section

Guidance for nominations

To apply you will need the following information:

Nominee(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number

You will also need to provide:

• a copy of the abstract submitted to the conference
• a cover letter containing any other relevant information

Cognitive Section Conference Symposium Chair's Bursary

Submit an application now

The deadline for applications is 17 July 2024.

Further conditions

Retrospective applications will not be considered.

The number of bursaries available each year will depend on resources and award of a bursary cannot be guaranteed even if all requirements for eligibility have been met.

Applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.

Decisions will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding unsuccessful applications.

Please note: to join the Cognitive Section, individuals must already be a member of the British Psychological Society.

The Cognitive Psychology Section aims to provide some financial assistance to help those who have caring responsibilities that means that attending the conference is an additional cost.

The maximum refund will be £125.

Eligibility

The award is open to any accepted conference abstract whether presentation or poster.

To apply, supervisors must be members of the BPS Cognitive Psychology Section

Guidance for nominations

To apply you will need the following information:

Nominee(s):

1. Name
2. Title
3. Organisation/affiliation
4. BPS membership number

You will also need to provide:

• a copy of the abstract submitted to the conference
• a cover letter containing any other relevant information

Submit an application now

The deadline for applications is 17 July 2024.

Further conditions

Retrospective applications will not be considered.

The number of bursaries available each year will depend on resources and award of a bursary cannot be guaranteed even if all requirements for eligibility have been met.

Applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.

Decisions will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding unsuccessful applications.

Please note: to join the Cognitive Section, individuals must already be a member of the British Psychological Society.

• A hard copy of Cognitive Bulletin, annually
• Opportunity to voice your opinion, either at the Section's AGM, and/or by becoming a member of the Section Committee
• Reduced cost of books resulting from selected section-sponsored meetings
• Reduced registration rates for the Section's Annual Conference

The Cognitive Psychology Section uses its membership announcement email list to inform its members of activities and initiatives that are relevant to their interests and to make requests for engagement on topical issues. 

By becoming a member of the Section you are automatically added to the announcement list.

To receive these emails you will need to:

1. become a member of the Cognitive Psychology Section
2. opted into receiving email communication from the Society (you can change your preference by logging on to your account via the member portal)

The Cognitive Psychology Section relies on a wide range of people getting involved, and the work of the Section is largely achieved through the dedication of unpaid volunteers.

Our volunteers come from a wide range of different backgrounds, whether they be practitioners or academics, or full members or students members, and together form an open and inclusive community.