APS Committees

Awards & Recognitions

Each award or recognition committee is made up of approximately 5 to 7 members. Members are asked to serve a 3-year term, with some exceptions to ensure staggered terms. The chair of each committee is appointed year-by-year from among continuing committee members.


James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award Committee

The APS James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship honors APS Members for their lifetime of outstanding psychological research that advances understanding of historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups and/or understanding of the psychological and societal benefits of racial/ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion. The type of scholarship honored by the award is broad in scope and research methodology, and encompasses research on historically disadvantaged racial/ethnic groups residing anywhere in the world. Recipients must be APS members, and their contributions may be in any field or area of psychological science. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2024 APS James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award Committee, a Committee of the APS Board of Directors

  • Shinobu Kitayama, Chair, University of Michigan
  • Michele Gelfand, Stanford University
  • Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow
  • James Jones, University of Delaware
  • Ann Kring, University of California, Berkeley

William James Fellow Award Committee

The William James Fellow Award honors APS members for their lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology. Recipients must be APS members recognized internationally for their outstanding contributions to scientific psychology. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2024 APS William James Fellow Award Committee

  • Linda Bartoshuk, Chair, University of Florida
  • Isabel Gauthier, Vanderbilt University
  • Susan Goldin-Meadow, The University of Chicago
  • E. Tory Higgins, Columbia University
  • Janet Werker, University of British Columbia
  • Cindy Yee-Bradbury, University of California, Los Angeles

James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award Committee

The James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award recognizes APS members for their outstanding lifetime contributions to the area of applied psychological research. Recipients must be APS members whose research addresses a critical problem in society at large. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2024 APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award Committee

  • David Clark, Chair, University of Oxford
  • Phoebe Ellsworth, University of Michigan
  • Roberta Golinkoff, University of Delaware
  • Richard Liu, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School
  • Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, University of Amsterdam

APS Mentor Award Committee

The APS Mentor Award recognizes those who have significantly fostered the careers of others, honoring APS members who masterfully help students and others find their own voice and discover their own research and career goals. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2024 APS Mentor Award Committee

  • Paul Harris, Chair, Harvard University
  • Ann Kring, University of California, Berkeley
  • Kazuo Mori, Matsumoto University
  • Charo Rueda, Universidad de Granada
  • Kenneth Steele, Appalachian State University
  • Serena Zadoorian, University of California, Riverside


Janet Taylor Spence Award Committee

The APS Janet Taylor Spence Award was established to recognize transformative early career contributions to psychological science. Award winners should reflect the best of the many new and cutting-edge ideas coming out of our most creative and promising investigators who, together, embody the future of psychological science. Recipients of the Spence Award automatically receive APS Fellow status. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2023 APS Janet Taylor Spence Award Committee

  • Kurt Gray, Chair, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Ramona Bobocel, University of Waterloo
  • Willem Frankenhuis, Utrecht University
  • Eiko Fried, Leiden University
  • Tania Lombrozo, Princeton University
  • Dean Mobbs, California Institute of Technology
  • Robb Rutledge, Yale University

Fellows Committee

Fellow status is awarded to APS members who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology in the areas of research, teaching, service, and/or application. Fellow status is typically awarded for one’s scientific contributions, but may also be awarded for exceptional contributions to the field through the development of research opportunities and settings. Researchers who have an outstanding record of mentoring students from diverse backgrounds, working with research participants from diverse backgrounds, and making outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion within the field of psychological science qualify for consideration.  Candidates will be considered after 10 years of postdoctoral contribution. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

2022 APS Fellows Committee

  • Ayse K. Uskul, Chair, University of Sussex
  • NiCole Buchanan, Michigan State University
  • Fang Fang, Peking University
  • Shihui Han, Peking University
  • Richard Ivry, University of California, Berkeley
  • Marigold Linton, University of Kansas
  • Yuri Miyamoto, Hitotsubashi University
  • Fei Xu, University of California, Berkeley

Rising Stars Committee

The Rising Star designation recognizes outstanding psychological scientists in the earliest stages of their post-PhD research career whose innovative work has already advanced the field and signals great potential for their continued contributions. Nominations for the award are due in October, and the committee’s work generally takes place over the following four months.

APS Rising Stars Committee

  • Silvia Koller, Chair, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul-Brazil
  • Eliza Bliss-Moreau, University of California, Davis
  • Gianluca Esposito, Nanyang Technical University
  • Paige Harden, University of Texas at Austin
  • John Jost, New York University
  • Elizabeth Kensinger, Boston College
  • Kristin Laurin, University of British Columbia
  • Seth Pollak, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Ayanna Thomas, Tufts University
  • Mo Wang, University of Florida
  • Xiao Yang, Old Dominion University

Annual Convention Program Committee

The APS Convention Program Committee comprises approximately 10 members representing major fields of study within psychological science. Members are asked to serve a 3-year term, with some exceptions to ensure staggered terms. The chair is appointed year-by-year from among continuing committee members. The Program Committee develops the scientific program of the APS Annual Convention. The committee invites presentations from leading researchers and academics and accepts submissions for consideration for inclusion in the program. Proposals are submitted and reviewed through an online Call for Submissions. Committee membership is balanced among various areas of research. This is a year-round committee, with work for the following year’s convention usually beginning each May at the convention itself.

2022 APS Annual Convention Program Committee

  • Aaron J. Fisher, Chair, University of California, Berkeley (General)
  • Aaron C. Kay, Duke University (Social)
  • Melissa Keith, Bowling Green State University
  • Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, Indiana University (Clinical Science)
  • Molly Metz, University of Toronto
  • Sheri J. Y. Mizumori, University of Washington (Biological/Neuroscience)
  • Amanda Kay Montoya, University of California, Los Angeles (Methodology)
  • Franco Pestilli, The University of Texas at Austin (Cognitive)
  • Essi Viding, University College London (Developmental)
  • Christine Wilson-Mendenhall, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Personality/Emotion)
  • Sang Eun Woo, Purdue University (Industrial/Organizational)

ICPS Program Committee

The ICPS Program Committee develops the scientific program of the biannual International Convention of Psychological Science. The committee invites presentations from leading researchers and academics and accepts submissions for consideration for inclusion in the program. Proposals are submitted and reviewed through an online Call for Submissions. Committee membership is balanced among various areas of research. ICPS programs focus on integrative science that cuts across disciplinary and geographic boundaries. Members typically work on a single convention, the planning of which spans 2 years.

2022 ICPS Program Committee

  • Eric-Jan Wagenmakers, Co-Chair, University of Amsterdam
  • Keiko Ishii, Nagoya University
  • Olivier Klein, Université Libre de Bruxelles
  • Eric Vanman, University of Queensland
  • Sang Eun Woo, Purdue University
  • Douglas A. Berstein, Teaching Program Co-Chair, University of South Florida
  • Bernard Rimé, Teaching Program Co-Chair, Catholic University of Louvain

Election Committee

APS elections are held in the first part of each year for a president elect and two member-at-large seats. The Election Committee assembles slates that are balanced among various areas of research and interest within psychological science and strives to ensure that the pool of candidates represents diversity along multiple dimensions. The bulk of the committee’s work takes place from January to April each year.

2023 Election Committee

  • Angela Gutchess, Chair, Brandeis University
  • Margaret E. Beier, Rice University
  • Angelo Brandelli Costa, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Mark Johnson, University of Cambridge
  • Charan Ranganath, University of California, Davis
  • Daisy Singla, University of Toronto

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee consists of the APS President, President-Elect, Immediate Past-President, and Treasurer, who serves as chair.  The duties of the Committee include reviewing the proposed annual budget and financial reports prepared by the Treasurer and advising the Board of Directors on the management of the association’s assets.

2022–2023 Finance Committee

  • Richard Ivry, Chair, University of California, Berkeley (APS Treasurer)
  • Alison Gopnik, University of California, Berkeley (APS President)
  • Wendy Wood, University of Southern California (APS President-Elect)
  • Jennifer Eberhardt, Stanford University (APS Immediate Past-President)
  • Robert Gropp, Executive Director, Association for Psychological Science (Ex Officio)

NEW – Membership Committee

The Membership Committee advises the APS board and staff on topics including APS’s suite of member benefits, member onboarding and engagement initiatives, categories of membership, dues pricing, and tactics for ensuring that APS membership represents the breadth of the science, including across various geographies and fields of research, as well as across various sizes of institutions and underrepresented groups. Committee members also work to help recruit new members and engage existing members in APS’s work. The committee meets quarterly and is in touch as needed throughout the year.

The Membership Committee is new in 2023, and members will be added in May and June 2023.


Publications Committee

APS publishes six journals: Psychological Science, Current Directions in Psychological Science, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Perspectives on Psychological Science, Clinical Psychological Science, and Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science

The Publications Committee performs such activities as assigned by the APS Board of Directors, ranging from overseeing searches for journal editors to evaluating proposals for new journals to making recommendations on future directions in the area of publications. The chair is the first point of escalation for questions of publication ethics and policy that rise above routine issues handled by the journal editors. 

APS Publications Committee

  • Elaine Walker, Chair, Emory University
  • Elaine Fox, University of Adelaide
  • Diane Carol Gooding, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Catherine Hartley, New York University
  • Ursula Hess, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany
  • Denise Wu, National Central University, Taiwan
  • Robert Gropp, Executive Director, Association for Psychological Science (Ex Officio)

Ad-Hoc Committees

The following committees support various programs and initiatives. Terms are generally 3 years, with some exceptions to stagger rotations. Chairs are typically invited year-by-year from among continuing members.


Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

The Association for Psychological Science is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all areas of our leadership, membership, activities, staff, and field. Including members of underrepresented groups in meaningful ways is a vital part of this commitment. As the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee pursues short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals to promote diversity and inclusion in all areas of APS, it identifies strategies to achieve those goals and explores how APS can contribute to increasing diversity of the field more broadly.

APS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

  • Mary Murphy, Chair, Indiana University
  • Shauna Cooper, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Keith Maddox, Tufts University
  • Kunalan Manokara, University of Amsterdam
  • Sheri Mizumori, University of Washington
  • Leo Wilton, Binghamton University, The State University of New York

Committee on Global Engagement

The APS Ad-Hoc Committee on Global Engagement is charged with engaging individuals from across the APS membership in discussions that contribute to the acquisition of data and insights that inform APS efforts to cultivate and catalyze a global scientific community dedicated to fostering the development and furtherance of psychological science around the world. The Ad-Hoc Committee shall endeavor to pursue its work primarily through virtual meetings and discussions but is encouraged to consider hosting in-person meetings for attendees of the APS Annual Convention and ICPS. Read the full charge here.

APS Ad-Hoc Committee on Global Engagement

  • Rachael Jack, Co-Chair, University of Glasgow
  • Michele Gelfand, Co-Chair, Stanford University
  • Ruben Ardila, National University of Colombia
  • Angelo Brandelli Costa, Pontificia Universidade Catolica, Rio Grande do Sul
  • Angela Gutchess, Brandeis University
  • Mayumi Karasawa, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University
  • Corey Cook, Pacific Lutheran University
  • Yoshihisa Kashima, University of Melbourne
  • Gerry Leisman, Haifa University, Oranim Academic College of Education
  • Comfort Ojongnkpot, University of Buea
  • Narayanan Srinivasan, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
  • Simine Vazire, University of Melbourne
  • Ayse K. Uskul, University of Sussex 

Open Science Committee

The goal of the newly constituted committee on scientific transparency and open science practices is to identify and advance APS priorities in these areas. 

APS Open Science Committee

  • Maryanne Garry, Chair, University of Waikato
  • Marcel van Assen, Tilburg University
  • Morton Ann Gernsbacher, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Katie Corker, Grand Valley State University
  • Stuart Ritchie, King’s College, London

Teaching Fund Committee

The APS Fund for Teaching and Public Understanding of Psychological Science was established in 2004 with an endowment from The David and Carol Myers Foundation. Under the auspices of the APS Board of Directors, the Teaching Fund Committee plans and implements initiatives to enhance the teaching of psychological science. The Teaching Fund Small Grant Program provides seed support for projects aimed at strengthening the teaching enterprise in psychological science in the United States and abroad. The Translating Research to Improve the Teaching of Psychological Science Program provides grants to support the development of evidence-demonstrated interventions that apply well-established principles to improve the teaching of psychological science. Also supported by the fund is the annual APS-David Myers Lecture on the Science and Craft of Teaching Psychological Science, delivered at the APS Convention, as well as APS activities, such as internships, related to the public understanding of psychological science. Applications for the Teaching Fund Small Grant Program are reviewed by the committee in March-April and October-November each year.

APS Teaching Fund Committee

  • Adam Putnam, Chair, Furman University
  • Pedro Albuquerque, Universidade do Minho
  • Cindy Bukach, University of Richmond
  • Nnamdi Pole, Smith College
  • Anondah Saide, University of North Texas
  • Jessi Smith, University of Colorado Colorado Springs

William K. and Katherine W. Estes Fund Committee

The William K. & Katherine W. Estes Fund was established to extend the legacy of one of the most influential psychological scientists of the past century, William K. Estes. Jointly overseen by APS and the Psychonomic Society, the Estes Fund supports a variety of activities aimed at strengthening methodology in mathematical, quantitative, and experimental psychology and related areas. Most notably, the Fund awards grants to support workshops and summer schools that train psychological scientists in mathematical and computational modeling methods. Initial proposals are reviewed by the committee in September and October, and full proposals are generally reviewed in December and January.

Estes Fund Committee

  • Morton Ann Gernsbacher, Chair, University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • Amy Criss, Syracuse University
  • Ellen Hamaker, Utrecht University
  • Mike Jones, Indiana University
  • James Nairne, Purdue University