Featured Speakers
Opening Keynote Address
Thursday, May 22, 6:00 PM – 7:15 PM
Building Emotional Memories: From Neural Process to Narratives
Elizabeth Kensinger, Boston College
As we experience an event, we build a memory representation, and later when we retrieve the memory, we build the representation anew. Kensinger’s work has focused on emotion’s influence on these constructive processes. She will describe how they have used in-the-laboratory experiments and assessments of autobiographical memories to provide answers. Kensinger will note new questions these experiments have raised, suggesting avenues for future research. Please learn more about this session here.
Keynote Address
Friday, May 23, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Developmental Plasticity and Language Reorganization After Pediatric Stroke
Elissa Newport, Georgetown University
Newport has been studying language processing and neural activation in teenagers and young adults who have had a stroke at birth to the left hemisphere brain areas. Her results provide insights into the remarkable ability of the young brain to reorganize these functions in specific and highly constrained ways. Please learn more about the session here.
Plenary Panel Session
Friday, May 23, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Human Language and Thought in the Era of Large Language Models
This panel brings together leading early-career voices whose work engages with the relationship between human language and LLMs. How do these advances in language technologies influence how we think about and study the psychology and neurobiology of human language processing? Please learn more about the session here.
Chair: APS President Randi C. Martin, Rice University
Laura Gwilliams, Stanford University
Alexander Huth, The University of Texas at Austin
Anna Ivanova, Georgia Institute of Technology
Moderator: L. Robert Slevc, University of Maryland, College Park
Psychological Science and Society Plenary Panel Session
Saturday, May 24, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Collective Cognition
This panel brings together speakers carrying out novel research to address how group interaction influences cognitive processing, going beyond the typical approach of studying cognition through observing individuals acting alone. Please learn more about the session here.
Chair: APS President Randi C. Martin, Rice University
Suparna Rajaram, Stony Brook University, The State University of New York
Robert L. Goldstone, Indiana University Bloomington
Nancy J. Cooke, Arizona State University
Moderator: Angela Gutchess, Brandeis University
The Psychological Science and Society plenary session is made possible by generous support from the Alan Kraut-Jane Steinberg Family Fund (KSFF).
Special Event: Inclusivity Spotlight
Friday, May 23, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
The More You Know: Essential Truths for Social Justice Research, Practice, and Policy
Charles Barrett, Loudoun County Public Schools
Moderator: Kalynda Smith, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
This session highlights principles to effectively engage in research, practice, and policy that produces equitable outcomes. Informed by his career as a school psychologist, Charles Barrett discusses adopting a systems orientation; challenging ourselves and others; looking beyond quantitative data; centering those whom we serve; empowering families; and being cognizant of our lived experiences.
Special Event: APS-David Myers Distinguished Lecture on the Science and Craft of Teaching Psychological Science
Know Thy Impact: Major Findings Relating to the Science and Craft of Teaching Psychological Science
John Hattie, University of Melbourne
This lecture summarizes findings from over 2,500 meta-analyses, highlighting four key claims: fostering a positive class climate, empowering students to drive their learning, engaging teachers in evaluating their impact, and building collective teacher responsibility for assessing the fidelity and impact of teaching practices.
APS Awards Ceremony: A Celebration of Excellence
Saturday, May 24, 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
APS honors members throughout their careers with the field’s most prestigious awards and recognitions. The 2025 APS Awards Ceremony will recognize recipients of the James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship, William James Fellow Award, Mentor Award, and Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions. Join your colleagues to celebrate these achievements in psychological science.
View the 2025 APS Award Recipients
Additional speakers will be added to the APS 2025 Annual Convention program in the coming months.
APS Annual Convention Registration gives full access to these events.
