Poster Rules and Guidelines

All Submission Review Notifications Have Been Sent.

The Call for Submissions is CLOSED.

Ethics Policy & Code of Conduct  

All participants in the APS Annual Convention are expected to follow the APS Code of Conduct.  Please review the Ethics Policy and Code of Conduct page. 

Overview of Posters  

Poster presenters will be assigned to a 1-hour poster session where they will discuss their research with interested attendees at the APS Annual Convention. Poster sessions are scheduled on all days of the Convention, Thursday-Saturday.    

There are 3 types of poster submissions for Convention:  

• Standard Poster: Standard Poster submissions must only report data collection and analysis completed by the time the submission is finalized. Submissions that do not report collected data and analyses, or that do not have enough collected data or analysis to make an empirical claim, will not be accepted. Non-empirical research should not be submitted as a poster. Standard Posters are eligible to apply for poster awards. More information about poster awards will be available in the coming months. 
  • Please learn more about poster awards here.
• Research Proposal Poster: Research Proposal Posters should represent plans for a future empirical study. Data collection should not be complete. This is a chance to receive early feedback on your research study plan. Your submission should describe an empirical research study plan in detail including hypotheses, experimental design, plan for participant recruitment, procedure, plan for statistical analysis, and expected results. Research Proposal Posters are not eligible for poster awards.  
• Teaching Poster: Teaching posters should pertain to the teaching of psychological science. This includes teaching techniques, innovations, evaluation, and philosophy. Posters should focus on methods for teaching psychology, such as particularly effective or innovative courses or course organizations, strategies (including demonstrations) for promoting active learning, ways of integrating course material, helpful use of technology, and the like. These posters are presented as part of the pre-conference Teaching Institute, which takes place on Thursday. The Teaching Institute requires an additional registration fee.  

Posters that discuss new scientific findings are especially encouraged. With any poster submission, you must explain the rationale, theoretical and/or applied significance of results (or predicted results), and general principles. State whether the research is exploratory or confirmatory. It is not acceptable to say, “The results will be discussed.”  First-time submitters are encouraged to seek feedback from professors or other mentors who can provide guidance regarding their presentation.   

Poster submissions should reflect original research conducted by the presenting author and that has not been presented or published before 30 October 2025. The poster submission form accepts plain text only, but you should incorporate illustrative materials such as tables, graphs, photographs, large-print text, and materials in your final poster presentation at the Convention.  

Sample Poster Configuration 

Orientation & Size: You will be provided with one side of a free‑standing bulletin board, designed to fit within the standard size: A0 – 84.1 cm wide by 118.9 cm high (33.1 inches wide by 46.8 inches high), in either landscape or portrait orientation.

Design: Large headings, clear visuals, and text readable from 3 – 4 feet. Include a short summary and 2–3 key takeaways.

Display: Your poster will be affixed to the board using tape provided by APS.

You are NOT required to submit your final poster before presentation. If your poster proposal is accepted for presentation, bring your printed poster to the Convention.

Deadlines for Submission 

• All poster submissions must be finalized and are due by the extended deadline on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, at 5:00 PM ET (22:00 UTC). Notifications of acceptance or rejection of poster submissions will be sent out in February 2026.  
• All scheduling requests must be included with your submission. APS will attempt to accommodate your request; however, there is no guarantee that all requests can be met. Please consult your co-presenters about their scheduling preferences before entering them on your submission.  

Please note: APS is unable to accommodate rescheduling requests after submission.  (Exceptions may be made for travel disruptions and emergencies that arise during the week of the Convention.)  

Review, Selection, and Notifications  

• Poster submissions should reflect original research conducted by the presenting author and that has not been presented or published before 30 October 2025. 
• Submissions will be reviewed by members of the APS Program Committee.  
• Review decision notifications will be sent to the first author and presenting author on each poster submission. These notifications will be sent in February 2026.  
• With all submission formats, including posters, the Program Committee retains the right to request additional information, ask that changes be made to improve a presentation, or decline a presentation the Committee does not find relevant to the meeting or that does not follow the guidelines for submission.
• Please re-read your submission before you finalize it to ensure the submission is free of spelling or grammar errors and that all authors have been added to the submission. 
• Changes can be made to proposals up to the submission deadline. Please use the link included in your confirmation email to access your submission and make any necessary edits. Be sure to finalize your submission again.
• The deadline for requesting any edits to the program listing for an accepted poster is 30 March 2026, at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC).  

Speaker and Submitter Responsibilities  

• Submitters do not need to be members to submit proposals or to have proposals reviewed. Please note that you must log in to your APS Member Profile or create a free APS account to begin a submission.  
• There is no membership requirement of any author on a submission. (Note: APS members receive discounted convention registration rates.)   
• The presenting author must register for the Convention. APS members receive discounted convention registration rates. Early-bird registration rates are available until  8 April 2026, at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC).  
• An individual may be the first author on only one (1) poster proposal. However, that individual may be a co-author/presenter on multiple poster proposals and may participate in multiple symposia. (Exception: An individual may be the first author on a poster proposal, as well as a Teaching Institute poster proposal.)  
• The first author or presenting author must accept the speaker agreement if their submission is accepted for presentation. Information on how to do so will be sent after the emailed acceptance notification.  
• The name of the proposal submitter will not appear in any program unless the submitter elects to be listed as an author. Submitter information is only used while submitting. After a submission has been finalized, all submission communication will be sent to the first and presenting author(s).  
• The commitment of all participants and listed co-authors must be secured before proposal submission.  
• The first or presenting author is responsible for sharing submission notifications, information, and certificates with co-authors.  
• Scheduling Requests: All scheduling requests must be included with your submission. APS will attempt to accommodate your request; however, there is no guarantee that all requests can be met. Please consult your co-presenters for their scheduling preferences before entering them on your submission. Please note that APS is unable to accommodate rescheduling requests after submission. (Exceptions may be made for travel disruptions and emergencies that arise during the week of the Convention.)    
• All presentations should present the scientific research that was accepted for the Convention. If an author delivers a presentation that is different than what was submitted and accepted, it may be removed or cancelled at APS’s discretion.  
• General submission agreement:  
  • I agree to allow the Association for Psychological Science (APS) to contact me and my co-authors regarding this submission and all matters related to the APS Annual Convention. 
  • I understand that my name and affiliation will be available for search by other submitters and attendees for this event. 
  • I agree to allow APS to publish my name, affiliation/organization, and country of origin in materials promoting the event. 
  • I understand that APS and its vendors will store the data included in my submission for the purposes listed above. 
  • I have permission to provide the names, affiliations/organizations, and email addresses for all co-authors/co-presenters included in this submission. If you have not yet obtained permission from all co-authors/co-presenters, please do so before continuing the submission process. 
  • I consent to APS de-identifying my submission and using automated tools, including LLMs, to analyze it for event operations and aggregate reporting. APS will not attempt re-identification or allow vendors to use my data to train public models. 
  • I have reviewed and accept the terms of the APS Code of Conduct, which can be found here: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/code-of-conduct. 

For more information on APS’s data privacy policies, please feel free to contact us at [email protected] or call +1 202-293-9300. 

Program Participant Registration Policy  

All program participants must register and pay the appropriate registration fee by 6 May 2026. APS members receive discounted convention registration rates. Early registrants receive a discounted rate before the Early-Bird deadline of 8 April 2026, at 5:00 pm ET (21:00 UTC). All poster presenters must present on-site at the Convention. No remote or virtual presentations can be facilitated.  

Submission Guidelines  

APS seeks presentations showcasing the latest findings in psychological science. Below are some guidelines that can help prepare your poster submission.  

To submit a poster, you will need to enter the following information:  

• Submitter information: When you begin your poster submission, you will be prompted to log in to your APS Member Profile or create a free account with APS. Although membership is not required to submit your research, you must create an APS Profile. Once you log in or create your account, you will be automatically redirected to complete your submission.  
• Poster title: The title should be succinct and descriptive because it may be listed without the abstract in Convention materials. The title should indicate the important result, rather than the experimental question. Please use Title Case – e.g., Meaning in Time: We Consider Our Lives Insignificant When Viewed from the Future.  
• Poster type: Standard Poster, Research Proposal Poster or Teaching Poster.  
• Abstract: A brief, high-level overview of the research that will be presented; describes the findings (50-word maximum, plain-text format).  
• Supporting summary: Provides a more in-depth overview of the completed work and includes the following: the background/theory tested, the methods used, a summary of the major findings, and the implications for the work on the field.  (500-word maximum, plain-text format).  
  • Standard Poster submissions should include the background/theory tested, the methods used, a summary of the major findings, and the implications for the work on the field as whole.  You must clearly state that the data collection is from an empirical study and is complete.  
  • Research Proposal posters should include hypotheses, experimental design, plan for participant recruitment, procedure, plan for statistical analysis, and expected results.  
  • References are optional (words will count towards the 500-word maximum).  
  • Emphasize the rationale, theoretical and/or applied significance of results (or projected results for a Research Proposal Poster), and general principles of the research. State whether the study is exploratory or confirmatory. It is not acceptable to say, “The results will be discussed.”  
• Keywords: New for 2026, submitters will enter their own keywords to categorize submissions, rather than selecting from a list of topic areas. Please enter up to three keywords for your submission.  
• Author Information: The university or business affiliation, individual e-mail address and highest degree earned must be included for all presenters/co-authors. A maximum of 15 co-authors may be included.  
• An individual may be the first author on only one poster proposal. Exception: An individual may be the first author on one standard poster, research proposal poster, or a Teaching Institute poster submission.  
• The first author is the person who contributed the most or led the research study and should be listed first (even if the first author is not attending the Convention).  
• The presenting author will present the poster on-site at the Convention. The presenting author must register for the Convention.  
• No APS membership is required of any author. APS members receive discounted convention registration rates.  
• PosterSmith is offering APS 2026 attendees a 10% discount on their wrinkle-resistant fabric posters with complimentary two-day shipping and handling through May 25, 2026. Additional posters in the same order will receive an extra $20 discount. Posters will be shipped directly to attendees. Visit this link to place an order and receive your discount. If you need assistance, please contact [email protected].