Psychonomic Society

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The Psychonomic Society is one of the primary societies for general scientific experimental psychology in the United States. Although open to all areas of experimental psychology, its members typically study areas related Cognitive Psychology, such as learning, memory, attention, motivation, perception, categorization, decision making, and psycholinguistics. It name is taken from the word psychonomics, meaning "the science of the laws of the mind".

Contents

[edit] Membership

The society includes about 2500 members, including associate members. Full and associate members hold Ph.D. or equivalent degrees in their field, and full members must have published significant research other than their doctoral dissertation.

[edit] History

The psychonomic society was formed in 1959 out of a "general unhappiness with the directions being taken by the American Psychological Association" (Dewsbury & Bolles, 1995). This unhappiness stemmed in part from the focus that the APA had on Clinical Psychology and its practitioners. (This same sentiment later led to the formation of the American Psychological Society, another research-based psychological organization with a broader focus than the Psychonomic Society.)

Its organizing committee included: Wilfred J. Brogden, William K. Estes, Frank Geldard, Clance H. Graham, Lloyd G. Humphreys, Clifford T. Morgan, William D. Neff, Kenneth W. Spence, Stanley Smith Stevens, Benton J. Underwood, and William S. Verplanck.

[edit] Meetings

The psychonomic society convenes every year in the fall, usually November. Normally, around 1500 people attend, with 700-800 papers and posters presented.

The first meeting was held at the University of Chicago in 1960, in conjunction with the American Psychological Association meeting. Many of the meetings of the society have occurred in Chicago (in the 1960s) and St. Louis (in the 1970s). In recent years, the meeting has moved between major convention cities. Starting in 2001, the meeting instituted a Keynote Address honoring distinguished members.

Summary of Psychonomic Meetings
Year Meeting Location Date Keynote Speaker
1960 1st Chicago, Illinois Sept. 1-3 -
1961 2nd -
1962 3rd -
1963 4th Chicago, Illinois -
1964 5th -
1965 6th Chicago, Illinois -
1966 7th Chicago, Illinois -
1967 8th -
1968 9th St. Louis, MO -
1969 10th St. Louis, MO -
1970 11th San Antonio, Texas -
1971 12th St. Louis, MO -
1972 13th St. Louis, MO -
1973 14th St. Louis, MO November 1-3 C.T. Morgan (S. S. Stevens Memorial Lecture)
1974 15th Boston, MA -
1975 16th Denver, Colorado -
1976 17th St. Louis, Missouri -
1977 18th Washington, D.C. -
1978 19th San Antonio, Texas -
1979 20th Phoenix, Arizona -
1980 21st St. Louis, Missouri -
1981 22nd Philadelphia, PA -
1982 23rd Minneapolis, Minnesota -
1983 24th San Diego, CA -
1984 25th San Antonio, Texas November 8-10 -
1985 26th Boston, MA -
1986 27th New Orleans, Louisiana -
1987 28th Seattle, Washington November 6-8 -
1988 29th Chicago, Illinois November 10-12 -
1989 30th Atlanta, Georgia -
1990 31st New Orleans, Louisiana -
1991 32nd San Francisco, CA -
1992 33rd St. Louis, Missouri -
1993 34th Washington, D.C. -
1994 35th St. Louis, Missouri -
1995 36th Los Angeles, California -
1996 37th Chicago, Illinois -
1997 38th Philadelphia, PA November 20-23 -
1998 39th Dallas, Texas November 19-22 -
1999 40th Los Angeles, California November 18-21 -
2000 41st New Orleans, Louisiana November 16-19 -
2001 42nd Orlando, Florida November 15-18 W. K. Estes
2002 43rd Kansas City, Missouri November 21-24 Roger Shepherd
2003 44th Vancouver, B.C., Canada November 6-9 Gordon Bower
2004 45th Minneapolis, Minnesota November 18-21 Anne Treisman
2005 46th Toronto, ON, Canada November 10-13 Michael I. Posner
2006 47th Houston, TX November 16-19 Mary C. Potter
2007 48th Long Beach, CA November 15-18 tba
2008 49th Chicago, IL November 20-23 tba

[edit] Journals

The Psychonomic Society publishes six journals:

  • Learning & Behavior (formerly Animal Learning & Behavior)
  • Behavior Research Methods
  • Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Memory & Cognition
  • Perception & Psychophysics
  • Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

Beginning with the 37th Annual meeting, abstracts of the society's annual meeting are published in "Abstracts of the Psychonomic Society", starting with Volume 1 (in 1996), and numbered consecutively.

[edit] References

Dewsbury, D. A., & Bolles, R. C. The founding of the Psychonomic Society. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 1995, 2, 216-233.

Dewsbury, D. A. History of the Psychonomic Society II: The Journal Publishing Program. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1996, 3, 322-338.

[edit] External links