The Anne Treisman Annual Best Paper Prize by a postdoctoral researcher in the Cambridge Department of Psychology

1. Purpose of the Prize

• To recognise outstanding research in the field of psychology, behavioural and cognitive neuroscience or related disciplines by a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Psychology.
• To honour the extraordinary contributions to psychology and cognitive neuroscience of Professor Anne Treisman, who was an undergraduate student in the department and at Newnham College.

2. Eligibility

• Open to postdocs with a primary affiliation with the Department of Psychology or employed in the department within the past 12 months of the start of each academic year.
• In this case, a postdoc is defined as a postdoctoral research associate or senior research associate employed by the department or a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) affiliated to a Cambridge College and who is based at the Department of Psychology.  
• Submissions must be original research papers that are part of the postdoc’s work, published or in press in a peer review journal. Preprints are not eligible. 
• The postdoc's affiliation listed on the paper must be the Department of Psychology. 
• The paper should describe empirical research. Reviews and Commentaries are not eligible.
• The postdoc must be a senior (first or last) author on the paper and must have made significant contributions to all aspects of the paper.
• The paper must have been published or accepted for publication during the postdoctoral position in the Department of Psychology, or within 12 months of leaving the department.
• The research must have been carried out while the postdoc was employed in the Department of Psychology.
• A paper may only be nominated once, but more than one paper by the same postdoc may be nominated. 

3. Criteria

• The paper should present novel hypotheses, methodologies and findings that contribute to the field of psychology or behavioural and cognitive neuroscience.
• The research methodology must be robust, including appropriate experimental design, analysis and interpretation. This includes clear experimental protocols, use of relevant statistical techniques and reproducibility of results.
• The paper must be well-structured, logically organised and clearly written.
• The paper should present research with the potential to influence theory, practice or future research in psychology and cognitive neuroscience.
• Open science practises, such as making data and codes open access, are strongly encouraged.

4. Judging panel

• The panel will consist of the Chair of the Research Strategy Committee plus two members of the Research Strategy Committee (on a two-year rolling basis).

5. Award

• The winner will receive a prize of £500 and a certificate.

6. Announcement of the winner

• The winner will be announced at the annual Christmas party.
• The winner will be notified in advance.
• The winning paper will be featured on the department’s website, newsletter and social media.

7. Submission process

• The submission deadline is 10th September at 5pm every year. The award decision will be made in November. 
• Nominations can be made by the student, the student’s supervisor or a faculty member in the department.
• Submissions should include the full paper (the manuscript pdf in journal format) and a brief nomination (no more than 250 words) in a separate document that outlines the paper’s significance, contribution and potential impact.
• These two documents (paper plus nomination) should be attached to an email and sent to hodsecretary@psychol.cam.ac.uk by 5pm on 10th September. Please use the name of the prize as the email subject.

8. Winners of the prize

This year (2025), the prize was awarded ex aequo to Dr David Young and Dr Chloe Austerberry.

Dr David Young for the best paper by a postdoctoral researcher in recognition of his outstanding research publication:
Young, DJ, Madsen, JK, de-Wit, LH. Belief polarization can be caused by disagreements over source independence: Computational modelling, experimental evidence, and applicability to real-world politics. Published in Cognition in 2025.

And to Dr Chloe Austerberry for the best paper by a postdoctoral researcher in recognition of her outstanding research publication:
Austerberry C, Zayats T, Ronald A, Corfield E, Smajlagic D, Havdahl A, Andreassen OA, Magnus P, Njølstad PR, Bekkhus M, Fearon P. Evocative effects of children’s education-associated genetics on maternal parenting: results from the Norwegian mother, father and child cohort study. Published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in 2025.

This award celebrates excellence in original, innovative and impactful published work in the field of psychology and cognitive science.