Psychologists from across world descend on Aberdeen

Face perception and memory experts are among the leading researchers gathering for a prestigious three-day psychology conference opening at the University of Aberdeen on Monday August 20th.

Around 200 researchers, clinicians and educationalists from across the globe are attending the 24^th annual conference of the Cognitive Section of the British Psychological Society.

Organisers are delighted that Aberdeen is hosting the event which has attracted key speakers such as Professor Stephen Kosslyn from Harvard University who is a world authority on how the brain produces visual mental images.

Another keynote presentation - which will be delivered on the opening day - by Dr Andrew Calder from the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit whose talk is entitled Understanding the Recognition of Facial Identity and Facial Expression.

Dr Calder and Professor Andrew Young, from the University of York, are being awarded this year's annual Cognitive Section Prize for outstanding published research in this field of psychology.

Wednesday's closing address is being given by the University of Colorado's Professor Akira Miyake who is an expert on working memory and the role it plays during complex cognitive activities such as language processing and problem solving.

Other symposia will include talks and sessions about how the brain processes and recognises human faces; the effects of age on memory; intrusive memories such as those suffered by people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; and what causes the experience of déjà vu.

Another session will focus on eyewitness testimony and explore areas such as children's memory for eyewitness events and the perceived credibility of older witnesses.

Dr David Pearson, University of Aberdeen Lecturer, has organised the conference. He said: "It is a real coup for the University of Aberdeen and indeed the city to be hosting this conference as it is bringing internationally renowned psychologists, who are real leaders in their field, to the area.  

"The conference will consist of three keynote presentations, more than 100 oral presentations and 30 poster presentations and delegates will hear all the very latest thinking on a wide range of areas within cognitive psychology.

"The University looks forward to welcoming our visitors who are coming from all over the world including America, Australia and Japan."