Last month UNSW Sydney became the centre of the cognitive psychology universe, playing host to 2025’s joint meeting of the Australasian Society for Experimental Psychology and the Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision.
Last month UNSW Sydney became the centre of the cognitive psychology universe, playing host to 2025’s joint meeting of the Australasian Society for Experimental Psychology and the Asia-Pacific Conference on Vision.
The gathering brought together nearly 400 researchers from a dozen countries to explore the intersection of mind and brain sciences.
This conference examined how people perceive, think, learn, and act, with the goal of advancing scientific understanding and addressing critical challenges in health, technology, policy, and society.
Researcher Amy Dawel from the Australian National University says she’s been attending this conference since starting her PhD in 2010, and that it’s been key to her scientific development.
“[The EPC offers] a rigorous, collegial environment that reflects the best of psychological science," she says.
"Conferences like this one are a vital space for the next generation of researchers.
“What stood out this year was the sheer breadth and depth of research, from cutting-edge work on AI-generated faces and misinformation, to fundamental neuroscience uncovering how the brain represents our thoughts and perceptions—work that holds real promise for people who cannot communicate verbally”
Participants say the joint meeting demonstrated how the field impacts broader society, featuring workshops linking academics to industry and psychological research on education.
Derek Arnold, a researcher at the University of Queensland, praised UNSW and says that while people often think of 'psychology' purely in clinical terms, this conference shows otherwise.
“The meeting was a visible reminder not only of the importance of experimental psychology, but of UNSW’s commitment to supporting high-quality research across Australasia, and translating that research for public benefit,” Professor Arnold says.
Sessions and symposia were held over four days on topics including AI and visual perception, climate decision-making, misinformation, habit change, and educational psychology.
For Professor Arni Kristjansson the conference was a great success.
Prof Kristjansson travelled to Australia from the University of Iceland to attend, and says the conference featured research that would be at home at the world’s leading academic gatherings.
“The research coming out of the Asia-Pacific, Australia, and UNSW is exciting and impressive,” he said.
For students, being surrounded by such high-profile researchers was invaluable.
They were given the opportunity to workshop ideas and network with some of the foremost thinkers in their field.
Zoe Little, a UNSW student due to submit her thesis in a few months and who won an award for Best Student Presentation at the conference, says the event allowed her to “test” the story she’s trying to tell in her thesis.
“[I received] helpful advice on new analyses I could run and how to implement them, as well as tips for writing my thesis."
Zoe says she also values the personal growth and networking opportunities the conference afforded, including meeting postdoctoral collaborators and reconnecting with researchers from around the world.
Dr Matthew Thompson, a researcher at Murdoch University, says that the meeting demonstrates how psychology research can shape society far beyond academia.
The conference featured practical applications for students, including industry workshops highlighting real-world pathways for students.
The industry workshops in particular, Dr Thompson says, "illustrated powerfully how psychological science training translates directly into improvements across transport, finance, public policy, and social equity.
“It’s compelling evidence of why psychology is, and must remain, a science-based discipline."
Several students volunteered to help run the conference, and say they got a lot out of the experience, with volunteer Tanay Shukla describing it as an "amusement park" for the mind.
"I had the chance to meet the greatest minds in the field.
“Their focus, energy, late nights and early starts reminded me of athletes preparing for the commonwealth games — being so committed to their craft was really impressive.
“I came out inspired in more ways than I could imagine.”
For Professor Steven Most, outgoing president of the Australasian Society for Experimental Psychology and one of the conference’s organisers, it was a huge success.
Professor Most singled out UNSW Professor Ben Newell’s keynote as a highlight — Professor Newell addressed climate risk in this year’s Ross Day Plenary.
“What a joy to welcome our vibrant research community to UNSW, after a year of planning alongside a crack team of seasoned and early-career researchers from UNSW, UTS, USYD, and UQ,” Professor Most says.
“The member-submitted symposia were particularly timely, showcasing psychology’s unique insights into modern challenges like climate change, misinformation, and AI.
It was also amazing to see the level of interest from the general public, with over 200 people from the broader community registering for a public talk on how experimental psychology can help us learn better, stay safer, and make wiser decisions.”