15 Psychological Scientists Receive APS’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Awards

Newswise — The Association for Psychological Science (APS) has awarded the 2024 APS Lifetime Achievement Awards to 15 psychological scientists whose contributions have advanced understanding of topics ranging from how to alleviate human suffering to cultural differences and similarities in mental processes. APS’s four lifetime achievement awards—the APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award, the APS Mentor Award, the APS William James Fellow Award, and the APS James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship—are the association’s highest honors, and their recipients are among the field’s most accomplished and respected scientists. 

“The Association for Psychological Science is pleased to recognize the scientific achievements of globally recognized scientists,” said APS Chief Executive Officer Robert Gropp. After reviewing outstanding nomination materials, “the APS awards committees have identified deserving recipients for the 2024 APS Lifetime Achievement Awards. These individuals have shaped and influenced research and mentoring.”  

These individuals will be celebrated during the 2024 APS Annual Convention in San Francisco, California. The recipients of the 2024 Janet Taylor Spence Award for Transformative Early Career Contributions will also be honored at that time. 

2024 APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award  

The APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award honors APS members for a lifetime of contributions to the area of applied psychological research and their impact on a critical problem in society at large.   

Steven C. Hayes, University of Nevada, Reno 
Steven C. Hayes is Foundation Professor of Psychology Emeritus at the University of Nevada, Reno, and President of the Institute for Better Health. His research focuses on analyzing the nature of human language and cognition and applying this analysis to the understanding and alleviation of human suffering. 

Anthony Jorm, University of Melbourne 
Anthony (Tony) Jorm is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on building the community’s capacity for prevention and early intervention in mental disorders. 

Gordon Legge, University of Minnesota 
Gordon Legge is Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, the Director of the Minnesota Laboratory for Low-Vision Research, and Co-Director of the Center for Applied and Translational Sensory Science (CATSS). His research deals with visual perception and cognition, with a particular interest in the challenges encountered by people with low vision.  

2024 APS Mentor Award 

The APS Mentor Award honors the importance of mentoring in the field of psychological science as well as the dedication and impact of individuals with a distinguished record of teaching, advising, and encouraging students and colleagues.  

James Gross, Stanford University 
James Gross is the Ernest R. Hilgard Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. His research focuses on emotion regulation, emotion coherence, social anxiety, and related topics.  

Claus Lamm, University of Vienna 
Claus Lamm is Full Professor of Biological Psychology and Head of the Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit in the Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology at the University of Vienna. His research explores the neural underpinnings of social cognition and behavior in humans and non-human animals. 

Brenda Major, University of California, Santa Barbara 
Brenda Major is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She researches the psychology of stigma, how people perceive and cope with stigma and discrimination, and psychological resilience. 

Catherine (Cammie) McBride, Purdue University 
Catherine (Cammie) McBride is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue, and an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Psychology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Her current research focuses broadly on literacy learning and impairment across cultures, scripts, and languages, as well as on mathematics learning in young children. 

Julio J. Ramirez, Davidson College 
Julio J. Ramirez is the R. Stuart Dickson Professor of Psychology and Director of the Neuroscience Program at Davidson College. His research interests include the recovery of function after central nervous system injury, with an emphasis on determining the functional significance of hippocampal neuroplasticity. 

2024 APS William James Fellow Award  

The APS William James Fellow Award honors APS members for their lifetime of significant intellectual contributions to the basic science of psychology. 

Jacquelynne Eccles, University of California, Irvine 
Jacquelynne Eccles is a distinguished professor of education in the School of Education at the University of California, Irvine. Her research interests include academic motivation and achievement, school and family influences on adolescent development, and gender and ethnicity in STEM fields. 

Lynn Hasher, Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre, and Rose Zacks, Michigan State University (joint award) 
Lynn Hasher is professor emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Centre, and Rose Zacks is professor emerita of cognition and cognitive neuroscience in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University. Over many years of collaboration, Hasher and Zacks’s research has provided both theoretical and empirical contributions addressing individual and age-related differences in cognition. 

Shinobu Kitayama, University of Michigan 
Shinobu Kitayama is the Robert B. Zajonc Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Research Professor of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan. His research revolves around cultural differences and similarities in mental processes such as self, emotion, and cognition. 

Henry M. Wellman, University of Michigan 
Henry Wellman is the Harold W. Stevenson Collegiate Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on children’s acquisition of foundational knowledge, studied via naturalistic and laboratory studies with infants and young children. 

2024 APS James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship  

The APS James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship honors APS members for their lifetime of outstanding psychological research that advances understanding of historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups and/or understanding of the psychological and societal benefits of racial/ethnic diversity, equity, and inclusion.  

Vickie M. Mays, University of California, Los Angeles 
Vicki Mays is a University of California, Los Angeles, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychology in the College of Letters and Sciences and the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Fielding School of Public Health and directs the BRITE Center for Science, Research, and Policy. Her research primarily focuses on mental and physical health disparities affecting racial and ethnic minority populations. 

Robert Sellers, University of Michigan 
Robert Sellers is the Charles D. Moody Collegiate Professor of Psychology and a professor of education at the University of Michigan. His research interests include ethnicity, racial and ethnic identity, personality and health, athletic participation, and personality. 

About the Association for Psychological Science  
As the premier international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders, APS is the scientific home of thousands of leading psychological science researchers, practitioners, teachers, and students from around the world. Learn more about APS, including its 2022–2027 Strategic Plan, at psychologicalscience.org/about.