From a high quality field, the following awards were made for the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine PhD Awards 2020 in Psychology:

Dr Jian-Qiao Zhu (Faculty PhD Thesis Prize in Psychology)

Zhu's thesis, "The Sampling Brain" was commended by the panel for it's innovation, scientific rigour, and theoretical breadth. Supervisors Professor Elliot Ludvig and Professor Adam Sanborn commended the thesis as an exceptional computational investigation of the process of mental sampling in several different cognitive domains, with implications for Psychology, Computer Science, Neuroscience and beyond. The main research focus was how the process of mental sampling can lead to more optimal behaviour. The thesis explored how mental sampling can provide novel insights into core human behaviours, such as curiosity, risk-taking, temporal estimation, and memory recall.

Dr Danielle Norman (Faculty PhD Thesis Impact Prize in Psychology).

Danni's thesis on "Factors Modulating Memory-based Deception Detection in Concealed Information Tests" examined;a wide range of factors related to the Concealed Information Test, which is a well-validated paradigm that uses indirect measures such as physiological measures or Reaction Times to assess recognition memory. In addition to providing high-level publications Danni has given invited talks to the Police and MoD who are interested in applying the work. Professor Derrick Watson (supervisor) commented that given the sustained interest from various groups, real-world impact looks extremely likely.. The Judging Panel noted that the studies quoted represent a substantial and original contribution to the literature and that the impact of the resulting papers will certainly to be substantial. Danni's thesis was co-supervised by Dr Kim Wade and Professor Mark Williams (WMG).